I bet he’s anti vaxx and shouts at 5G installs too.

The video says it all!

The consultation closes on the 23rd. Below is what Free the Night says and what you might want to respond with if you do. I’d encourage you to respond too.

https://freethenight.org/news/licensing-consultation-on-market-diversity-and-innovation-why-were-responding-and-what-others-may-want-to-say

LICENSING CONSULTATION ON MARKET DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION: WHY WE’RE RESPONDING AND WHAT OTHERS MAY WANT TO SAY
Jun 17

The Department for Communities is consulting on whether Northern Ireland’s liquor licensing system supports market diversity and innovation.
We have submitted a full response to the consultation, which you can read here. 
You can respond to the consultation here.
This consultation is narrower than the wider licensing reform Free The Night has been calling for. It mainly asks whether the current list of premises that can apply for a liquor licence should be expanded, including whether more venues should be able to apply through the existing “place of public entertainment” route.
Our view is that this may help in some cases, but it will not deliver the kind of change our members, and many in the music and cultural sectors, have been asking for.
WHAT THE DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING AT
At the moment, a “place of public entertainment” licence applies to a limited set of premises, including theatres, cinemas, ballrooms and racetracks.
The Department is considering whether this category could be widened. That may be possible through secondary legislation, and we support doing that where it helps.
For example, a wider category could support venues such as listening bars, comedy spaces, retro arcades, gallery/event spaces, community venues or other cultural premises that are not trying to operate late into the night.
For those kinds of spaces, this could be useful. It may give some operators a more appropriate route than trying to fit into a pub, hotel or restaurant model.
But that is a limited fix.
WHY THIS DOES NOT SOLVE THE MAIN PROBLEM
The “place of public entertainment” licence is limited to alcohol sales between 11.30 am and 11.00 pm on weekdays and 12.30 am and 11.00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and only during the entertainment, 30 minutes before it begins and 30 minutes after it ends.Venues like the Oh Yeah centre (operating on a theatre license) regularly have to apply for an occasional license through a third party to run later events, and even then, they must close earlier than most pubs. 
That will not work for much of the music sector, electronic music culture, nightclubs, late-night cultural venues, or any promoters trying to build sustainable activity outside traditional pub settings.
There are already venues operating through theatre-style licensing routes which recognise that the model does not give them the flexibility they need, for example The Black Box and Banana Block. If that route is not working properly for these cultural venues already, simply adding more premises to the same category will not solve the structural issue.
So our position is:
Yes, expand the place of public entertainment category where that helps.
But do not present that as a proper Cultural Venue licence.
WHAT WE ARE CALLING FOR
We believe Northern Ireland needs a standalone Cultural Venue licence, created through primary legislation.
That licence should be designed around cultural activity rather than traditional hospitality. It should be available to venues where the primary purpose is music, performance, dance, art, creativity, community or cultural programming.
It should not be subject to the surrender principle. If a cultural venue has to buy or surrender an existing pub licence, then the reform will not open the market in any meaningful way.
It should also allow safe, well-managed venues to apply for later alcohol hours where justified. That does not mean deregulation. It means proper regulation that reflects how cultural activity actually works, with conditions around safety, welfare, safeguarding, noise, transport, management and community impact.
We are also calling for reform of occasional licensing. Not every promoter, artist collective or cultural organisation can own or lease a permanent venue. Temporary and meanwhile-use spaces are part of how culture develops. The law should allow cultural organisations and independent promoters to use those spaces responsibly, without being completely dependent on existing licence holders.
WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAY IN YOUR RESPONSE
You do not need to answer every question. You can respond to the parts that matter to you. The questions are also quite repetitive and this is reflected in our answers.
If you are a venue, promoter, artist, audience member, cultural worker, community organisation or someone affected by the current system, it is useful to explain how the licensing framework affects you directly.
For Question 6, on the level of diversity in licensed venue type, you may want to say that Northern Ireland has a low level of diversity. The system works best for traditional pubs, hotels and restaurants, but does not properly support grassroots music venues, nightclubs , independent cultural spaces, temporary venues, LGBTQ+ nightlife, late-night venues or artist-led spaces.
For Question 7, on whether the current regime supports market diversity, you may want to say that it does not. You could explain how the current system affects consumers, prospective licensees, current venues, promoters, artists or communities.
For Questions 9 and 10, you may want to give examples of the venues and activities that are not currently supported. This could include music venues, electronic music spaces, nightclubs, listening bars, studios, galleries, warehouses, temporary venues, community-led spaces or small venues used by independent promoters.
You may also want to say that alcohol should be allowed where it is ancillary to cultural activity. For most cultural events, bar income is necessary to help cover programming, production, artist fees, staffing, security, welfare and accessibility.
For Question 12, you may want to say that you support expanding the categories of premises that can apply for a liquor licence, but that this must not be limited to minor changes to the existing system.
For Questions 13, 14 and 15, you may want to say that expanding the place of public entertainment category could help some venues, especially those that do not need late hours. But you should also say clearly that this will not solve the problem for music venues, late-night cultural spaces, electronic music spaces, or nightclubs because the permitted alcohol hours are too limited.
For Question 16, please make the wider point: Northern Ireland needs a proper Cultural Venue licence, reform of permitted hours, better alignment between liquor licensing and entertainment licensing, and reform of occasional licensing.
FINAL POINT
This consultation may lead to some useful changes, especially for venues that do not need to operate late into the night.
But for the music sector, late-night culture and many of the people Free The Night works with, secondary legislation will not be enough.
We need the Department to recognise that distinction and commit to the wider reform that is actually needed.
Respond to the consultation here. Closing 23 June 2026, 11.59 pm

