This is the pro-NHS mural in Newbuildings, south of London-/Derry. The “S” of NHS has been turned into the “S” of superman (see also Prepared For Work, Ready For Coronavirus). The rainbow (7-stripe rather than the gay pride 6-stripe) has become a symbol of positivity in the time of the coronavirus pandemic (see e.g. NHS Forever | Thank You, Postmen).
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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Ian Ogle (“Big O”) was standing at this spot (Cluan Place and Albertbridge Road) on the night of January 27th, 2019, when he was assaulted and stabbed by a gang of men. Three UVF members have been charged with his death though the UVF say the killing was not sanctioned (Sunday Life). The family continue to campaign for a safer east Belfast (BelTel).
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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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“VE Day” in large letters composed of images, portraits of servicemen, and newspaper front pages (“It’s Over In Europe”, “Germany Quits” and so on) from the period at the end of WWII in Europe, installed along the Shore Road, Belfast, for the 75th anniversary of the event.
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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“Keep the diamond shinning [sic] bright”. The ‘Diamond Project’ is an initiative from Belfast City Council to re-image Lord Street, east Belfast (Belfast Media). Diamonds also feature in Always Keep A Diamond In Your Mind and Shine Bright Diamond Alley
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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“Political police state” graffiti on the abandoned Carnegie Oldpark library.
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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The garden of remembrance in Newbuildings was opened in November, 2018, and has grown to include several boards (second image), including “Newbuildings Victoria LOL 1087 remembers our murdered brethren.” (for “Orange Victims” day in September, 2019), troops going over the top at the Somme, and a Celtic Cross with Irish-based British Army regiments (and their battles): Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Royal Irish Rangers, and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. On the front railings are now tarps related to the pandemic (“Thank you to all our NHS staff and essential workers from the local Orange family. Together fighting Covid-19”) and the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Commentary on the coronavirus pandemic Great James Street, London-/Derry: “Lockdown is killing thousands. Covid = Flu”. The coronavirus ‘shelter in place’ orders in the UK and Ireland have various negative health consequences, including poverty from unemployment, an increase in alcohol consumption and domestic violence, and an unwillingness to seek medical attention for non-Covid-related ailments. But it’s far from clear that “thousands” have died. Nonetheless, the continued isolation and disruption to normal living is proving difficult to bear.
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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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The Siege Of Derry began in June 1689 when King James II was rebuffed with cries of “No surrender!” It lasted 105 days, during which about half of the townspeople died. Part of the siege equipment was a boom placed across the River Foyle about halfway between Derry and Culmore. Five ships took part in ending the siege. Shown in this new Tullyally mural (by Glen Molloy) is the Dartmouth, which attacked the shoreline besiegers at Culmore so that three small ships could bring in provisions – the Mountjoy and Phoenix approaching the boom and the Jerusalem hanging back until success was assured. They were accompanied by a longboat from the Swallow, filled with sailors who with “hatchets and cutlasses” were “hewing and hacking away at the boom” (Witherow at Library Ireland) so that it could be broken by Mountjoy.
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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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May 8th this year (2020) marks the 75th anniversary of victory over the Nazis in Europe, or VE Day. (The war against Japan would not end until August 1945.) Celebrations were muted, however, by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which meant that people dared not congregate in parades or services to mark the occasion. The bunting above is in Sperrin Park in Londonderry’s Caw, which took part in the socially-distanced street party; the window below, which gives dual attention to both VE Day and NHS workers, is in Alexandra Park Avenue in Belfast.
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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Valerie Hobson, star of movies, television, and theatre in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, was born in Larne in 1917 but grew up in and around London. Here she is as (the adult) Estella in the 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations (youtube). Her second marriage was to John Profumo (he of the Profumo Affair) but chose to stay with him. She died in 1998 (Independent obit).
The mural of Hobson is in Point Street, Larne, by Visual Waste (tw | ig).
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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Extramural Activity 