“NHS – they save lives not bans. Supporting all front line workers.” This tarp outside the Lower Falls social club goes back to last (2020) summer and discontent over Tory efforts to save businesses and banks rather than give nurses a raise beyond what was already in the pipeline (e.g. CNN | Sky News).
The “Do not use” sign – from last year – is Saoaradh (web) reserving a wall in Thames St (on the Falls Road) that has never (to our knowledge) been used by anyone else. As the image above shows, the space is now being used – in part – by a hunger strike 40th anniversary board.
During WWII, Tom Moore worked with motorcycles and tanks (rather than aircraft) in India and Burma (Myanmar) and achieved the rank of captain. He became famous during the pandemic for raising about 33 million pounds for NHS Charities during the pandemic. He died in February of this year, aged 100 (WP). He is honoured by this new mural in Tullyally, Londonderry.
“A long time ago we had empires run by emperors, then we had kingdoms run by kings, and now we have countries …” Run by counts? Commentary on current leadership (in various places?) in Dobbin Street Lane, Armagh.
An coroner’s inquest found last month that the ten people killed in the Ballymurphy Massacre on August 9th and 10th, 1971, were innocent civilians and nine of them were killed by unjustified force on the part of the British Army (the cause of death of the tenth could not be known with sufficient certainty) (Guardian). Soldiers at the time claimed that they were being fired upon by some of those killed. The findings renewed calls for the prosecution of British Army soldiers and in particular General Sir Michael Jackson, adjutant to the 1st Parachute Regiment at both Ballymurphy and (five months later) Bloody Sunday (WP).
500 days after the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ plan for restoring Stormont was released, members of An Dream Dearg (tw) took to Sliabh Dubh (promo video) to urge for the plan’s “official recognition of the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland”. The DUP – now under the leadership of Edwin Poots – say the party is committed to NDNA but that it does not contain an ‘Irish Language Act’ (News Letter One | Two).
“Where was all the street art over lockdown????” TMN [The Most Nasty] krew take to North Street with a long piece celebrating comic-book characters The Bash Street Kids, who have appeared in The Beano since 1954; the comic itself has been published weekly since 1938 (WP). They are (above) Danny and Plug, (below) Toots, Wilfrid, Sidney, Spotty, Teacher, Fatty/Freddy, Smiffy, Cuthbert.
The sign reads “Dump wood – PSNI out”; the Ulster Banner flies to mark the boundary; guardians keep warm around a fire; old fridges and furniture lie among the pallets. The signs are unmistakable: collection for Eleventh Night 2021 is under way in the lower Shankill.
Monkeys (perhaps Mizaru and Iwazaru – most recently referenced in the George Floyd mural) wearing masks to avoid evil thought and spreading coronavirus. Street art by Glen Molloy (ig | Fb) in North Street. The remains of Andy Council’s Belfast Phoenix is to the left.