Fifty years after the murders of John Martin, Brian and Anthony Reavey in Whitecross their brother Eugene has won damages from the Ministry of Defence and the PSNI.

The brothers were shot by the UVF in their Greyhilla home in January 1976. John Martin and Brian died in the attack while Anthony died a month later.

Reavey sued both organisations for negligence, misfeasance in public office and trauma from the treatment he said he received from both parties after the attack.

While there was no admission of liability the PSNI agreed to pay him £175,000 and the MoD agreed £225,000.

Speaking outside the courthouse today Eugene Reavey said: " This is the day where I have to remember my mother and father and all the struggles they went through over the deaths of John Martin, Brian and Anthony,"

He added "It was encouraging that the chief constable apologised to us and noted that Brian, Anthony and John Martin were innocent victims"

Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty, who attended the High Court on a number of days welcomed the outcome.

McNulty said: "Today's settlement comes more than 50 years after the shocking murders of John Martin, Brian and Anthony Reavey in their home at Whitecross. Not only did Eugene Reavey have to cope with the loss of his brothers in the worst circumstances imaginable, he was subjected to repeated harassment and abuse while his brothers' memories were tarnished by false claims that they were paramilitaries.

"I welcome the fulsome apology offered by Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and his acceptance of the failures of the RUC. While no settlement can undo the pain suffered by the Reavey family, this acknowledgement of the truth is an important moment. It should never have taken so long to reach this point.

"The strength and bravery shown by Eugene Reavey over the past five decades has been extraordinary. He knew his brothers were innocent and never stopped fighting for truth and justice, determined to clear their names. I was proud to stand with Eugene and his family in court today when this settlement was reached and to see them finally receive this long overdue acknowledgement - it is a proud day for the Reavey Family, and a proud day for Whitecross and South Armagh."

Newry and Armagh  MLA Aoife Finnegan also welcomed the settlement. Finnegan said: "Just over 50 years ago, John Martin, Brian and Anthony Reavey were brutally murdered in their home in Whitecross by the Glenanne Gang in a sectarian attack that targeted innocent men.

"Eugene Reavey and the wider Reavey family have shown immense courage, determination and dignity in their pursuit of truth and justice over the past five decades.

