DUP leader Gavin Robinson has scored a remarkable victory with the removal of pro-Palestine graffiti from an RVH wall fronting the Falls Road. Fair enough, more pro-Palestine graffiti immediately went up, along with a ‘F**k the DUP’ message for good luck.
This latest triumph marks yet another milestone in the political career of good-natured Gav, the soft-spoken Absolute Unit whose mild manner belies a rock-hard determination to do what’s right for the people who elected him.
That’s why I’ve been personally disappointed to hear criticism of Gav vis-à-vis his decision to zip over to the Falls to have his photograph taken beside the RVH graffiti he wanted removed. ‘What about the walls in East Belfast?’ went up the predictable cry from people who know more about East Timor than they know about East Belfast. As an admirer of Gav and the work he’s doing, I took a dander along part of the route that the DUP boss would have taken on his way from East to West and found that Gavin’s constituency is showing the rest of the city the way to go when it comes to outreach and harmony...
Creche course
A child plays rounders in bright sunshine with teachers on yard duty in this touching tribute to the founders of the first East Belfast community creche.
Mime's a double
The disappearing art of mime is being resurrected in East Belfast and this striking mural features a still image from a recent collaboration between local mime artists and a visiting Japanese troupe entitled ‘Ulster Says Noh’.
Latin lovers
A mural advertising the imminent opening of a new Latin language school in East Belfast. Feriens Tego (Themmuns Get It All) will provide a holistic first educational experience for UDA members aged 48 to 80.
Blooming marvellous
The little-known link between flower-arranging and automatic weapons is celebrated in this image featuring the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show entry by the team from AKs Are Us on the Newtownards Road.
Sunny delight
Not many people know that the world’s first designer sunglasses factory opened in Dee Street in 1972. 'UDA Bans' changed its name and moved to bigger premises in 1978, but this mural reflects on a fascinating little bit of local history that sparked a paramilitary fashion trend.
Frying tonight!
This mural features East Belfast women playing their part in the struggle to save Ulster. It shows housewives making Ulster fries for their men, who are away guarding the streets from marauding fruit and veg sellers. Note that the women are wearing early eye protectors to guard against spitting fat.
Mind yourself
Self-defence classes are all the rage at the minute and nowhere is this more the case than in East Belfast where the more traditional disciplines of karate, ju-jitsu and taekwondo are being replaced by a more robust response to the sound of the mantra ‘Don’t be a drip, empty your clip!’
Best flute forward
The Ulster Flute Foundation has been promoting band culture in East Belfast for half a century. The group has taken a sledgehammer to negative stereotypes of Loyal Ulster culture and have sprayed the bar… sorry, raised the bar, in terms of the quality of the music.
