The Belfast Bunch

April 14, 2009

Europa Hotel

"The Europa Hotel is a four star hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The hotel has 240 bedrooms, and claims to be the largest in Northern Ireland. It opened in July 1971.

The Europa was damaged 33 times by Provisional IRA bombs between 1972 and 1994, and was known as "the most bombed hotel in Europe". The nearby Grand Opera House was also extensively damaged on several occasions.

Bill Clinton stayed in the hotel during his 1995 presidential visit. Two series of a BBC documentary series Lobby Lives were filmed at the hotel, which is very popular with celebrities who visit Belfast. "

February 19, 2009

Street Food

If you walk the streets of Belfast in the early hours of the morning you will see two things, containers of take out food that look untouched and a few steps further....piles of vomit.

And I'm not talking about seeing these once in a while, every single time I go out I see little boxes of fish & chips or Turkish kebabs just sitting on a ledge in perfect order with just one bite missing. I could start a whole blog with just photos of uneaten food on the streets.

I assume what is happening is a collage student is on his way home from a party, sees a restaurant and thinks "I'm hungry, a kebab would sure hit the spot." So he goes in, manages to order, walks for a bit and decides to take one bite but as soon as that bite hits his stomach he says "Oh man...what was I thinking! I'm going to be sick!" He sets his food down and runs for it and ends up vomiting all over the sidewalk.

All the wasted food bothers me, I should start going out at night to follow drunk people around so I can collect their uneaten food. :-)

The above photo was taken this morning just a few steps down from our front door.

January 24, 2009

Street Art

While Jason was walking to the bank a man sitting on the sidewalk with a pad of paper and a pen said he would draw him a picture for change.

Jason gave him all that was in his pocket, around £2, and the man rewarded him with this cute sketch of a cat.

Jason brought it home and hung it up on his cork board in his office.

It really brightens the room up.

~Mary

December 31, 2008

Ulster Soul

Much of the graffiti here seems to have a deeper meaning than just
tagging. A lot of it is related to the troubles or is used to mark
"territory" for one side or the other. While this might just be some
kid quoting song lyrics, it appears to have another level to it as
well. "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" is line from The Killers'
"All These Things That I've Done". The lyrics could have many
meanings, but to me, and in the shadow of the troubles, it says that
the artist may not be a soldier, but it doesn't mean he doesn't care
about what happened here and his heritage. The fighting is over but
the culture of separation remains.

Above and to the left is "Rule Britannia", which is a patriotic
British song and on the left and underneath the lyrics is an Ulster
symbol. Around the corner (not in the picture) it says "Lisburn
Loyalists". These are all loyalist slogans. However, the song lyrics
seem to be one of the more recent additions. I wonder if it was added by a Loyalist or a Republican....
~Jason