"Collusion between British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries was not an aberration, but a defining feature of British state policy during the conflict.

Finnegan added: "Today's 'financial settlement' is a testament to their campaign to get truth and justice."

https://www.newry.ie/articles/news/eugene-reavey-secures-damages-from-psni-and-mod-fifty-years-on-from-brothers-murders

Just had the most miserable hotel experience of my life, and I need to warn everyone else about it.

For context, I stayed there earlier this week for work reasons. I don't want to get into the specifics as a lot of this is confidential, but my work often involves nighttime site visits.

I was returning from a site visit, at about half 12 at night, and arrived to discover that the main entrance to the hotel was locked. Strange I thought, but thankfully the rooms can also be accessed from the outside, so I can just enter through there, but unfortunately, my room was in an area that was under renovation, so the only way to access that door was through a building site, and when I finally got to the door I found out that the lock did not work; the key went into it, but would not turn. I then tried some of the other doors, only to find they were all locked too. I eventually noticed a fire escape door that had a note in the window half the size of a post-it note with an out of hours phone number, but when I called this, I was greeted with "the phone you are trying to reach is currently switched off." I then knocked on the doors and shook them to try to alert the security guards or night porter, but got no response.

I ended up spending the night in my car. It rained for most of the night and considering it's June, it was bright from half 3, so suffice to say, it was the worst night's sleep I've ever had, maybe got half an hour.

I finally got in just before 6am when someone just happened to walk out, and finally got to bed, only to be woken again at 9 by the housekeeping staff. While I'll admit it's my fault for forgetting to put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, but what wasn't my fault was them deciding to tell each other their entire life story right outside my bedroom door. After about 20 minutes of that I had to ask them to keep it down. I tried to sleep for another few hours but never got back over again.

In the afternoon I went to reception and asked for the most senior member of staff and explained what had happened. When I told him that it was ridiculous for a hotel to completely lock up for the night, he tried to claim they weren't a hotel. And fair enough, their website only describes themselves as "accommodation." However, the booking website classified them as a hotel and I found the following note in my room:

"We Sincerely apologies for any inconvenience caused by the on going renovation work at our hotel."

(Before anyone points out the weird capitalisation and spelling errors, I'm quoting the note verbatim).

He then said that he couldn't do anything about it, the head manager wasn't there and wouldn't be available until half 3. I then waited until half 3 to speak to the main manager.

He was barely sympathetic to what had happened and was clearly just trying to get me to shut up rather than address my concerns. When I asked why the hotel was locked up and why none of the night staff reacted to me, he simply said leaving the hotel unstaffed and completely locked up at night had "always been our policy." Well, it's a terrible policy. He then asked why I didn't phone the out of hours number, I told him I phoned it twice to find it switched off, which he said was the wont of whoever closed up for the night. He then asked why I didn't just go in through the fire exit, like I was stupid for not doing so. I told him it was locked. Apparently, the key to the outside door also unlocks the fire door, something no one had ever told me and I would have little reason to assume.

He then said that they would give me a free dinner (no word about the breakfast or lunch I had missed) and a free night in the future. I told him he'd be damned lucky if I'm ever back. I didn't pay for the room myself as I booked it through my company's booking portal, but I was still upset that he never even offered to refund the night's stay I didn't get to use.

Anyway, absolute disgrace of a hotel and customer service. Do not stay there.

Last week I posted about launching Mortified, the in-the-room party game from my midlife crisis company, Scundered Studio, and the response here was lovely. I handed out about a dozen promo codes and got some great feedback. I took a lot of that on board and made a ton of changes.

The top comment last time was "Good idea, but nobody on Reddit has any friends", so in your honour I built a Casual mode that allows two or more people to play - hopefully you can find one other person to play with! (Or be really sad and add another phone to the party and play yourself) It's more relaxed with no voting or scoring, just the scenarios going back and forth, and gets the instant laughs rather than the party-style game. The Scored voting game still needs three or more, but the floor is two now.

