Miss Fitz

There is very little detail about this case, but it appears quite extraordinary on the basis of the facts available. A former police officer who harrassed a mother into looking at photographs of her dead son after he hanged himself has been jailed for three years. It appears that Martin Kift acted in a very inappropriate manner with a woman whose son committed suicide, and had to endure some fairly appalling sounding harrassment from the former officer. Seems he was …

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I was going to post something that caught my eye in an article in the Sunday Times that discusses cyber-bullying. In my version of the paper, there’s a mention of Michael McIlveen, but it doesnt appear at all in the on-line version. This is from page 13 of the Times “Even more serious abuse has taken place in Ireland. In May, Michael McIlveen, 15, was beaten to death in a sectarian gang attack after eating a pizza with a friend …

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A girl likes a nice bunch of flowers in the house, but even still, a lady avoids extravagance. Not so the Stormont gang who spent over £50,000 on fresh flowers since suspension.Sammy Wilson likes them though, he is quoted as saying that ‘the displays were an indication of the ‘vibrancy’ of the building.’ I dont remember the episode personally, but I understand Sammy would be familiar with vibrancy issues? In any case, under FOI we also learn that almost £300,000 …

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Lord Justice Nicholson described as ‘bizarre‘ the decision to write to the Loyal Orders to effectively canvas them for a place on the Parades Commission. The Court of Appeal heard that Secretary of State Peter Hain wrote to the loyal orders because an official apparently included them in a list on her own initiative. The letters were central to a High Court ruling removing Orangeman David Burrows from the Commission this month. Mr Hain is appealing the ruling, which found …

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I could have waited and posted an updated picture of me on the beach in Sicily for this thread, but I wanted to relish my Standard Life windfall in advance. Millions of Standard Life customers will receive cash windfalls after members voted to end 80 years of history as a mutually-owned company. More than 1.5 million customers and policyholders voted 98% in favour of a stock market flotation at a special general meeting in Edinburgh. I know that there are …

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Newry and Mourne District Council are organising this Challenge of Change conference next week, ‘exploring the concept of diversity in a society still struggling with division’. The Three Day Convention, organised by Newry and Mourne District Council Belfast City Council, and Louth Council County Council, will be facilitated by Mediation Northern Ireland. To provoke creative thinking it will move between Newry and Belfast bringing together politicians, business people, public servants, the community, voluntary and faith sectors. Delegates will explore concepts, …

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With all the fuss about spies in the IRA, this little piece in the Sunday Life went almost unnoticed. Lady Sylvia is said to be denying rumours that she is set to leave the UUP. The potential break-up is of course related to the UUP/PUP agreement which she says caused her ‘deep distress’. It may or may not be related to the statement from Alliance’s David Alderdice who recognises that her last election victory was due in no small part …

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Well, watch where you step or you could be in for a big surprise. The Good Beach Guide, published by the Marine Conservation Society came out on Friday. I’ve pasted the link, as its quite an interesting and informative site. The good news is: 8 beaches have been recommended, an increase on 6 beaches in 2005. The bad news is: Newcastle in County Down was issued with a warning, and its water quality was judged to be poor as a …

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I really like this piece from Alan McBride from yesterday’s Sunday Life There are so many people, myself included, who feel they have a right to pontificate on the whys and wherefores of Northern Ireland. Alan McBride is in a completely different category. Having lost his wife and father in law in the Shankill bombing, he has set out changing the world he lives in. Although he would be happy enough with ‘one small step’, he has the courage to …

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Several of todays papers are making the claim that Martin McGuinness has been a British Agent within Sinn Fein and the IRA. The Sunday World story is front page news and declares that “McGuinness was Brit Spy.” According to the Sunday World, Martin Igram, the former handler from the Force Research Unit supports his claim with documentary evidence. The Sunday World claims to have obtained a transcript of a conversation that Ingram claims is between McGuiness and his handler. Again, …

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It’s too easy to retain an innocent and rose coloured view of the Ireland of yesterday, when times were good, men were men and the women stayed at home. Having spent most of my childhood there, I have some experience of many of the issues that we so studiously avoided at the time. I will look at the Ferns Report at some time in the future, but its important to realise that other vulnerable people were exploited, of whom we’ve …

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I guess it was inevitable that one or two of the loveable wags thought that my becoming and Blogger and the site going down on the same day was too much of a coincidence. Well, to start, as Bart Simpson says “I didn’t do it” and Mick says so too. (Not that I ascribe to a blame culture.) Although I have to admit when I woke up this morning and checked the site, I was in a state of sheer …

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One mans meat is another mans poison. This certainly seems to be the case when it comes to exterior household decor. On another thread, where the 50 worst things about Ireland were being discussed, Stone Eagles appeared to be a frequent object of derision and scorn. I actually thought that there were dozens of the poor critters between Rostrevor and Belfast, and was quite surprised to find only 2. On the other hand, most stone caps appear to be balls …

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Blondes BBC News I watched Nuala O’Loan being interviewed last night, and I wondered what was so different about her? Was she sterner? More authoritarian? Scarier? None of those actually, she’s blonder! Mrs O’Loan is a little like Miss Fitz: a traditionally built lady of a certain age. I guess when you get to this stage, its either Blue Rinse or the bottle of blonde comes out. Mind you, she’s in esteemed company. Anne Widdecombe caused quite a sensation some …

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