PUL

Lady Shani

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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

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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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Vaulty Towers

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Artists from the arts collective Vault (web | tw) painted new pieces on the Tower Street side of the building in advance of the Summer Market on August 16th. Above is a Conor McClure painting of an artist puking up his creative guts. The piece in the middle is probably Leo Boyd. At the bottom is work by Dragoș Mușat.

Rob Hilken, Sally O’Dowd, Leo Boyd, Laura Nelson, Hannah Smith, Jonny McEwen, ?

FGB, Dragoș Mușat, Conor McClure, Leo Boyd, FGB, Sally O’Dowd, Kerrie Hannah, Leo Boyd

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Don’t Let Anything Stop You From Coming To Carrickfergus

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This is the second half of the Carrickfergus Timeline in Market Place, covering the history of the town from arrival of King William and General Schomberg to the modern day, including the last witch trial in Ireland and the construction of a railway allowing tourists sailing into Larne to reach the town easily: “Don’t let anything stop you from coming to Carrickfergus – if you cannot get on a train, hire a donkey cart”. The panels were written by Seth Linder.

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Their Amazing Attack

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“I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the First of July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world. – Wilfred [Wilfrid] Spender – The Somme 1916”. Spender was born in England but served as quartermaster of the Ulster Volunteers and general staff officer of the 36th (Ulster) Division. He won the Military Cross for actions at Thiepval, and became Cabinet Secretary of the new “Northern Ireland” in 1921 (WP). His words are on one of three new murals in Belvoir Park, alongside two large flags – the Union Flag and Ulster Banner. Above the WWI mural old RHC lettering is causing the paint to fall away.

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It Hasn’t Gone Away, You Know

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“Wear a mask – it hasn’t gone away, you know.” The last two weeks have seen two coronavirus deaths but 800 new cases (Health NI | BBC). Sınn Féın’s Gerry Adams remarked, on Sunday 13 August, 1995, that the IRA “haven’t gone away” (YouTube).

Previously on this wall (on Newtownards Road): Inspiring Belfast | Reading Between The Lines
Previously from Hallion: Wash Your Hands
Previously: Sectarianism – It Hasn’t Gone Away

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Lagan Village

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In the 1860s, Ballymacarrett, Mount Pottinger, and Lagan Village, all on the east side of the Lagan, were not a part of Belfast (Lennon-Wylie). Lagan Village stretched from where Hutchinsons car dealership now is down to the modern Park Parade, just above Ormeau Park. In the 1880s Belfast expanded and Lagan Village Road became Ravenhill Road (NVTv). Ormeau Park opened in 1871 (WartimeNI). It did not then include the BMX track celebrated in this mural.

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#RememberMyNoah

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14 year-old Noah Donohoe went missing on June 21st while cycling in the York Road area en route from his south Belfast home to the Cave Hill. His body was found in a north Belfast storm drain six days later and the postmortem showed death by drowning (Irish News). Many details of his last hours remain unknown, however, including how he came to drown in the drain. His mother, Fiona, started a campaign on August 11th on Facebook and Twitter to press for answers and signatures are being collected for a petition into the PSNI handling of the case. CCTV images of Noah were released on Friday by the BBC. An inquest will be held in January, 2021 (BelTel) with a preliminary hearing on September 30th.

Previously: Gloria Ab Intus

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This Year’s Twelfth

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Here are seven posters from the wall of the Shankill Leisure Centre and the Shankill Road Mission building urging people not to congregate when watching the parades. “This year the bands are coming to you!” “This year’s 12th is about the battle with the bug”. See previously: #SafeShankill | Battle Of The Bug

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Against The Terrorist Threat In Ulster

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The original cairn commemorating three part-time members of the UDR (which can be seen in Carrickfergus RIR/UDR) – Henry Russell, Steven Carlton, and Walter Kerr – was replaced by a new obelisk in 2017. The medal in the middle is the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, which was awarded to the entire RIR and UDR in 2006. (The UDR was merged with the RIR to form the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992.) (Video of the launch.)

Cyril Smith was a Catholic from Carrickfergus and a Royal Irish Ranger. The original cairn in his memory tells the story of his death at age 21 in 1990. For commentary, see this Irish Times piece.

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