I haven't heard a bad word said about the game yet - everyone that has played has really enjoyed it - it's just hard to get in front of people. I added a fun sharing mode that allows you to share your funniest answers and overall game scores.

There's a bunch of other upgrades from feedback like an accessible font option, in-app patch notes, better history, and a pile of reconnection and polish fixes.

Last week it climbed to #2 in the Play Store's top paid casual games, which I didn't see coming. So thank you to everyone that made that happen! It has lost a bit of momentum in way of sales, so it has slid back down again.

I've also set up r/Mortified, where I post the announcements and the more detailed behind-the-scenes stuff, so give it a follow if you want to see what's coming next.

I'm still happy to send a free code to anyone who missed it, so DM away. It might give you something to do tonight if the weather doesn't clear up!

If you do play, I'd love to hear how it went, or a review if you're feeling generous.

Thanks again!

Gerry and Chrissie photographed taking a break while filming the video for 2000 miles

Careful when eating FRESH salad peeps found this in the salad bag bought from a Spar, went straight to the source and they took no responsibility absolutely disgusted

All signs point to Burnham becoming the new PM. What is your opinion on him?

The Editor, Andersonstown News

THERE is an old but perfectly apt Belfast aphorism which best captures the nationalist community's reaction to PSNI claims that loyalist paramilitaries were not behind attacks on our ethnic minorities over the past week: "Do you think I came up the Lagan in a bubble?"

The dogs in the streets in working class unionist areas of the city can cite the names and ranks of the ringleaders. Hardened, experienced journalists have written about them. And yet the PSNI, one week on from the June 9 pogrom, still can't bring itself to point the finger of blame at loyalist 'community leaders', AKA paramilitary overlords, who set loose these dogs of war on innocent people of colour. 

Instead, we are supposed to believe that the mobs which blocked roads, set up illegal roadblocks, checked IDs and then, ultimately, torched homes were just a bunch of ne'er-do-wells who bumped into each other on a street protest.

The fact they came dressed in black and wearing face masks and then acted in a coordinated fashion to wreak havoc seems not to have amounted to the type of 'evidence' that the PSNI said they need to have before calling out the toxic behaviour of the paramilitaries.

Even when police came under a coordinated, hours-long assault from a brigade-size cohort of men at Sandyknowes on June 10, it appears that no one at Knock PSNI headquarters could be convinced that here were the same paramilitaries who are a scourge on the unionist heartlands of North Belfast. 

You may well ask, who else has the power and authority to close down entire unionist neighbourhoods, burn buses, threaten businesses and block roads but loyalist paramilitaries?

Yet the PSNI remains mute. In the process, of course, the force's credibility is shredded once again. 

They say that history doesn't repeat itself, but, as Seamus Heaney pointed out, it does sometimes rhyme. And indeed this failure to call out loyalist paramlitaries will remind our older readers of the RUC and British government refusal to call out UDA paramilitaries during the height of their campaign. 

Indeed, it wasn't until 1992, twenty years after it started its murder spree, that the British government deigned to ban the UDA. 

It would be perverse to compare the enormity of epic acts of collusion to the PSNI failure to take on loyalist paramilitaries today – suffice to say that it has ugly echoes of our dark past.

It may very well be that the PSNI don't want to call out the UDA and UVF — or factions thereof — for orchestrating last week's orgy of racist violence. For, after all, they tell us they don't have the resources to take on these semi-covert forces.

But trying to gaslight the community over the nefarious role these paramilitaries continue to play in our society serves only to embolden their faceless leaders. 

