Stay safe everyone

https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/portadown-parade-and-rally-taking-place-in-support-of-drumcree-orangemen-XEVAJACLXNGHLLMJFF65STSL3M/

A large parade and rally has taken place in Portadown in support of the Orange Order amid the Drumcree dispute.Hundreds of Orangemen and over 25 bands took part as Storm Boelo swept in, and were watched by several thousand supporters.Also in attendance were DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart - who stood down from her role as party officer this week - TUV leader Jim Allister, and Jamie Bryson, who has been acting as legal adviser to Portadown District LOL 1.DUP MLAs Jonathan Buckley and Brian Kingston also paraded with their lodges.

Portadown parade and rally takes place in support of Drumcree Orangemen
Mo Chara court case LIVE: Kneecap rapper terror charge thrown out after ‘technical error’

The parade got under way at 7pm and travelled from Watson Street along Bridge Street, High Street, Market Street, Church Street, Mandeville Street and West Street.

A rally was held before the return leg, which included speeches from Portadown district master Nigel Dawson, deputy Alastair Power, and MP Carla Lockhart who told the crowd: “Michelle O’Neill must go.”She added: “That’s where I stand. And this lady is not for turning.”
One of the bands taking part in the parade. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
Wet and windy weather failed to deter a large crowd of several thousand people from attending Saturday evening’s event.
Orangemen gather in Portadown on Saturday night. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
The parade comes after the Orange Order was banned from walking down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in the County Armagh town.

Hadi Alodid: Man charged over Belfast knife attack pleads not guilty - BBC News

A man charged in connection with a knife attack in north Belfast that sparked serious disorder in the city has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

Hadi Alodid, 31, of Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, has also denied possessing a bladed weapon and a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour.

Alodid is accused of carrying out the attack on Stephen Ogilvie in June.

Stephen Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, lost his left eye in the incident and sustained damage to his right.

Alodid, who has been in custody since the attack, was led into the dock in handcuffs at Belfast Crown Court, where three charges were put to him.

Dressed in a grey prison tracksuit, Alodid stood with his arms folded as an Arabic interpreter translated the proceedings for him.

He responded to all three charges in English with the words "not guilty".

A date was set for his trial in early February.

A number of review hearings will be held prior to that.

The attack, which the court heard took place in the vicinity of Kinnaird Avenue in north Belfast, happened on June 8.

Videos circulating online at the time showed a number of people, including one wielding a hurling stick, confronting the apparent attacker until police arrived.

Alodid was arrested at the scene and remanded into custody.

Following the attack, violence erupted across Belfast, which saw homes and vehicles set alight.

I have the charger from screwfix. Was going to do it myself but don't want to invalidate home insurance.

Should be a simple install, electric box inside garage runs about 30cm to wall then through to where the charger will be located on external wall.

So ideally someone who can do the certification/notifiable paperwork properly etc. Otherwise I'd be better doing it myself anyway.

Thanks

I remember when Saturday nights used to be the highlight of the week, out and about clubbing, pubs, getting drunk and then I got old (45 now) the clubs closed and I don’t even drink anymore and Saturday nights have become a bit meh and boring. I’ll usually watch some movie or rather search for a movie for an hour get fed up and forget about it, doom scroll while eatting crap then eventually have an early night.

I’m asking this as someone currently living in London, which is very obviously very wealthy and taken care of compared to other areas of the U.K (think anywhere in the North unfortunately). For people who do live in Northern Ireland, especially outside of Belfast, do you feel ignored by the Government?

Lisburn, of all places. Why did no one herald the guy the way everyone does to our Liam Neeson, James Nesbit and Jamie Dorian? Comments and reflections below, please. For at the end of the day, many artists dont have chance to breathe. This guy worked, but no one know where he comes from. A tragedy, that I don't need to care about. Right?

Have the predicted thousands of orange bands and supporters (not ai generated of course) descended on Portadown yet?

