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!