Does anybody REALLY love Belfast ???

Do ya see ta be honest i hate the place...
Dublin i love...
Galway good for the craic....
Derry for the ladies...
Cork for the fools...
But for the life of meself...
I cant see Belfast in me heart.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
but maybe it does not love me

Am with you joe.. i hate Belfast... i hate going to Belfast... i can't stand the attitudes of most of the people i meet when i've been... that's not to say i don't know good people from Belfast


Same goes for Derry

same goes for Dublin too nowdays

Give me Dublin 15-20 years ago when there was less low-lifes and more craic and you could walk about(stagger drunk back to O'Sheas) late at night on your own and not worry too much

I still Like Galway

Wicklow just gets better looking all the time.


apart from the house prices.

mind you - if i could just figure out to to make a living in France.....

then i think back to my "home town"; Luton......

feckit - Dublins STILL better than that pimple on the arse of the world..

Well Now Ya've started !

My Pet Hate is Enniskillen!! I really Really Loathe going there! What a Nightmare to get around if it's school or rush hour!!

Thinks carefully and reckons that they need to bring back the trolley buses!

Click to expand...

My granda used to tell me about them afore yees all start! He use dto tell me of Buck Alec and his pet Lion too

Anyway I can't actually think of a town I really really like except maybe Dungloe???? Buncrana didn't seem to bad scept it was a flying visit on the cable of doom trip!

They're all overcrowded now really aren't they?

Jaythro said:

My granda used to tell me about them afore yees all start! He use dto tell me of Buck Alec and his pet Lion too

Click to expand...

Did he also tell ya, he had the teeth taken outta the lion ???

I loved Belfast when I was a teenager, even with security barriers,bag and body searches. We were never afraid

I can't remember the last time I shopped or had a night in Belfast

Mandylicious said:

I loved Belfast when I was a teenager, even with security barriers,bag and body searches.

Click to expand...

Now come on Mandy...

Mandylicious said:

body searches.

Click to expand...

Sure the only time you'd get that now is when your
leaving Castle Court....and we all know about you habits now... you know Belfast
is not like the the countryside...you just cant go out and pick what ya want, we have laws

I'm with Tuned!
I hate Belfast... i hate going to Belfast (traveled to work there for over 20 years )

Give me Dublin 15-20 years ago when there was less low-lifes and more craic and you could walk about(stagger drunk back to O'Sheas) late at night on your own and not worry too much

I Quite like Coleraine

the celt said:

Now come on Mandy... Sure the only time you'd get that now is when your
leaving Castle Court....and we all know about you habits now... you know Belfast
is not like the the countryside...you just cant go out and pick what ya want, we have laws

Click to expand...

I told you about past in confidence

I think to be honest Joe, I can understand in part where you're coming from, but Belfast like Londonderry/Derry became infamous through many many years of conflict which created division, suspicion, and a degree of uncertainty amongst all of its inhabitants as to its future.

I think its also fair to say that both cities became very divided with areas becoming almost impassible to all but those who hailed from them and on both sides of the political and religious divide. People chose to socialise for the most within their own specific comfort zones because of the troubles and some of those suspicions are still evident today.

As I spend more time in the city and as you travel around as I do and very frequently from one community to another, we all I think are starting to realise that we are all the same. We look back and wonder what it was all about and all certainly give me the impression that no-one wants it to back to the bad old days. Areas run down by years of unemployment, social depravation and conflict are being regenerated by the communities themselves with new buildings and investment, the dismantling of physical barriers in some areas, i.e. gates and walls separating communities and mental barriers by education through workshops and community groups has also helped greatly.

Communities are also very evidently slowly but surely finding the importance of tribal marking their areas to identify them less and less important, i.e. flags, emblems, painted kerb stones, murals etc and the abilitiy of Police to deliver a service to every area and the ability of people to speak to Police, if they choose, without fear of retribution from criminal gangs is becoming more commonplace as the terrorist aparatus slowly and surely and not before time falls apart.

