I have a flaw (amongst
the several ones! ;))...I do not remember names... This is bad, even worst
when you will not probably have the occasion of knowing the name of some
persons anymore...and this is one of these cases. Paul, Eric...I do not
remember...but I remember what he left to me, which at end is more important
than a name. I was taking pictures of
seagulls...a lot of seagulls..and with the City Hall as background the photo
would have been fantastic ...(FYI: the photos did not come as beautiful as I
wanted...but then who cares? :-))... ...and then I saw him. He
was in front of a closed door of a shop and he was giving the food to the
birds... This is why they were all
there: I guess this had become a kind of habit...they knew him and he knew
them..he knew who was the strongest seagull, he knew in which roof they were
waiting to have none close to the food...he knew all their strategies and he
told me all of those. ...He was lying down under
a blanket in front of this shop. He was sharing, as a perpetual ritual, his
dinner with these birds. He was a homeless. The
first homeless I had the occasion/possibility/courage to speak with...But I do
not remember his name. He told me the story of his
life...and why he ended up in the street...he had worked
before...also in the hotel where I stayed. I asked if he needed
something...No, the answer was no thanks. He was not asking money neither... It was an equal
conversation. The same equal conversation he had with other people passing by
and stopping to know how he was... Notwithstanding he was
under a blanket, with few bags around him where he may have had all of his belongings,
he was smiling and full of dignity. And this post is for
him...who let me enter in his life...who showed me how to be always
self-respectful...who was smiling notwithstanding all. Who let me breaking down
barriers that I may have instinctively created. Who was telling me the stories
of the seagulls as a wiser and more experienced friend would have done. I do not remember your
name. But I do remember you. Thank you and good luck
man!
Seagulls and City Hall, Belfast 2015
There are things that can
happen only when you travel alone...because you are more open to what happens
close to you and you see the world with more curious and genuine eyes.
I do have photos of him,
but I have decided of not putting them online, to respect his dignity and that
moment...
Here dead we lie Because we did not choose To live and shame the land From which we sprung.
Life, to be sure, Is nothing much to lose, But young men think it is, And we were young.
Alfred Edward Housman
Carnan Street, Belfast 2015
This mural is in Carnan Street, also known as C. Coy street.
It represents 5 volunteers from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) killed between 1973 and 1978, and they are depicted bare-faced and with the entire figure, which was unusual for Unionist as when represented as full figure they were masked. This style is therefore more similar to the Republican murals.
To commemorate the 5 young men, there is a poem from Housman, who was one of the greatest poet of the First World War. It is surrounded by red poppies, which are also called remembrance poppies and are used to commemorate soldiers that have lost their lives in war.
This mural is from 2014. Before this one there was the one reported here, also commemorating the five men of the 1st Battalion Ulster Volunteers (West Belfast).
Today we go back to the Belfast murals....to the Unionist ones to be more precise....
Hugh Smyth was a Northern Irish politician. He was born in 1941 in Woodvale Road, district of the Shankill Road area of Belfast, and grown up in a third class family of nine children.
It was probably this to influence him in his political choices, before as leader of the Independent Unionist Group, a more formalised alliance of working-class independent unionists based in Belfast, and continuing as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party when the Group changed name. In his role, and hoping to gain understanding from the Republicans, Smyth was one of only two unionist politicians to accept an offer to visit IRA prisoners in the early 1980s.
“Historically, Unionist politicians fed their electorate the myth that they were first class citizens… and without question people believed them. Historically, Republican/Nationalist politicians fed their electorate the myth that they were second class citizens… and without question the people believed them. In reality, the truth of the matter was that we all, Protestant and Catholic, were third class citizen, and none of us realised it!”
As politician, he represented the upper Shankill Road from 1973 to 2013. He died in 2014.
On 31st March 2012, 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic, the Titanic Belfast was opened, on the heads of the historical Olympic's and Titanic's slipways.
The Titanic Belfast was part of the reinvention of the site which began with the new millennium and was also driven by the fact that several visitors were coming from all over the World interested in see where the Titanic was built.
This was the beginning of the new Lagan Village masterplan and of the new Titanic Quarter.
Titanic Belfast, with its jutting prows, became another icon of the city. It hosts a visitor centre which guides the visitors through the story of Belfast and the one of the Titanic. Info here http://titanicbelfast.com/
Titanic Belfast, Belfast 2015
Titanic Belfast, Belfast 2015
On the picture below, a photo taken from a descriptive board shows the Titanic Quarter one hundred years earlier.