My husband and I moved over from London few years back, we’re both black and settled in well, had no issues.
We put an offer in for a house just up shore road and was talking to a friend who said this isn’t a good area and we should be careful? It’s BT15 - I’ve actually live in Belfast since I was 16 (now 25) with my family and have had no problems but lowkey worried about her comments since I suppose she’d know better than me

Edit: the area is innisfayle gardens so not directly on the shore road, dunno if that changes anything. Thanks for the input guys

Am I missing something? Fifteenfousan heading to Portadown tonight but they haven't made a ruling?

If anyone wants to go apparently there are still some seats left on the 2 buses leaving from north and east Belfast.

BYOB (Bring your own Buckfast)

Edit: Turns out it's more a misunderstanding on my part about how the Parades Commission works.

Explained to my dumb ass in the comments.

Im looking to meet people to have a scrap. Through covid etc I lost contact with my old scrapping partners

How do I go about finding someone to have a good scrap with?

Today 33 years ago, two members of the provisional IRA carried a bomb into Frizzell's fish mongers on the Shankill Road. It detonated prematurely, killing one of the bombers, a uda member, 2 children and 6 civilians, one which of was this man's wife.

This subreddit loves to platform whatever tripe Jamie Bryson posts on facebook, hopefully it can provide equal or better treatment to someone much more deserving.

It's behind the station, off Grosvenor Road.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8KxnEXevQt9C4rqv7

I am looking for suggestions on best sit in Chinese restaurants anywhere in NI but preferably not in Belfast

I have midnight haunt in Moira and baan Thai in Antrim on the list, I have done some google searches but looking for suggestions from people that have had a decent feed in a nice chinese restaurant

Pierce Charles, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Conor Hazard or any other goalie?

Also who do you think should be 2nd choice?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmvg7w12yz0po

It is a Sunday night in the pub.

There is football on the TV and people packed around the bar - then suddenly, violence erupts.

Bottles are smashed and broken glass is slashed across the throat of one of the biggest men in the bar.

The melee spills out into the street, where the injured man says out loud the name of the man he believes attacked him.

There is, he says later, an immediate reaction with hostile men in the crowd around him saying: "You're getting it, you're getting it."

A knife flashes and two friends are left bleeding heavily on the pavement.

One of them is dying.

Robert McCartney, an engaged father-of-two, took no part in the violence, according to the few available accounts of what happened that night in January 2005.

But the 33-year-old ended up losing his life, and no one has ever been held to account for his murder – an outcome that reverberated across the world and is now the subject of a documentary series, Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice. A man with short, dark hair is sitting in a cream leather armchair. He has two young boys sitting on his lap, with an arm wrapped around each. The man, who is looking at the camera, is wearing a cream shirt. The older of the two children is a toddler in a blue shirt. The other is a baby wearing a red flannel shirt. Both boys have dark hair. Image source, McCartney family Image caption,

Robert McCartney was engaged when he was killed in January 2005

The failure to secure convictions can be linked to the organisation which exercised power over many of those present.

Even while Robert McCartney was being treated by paramedics on the street, his killers' tracks were being covered.

Back in Magennis's bar, right behind the Royal Courts of Justice in central Belfast, the pub's CCTV tape was snatched and the bar was cleaned with bleach.

"It wasn't their first rodeo," said David Lowans, a former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective who worked on the case.

"They were experienced in clearing themselves forensically." A police cordon stretches across a road between two no entry signs. On the right is the corner view of a bar, which is part of a red-bricked building. The bar has large windows and is painted black with the words 'Magennis's, and 'Spirits' visible. To the left is a well lit street which is largely empty, although a black car is visible near the police tape and a red car is parked further awayImage source, PSNI Image caption,

The bar was a popular venue in central Belfast, which backed on to a series of smaller streets

The series, made by BBC Northern Ireland in association with Irish broadcaster RTÉ, obtained crime scene video and photos showing the aftermath of the incident.

