It is the eve of World AIDS Day and once again all over the world, many people are preparing to to remember
- those who have been diagnosed with HIV,
- those who have died from HIV and AIDS-related diseases, and
- to try to educate the rest of the world’s population about the methods of transmission and the risks involved.
In the City of Armagh today, the Spring Youth Project came together with The HIV Support Centre, Northern Ireland’s leading HIV/AIDS charity, and Armagh City and District Council to show what the 14-16 year olds had learnt in recent HIV awareness training.
The results were very positive: the group of about twenty teenagers came across as very informed.
They told of a virus
- where you can’t tell whether someone has it from looking;
- where those who are HIV positive don’t have the freedom to travel to all countries in the world;
- where many people live with the fear of prejudice hanging over them; and
- which it is possible to prevent contracting.
The partnership of The HIV Support Centre with the Spring Youth Project of the Southern Education and Library Board worked well, with it being clear that the young people had enjoyed their factfinding day in the Centre in Belfast.
.jpg "The Mayor of Armagh")
The Mayor of Armagh hosted the presentation in The Palace, Armagh on 30 November 2009
The Director of the Centre, Jennifer Andrews, told me that as she heard the teenagers’ practice of their presentations, she realised that they had even done more research after the training day that she had facilitated.
The young people and the staff and volunteers from The HIV Support Centre were welcomed to the City of Armagh by The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Armagh, Cllr Thomas O’Hanlon. The Mayor told us of his pleasure at holding the event which is believed to be the first World AIDS Day event to be held in the city.
54.341555
-6.652944
Throughout the United Kingdom there are many different languages being used daily. In some parts of the Kingdom, native languages are allowed to be used in the Courts but here in Belfast this is not allowed. In Wales you could speak Cymraeg (Welsh) and in Scotland it is possible to use Gàidhlig (Scots Gaelic), but here in Northern Ireland it is impossible to use Gaeilge (Irish).
What is the reason?
Put simply it is the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737. Or is it as simple as that? (more…)
… in East Antrim
Politics Can Get Better
Isn’t about time we elected politicians who could move this place forward?
I am told that the Alliance Party members living in the East Antrim parliamentary constituency have received a leaflet from a candidate who is seeking selection as the Alliance candidate for the next General Election.
No stranger to new methods of working, Gerry Lynch is probably the first Alliance member to mail all the members of the Association. He has also set up a campaign website.
Gerry Lynch promises to
- get the Assembly moving
- create a shared future
- argue Northern Ireland’s case against deep spending cuts
- fight povery and inequality
- protect our privacy
- tackle crime and anti-social behaviour
- campaign for the new trains on the Larne line, for speedy completion of the dual carriageway at Greenisland, and for the planned freeflow interchange to bypass the bottleneck at the bottom of the M2
- prioritize maximum value for the taxpayer with regard to expenses at Westminster
- to not seek any other political office if elected as Member of Parliament for East Antrim.
I look forward to hearing more of what Mr Lynch plans to do in the lead up to the selection meeting next week.
Will the people of East Antrim have other candidates to choose from? Maybe it’ll be Stewart Dickson, from Carrickfergus Borough Council, or John Mathews, or Gerardine Mulvenna from Larne Borough Council?
The Fifteenth Parliament of the United Kingdom in the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been opened by The Queen in the Palace of Westminster
Today we see the the full splendour of the three part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in one place: The Sovereign, The House of Lords, The House of Commons. The colour of the State Opening is provided by the uniforms of the many members of HM Household on duty, together with the members of the Army on duty.
I thought I would have a look at what the papers are saying about the Queen’s Speech. (more…)
The Northern Ireland Assembly is not currently noted for its progress in moving forward. With fewer Assembly Acts being passed in our Assembly than the other devolved administrations in the United Kingdom, the public looks on at the seemingly endless deadlock in the house on the hill at Stormont.
However, among the 108 MLAs, Anna Manwah Lo MBE (盧曼華)is one who has made a significant difference to the Assembly since she was elected. (more…)
This morning standing at the bus stop on the way into Belfast city centre, I learnt that my neighbourhood Cooperative store is to close on 28 November. What is not clear is whether the Post Office that is located in it is to be relocated or is to close as well.