Titanic Quarter, Belfast 1911 (photo taken from the descriptive board)
This is a story. A sad story which is shined by courage. The story of a man who was not only intelligent, but also brave and generous, and in front of the tragedy, he chose to save others' life.
He was the young Thomas Andrews and the tragedy is that of the Titanic.
Thomas Andrews was the nephew of William James Pirrie*, the chairman of Harland and Wolff. In 1989, at the age of 16, Andrews left school to begin his apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff in Belfast. His apprenticeship lasted 5 years and during this period he gained experiences in all the sectors of the company. The last 18 months of these 5 years, were spent in the Drawing Offices where he could shown his skills in mechanical engineering and construction, together with his leadership ability.
In 1901, at the age of only 28, Andrews became the manager of the construction works, and also member of the Institution of Naval Architects.
In 1907, he was appointed managing director and head of the drafting department at Harland and Wolff.
In July 1908 the White Star Line, one of the Harland and Wolff's largest consumer, commissioned the company to build three new liners, the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic.
Andrews carefully supervised the design of the three ships (which was the same) making sure that were in optimal working order. Unfortunately, not always his suggestions were followed, as that one of supplying the ship with 46 lifeboats (instead of the 20 it ended up with).
He also headed the Harland and Wollf's "Guarantee Group", a group formed by the best 9 men of the company whose task was to accompany each vessel in its maiden voyage, that is in its first journey, to see that all went well and to spot any necessary improvements.
Under this role, on 4 April 1912, Andrews went on board of the Titanic for her maiden journey, leaving from Belfast to Southampton. From Southampton, on 10 April 1912, the Titanic with Andrews on board left for her first trans-Atlantic to New York. During the voyage, Andrews took notes on various improvements he felt were needed, primarily cosmetic changes to various facilities. However, on 14 April, Andrews remarked to a friend that Titanic was "as nearly perfect as human brains can make her."
On Sunday 14 April 1912, at 11:40 pm, the Titanic struck an iceberg. Andrews was in his stateroom, planning changes he wanted to make to the ship, and barely noticed the collision. Captain Edward J. Smith called Andrews to help him examine the damage, who conducted a rapid tour of the ship to assess the damage and concluded that the ship would have inevitably sunk.
At 12.15 am, the order was given to start filling lifeboats. Andrews known that he would have not had more than one hour, and he spent all the remaining time ensuring the survival of the passengers. Several survivors testify to have met or spotted Andrews several times. Fully aware of the short time the ship had left and of the lack of lifeboats space for all passengers and crew, he continued to urge reluctant people into the lifeboats in the hope of filling them with as many people as possible.
Shortly before the sinking, Andrews retired to the first class smoking room: at approximately 2:10 a.m., ten minutes before the Titanic fully sank into the Atlantic, he was seen by John Stewart, a steward on the ship, standing alone staring at a painting, "Plymouth Harbour", above the fireplace, arms folded over his chest, his lifejacket lying on a nearby table.
At 2.19 am the ship split in two, two hours and forty minutes after striking the iceberg, and began its descent into the ocean.
That night, Andrews died with other 1521 persons, and his body was never found.
"Plymouth Harbor" by Norman Wilkinson. The painting depicted the
entrance to Plymouth Harbor, which Titanic had been expected to visit on
her return voyage. The story of Andrews being last seen in front of this painting
has been however several times disproved by other testimonies who said to have seen
Andrews in other locations. Photo of the painting taken here.
Below a short video who tells you more on the courage of Thomas Andrews. To read more about his life, there is also Wikipedia.
*William James Pirrie enterd the Harland and Wollf in 1862, at the age of 15. An excellent worker and manager, he was made partner of the company in 1874, at the age of 27, and when Harland died, in 1895, Pirrie became Chairman of the company, until his death in 1924.
Slipways No. 2 and 3
Slipways Nos. 2 and 3 are the slipways where the White Star Liners Olympic and Titanic were built. To accommodate the new liners, Harland and Wollf re-engineered three existing slipways in these two larger which could accept the huge hulls. The works for the Olympic started in December 1908, and those for the Titanic in March 1909.
Nowadays, slipways Nos. 2 and 3 form a lasting memorial to those who died, and to those who survived, the disaster.
Slipways Nos. 2 and 3 in the Titanic Quarter
(photo taken from the descriptive board)
Slipways Nos. 2 and 3 in the Titanic Quarter, now a lasting memorial
of the tragedy. Belfast, 2015
