So …when is a “bastard” not a “bastard”? Well … a bastard is sometimes used in a disparaging way about a child born out of wedlock,for example. I say, sometimes , because , let’s face it , it has lost that emotive nastiness because there are many who get along quite nicely outside of wedlock […]
November, 2014
Gerry and the b for banana word
“The b word”? Well may you swoon, Virginia. That a leader of a political party in Ireland should refer to bigots and anti-gay proponents as (hands over ears, Virginia) bastards is indeed a shocking thing. Thankfully “bastard” is a word that I have never used and never will use. John Major did. In June 1993 […]
FALL OR FALLACY by Harry McAvinchey
There ‘s been much talk in the press about the television series “The Fall” which is set in modern -day Belfast.It is now currently screening season two and has been acclaimed as a thoughtful adult drama, very -well acted and straddling a fine , if uneasy , line between voyeurism and psychopathic thriller. It is […]
Peter says lighten up
Sometimes you see and hear things that make you want to despair of politics here. I was watching Peter Robinson on telly a few minutes ago, talking to Mark Carruthers. Mark asked him about the clip earlier, which had shown Gregory Campbell complete with a pot of yoghurt, speaking of using Sinn Féin demands as […]
WHEN IS A PROTEST NOT A PROTEST? by Harry McAvinchey
When is a protest more than a protest ? I should say when does a protest become an attention-seeking power play? Bernie Smyth , the pro -life protester appears to have crossed the invisible line and has entangled herself in a criminal case involving the harassment of Dawn Purvis , director of the Mary […]
‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ and related double-think
It’s funny how you change. When I watched and listened to ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ thirty years ago – is that possible? – I thought it was a smashing song and the sentiment just right. There was hope for the world. And while I had some reservations about Bob Geldof even then, I was happy […]
DOES THE WORLD HATE WOMEN? by Harry McAvinchey
You’d think that the world was wholly misogynistic if you cared to read and listen to many of the recent newspaper, magazine, radio, television and any other media articles of recent vintage .Women are being treated abysmally throughout the world .You’d imagine that the feminism of the 1970s had never happened and that many […]
‘Parasitical BBC’? Certainly distracting BBC
There’s a belief in certain quarters that the south is a more corrupt place than the north. That there’s something greasy about the way somebody’s hand is forever fumbling in the till, seeing what’s in it for them while spouting high-minded concern for the electorate. It’s a view unionist politicians don’t mind latching on to: […]
What Enda and his merry band must now do
1. Enda and his not-so-merry men – not forgetting Maid Joan – must somehow get ‘reasonable’ people to sign up for the water charges. At present around half of the population have signed up. The rest at present appear to be adopting the position of those who demonstrated some weeks back: I’ve paid already. What […]
SEED BANK AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD by Harry McAvinchey
Humanity’s optimism and pessimism in equal measure .That’s what it looks like .Or you might think it is an out-take from some James Bond or science-fiction film. At the top of the world there is a Doomsday Vault containing the stuff of humanity’s future survival.In it are contained the very seeds of Planet Earth. […]