JCBelfast

Hallowe’en holidays, #1

On 4th November 2015

I’m just back from 3 days in Barcelona and a 7 day cruise around the western Mediterranean, so here is the first instalment in my travel diary – Barcelona and our first evening on the ship. (You can read the second, third and fourth posts by following the links)

When you think of someone going on a cruise, most people assume it’s for the rich and famous. My mum called into Oasis Travel at the start of the year and discovered a very reasonably priced cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), which so happened to tie in with her school half term.

To begin with, off of the Oasis staff were absolutely brilliant and so helpful – yes, you may pay slightly more for booking a holiday with a travel agent, but it is so worth it… even to remove the hassle of having to check in.

To the memory of the fallen

By JCbelfast

On 23rd October 2015

In Everything Else

The Poppy Appeal was launched in central London yesterday by David Cameron. The theme for this year is “To the memory of the fallen and the future of the living.”

Most people think that the Poppy Appeal is remembering solely British or Commonwealth soldiers. The fact is that it isn’t. World War I resulted in the 36th (Ulster) Division having over 32,000 soldiers declared dead, missing or wounded. The 36th (Ulster) Division was formed through the merging of the Ulster Volunteer Force (who were formed to fight against Home Rule), the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Of the nine Victoria Crosses awarded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, four of them were awarded to 36^th Division soldiers.

From 1914-1918, over 200,000 Irish people served in the British Army. Of these, over 49,000 Irish people paid the “ultimate sacrifice.”

The Thin Blue Line

By JCbelfast

On 5th October 2015

In Everything Else

It isn’t hard to have realised that the PSNI have started a new recruitment drive in the past week. Those on the outside will look at the job, will see the starting salary, will think that officers are overpaid and probably not think any more about it.

Alzheimer’s – ‘The silent Plague’

By JCbelfast

On 29th September 2015

In Mental Health

In 2006 it affected nearly 27 million people worldwide. It is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. It was first discovered by a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist in 1906. It mostly affects people over the age of 65, but can affect people as young as 35. It is an incurable, degenerative and terminal disease. Dr Andrew Lees, clinical director of the Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders called it ‘the silent plague’. It is Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

West Side Story

By JCbelfast

On 28th September 2015

In Belfast, Shows & Events

West Side Story

Friday 21st August took me to The Mac in Belfast. It was my third time in the venue and my second time seeing a performance, after seeing Les Miserable on the same stage in 2013.