call-iii ..
Cheap thrills
To kick off our travel for less special, Kirstin lnnes visits Belfast and discovers an exciting, invigorating city which is full of contradictions
t (ieorge'x Market on a
Saturda) morning. High.
tented ceilings lilling up \xith harheque smoke; cheerlul art graduatex selling hand—printed l- xhirtx \ide h} side with grump). kntmledgeahle lishmongerx and c‘llL‘L‘\t‘ merchantxz \lttllN ol'l‘erillil gourmet oli\e costume _ie\\ eller_\ illltl lit‘lL‘ Lt hrac. .-\ll tiltl man \\ith one arm i\ groxxling the hluex into a microphone near the centre ol‘ the huhhuh. He does short bursts on the tromhone. somehoxx pla_\ing \xith his good arm. and the people around heckle him. l'riendl_\ —like.
Well \[k‘lltl moxt Ul' lllc‘ I'L‘\l til the \xeekend \a}ing hou much Bell'axt reminds the heautil‘ul. scorched post-industrial Victorian huildingx. the \\a) manicured. glow) sole bars and
oil\.
100.
u\ ol' (ilaxgou;
designer shops \it alongside burnt- out and remnants ol' hardship. the gallux. \ur\i\ali\t t'riendlinexx ol the people. But there are times during our \ixit \xhen the \\ hole cit} come\ into much sharper locus than e\ en our hometoxxn. charged through \xith lil‘e-l‘orce. St George's .\larket. \xhich has been running l‘or o\ er a centur). long hel‘ore the 'l‘rouhlex. is as good an introduction as _\ou can get to the e\hilarating patclmork that mach up modern Bellaxt: a hall-hour. Lil) tlight axxa}. with strange similarities to Scotland that make the huge
arcades
14 THE LIST .‘ ' ' "tz'
historic and \ocial dill'erencex seem that much more uncann}.
\Ve‘re \lil}lll:_' in lieu Square. the cit} \ houtitlue hotel. glamorous. celehrit}-\tudded and one ol' mone_\ed Bellaxt'x top night \[Hil\1 on the same street as St (leorge's Market hut a \xhole \xorld aua} l‘rom that cox). loodie chaos. ()ne ol the great things about \ta}ing \o centrall} is that exer}thing i\ \xithin immediate milking distance. 'l'he big brands are all in place in the cit) centre. hut \\ e lind a prolil'eration ol lunk} little clothes shops and secondhand hook and record shops tucked into arcades. too. The independent spirit seems important here: men in our lllUl'Utlg‘ll \c‘tltll’lllg til. the \ll'L‘L‘l\ \\ C don‘t pass a single Starhuckx.
'l'he (‘athedral Quarter ix the cultural heart ol‘ the cit} these day: a netxxork ol' old huildings \\ ith nexx ttl'l\ \L‘lltlc‘\ lll\lth them. L'\CCllL'lll. unpretentious calex and hip harx huhhling ox er \\ith e\cited chatter and music at night. It currentl} play hoxt to multi-artx l'exti\al\: Out To lunch in .lanuar}. and the upcoming. much bigger ('athedral Quarter .’\rt\ l5exti\al ll- ll Ma}. \\ \\ \\.cqal.com l. \\ hich in\ol\c\ o\ er l—lll theatre. literature. coined}. li\e music and \ixual art e\ent\. This _\ear. (iermaine (ireer. (‘olm 'l‘oihin. Brendon Burns. .-\ndre\\ .\la\\\ ell. 'l'he liall and Sinead ()‘(‘onnor are all taking part.
lop
l\\o
_i_ 11!
This page clockwise from main image: City Hall and the Belfast Eye; Political murals; Liberty Blue; The Dome
. El»
2 ti“.
alongside )ounger. emergent and olten local ilk'l\. ll'\ :lll L't'llll't‘tl around the lilack lio\. a ne\\ \enue rather like (ilaxgou '\ .‘\rche\ crossed \\ith lidinhurgh'x l-orext (ale. \xhich \\e‘ll \\llllL‘\\ lilling tip \\ith hip hop kids and \enxither looking poetic tx pex auaiting SL‘l‘UtilWllh l’lli.
'l'here'x another district. ol' courxe. \xhich has had much greater. longer lasting impact on the l'eel ol the cit}. 'l‘he \Vext Hellaxt area ha\ been sale litll. ltitll‘l\l\ since the (lUUtl l'l‘ltltt} agreements. hut the paints \till lrexh on murals dauhing the houses on both the l-allx tRepuhlicani and Shankhill l l.o} alixt l Roadx. lrighteningl} close to each other.
‘WE ARE STRUCK BY HOW MUCH BELFAST REMINDS US
OF GLASGOW'
\\e \latt oll tlll\ l|l_‘.' \lll\‘.ll the l .lll\ lx’oad. \\llc‘lt' iomantic political llllll.tl\ e\pie\\ \kllll‘.tlll_\ \\llll 'l'ihel. (’ulm and (Zitalonia; \xheie \ll.tllllt‘cl\\ \\ieath die.iiii_\ med pot'tt'ath ol local ltetoex like liohlit Hands and the hungei \lllkt'l\ lt'x .l Sunda} and the io.nl\ .ue tpnet. most ol the tiallic coming liom the Black (ah lotus ol the murals. l\\o girls. tip on a lull. \\ rap then ttllll\ round each otliei and poxe lot smiling photm h} the hack ol a
house emhla/oned \\ llll a re\o|\er. llugh Rice. out \oltl} spoken tour guide. doexn‘t men need to tell us that \\e'\e entered the l.o}alN area. 'l‘he colours ol the mural\ change