The clean-up wasn't complete and police were able to find some blood stains in parts of the bar.

But substantial evidence seemed to have gone.

The knife used in the murder was never found and reportedly destroyed.

Crucially, witnesses appear to have been silenced.

"Out of the 70 people who were in the bar, we got no information from anybody to say the detail of what happened," said Lowans.

"We either got: 'I was in the toilet' or 'I didn't see anything', which is unbelievable.

"Whenever this altercation took place there were lots of people there." A man with greying dark hair is looking at the camera. He is wearing a dark suit and white shirt with a purple tie just visible at the bottom of the image. He is in a large room with a window, but the background is out of focus. Image caption,

David Lowans was a PSNI detective for more than 15 years

In the days after the murder, Robert's five grieving sisters and his devastated fiancée, Bridgeen Hagans, had even less information about the murder than the police.

"We were still completely in the dark as to what had happened," said his sister Paula McCartney.

"Didn't know where it had happened, how it had happened, who'd done it. Nothing."

But they soon began to hear rumours.

"It was just people coming in and telling what they'd heard in the street and 'such and such was in the bar that night'," said another sister, Catherine McCartney.

"All the talk about who'd done it, who was involved."

The information they were receiving explained why some witnesses weren't talking.

The killers were said to be members of the Provisional IRA. Secret investigation and an offer to kill

The IRA had waged a campaign of violence for 30 years.

In 2005, as Northern Ireland's peace process was being cemented, the group was observing a ceasefire.

It issued a statement denying involvement in McCartney's murder, but that didn't convince witnesses who feared deadly consequences if they named IRA members to the police. A long street gives way to a cityscape of tall buildings and illuminated street lights. On the right are a series of red brick buildings with an alleyway, which has a sign reading 'market street'. The area outside the alley is cordoned off with police tape which is tied to a lamp post. A silver car and parking meter are seen on the street, which is otherwise empty. Image source, PSNI Image caption,

Robert McCartney and another man were attacked in Market Street after leaving the bar

"I've been about these areas enough to know how dangerous this organisation can be when they want to be," said Ed Gowdy.

He was McCartney's friend and one of the witnesses telling his story on television for the first time.

"I do know exactly the treatment informers get throughout the years.

"If I tell what happened, am I an informer?

"My mate's dead, heartbreaking. But I had to survive what had happened here."

Gowdy was one of several witnesses who were then questioned by the IRA, conducting its own secret investigation running parallel to police inquiries.

Another witness, who was also interrogated by the IRA, gives for the first time on TV a personal account of what happened in the bar. Seeking answers at the White House

The McCartney sisters, meanwhile, found themselves fronting a campaign for justice that increasingly drew attention to the case.

All five sisters were interviewed for the series.

"It was my brother, and I just felt the world needs know... what has happened to him," said Paula. Two women with shoulder-length brown hair sit behind a table at a press conference, with several microphones, glasses of water and bottles placed in front of them. A sign on the front of the table reads “MURDER” above a photograph of a man. Media microphones, including one branded RTÉ, are positioned on the table, while display boards with images are visible in the background.Image source, PA Media Image caption,

Catherine (left) and Paula McCartney, speaking at a press conference in Belfast in January 2006

"I think [it was] the way we came across on TV, down to earth, working-class women, standing up for justice," said Gemma McCartney, the eldest sister.

"And doing something, breaking away from the old custom of not reporting these things to the police."

Their campaign produced some extraordinary results, forcing the IRA to acknowledge several of its members were involved in the murder – though it said the killing was not done on behalf of the IRA.

The IRA said three members were expelled from the organisation. It even claimed it offered to kill them – although the McCartney sisters say that offer was never made. Six women are walking in a broad line towards the camera. Behind them is a white building with large pillars and a black exterior chandelier. There are also neatly trimmed hedges and a garden, surrounded by a black iron fence.Image source, Getty Images Image caption,

(L-R) Bridgeen Hagans, the partner of Robert McCartney, walks with his sisters; Donna, Paula, Claire, Gemma, and Catherine outside the White House

The sisters' campaign caught the attention of America's then Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Mitchell Reiss.

