Return to Belfast

I am in Belfast on a business trip. I have been to Northern Ireland before, back in 2006 when I did a week-long Paddywagon tour all over Ireland.  I found the whole thing very interesting, seeing ongoing evidence of The Troubles.

Things haven't changed much. Just last night, in East Belfast, there was rioting caused by the Ultser Volunteer Force (paramilitary protestant loyalists) attacking Cathlic homes in the area. Two people were shot.  At lunch time I went for a walk around South Belfast.  Only a few minutes from the office I was passing murals on the walls of residential buildings, paying homage to UVF "battalions" and loyalist heroes of the past, while British union flags line the streets.  Had I been a few suburbs over, I am sure I would have seen the republican equivalent, with references to the IRA.

They say the peace process has calmed things, and I believe it has, though there is still tension in the city. I read this morning that there are more walls going up between Catholic and protestant neighbourhoods than there are coming down.

The city centre, on the other hand, is newly developed, clean and peaceful.  I stayed at the Hilton which is right next to a modern waterfront concert hall. I went shopping in an impressive, contemporary shopping centre under a huge glass bowl at Victoria square.

I wonder about life in Belfast. I understand pay to be quite low here, but the cost of living seems comparable to London. I am sure property prices are much lower, though day-to-day costs are the same as the rest of the UK. Life must be reasonably tough for people trying to make a living here. But hey, could be worse. They could be paying six Euros for a pint like their neighbours in Dublin are!

I suck

I suck. I have not posted since March! Have I travelled in that time? Hell yes!

Some of the places I have been to since March:

• Brazil
• Argentina
• Estonia
• Germany

Germany was Tuesday and Wednesday last week. I flew back on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning headed down to the Isle of Wight for the Isle of Wight Festival.  I came back from that this Monday night, and have been out every night this week. It is now Friday night and tomorrow I am off to Ascot for the Royal Ascot horse races. Then on Sunday I am off to Belfast for work.  I have not yet had a chance to fully unpack all my muddy stuff from the festival.  This is a reflection of my busy (but admittedly awesome) life lately.

I will try to catch up on posts some time soon! Hang in there.