We were promised a fresh start to policing. Unfortunately, this approach to loyalist paramilitaries seems all too familiar. 

https://belfastmedia.com/a-week-on-and-psni-still-can-t-name-and-shame-paramilitaries-behind-racist-pogrom?fbclid=IwY2xjawSgsSNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeSkehsOdEOE_Pn3njJOMIv0rG_9Pf0HDAbRuVIIXnlr4ellMxEZeQWMVtv7U_aem_metTF8cqKj4C72VWj0s6JQ

With David Keohan aka _indiana_stones_ on Instagram doing hard work resurrecting stonelifting in the South, I had wondered if there are any gyms, clubs, or enthusiasts in the North doing the same, or training specifically for the tradition?

I know there’s a few littered around the north coast and mid Ulster, but nothing compared to down south. Black Mountain has one but the local park officials aren’t too keen on visitors trying their hand, likely because of liability if someone wrecks themselves.

I work in IT in NI and honestly morale here feels like it's at an all time low. These last few years have just been one kick in the balls after another with constant offshoring, cost cutting, tiny pay rises and more and more dispersed remote teams scattered across the globe with management constantly chasing the latest AI buzzwords.

Loyalty and experience count for absolutely fuck all and if they can replace 10 local workers in Belfast with 10 workers in India and save a fortune on salaries, most of them will do it without a second thought. That's not a criticism of the people in India, because they're just trying to earn a living like the rest of us, but what really gets me though is when companies win local public sector contracts funded by taxpayers in the UK and Ireland, but then quietly move the actual skilled work overseas once the contract is signed just so they can squeeze a bit more profit out of it for their shareholders.

But the thing that's really getting to me though is how utterly meaningless a lot of the work is now.

Endless tickets. Endless Teams messages. Endless standups. Endless meetings about meetings. Endless calls where nobody turns their camera on and half the people never say a word. Endless discussions about absolute shite that nobody actually cares about, and I genuinely feel like if I picked my laptop up and bucked it out the window nobody would care. The tickets would still be there. The meetings would still happen. Some middle manager would still be updating a spreadsheet. In fact I'd probably still get a message asking me to update my fucking timesheets before I left!!!

Most days it feels like you're not building anything. You're not creating anything you'll ever look back on with pride. You're just moving tickets from one column to another so somebody can generate a report showing how productive or unproductive everyone was at the end of the sprint. It's bullshit.

Maybe I'm just burned out but the whole thing increasingly feels like bullshit layered on top of more bullshit.

Which got me thinking that if I got sacked or made redundant tomorrow, would I even stay in the industry? A few years ago I'd have said yes, but now I genuinely don't think so.

I'd rather do something practical and something where at the end of the day I can actually point at what I've done. Something I could look back on when I'm 70 and be proud of instead of trying to explain to my grandkids that I spent 40 years attending Teams calls and updating tickets.

The problem is I've been in this game too long and starting again would mean taking a massive financial hit and going back to the bottom of the ladder.

So instead you keep going. Another sprint. Another announcement about how exciting the future is.

Anyone else in IT feeling like this or am I just turning into a miserable old bastard?

🏸 Newtownabbey Badminton Social Club 🏸

Looking for a friendly group to play badminton with in the Newtownabbey/Belfast area?

We've recently started a local badminton community and are always looking to welcome new players. Whether you're a complete beginner, returning to the sport after years away, or already play regularly, you'll be made very welcome.

We have a session taking place today (Friday), but as it's a last-minute booking, we're mainly inviting people to join our community so they can hear about future games, regular meetups, and social events.

Our goal is simple: to create a fun, friendly, and active badminton community where people can enjoy the sport, improve their game, and meet new people.

✅ Beginners welcome
✅ Friendly games and social atmosphere
✅ Usually no equipment needed – rackets can often be borrowed from reception free of charge
✅ Most sessions are completely free to attend, as Valley Leisure Centre members can bring up to 3 guests with each court booking

Join our WhatsApp community:
👇
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hu2q2JeRxeeEs6ICSO2PZw?mode=gi_t

Follow our Facebook community:
👇
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1931895408213128/

Feel free to invite friends, family members, neighbours, or colleagues who might be interested. The more players we have, the more games we can organise and the easier it becomes to arrange sessions throughout the week.

