Faugh na ballagh ?

Before I go into this post I have to talk about Hyperthermia, it should have been hypothermia, although when you see them jumping around Belfast city centre at night you would think it was Hyper- because they are you know.

Going back to a previous post I do notice there is a chip van at the side of the City hall now at night, hope it has a permit. They might have to install those disappearing toilets somewhere there as well like they have at Shaftebury square . Cause and effect everything you do has a knock on effect.

Anyway back to Faugh na Ballagh, I've notices new flags up in Belfast over the last week or so in the "perceived" protestant areas. They are there supporting a parade for troupes from Royal Irish Regiment that have been serving in Iraq and elsewhere. Some people are happy about this others not so. There is also a parade protesting against the parade each have had to get approval from the Parades commission. Some in the media are dying for it to be a confrontation -why you might ask? Well I believe there have been a lot of job cuts in the media here "the story is over" a lot of the global syndicates have pulled out and a nice little confrontation would maybe get the to stay.

I do remember a reporter a while back being done for having smoke bombs in his boot as he was coming over looking for some confrontation and if he did'nt find it he was going to add a little dramatic effect.

Anyway back to the parades whats it all about? Is it time to reclaim the poppy? Last year was the first year that there was a remembrance poppy service in Dublin. What does the poppy symbolise for you? For some its a target, for others its a proud emblem. I've had a mixed relationship with it. But I've reclaimed it recently. My grandfather was in the new Zealand airforce he came over to Europe to fight against Hitler. I have all his letters about this experience . He was only 26 when he died never having seen my mother. He gave up his life. he was shot down over the border of Belguim flying on a bombing mission, missing in action for a year my grandmother finally received conformation of his death about a year and a half later.

Would we say now Hitler was a legitimate target???

In reading all these letter I was particularly struck by a group of letters from relatives of other crew members that died in the crash. They spoke of how his daughter would be proud of him and all the following grandchildren would be proud of what he did for his country and the " mother land".

However my grandmother never spoke of him as it was too painful to us his grandchildren he was a faint black and white picture in a book somewhere. I made a print about it, using photocopy fragment of the letters and death notice and around this time I bring it out and put it on the mantle piece. I also wear a poppy......but because I work on a cross community basis there are some places I cannot go with that poppy as it is percieved as a"target". Something to aim at if not in the past with a weapon , now with emotions.

I took a group once to Missen hill and Ypres, it was a cross community cross border group. We went to see the conflict museum visit the graveyards and there is a commemorative garden to all the men and women who died through out Ireland North and South during the First and Second worlds wars. Many of the women could trace relatives that had fought. There were quite a few emotional experiences while on that particular journey.

Belfast I think has many more emotional experiences to experience, having two parades is partly an expression of this, talking about it is good why ? we gotta move on ,we gotta move on, we gotta move on.

So hopefully tomorrow will be an expression of a peaceful release of energy behalf of the NI people............peaceful being the operative word.