First impressions
‘Are you on holiday here?’ The gentle question jolted my alarmingly delicate sensibilities. It sliced in to two days of worry about being an English woman living in Northern Ireland. What if I say...
Author: Sophie Hayles
A Belfast Blog meets: Emma Jane Grey
A Belfast Blog asked to speak to Emma Jane Grey who is in the process of completing a PhD at the University of Aberdeen entitled ‘Archival Amnesia: Memory and Culture in Post-Ceasefire Northern Ireland’. Emma’s research focusses...
A Belfast Blog meets: Simon Maccabe
A Belfast Blog caught up with Simon Maccabe, founder and owner of ‘Cafe Smart’ on Belmont Road in East Belfast. Alongside the excellent coffee, and hard-to-beat smoked salmon bagels, our initial interest in Cafe...
The criminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland
In the April of 2016, a woman in the UK has been sentenced for the crime of having an abortion. I still can’t quite believe I am writing this, but it’s true: a woman...
Orange is the new black
Every week on my way to the supermarket I pass a brown sign pointing towards ‘Orange Heritage’. You can’t be in Belfast for long and not be aware of Orangemen – from mural depictions...
The Space Beneath
We bought a house in East Belfast at the end of last year. Some thoughts on interior decoration: Period Features According to estate agents, ‘period properties’ are largely a sequence of fireplace/s, evidenced in...
Symbolism and Symmetry at Stormont
Stormont is associated with scenes of massive political wrangling, with heavy bureaucracy, with feelings of immense frustration and confusion. I have made a few visits recently, and it’s disconcertingly peaceful and welcoming. The large...
Signed, Sealed, Not Delivered
Email, 14 December 17.22: Dear Sophie This item will arrive in to our warehouse tomorrow & will be delivered via Yodel on Wednesday or Thursday. You will receive an email to confirm.Email, 14 December 17.32: Dear SophieI...
