There's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (PM)

Wow. Those people that went to the leprechaun parade really scored! I hear that the quality of St Paddy's day parades is really variable. An Irish guy who used to work with us, let's call him O'Doyle, emailed me yesterday to say that the parade he went to had the local scout group, some kids on horses and a couple of tractors. It's a rural area you see and I guess people just want to get it out of the way so they can get on with breaking the lenten fast.

Having said that, when I went to the Royal Balmoral Show in Belfast last year I saw some pretty incredible tractors. This one had wheels that were taller than me.

Powerful stuff. I also had a deep fried black pudding that was pretty incredible, but not something I think I will be able to do again.

I guess I don't really give much of a hoot about St Patrick's Day, but I'm glad that the Irish, those in the North and the South, get a public holiday. I mean, we have one for a horse race. I guess a guy who drove the snakes away is a good cause for celebration.

Sons and lovers (AM)

I've loved being in Belfast, and I'll be quite sad to leave next weekend. It's quite lovely here. Sure, it's grey all the time. It's hard to get any work done because people literally talk constantly (and I mean literally constantly not figuratively constantly). But it has been quite great. 

  

I've spent a good amount of my time at this particular coffee shop, because it has good coffee. It's where I'm sitting right now. Sitting here day after day, watching the people come and go, it's made me notice that people seem to have their kids super young over here, and people my age seem to have three little ones by now. Biologically it's not super young, just culturally, by our standards I guess. 

I was looking at one of these young families in the coffee shop before and saw something very adorable happen. The troop consisted of a Mum, a Dad and three little boys. I'd say a five year old, a three year old and a little one in a pram, perhaps 18 months old. The older two—lets call them ElderPaddy and MidPaddy—were those good behaved types that seem to calmly observe the world around them, rather than crazily get up in the world's grill like Midbro and Elderbro used to  some other boys might. I guess they were getting rewarded for being that way,  because the parents had bought them a shortbread to share and boy were they loving that shortbread fully sick. The little guy in the pram, TinyPaddy, was looking on, something the Mum noticed, prompting her to say:

"Boys, perhaps you could give TinyPaddy a bit of your shortbread". 

Well. 

MidPaddy was on to it straight away, instantly shoving the rest of his shortbread into his mouth and shaking his head earnestly.  ElderPaddy looked panicked for a split second, then his shoulders sank, he sighed and he got up. He walked over to TinyPaddy's pram and gave him a bit of shortbread about the size of a penny while sadly gazing out the window.

The whole display was completely hilarious and also a little touching and made me miss my bros and my Mate and Baby and Newbie and Niecey and Little Nut so damned much. I guess the experience was not peculiar to Belfast, or to young families, but it's where I saw it so it makes me think of these things together. And how nice Belfast is. It's made me think about how nice Belfast is.  Come, if you get the chance. 

Belfast, I'm in you (PM)

Of course I am not now, nor have I ever been in Belfast. So I don't know a lot about it either. (Anything, I don't know anything about it except: bombs!; troubles!; and that my mother didn't want me to use the name Gerald as a middle name for my sons because of Gerry Adams. Turns out his name is Gerard anyway. So there, Mum. Also, Liam Neeson! Except maybe technically he is from just outside Belfast.  Whatever, I do what I want.)

If only I could insert Liam's accent here too.

Where were we? Belfast! But not actually. I look forward to hearing more about Belfast because my idea of it is basically a sepia-drenched city with small children running down cobble stone streets in grey shorts and slightly too-small woollen jumpers. I doubt there is anything more to it, but let me know just in case, 'k  Mate?

Belfast, I'm in you (AM)

Appleheart and I landed in Belfast yesterday. I have to confess that all I know about Belfast,  I learnt from movies about 'the troubles' in the 80s and 90s, which is a narrow view to say the least. I'm sure Belfast has lots more going on than just being the site of sectarian violence borne of political struggle, but what that is I couldn't tell you, that's why "Belfast, I'm in you!" is all I could think of to say after Appleheart and I alighted at George Best airport on Saturday.
It's quite a nice position to be in, not knowing anything about a city apart from who its favourite sons are.

Yep. This guy. And also this guy, who I only know is from Belfast because the airport is named after him:  

It's soccer champion George Best! I remember the news coverage of his death included an amusing quote he made at some point, about how he'd earned piles and piles of money through soccer but had little to show for it. "Most I spent on booze and women", he said, "and the rest I wasted." Or something like that. Ha!

Anyway, Belfast. Because I know so little about it, and because several people had recommended it to us, against our better judgement we took one of those city sightseeing bus tours around the city. You know, the ones on the double decker buses. 

I really should have trusted my instincts on this one. Now I know this about Belfast: they built the Titanic here, and as far as Belfast is concerned, it was fine when it left so they've got nothing to do with what happened.  

I can also tell you where Belfast's smallest house is, where Belfast's oldest dual carriageway is and what it feels like to drive along it on top of an open double decker bus in the rain (shit), and the location of the public sculpture known as the Salmon of Knowledge. Ha!

But it's only my first day. I am sure I will come to know and love it. 

But if anyone knows of fun things to do here, please tell me. I am very very open to your suggestions, friends.