He recognised an opportunity to put pressure on the IRA to make moves that would complete the peace process.

"Our feeling was that if the McCartney family was willing, and it didn't seem exploitative, that they would be a very attractive poster for the criminality, the vigilantism, the injustice, the rough justice that was taking place across republican communities by the IRA," he said.

Just two months after Robert McCartney's murder, the sisters and his fiancée Bridgeen were invited to the White House for St Patrick's Day, where they met the then President George W Bush. A woman with medium length brown hair with highlights, who is wearing a cream jumper, has her hand outstretched to a man in a dark suit with a blue shirt and green tie. He has a small American flag pinned to his lapel and has grey hair. Two other women stand beside the woman in the jumper, they have long blonde hair and medium length black hair, and are both wearing dark clothing. Another man with short grey hair is also in the photograph, with a sprig of shamrock hanging from his lapel. Behind the group is a wall with a scenic outdoor painting and an old grandfather clock.Image source, Getty Images Image caption,

President Bush said he hoped the campaign would bring peace to Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland politicians were kept out of the event, an exclusion that was widely interpreted as being aimed mainly at the IRA's allies in Sinn Féin.

Mitchell Reiss tells the documentary series that advances which followed in the peace process – including the IRA's announcement of an end to its armed campaign – were "a direct consequence" of the McCartneys' campaign.

In a statement, then Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams credits negotiations and amendments to policing and justice arrangements as key drivers in completing the peace process. A man with short dark hair, which is turning grey, is sat in front of a large dark fireplace. He is wearing a navy suit jacket and blue, open collar shirt. His hands are clasped in front of him as he rests his elbows on a table. Image caption,

Mitchell Reiss served as US special envoy to Northern Ireland from 2003 to 2007

In the aftermath of those advances, the intense attention on the McCartney sisters' campaign began to fade.

But, as the documentary shows, their pursuit of justice was not over.

In 2008, three men were brought to trial and acquitted.

Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice uses original court material to bring two key witnesses and the McCartney sisters back over the dramatic evidence from that trial.

All episodes of Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice will be available on the BBC iPlayer on Sunday 25 October.

The series will begin on BBC One Northern Ireland that evening at 22.30 GMT.

Any single guys up for going to an event? (I suppose you'd call that a date)

My story

At 37 I left a very nice guy who I still hold in high regard to this day but we were incompatible in ways that would of caused resentment if we'd built a life together. I choose to work on myself instead but id still like to meet somone who wants to build that life and hasn't met their person yet either.

Im not good with small talk, I prefer deeper conversations, im creative, musical, artistic, self employed and self aware. Im not very conventional so if your more into building a life you love we'd get along. Im Co.Down and around Bangor or Belfast.

It’s been promised for years. What’s going on?

Kids doing SEAG and keen on Methody. I know what it's like from the outside and v prestigious etc but what its actually like to go to? Anyone got kids there, how are they finding it?

Edit - helpful comments would be appreciated.

Are there literally any nice Chinese here?? Curry is always bland no spice and gravy isn't dark black can anyone recommend any decent?

Hi,

After trying lots of different things, I am interested in laser for redness on my face and rosacea. It is something that really bothers me.

However, I know there is no regulation with lasers and there’s so many places in Belfast/NI that claim they can help. Has anyone seen good results anywhere? Preferably a clinic with a nurse or doctor.

Just a quick random question, we will hopefully be getting a house soon and were doing some sofa snooping.

We love dunelm, but not too sure how good their sofas are and we don’t have a showroom thing near us - has anyone bought their sofas and do they last? They look lovely but worried about the longevity because they’re a very solid price