PUL

It’s OK To Talk

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October 10th is WHO World Mental Health Day. To mark the occasion and respond to the continued high rates of suicide in west Belfast (Assembly Research), emic (web | ig) and local youth painted an “OK” gesture on the side of the Alternatives (web) offices in Agnes Street, which also includes the numbers for Lifeline and Samaritans. In-progress images of the mural being painted by can be seen at AlternativesRJ. In the US, the “OK” hand gesture has recently become associated with the ‘white power’ movement (WP).

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Bonies

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Photographer Mariusz Smiejek (web | ig) was born in Poland in 1978 but moved to Northern Ireland in 2011, which is when he started taking pictures of bonfires – in areas such as Highfield, the Village, and the Shankill – and the people around them. The full gallery for his ‘Bonies’ project is available on his web site.

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Praying For A Miracle

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Saint Luke’s C of I opened in 1863 in what was then the lower Falls but – because of the “peace” line is now the lower Shankill. It closed in 2006 and the congregation merged with St Stephen’s (in Millfield). The building served as a community centre. In 2015 two pigs’ heads with racist graffiti were left in the doorway in response to rumours that the building might become a mosque (BBC). The property was (later) acquired by Living Faith Global – “a miracle believing and seeing church” – which opened in April 2019.

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Stranger Kings

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Members of Foreign Assassins and TDS (The Death Squad, in homage to the old NY crew) collaborated on a series of panels along the Connswater greenway inspired by the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, which in turn was inspired by Stephen King novels (including Needful Things) and 1980s fantasy and sci-fi movies (WP).

For in-progress shots, see Montana Cans.

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Step Back In Time

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The old Ballymacarrett station was the last stop before Belfast when travelling from points east such as Holywood and Bangor. On the morning of January 10th, 1945, a faulty signal caused the 7:10 from Bangor to be halted at Ballymacarrett, only for it to be hit from behind by the oncoming 7:40 from Holywood. The steel lead-car of the Holywood train ploughed through the whole of the last carriage’s wooden coachwork and on into the penultimate carriage, causing the death of 22 people and injury to another 27 (WP).

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Road Sign

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Speed limits in Northern Ireland are set by the Department Of Infrastructure/An Roinn Bonneagair after consideration of all relevant factors. The residents of Tern Street, Belfast, have instead used a decades-old mode of public communication – wall painting – to ask motorists to slow down around the sharp turn just off Dee Street.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Pakis & Taigs

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North Belfast is experiencing a housing shortage (Build Homes Now) which means people are willing to go the extra mile for homes, which doesn’t always go down well with the locals. The graffiti shown in today’s post appeared in mid November in the majority-PUL area of Skegoneill, near the junction with Glandore Avenue and (CNR) Ashfield. Police called the graffiti a “hate incident” (QRadio).

See The Earl’s Thorn Bush.

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Old Firm

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Glasgow Celtic stickers on Divis Street, Glasgow Rangers sticker on the Shankill. We can’t really improve upon the WP entry‘s introduction: “the rivalry between [the two teams] has become deeply embedded in Scottish culture. It has reflected, and contributed to, political, social, and religious division and sectarianism in Scotland. As a result, the fixture has had an enduring appeal around the world.” – including Northern Ireland.

See previously: Ultras Celtic | Balance Enquiry
A Matter Of Life And Death | Follow, Follow | The Boys In Blue | We Are The People
Also Gegen Rechts

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