We hoofed around a lot on our recent trip to Belfast. Too much, actually, as both my wife and I suffered for it when we got home. We didn't have our city legs on. As we walked down Great Victoria Street we stopped for a rest at a bus stop by this Gentleman's Hairdressers. I had the Yashica T4 in my hand but unfortunately not ready to shoot, 'cos I missed the shot I really wanted. The Yashica has a hard protective shield over the lens, which you have to manually open by a slider on the top of the camera before you can shoot. Just before the girl you see here walked past two very hairy gentlemen passed by - that would have been the better shot. But by the time I opened the lens they were gone. In the end this shot was OK. It looks like she's holding her nose as she's passing but I think she's simply adjusting her mask:
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| Belfast, June 2021. On HP5+, ID-11 printed on MGV deluxe paper. |
The Continental is about a hundred yards or so away from what used to be the World's Most Bombed Hotel, as the sign in the foyer of The Europa proudly stated. Back in the 70s it was a favourite target of those that had nothing better to do than cause destruction and mayhem. As was one of the two pubs opposite. Only one of the pubs, note. The story goes that the other one paid up and was left alone. Presumably the owners of The Europa chose not to pay up either.
Nowadays The Europa is as safe as any other hotel, as indeed is the whole of Belfast. Thank goodness. My parents tell me they used to take my brother and I to the Royal Opera House (next door to the Europa) when we were kids but once The Troubles started that put paid to day trips to Belfast. Or anywhere, really. Our parents did what most others did - stayed at home. We simply didn't go out to the theatre, cinema or restaurants. I can't say I noticed anything strange growing up but then we lived in the country, well away from the hotspots of violence. Coleraine did get a couple of bombs (one which killed six people) but generally we escaped fairly lightly compared to other areas. Still, come 18 I couldn't wait to get out and my parents were not unhappy to see both my brother and I head off to Uni in England.
It feels good to be able to walk about the streets of Belfast without having to think about security issues. Gone are the checkpoints where soldiers would check your bags before letting you through. The city is buzzing now with bars and restaurants around every corner and there were lots of people about, even on a weekday afternoon. But when we came home both my wife and I said we'd not be in a rush to go back. The air quality was poor compared to where we live. And the noise! We're just not used to city life any more. Give me a not-too-busy beach or a forest trail to walk along and I'm happy. See? Easily pleased, me...
I think I prefer the girl to the hairy men. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine having lived through the troubles. Despite being close to the border with North Korea, not much happens here. I'm more worried about the sociopathic driving here than I am about North Korean spies or infiltrators.
On balance Marcus I think I'd have to agree with you!
DeleteMost people 'just got on with it'. Humour helped. But in places it was neighbour pitted against neighbour. They were bad times, for sure, and the echoes still reverberate. In time the next generation will hopefully accelerate the healing.
Living close to DPRK must be strange. I'm guessing you don't go too close to the border - and certainly not with a camera :)
Cameras are right out. I once visited the DMZ. A very weird experience. You have to sign a waiver that says the UN is not responsible if you get killed or kidnapped by North Korea. All the South Korean soldiers there are taller than average and the U.S. soldiers there are giants. It was strange looking at the hills of North Korea. If you stepped over the bridge at the border you would never be able to return. But the south would shoot you before you got across the bridge, probably.
DeleteScary. Not a place for the faint-hearted. I get the size of those US soldiers...when I visit The Brother over in Chicago I see guys who look like they could snap me in two without breaking sweat.
DeleteBorders are strange places. Ours (between Northern Ireland and Ireland/Eire/The Republic) was a real border during The Troubles, with Army checkpoints and searches. Not that we ever crossed it, mind you - well, perhaps once or twice when I got older and went 'down South' for a concert, throwing caution to the winds haha. Since the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1997 there hasn't really been a border - no checkpoints at all, only signs saying 'Welcome to...' and then you notice the speed limit signs are in km/h instead of mph.
Brexit has, of course, thrown a real spanner in the works. The GFA means the border stays as it is. Ireland remains in the EU of course. Northern Ireland has a special agreement (wouldn't you know) called the Northern Ireland Protocol to allow goods to continue to move freely across the 'Irish border'. But since the EU requires inspection of goods coming in from non-EU countries that means that goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK must be inspected...so effectively creating a kind of a border between Northern Ireland and Britain. The Unionists aren't happy. Sausages (and other meat products) seem to be the main sticking point, believe it or not. Why Northern Ireland needs sausages from Britain in the first place I can't quite figure out, since we have an abundance of our own right here. For now, the EU has granted the UK another 3 months to try and figure out how to square this circle. We'll see how that goes.
What a mess. I hope the sensible people in government (haha) figure out a solution soon.
DeleteMany would say it’s been a mess since 1169, and the partition in 1921 didn’t really help matters. But we have to deal with the reality as it is now, and that ain’t easy. The politics doesn’t keep me awake at night…the beaches & forests will still be here whoever is in government. I worry more about availability and cost of film and darkroom paper ;)
DeleteGreat slice-of-life shot.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jim!
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