Just as you thought demilitarisation was the name of the game, the Royal Navy is sending a warship into Belfast…for this weekend’s Maritime Festival. Seven Tall Ships are also sailing into port. Get your fill of fresh seafood, too, at the Odyssey’s fish & food festival.
Not according to metallurgists Tim Foecke and Jennifer Hooper McCarty whose research has suggested that dodgy Harland and Wolff rivets were at fault for allowing the Titanic’s hull to be ripped apart by the pressure of the iceberg impact. With six of the hull’s chambers exposed to the Atlantic waters, the “unsinkable” ship lasted less [...] read our review »
Ireland is in the middle of a boom – a running boom. Chances are, even if you have never run a step yourself (apart from some painful P.E. classes many moons ago), someone you know has taken up running over the last little while. Road races in Northern Ireland and in the Republic have seen [...] read our review »
While HMS Albion is in Belfast This Saturday, navy sailors will take part in the annual Gay Pride march in central London, wearing their uniforms. However, members of the army and RAF have been banned from wearing their uniforms at the event.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,2113464,00.html
Why has the army and RAF banned their service personnel from parading in uniform and the navy has give the go ahead? If Ian Paisley Jun or wee Jeffrey were Admirals instead of MLA’s no Gays would be allowed onboard HMS Pinafore never mind parade in uniform.
its prob cause the navy was the most liberal service, first commissions by merit rather than preferment and all that
last year the 2nd sea lord Admiral Adrian Johns ( the Admiral whose base is HMS Victory) give the OK for sailors to parade in front of the Gay parade in London.
Gay Navy officers to march with pride
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-831.html
Oh lets all rejoice that the British military have decided to grace us,proudly showing off their weapons of war to the people of Belfast.
I wonder was this ship gliding about the waterways of the middle east recently, with their big guns trained towards the ‘untamed natives’…?
curious,
Adrian Johns is also a Rear Admiral (Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm).
Reds under the beds, your only jealous the IRA didn’t have a navy.
Tell us was there no gay IRA men?
Why has the army and RAF banned their service personnel from parading in uniform and the navy has give the go ahead?
Where can you find pleasure, search the world for treasure, learn science, technology?
Where can you begin to make your dreams all come true on the land or on the sea?
Where can you learn to fly, play in sports and skin dive, study oceanography?
Sign up for the big band or sit up in the grandstand, when your team and others meet?
Gay Pride? How about the orange order members who’s marches have been refused? Maybe they should have a stroll along with pride….
‘Gay Pride? How about the orange order members who’s marches have been refused? Maybe they should have a stroll along with pride….’
Is Paul Berry in the OO ?
‘ Is Paul Berry in the OO ?’
If he was, he would have been blacked balled by now like he was with the DUP. The OO like the DUP dont approve of gays within their ranks.
‘The OO like the DUP dont approve of gays within their ranks.’
If only they wer as strict with loyalist paramilitaries.
It takes less than a dozen comments for a post to go from talking about the Royal Navy and a maritime show to Orange Order-bashing. Grow up.
Beano you think the OO do approve of gays in their ranks?
No, since they’re a Christian organisation I would presume they wouldn’t. But is that relevant to a story about boats?
‘No, since they’re a Christian organisation’
You are joking ????
Back to boats a bit. I have always thought it a bit unfair that HMS Belfast lives on the Thames in London. Could it not come back here for a visit or is it not actually capable of moving, does anyone know?
No, Beano,they’re right.
Why can’t the OO take a leaf out of the AOH’s book?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gayrights/story/0,,1733752,00.html
From the standard of the posting on this thread it would appear that the schools have already broken up for the holidays.
Batten down the hatches me hearties, it could be a long hard summer.
‘Back to boats a bit. I have always thought it a bit unfair that HMS Belfast lives on the Thames in London.’
Why should it be unfair. HMS Belfast (only WW2 cruiser) was saved and given to the Imperial War Musuem by the MOD instead of being scrapped. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belfast_(C35)
Belfast is extremely fortunate to have HMS Caroline the only remaining WW1 cruiser in the whole of the UK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Caroline_(1914)
Curious,
Fair point, I had forgotten about HMS Caroline.
Do you know if HMS Belfast can move?
‘Do you know if HMS Belfast can move?’
Last time she was moved for drydocking, underwater maintenance and repainting was in 1999.
http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-wenzel.htm
All her underwater cooling water openings are blanked off, including parts of her engines and boilers dismantled. So she is totally inoperational under her own power and needs towed to and from drydock. HMS Caroline has no internal machinery at all.
Curious
Thanks for that
I went, ’twas crap.
The victory of my relentless optimism over my cynical judgement of the City Council’s idea of entertainment.
Snakebrain,
We went. I agree the music etc was a bit rubbish but the buses were well organised and we went on several boats / ships which were good. The kids loved it though one of mine was scared of a pretend pirate.
I may have spoken a tad hastily, but I was a bit disappointed.
I had high hopes since I was in Nice a few months ago relaxing on the beach, and out of nowhere the most amazing Galleon-style ship appeared under full sail and did a slow pass about 500m offshore, then turned and cruised back down the bay. We swam out and got to within about 20ft of it when it fired off all its cannon. It was an amazing experience; if you turned your back to the shore it could as easily have been 1607 as 2007.
The ship’s today weren’t bad I concede; the Zebu was a very pretty little vessel. I’m going to go down tomorrow again and see if I can have a proper chat with the owner.
The market was a bit disappointing, the guy selling end-of-line Rimmel make-up seemed a bit out of place. Whose idea was the fire service chip-pan fire display? Worthy, but are chip-pans a significant maritime hazard?
I’m just a bit jaded with Belfast at the minute and was hoping for something magical I suppose. I can see that children would have had a great day there. I’m glad yours enjoyed it so much. Grumpy old man syndrome…
Incredible noise from the Grand Turk cannon yesterday, caused by only 50g of gunpowder rather than the traditional 1.5 kilo. Astounding to imagine what noise a full broadside would make!
Interesting, too, to note that the 18c ration of beer per man per day was 8 pints.
I wonder
I was about 25ft from a staggered broadside from 8 cannon at 5 second intervals, it’s deafening. My ears were ringing for hours afterwards.
I can only imagine what the noise and chaos of a full-scale naval battle must have been like…