Originally Posted by archibald

I Might add, in case of erroneous perceptions of the uniformed riot Police in the photo I posted, that unlike in years gone by, the Police Force is becoming much more mixed in terms of the two main cultures. Almost a third of officers now Catholics, and hopefully more progress to come.

Originally Posted by annelouise17

Those pictures where taken in 2005, Belfast was a stopover on my way back to Dublin. Belfast was one of the places I wanted to visit, on that trip however.The trip was to Derry/Londonderry to an Ulster Project Conference. I had plan my trip all but the way I was going to get back to Dublin. I told Father John (nortern Ireland project coordinator) that I needed a way back to Dublin, He gave me and another couple a ride back to Belfast, Father John arranged for me to stay with a family who teens took part in the Project. The best way ever to experience Belfast. Your history make my pictuers even more meaningful, thank you!

Originally Posted by annelouise17

I had heard that was a problem, Good to hear that Catholic are joining the police force now. The Nationalist commuity should just let it ride they aren't helping their clause any by rioting like that.

Originally Posted by archibald

In case you're interested, the building just visible on the right, with the white upper walls, is a pub in which I sometimes watch footie (soccer) on a big screen on a Sunday afternoon. :]

This photo is slightly out of date, but only by a few years. Beyond the pub there is now, instead of an old cinema (where I once got pissed on vodka, aged 16, while watching the film, 'Tommy') a nice new block of flats. Though none are sold, them having been built just before the economic downturn and property crash.

For those more interested in history/politics, this photo is of part of the Ormeau Road. Like a lot of long arterial routes in the city, it passes, at various points, through areas which are mainly Protestant, mainly Catholic, and also mixed areas. It is one of the Orange Order's 'Traditional Routes' and there are still some unresolved issues about parades, which surface annually, at one particular flashpoint near the bridge over the River Lagan, during the 'Glorious Twelfth' (of July) 'celebrations'.

This from just last year:

Belfast Protests During Sit-Down Protest Ahead Of Orange Order March: Police Clash With Residents | UK News | Sky News





I personally do not have a lot of time for Orangeism, which is, IMO, a bit of an outdated blight on the country, so I sympathize with the protesters, even though they are, broadly speaking, Nationalists who may well want me to lose my British citizenship.

You see, from a stereotypical Unionist perspective, there is often 'the bigger agenda' lurking below the surface. The protests are not really about the inconvenience or offense caused by the parades, though this is true in part, and sufficient, IMO, to warrant a protest.

The 'Protestant' reaction to the Civil Rights movement in the late 1960's can be viewed in a similar light, with Unionists overreacting because of a perceived underlying threat to their status, literally, that is, to the state. There is a way, I'm not suggesting it is the best or only way, of understanding (while not necessarily condoning) Northern Irish Protestant discrimination towards Catholics (which I believe was common, though maybe not as endemic as sometimes described, before the 'Troubles'), and that is in terms of a very ingrained insecurity, fear, and perhaps most of all, mistrust (almost as much of the mainland British in London as anything else) the sort one commonly finds in slightly vulnerable outposts, and not entirely unfounded. Plus some common or garden religious bigotry, of course.

Originally Posted by archibald

Camogie. Need I say more? What a game, eh? Perhaps just a quick visual sample:





I could also mention Bushmills Whiskey

and on a culinary note, the Ulster Fry (unsophisticated, but is there a better hangover cure in the known universe?)

Originally Posted by Chookie

To end with, the best hangover cure in the cosmos is Irn-Bru - purely because a proper hangover doesn't allow food...