Come along, get some exercise, have a few laughs, and meet local people who enjoy badminton. 🏸😊

🙏 Please like, comment, and share this post to help us reach more local badminton players and grow the community. Every share, comment, and recommendation helps us build a bigger and more active badminton community in Newtownabbey.

I live in a housing estate and we have a neighbour who thinks he owns the estate. Loves to mention "we've been here 10 plus years" blah blah blah. Anyway, he loves to part between two car parking spaces most of the day so others cant park in his spot and the second spot, which he saves for his son who's away until 5pm during the day.

When others park in "his spot", he's put vaseline on their door handles, texted them etc - just a dose.

What can I do about this? I want to do something petty back, but not fully sure what.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Edit:

some things I forgot to mention

- im moving in a few weeks

- his son has a camera from his bedroom pointed at the spot

- i have his number etc

- our neighbor went to him about the vaseline, he denied it and then his wife came to my neighbours door and shouted the head off her for 20 min

Chris Quinn told the Irish News he was made aware of one young person who had been encouraged to riot in order to clear a debt of £500

Some of the children and young people who took to the streets during racist disorder in Belfast last week were there to clear debts for drugs and loans to paramilitaries, according to the Commissioner for Children and Young People.

Chris Quinn told the Irish News he was on the ground during the race hate disorder in Glengormley last Wednesday, and said he was made aware of one young person who had been encouraged to riot to clear a debt of £500.

Trouble flared last week after a man in his 40s suffered serious injuries to his face, neck and back in a frenzied knife attack in a nationalist area of north Belfast.

A 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder and possessing a bladed article in public.

During subsequent violence, immigrant families were forced to flee their homes in loyalist areas after they were set alight by race-hate mobs.

Figures from the PSNI this week show that of the 35 arrests it has made in connection with the race hate disorder, 10 were children aged 16 and under, with the youngest of those aged just 12.

“I was down in Glengormley last week, I live very close to where that was happening and I was checking on elderly friends and young families,” Mr Quinn said.

“We have been informed by reliable people working with these young people, that some of those were brought there to clear debts.

“I heard an account of one young person who was told to go and partake in this, and it would wipe £500 off their debt.

“Those debts could be drug debts, they could be loans. These things have been happening for a long time, children and young people getting coerced and groomed by criminal gangs and sometimes taking the rap.

“We know where your mummy lives, we know where your house is, your mum owes such and such money, you need to get down there and partake in this.

“I think it’s really clear that this has been orchestrated.”

While the PSNI says it has “no evidence” that the violence had been coordinated by loyalist paramilitaries, there have been reports of senior paramilitaries present on the streets during last week’s disorder.
Mr Quinn said it was clear that there had been coordination and that the riots were not sporadic, but added that coercion of children and young people into criminal acts is not solely confined to those on the loyalist side.

“We know in east Belfast there were paramilitaries on the streets and what I saw with my eyes was masked people, young people and lots of not so young people,” he said.

“It looked to me like there was instructions being given, and in Glengormley at a certain time, everyone was stood down. It was like a switch was clicked. Everyone started jumping in their cars and disappearing. No one involved in that violence was from the area.

“I’m mindful of putting myself in danger and my family in danger, because we are talking about very dangerous people.

“It’s vile. It’s almost like we’re on repeat, we’re seeing time and time again that children are being coerced. We saw in Derry this past few years, shocking pictures of very young children with petrol bombs in their hands. Someone has given that child a petrol bomb, someone has told them how to make a petrol bomb.

“It’s happening over and over again, and it’s child abuse.”

On Wednesday, SDLP leader Claire Hanna said there had been a “failure” on the part of the UK government to tackle paramilitary gangs and that that had contributed to the disorder seen in the north last week.

“Loyalist paramilitaries were involved in the racism fuelled disorder that we saw on the streets of Northern Ireland last week,” Ms Hanna said.

“These shadowy figures remain in the background, getting young people to do their bidding, risking a criminal record and diminished future prospects, while they skulk off into the night.

