Yesterday I had to make several different journeys using Translink services. I travelled from the Mater Hospital into Belfast city centre, then up to near Queen’s University and back, back home, and finally by train to Ballymena.
Fortunately, I could telephone the Translink callcentre to get the information that I would normally have obtained from the website – as it was the first of the failures. Continue reading “well they do say things come in threes…”
It is clear that on occasion people in this part of the world can be just downright rude. Take today, I was getting off the 3.14 train from Béal Feirste/Belfast to Doire/Londonderry in An Baile Meánach/Ballymena and there were about thirty people on the platform waiting to board the train. Unfortunately, at the door where I was trying to get off, they just hurded themselves into a group and stood opposite the door, right close to the train and there was nowhere for me to stand had I been able to get onto the platform. It’s probably time that Translink … Continue reading Common courtesy missing at Ballymena Station!
We have a rich cultural heritage in our placenames in Northern Ireland, but sadly there are far too few times when we see the original language (Gaeilge) in use on public signs. This is probably due to the language being seen to be “Nationalist” and therefore not of interest to the rest of the population. However, I would contend that it is of interest to both those who live here – and those that visit this small part of the world. Why should we just give the names of our towns in English? Often they make more sense when given … Continue reading Placenames – a sense of history
Gyronny Herald 