Sandy Row District

Bannerettes at the top of Sandy Row. On the left, “St Nicholas Church Temperance LOL No 782”. On the right, “Sandy Row RBDC [Royal Black District Chapter] No. 3, Belfast”. The No. 3 chapter was formed in 1885 (Belfast Grand Black Chapter Fb | web). Both groups are based in Sandy Row Orange Hall

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Harland House

Still in the window of Harland House (Templemore Avenue, east Belfast) two years after the World Cup, Union Flag and IFA bunting and a ‘Deutschland’ scarf. NI did not qualify, Germany did not make it to the knock-out stage, and England lost to Croatia in the semis.

It’s not known what the connection to Edward Harland (of Harland & Wolff) – please get in touch.

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The Burning Bush

“To commemorate the establishment of Presbyterianism in Ireland through the formation of the first presbytery which met in Carrickfergus on 10th June 1642.” Presbyterianism began in Scotland circa 1560 under John Knox and spread to Ireland with the colonising settlers of the 1600s. (For more on the first presbytery, see Ancestry Ireland.) Although Presbyterians supported the Williamite campaign they were subsequently discriminated against as “dissenters” from Anglicanism.

The sculpture is at Joymount Presbyterian in Carrickfergus.

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Brexit

Here is another very small “Brexit” boards in and around Tigers Bay. (See previously: Brexit Loyalists) This one is in North Queen St near the junction with the Limestone Road.

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Keep It Local

The UVF mural in Carrington Street has been paint-bombed. Given the location and the extent of the paint, it’s likely that this was the result of some local (PUL) grievance. It will be interesting to see if it is restored, or replaced or painted out.

For the mural in proper form, see Volunteering.

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Uniting Our Community

“Uniting our community to support our community. Thank you NHS & essential workers”. The ‘Lower North Belfast Action Group’ was formed in April this year in response to the pandemic. Based on the “Groups/Areas” involved, ‘lower’ means the area along the lough up as far the White City and Loughview.

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Give Me Strength

Paul, sounding like a Stoic, encourages people to be content no matter what the circumstances. “‘I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me’ – Philippians 4:13” Thanks to an anonymous model in Wilson Street for letting us take a photo of his t-shirt.

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5G Kills You

5G is not just the next generation of cellular network! 5G weakens your immune system against coronavirus. Or 5G is how the virus spreads. Or 5G is the virus. Or coronavirus is a plot to keep people indoors while 5G is installed so that the tiny tracking chips that will be injected into people via the vaccinations developed by Bill Gates and/or George Soros can be activated. Luckily, a lone graffitist is here to warn us, though details on which conspiracy theory he adheres to are slim. Both images are from Northumberland Street.

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Lady Shani

Lady Shani is a masked Mexican wrestler, fighting for AAA (“triple-A”) promoters, and two-time Reina De Reinas in 2017 and 2018. In August 2018, she defeated long-time rival Faby Apache, who had to shave off her hair as a forfeit. Some lucha libre bouts have continued (without live audiences) during the coronavirus epidemic – here is Lady Shani fighting La Hiedra – but many fighters (according to the LA Times) are struggling to get by.

“Tu dieta no es solo lo que te comes…. Es lo que ves, lo que escuchas, lo que lees, la gente con la que te rodeas y las cosas con las que alimentas tu mente y tu alma. Ten mucho cuidado con las cosas que le das a tu cuerpo, emocional, espiritual y fisicamente”
[Your diet is not just what you eat … It’s what you see, what you hear, what you read, the people you surround yourself with and the things with which you feed your mind and your soul. Be very careful with the things you give your body, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.]

Previously on Extramural: Free For All – lucha libre on the Lisburn Road.

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Continuing Conflicts

The war memorial garden in City Way (Sandy Row) commemorates those from the Great War, World War II, and “Continuing Conflicts” which includes the “Troubles”. There is also a fourth, smaller, stone, with John Maxwell Edmonds’s memorial epitaph.

“The Great War 1914-1918: In memory of the fallen”, with John McCrae’s poem ‘In Flanders Fields‘.
“Second World War 1939-1945: Freedom is the sure possession of those have the courage to defend it. Their ideal is our legacy. Their sacrifice is our inspiration.”
“Continuing Conflicts: We remember those who have given their lives. The wounded and those who serve in continued conflicts around the world.”

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