Mrs P and I were scheduled to go to the UK (GB) this week to see my Dad as I’ve not seen him since March and to see my sister and catch up with a few others. Unfortunately he was taken into hospital on Friday morning last so, even if we did go, I wouldn’t be able to visit him anyway which kinda negated the main reason for the trip
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Now we both had the week off from our respective part- time, pocket money, jobs and the dog sitters were arranged, so thought let’s take a trip up north. Mrs P hasn’t been to Belfast since 1991 (it just wasn’t a place you visited from the South when she was growing up) and I’d never been there (it definitely wasn’t a place you visited if you were brought up in England) it was just a place you read about in the papers or saw on the news and almost always not in a good light.
Anyway, times move on, things have changed and despite the odd bit of secretarian violence it’s on the whole quite calm up there. Belfast certainly, so we’d read and heard, had come on in leaps & bounds with massive investment having been, and still is being, poured into it; a lot of it regeneration funds from Westminster, which probably has had a fair amount creamed off. So, a few bits of on-line management later and ferry crossings have been postponed, hotels/B&Bs cancelled and others booked.
For us it’s the other end of the country and according to Google 5.5hrs drive away (non-stop) via motorway and almost 8hrs avoiding the motorway. Mind you there’s no point in us taking the ‘scenic’ non motorway route as it’s nowhere near as scenic as where we live and actually places like Tipperary, Athlone & Mullingar which we’d pass through are not places it’s worth visiting anyway, so the M-way it is, boring as it might be with the cruise control set at 120Kph
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One of the good things about the M-way system in Ireland (the Dublin M50 ring road aside) is there is so little traffic so yes, you can set the cruise control at 120 and just sit there for hour after hour. In reality, with stops for fuel, comfort breaks and a 20 min wait on the telephone while the hospital found someone who could give me a sit-rep on my Dad, it took 6.5hrs.
Upon arriving in Belfast and on looking for the hotel I misinterpreted a sat nav instruction, took a left before the one I should and ended up outside the police station. When I realised what it was I had to take a photo, a poorly composed me as Mrs P was telling me off, “ you can’t photo this they’ll come out, we’ll get arrested” so a quick shot later just to capture something that’s indicative of the times that were prevalent here and obviously are still just under the surface for these ‘security’ erections around police stations have not been removed yet, 23 years after the Belfast Agreement
.Now we both had the week off from our respective part- time, pocket money, jobs and the dog sitters were arranged, so thought let’s take a trip up north. Mrs P hasn’t been to Belfast since 1991 (it just wasn’t a place you visited from the South when she was growing up) and I’d never been there (it definitely wasn’t a place you visited if you were brought up in England) it was just a place you read about in the papers or saw on the news and almost always not in a good light.
Anyway, times move on, things have changed and despite the odd bit of secretarian violence it’s on the whole quite calm up there. Belfast certainly, so we’d read and heard, had come on in leaps & bounds with massive investment having been, and still is being, poured into it; a lot of it regeneration funds from Westminster, which probably has had a fair amount creamed off. So, a few bits of on-line management later and ferry crossings have been postponed, hotels/B&Bs cancelled and others booked.
For us it’s the other end of the country and according to Google 5.5hrs drive away (non-stop) via motorway and almost 8hrs avoiding the motorway. Mind you there’s no point in us taking the ‘scenic’ non motorway route as it’s nowhere near as scenic as where we live and actually places like Tipperary, Athlone & Mullingar which we’d pass through are not places it’s worth visiting anyway, so the M-way it is, boring as it might be with the cruise control set at 120Kph
. One of the good things about the M-way system in Ireland (the Dublin M50 ring road aside) is there is so little traffic so yes, you can set the cruise control at 120 and just sit there for hour after hour. In reality, with stops for fuel, comfort breaks and a 20 min wait on the telephone while the hospital found someone who could give me a sit-rep on my Dad, it took 6.5hrs.
Upon arriving in Belfast and on looking for the hotel I misinterpreted a sat nav instruction, took a left before the one I should and ended up outside the police station. When I realised what it was I had to take a photo, a poorly composed me as Mrs P was telling me off, “ you can’t photo this they’ll come out, we’ll get arrested” so a quick shot later just to capture something that’s indicative of the times that were prevalent here and obviously are still just under the surface for these ‘security’ erections around police stations have not been removed yet, 23 years after the Belfast Agreement
toll payed and on my way 
I passed the Garda near the border and waved at their nee fangled speed camera on a tripod facing the traffic (no need for me to slow down) and it wasn't long before I was skirting Belfast and starving. I peeled off the M-way and almost immediately regretted my decision as the only road sign visible announced 'Falls Road' straight ahead - having seen 'Harry's Game' I was aware of my surroundings (1997 wasn't that far away from the troubles) the next sight was the golden arches of maccy d's which I gambled would be relatively safe. I pulled in and was surprised by the number of Glasgow Celtic shirts being sported (were the Sellic plaging in Belfast?) I figured having an Italian bike with Scottish number plate was my only saving grace and a hurried big mac was consumed 
then onto Larne for the night. 
). Eventually gets to speak with a human. Gets asked the same security questions again - ‘oh ffs’. You all will have experienced this. 
hope he improves whatever the bankers try to pull. 
no hop-off for us here. 
) and you went through loyalist and republican towns - kerbstones painted red white and blue or green white and gold reminded you whether you wanted to stop or not 
.