We can't change overnight but maybe if we started all to take our fair share of selling our cities to the outside world, then perhaps we will all have a place we are all equally proud of. I also tend to think that many of the sceptics that usually are first on hand to criticise the city, have never really spent much time in it, they don't know it and would direct them towards the internet and get them to look a wee bit deeper, they all might just be surprised at what goes on there.

Just my 2p worth,

P.S DO NEED MORE CLUBS/LATE NIGHT BARS ETC TO KEEP UP WITH REST OF WORLD.

I reckon Belfast gets better by the day, so much more going on. Its what you make of it really i guess. I was born & raised in Ballymena and i hate it and the people in it. Wouldn't go near the place if it wasnt for my folks living there and my bike sitting in their garage.

trevmcdev8 said:

and my bike sitting in their garage.

Click to expand...

Are you sure

Well theres a tractor in it now, ask aidan does it run on petrol or diesel

trevmcdev8 said:

Well theres a tractor in it now, ask aidan does it run on petrol or diesel

Click to expand...

You are in sooo much trouble now

Jaythro said:

My Pet Hate is Enniskillen!! I really Really Loathe going there! What a Nightmare to get around if it's school or rush hour!!

Click to expand...

The town is OK but driving through it is truly shyte. This might make things better

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7651677.stm

the celt said:

Did he also tell ya, he had the teeth taken outta the lion ???

Click to expand...

Aye, but he'd still give ya a nasty suck..........

Personally I've no problems with Belfast, I like the people and the humour. Reservations about Co. Antrim in general though, tight boyos, most of 'em

I like Belfast ok.........but I don't like Larne......even the tide doesn't want to come into Larne.

I must say I always liked Belfast. Good riding roads around NW200 and UGP
A few pints and a Chinese. Always found the people to be sound.
I guss you are in good humor when on a bike trip, everything looks better.
Not too sure about Derry always looked a bit rough to me in the old days. Seems nicer now and is getting a lot of tourism.

I don't mind Belfast too much but it's a place I rarely be in now. The accent is feckin annoying though, it really grates on me.

Here's me mate, gee us thee of them.

Aidan1150 said:

I don't mind Belfast too much but it's a place I rarely be in now. The accent is feckin annoying though, it really grates on me.

Here's me mate, gee us thee of them.

Click to expand...

used to love going into Belfast years ago every weekend with me mates, never got any hassle for years. Like everywhere i suppose, you look for shite you get shite!
Anyway used to have a real blast in the city ( no pun intended! )
Loved going to the Roost and the Abercorn in the early eighties, where everone used to gather then onto somewhere else for the night.
Loved the whole Rotterdam scene, great wee bar with some fantastic acts.
Saw John Martin and Ian dury there and that was special!
Every town has its good and bad side i suppose, so its a bit like marmite you like it or lothe it!
BTW, My ma lived on the same street as Buck Alec and she could tell you some stories about him and the Lion, which is true!!!!!
York street is my family roots, although i never lived there when i was young.
I lived in Rathcoole estate when i was a nipper and it was a mixed estate then, i had a fecking ball. My folks saw what was coming and moved out along with our catholic freinds, who i never saw again, much to my great dissapointment. But things move on and the arseholes of our society are starting to be left well behind, so decent people can now mix again and get on with having a decent life.
Went out lately in Belfast and have to say it has a wonderful young and vibrant feel about it again, and some truely wonderful venues, bars,clubs and resturants to go to. I loved it then and although i never go to it much now can see the attraction now. My tuppence worth anyway!

I have a real affection for Belfast. I worked there for a few weeks in the 80s commuting (flying across) Monday-Friday. A troubled period but the people (from both sides of the religious divide) couldn't have been more welcoming. I had a great time.

On my first Friday returning to the airport, the taxi driver didn't have any change. "No problem. I'll pick you up on Monday- just pay me double then". Brilliant. On the last Friday (I was by now a regular), he took a non scenic route back to the airport through an area without a lot of Red White and Blue. Stopping without explanation at a small terraced house I was getting a bit anxious. He popped into the house- it was his Mother's- and presented me with some fresh baked bread (potato and soda) to take home to my family. Ever since, I have been unable to be persuaded that Belfast isn't a bit special.