Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) 
Election anoraks in need of a regular fix of political argie-bargie may want to dip into last night’s NUS Scotland’s Big Election Debate last night with Anas Sarwar (Scottish Labour), Carole Ford (Scottish Lib Dems), Douglas Ross (Scottish Tories), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) and Ross Greer (Scottish Greens). Compared with any similar encounter with NI politicians, it felt remarkably calm and devoid of simple point-scoring.
Bill Wolsey outlines his idea for Belfast city centre to be a living museum with museum artefacts displayed in shop windows, bring the museum to the people. His idea hasn’t had much traction with the Ulster Museum,but he’s pitched it again as part of Imagine! Festival’s Build Belfast Back Better initiative. He also explains the role of awkward individuals in making progress happen.
Talking to writer and novelist Neil Hegarty about the talk ‘2031’ he will deliver at next week’s Imagine! festival, imagining what this island might look like in a decade and asking whether we’re prepared for the political, societal, environmental changes that will surely have a huge impact on the way life is going to play out?
Chatting to Gavin Esler ahead of his appearance on Saturday 27 at this year’s Imagine! Festival. He’s enthusiastic to be back talking about his book How Britain Ends, though is disappointed not to have the excuse to meet up with old friends and walk the streets he knows so well from living and working in the city.
Ahead of next week’s packed programme, Imagine! festival are calling for your ideas to imagine a better post-pandemic Belfast. How would you Build Belfast Back Better? You can submit up to three ideas that reimagine the city in the face of the pandemic and the challenges presented by Brexit, increased poverty, loneliness and mental health issues.
A quick rummage through the Imagine! Belfast programme coming up between 22–28 March. Under the strapline of The State of Us, there’ll be exhibitions, workshops, lectures, film, comedy, music, spoken word, lectures, theatre and quizzes. Voices from at home and abroad. The festival isn’t afraid to challenge. It doesn’t expect participants to agree with everything that is said. It’s about making people think. Widening their horizons. Broadening their understanding. Developing their empathy. Helping them figure out why – and if – they truly believe the hunches and biases they may have been living with for a lifetime.
As an afternoon cultural treat, here’s the 50 minute play Edward Carson Reflects, written and performed by Paddy Scully as part of January’s Out To Lunch festival. It might fill in some gaps, looking at his education in Dublin, his work as a barrister (leading the Marquess of Queensberry’s defence against Oscar Wilde’s libel action) and his political activity in the period that introduced Home Rule, including being the first person to sign the Ulster Covenant.
Maureen Hetherington spoke about the need to empower civic society and bring about participative and deliberative democracy in her contribution to a panel on A Shared Home Place – the Unfinished Business of Reconciliation, recorded last week in Derry’s Guildhall and organised by the John & Pat Hume Foundation.
Given the unfinished business of reconciliation, does Northern Ireland need a Peace Plan? That was the proposal by Dympna McGlade who spoke at a Hume Foundation event last week. You can watch back the hour long discussion.
Register online to watch and listen to ‘Singing Struggle and Agreement’ tonight at 7.30pm as part of Belfast International Arts Festival. Slugger O’Toole has partnered with Spark Opera to stage the NI/ROI première of Clare Salters’ ‘Good Friday Agreement – p E A C E in 4/4 time’ alongside musical of struggle and a panel discussion looking back at the Belfast Agreement negotiations with Mark Devenport, Monica McWilliams and Kate Guelke.
David McCann was joined by guests Gráinne Walsh (Stratagem) and Jacinta Linden (SPACE NI) to examine how the third sector sector was the bedrock of our response to the pandemic. Remember all of those charities who stepped up while revenues were falling and did extraordinary things to help the most vulnerable in our society? In this episode, we hear about the resilience of this sector, from making headlines for innovative ideas such as Kindness Kits and new ways of working. can help provide a reset for the local economy and our society in the years ahead and what is needed from local policy-makers to help make it all happen.
A recent article on The Stage magazine website noted that “big tops are being built up across the UK”. “With sidewalls raised and seats spaced out, tented circuses are resuming summer tours. Heavy theatre doors, meanwhile, remain shut. But there’s a simple solution to opening up with socially distanced productions. Theatres should take to tents.” A trip to the cinema this week – I’d recommend Saint Frances out of the poor fare currently being screened – was a lonely affair …
The John Hewitt Society have moved their Armagh summer school online with a series of free online talks and discussions. While we normally take Slugger TV out of the NvTv studio to record in front of the Armagh audience, we’re delighted to be opening this year’s festival with a discussion about “After lockdown, can the arts return to health without a vaccine?”. Read more about this and the rest of the programme …
A major injection of £1.57bn into the cultural sector by the UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden may prematurely raise the hopes of Northern Ireland artists that their industry is finally set to receive the relief and attention that many other areas of business have already enjoyed. The question for the NI Executive is how much of the expected £33m (via Barnett consequentials) will be spent on the cultural sector? Northern Ireland already spends less than half what England, Scotland and Wales spend on arts per head of population.
Tune into NvTv this evening at 20:11 – or watch it here from 20:15 – to catch Episode 39 of Slugger TV. David McCann is joined by commentators Julie-Anne Corr Johnston and Tim Cairns to discuss how Northern Ireland is coming out of lockdown and what sort of economy we will emerge into, as well as the fallout of Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham on Boris Johnson’s political currency. Edited by Alan Meban.
This month, in episode 38, Slugger O’Toole’s deputy editor David McCann talks to Irish News journalist Allison Morris and Andersontown News columnist Andrée Murphy about the performance of the Northern Ireland Executive, the legacy of different devolved government strategies to ease the COVID-19 lockdown, and the Irish Government’s lack of cross-border consultation about their plans. Edited by Alan Meban and also broadcast (as a slightly shorter 30 minute edit) on Belfast’s community TV channel NvTv tonight at 20:35.
Slugger O’Toole is delighted to be hosting the online book launch of Paul Gosling’s new edition of A New Ireland – A New Union: A New Society. David McCann was joined by the author as well as political commentator Sarah Creighton to discuss some of the issues raised in the two-hundred-page title.
Statistics released this morning by NISRA reveal that up until the week ending 10 April there were 157 COVID-19-related deaths in Northern Ireland. 109 people died in hospital (69%); 41 people died in care homes and hospices (26%) across 23 separate establishments; 7 people died at residential addresses (4%). 39 of these deaths which mentioned COVID-19 on their death certificate were not part of previous PHA daily reports of deaths of people with positive tests for COVID-19.
Alex Maskey says: “I have received advice from my Health Trust to advise that, due to my cardiac history, I am in the group of those who should stay at home and avoid face to face contact for least twelve weeks. I have therefore written to all Members today to inform them that I will therefore be working from home in the time ahead. “This does not prevent me from conducting the majority of my responsibilities as Speaker – many …
March’s episode of Slugger TV was broadcast as part of Imagine! Belfast’s virtual festival and is currently showing on community TV channel NvTv. Here’s the video for any of you who missed my conversation with journalist Allison Morris and festival director Pete O’Neill. We discussed the publication of the Renewable Heat Incentive inquiry report [Ed – anyone remember that?], the Chancellor’s beneficent schemes to businesses impacted by COVID-19, the somewhat draconian measures being rapidly legislated into law, and how the …