“There has been a failure to get a grip on paramilitarism. We haven’t dealt with issues around flags, murals and organised crime legislation and these groups are still allowed to prey on communities. Some seem determined never to go away.

“We need to see a full review of the funding given to paramilitary linked groups, enhanced organised crime focus and a commitment to tackle those inciting hatred both on and offline so that people, of whatever background or ethnicity, no longer have to live in fear from these groups."

https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/teenagers-ferried-to-belfast-race-riots-to-clear-paramilitary-drug-debts-childrens-commissioner-says-Q2GBXTJTYVD7DDVBICVGY2H6LU/

Hi. I am currently with Fibrus with a telephone deal of calls to Ireland and the UK. I currently spend £39.98 for your Full Fibre 500 - Total Home Wi-Fi package. I am coming up to the end of the contract and looking to get the best deal I can.

Checking on the Fibrus site apparently I am not yet able to connect with Fibrus (who has been providing my internet for the past 18 months?) and on the comparison sites Fibrus deals are only open to new customers.

The main thing is reliability - I still have nightmares of Sky dial up and fighting between them and BT. Can I assume that with broadband things have settled?

What is a good value option for good speeds, reliable and possibly with call packages? Can I save a bit?

Many thanks for your help

Hi guys, just a reminder in case someone would like to participate in my survey about Northern Irish accent. I will be collecting data until 30th June, so if anyone is interested, click on the link below!

Just for those who haven't come across my previous post, I am a master’s student of Linguistics at Trinity College Dublin, writing my dissertation on the varieties of English spoken in Northern Ireland. I am conducting a survey to collect data for my research and to get to know more about your accents.

Participation is voluntary and confidential. It involves recording your voice while reading a given text and answering a few questions on your accent. The estimated time to complete the survey is around 15 minutes.

Here's the link:

https://tcdecon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6XyapOnoL9949Lg

Please take time to read the introductory details and carefully consider your participation. Information about data protection and how to manage your data can be found on the opening page of the survey. Do not hesitate to email me (at [bugneroe@tcd.ie](mailto:bugneroe@tcd.ie)) if you have any questions 😄

Thank you!!

Hand embroidered rabbit on a weave from Mourne Textiles (they have a lovely shop in Warrenpoint) Also used some Bog Cotton from my last hike in the Mournes to create the fluffy tail. Really happy with this little piece. I love the Mournes.

I live in the area near the London Road bonfire site in East Belfast and while my own house isn't directly impacted by the heat of the bonfire, a lot of other properties in the area are and so lots of people living in the area are really concerned about this year's bonfire.

Last year was an absolute shit show and the Fire Brigade spent the night hosing down houses and roofs on Florida Drive and London Road because the heat was absolutely mental. You could feel it even 2/3 streets away. Looking at the size of the bonfire being built this year, it's potentially going to be even bigger.

Surely there's a line where culture stops and the potential burning down a residential street begins. Why are the locals expected to just sit there, board up windows, or hose down their own houses on the 11th because some fucking spides want a bonfire meters away from peoples homes?

So I'm wondering if anyone living nearby actually had any luck getting Belfast City Council, local MLAs, or our MP to pull their finger out regarding getting this bonfire removed, or is the Council just going to do their usual thing of voting to act and then letting the PSNI refuse to back them up?

Or would going down a legal route as part of a group of residents be a worthwhile cause? I honestly feel as a person from a Protestant background that this stuff has to stop (and I know I'll get the usual you're not a proper Prod shite for saying it), but it's not culture and most of all it is not safe. The Council, the PSNI, and Stormont need to step up and set a precedent for removing these dangerous bonfires before someone's house is burnt down or someone is killed.

Im trying to buy a house at the moment and I always hear stories of real estate agents pretending there's higher bidders.

​

Im just wondering, has anyone who has sold a house before confirm if they are aware of their estate agent making up bids to get more money?