The signs that are in the shop are big enough to be read from the other side of the road and this prompted a discussion at the bus stop. The three of us waiting reckoned that this was a sad day for the Mountcollyer/York Road/Shore Road area of the city.
News has just been released of the rape of a 21 year old man in the Library Street area of Belfast city centre.
The attack happened between 3am and 4am on Monday morning. The Police Service of Northern Ireland are investigating and are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time who may have seen or heard something suspicious to contact them.
Anyone with any information can contact the PSNI on 0845 600 8000.
Vexillogical stupidities once more
Once again I’ve come across some stupidities regarding flag etiquette. In my experience, those who are sailors are usually among the best concerning flag use. But with the Tall Ships Maritime Festival on in Belfast at the moment, this has proved not to be the case.
Wrong courtesy flag
It is usual for vessels when in a foreign port to fly a ‘courtesy ensign‘ — that is the ensign of the port in which they are. In the United Kingdom that ensign should be the Red Ensign. Unfortunately some of the Tall Ships’ captains appear to be ignorant of this fact and are flying the Union Jack.
The Union Jack is limited at sea to ships of the Royal Navy, or ships which Her Majesty the Queen is onboard. Perhaps some Naval officer will either tell the offending captains, or perhaps he’ll actually prosecute them.
Green Ensign?
One other suggestion would be the Green Ensign that would be more Irish. But perhaps it never existed officially…
Perhaps we should start having these flown in Northern Irish waters?
It’s nearly July – so it’s time for lamp posts to turn into flagpoles
You know you’re from Northern Ireland when you find yourself referring to lampposts as ‘flagpoles’. It’s nearly July so in many areas we have flags ‘decorating’ these flagpoles lampposts. It wouldn’t be so bad if the flags were at full mast on their flagpoles lampposts, but rarely are they at the top. Thus it often appears that we are in permanent mourning for someone.
Don't think Queen Elizabeth II is living in the pole.
This afternoon as I drove from Parliament Buildings to the city centre I spotted some particular stupidities. Some well-meaning so-called Loyalists have erected a Royal Banner (normally called Royal Standard) up a pole at the bottom of the Belmont Road. Now, I doubt that the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty is in fact resident in the pole.
Further down towards the city, there is a rather large Orange Hall with a wide range of flags flying from it. It’s a bit embarrassing therefore that the flag of the country (the Union Flag) is flying upside down. Now this is an internationally recognised sign of distress. So what distress is the Orange Order in?
Whilst these are rather minor infractions in vexillogical etiquette. It would be rather better if someone could instruct the so-called Loyalists in how to fly flags in the correct way. Perhaps they could take some instruction from the Flag Institute.
Perhaps there should be a task force of the Northern Ireland Executive to look into the display of flags in community areas. I’m sure there could be working between the Social Development minister, the Environment minister, and the Regional Development minister and even the NIO’s Minister of State for everything (wearing his Justice and Policing hat this time) to get funding for lampposts
This is probably more likely from the current Executive than actually working out what is happening with Education, the Health Service, the proposed Single Equality Bill and any other legislation that the Executive is sitting on and not progressing.
Or perhaps it’s something for the new Minister of Justice if when justice and policing are devolved to the Assembly. But when is this likely to happen? Time to speak to Robbo and Martin.
Yesterday saw me crossing the international frontier on my way to Castle Leslie, Glaslough, County Monaghan. The most direct rout according to my Road Atlas and also according to Googlemaps was take the M1 motorway to Dungannon, turn left for Caledon, in Caledon, turn right, take the first left, cross the frontier and drive to Glaslough. Simple enough. Or so you’d think.
Down the lane and find it’s blocked!
Both sets of maps showed that the B45 (NI) turned into the R185 (Éire). However, I turned down the road from Caledon but it became apparent that this road was not very much used. The road surface was much more like a farm lane than a road maintained by the Northern Ireland Government. And I made it to the border and found that the way was blocked – I could have walked across but not driven. So back into Caledon and I found another way around: into Co Armagh, and across the frontier into Co Monaghan.
Maps should be clearer
It is clear that the continued closure of roads in border areas is something that needs to be shown on maps. I know that our own Ordnance Survey maps used to show approved/unapproved roads across the Border, but do they still? I’m writing to Google to explain the problems. I’ll update when I any reply is received.
