This is Northumberland Calling 10.5.24

The No Retreat , No Surrender in Belfast edition

Hello American (Particularly Central Ohio) this is Northumberland Calling

Apologies for a shorter than usual This is Northumberland Calling.

Last night, I along with 40,000 other people shared a communal experience, worshipping at the Rock and Roll festival of awesomeness which is a Bruce Springsteen concert. Boucher Road Park is literally a grassed field but it became a small city for an evening. The huge set dominated with food vendors on the edges. Despite his reputation for punctuality, the Boss was a half hour late. However, he played for three hours straight  starting with No Surrender which is perhaps a bold choice in Belfast but it really worked. We also got City of Ruins and the Rising. I was happy because of Hungry Heart and Born to Run. It was a mix and different from the set he played in Cardiff as his back catalogue is huge. He loved the crowd and the crowd loved him. He was giving out hugs and harmonicas to a lucky few. The energy was fantastic. It was only the fourth time he’d play Belfast and the first time for 11 years. He ended with a stirring rendition of Twist and Shout as well his traditional closing ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’. It was the start of the Irish portion of his world tour. I suspect there will be many more Americans at the Dublin concerts rather than at the Belfast one but I was surprised to see the outside vendors doing a brisk trade in Stars and Stripes bandanas and hats – more American themed memorabilia than I’d seen a long time. This was the set list:  https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/2024/boucher-road-playing-fields-belfast-northern-ireland-babbd5a.html

This is the Belfast Telegraph’s take: (it made the front page of the printed paper this morning) https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/news/bruce-springsteen-the-boss-has-belfast-dancing-in-the-dark-as-he-returns-to-city-with-a-bang/a677841775.html

from the Game of Thrones studio tour

Never having been to Belfast, a slight under current of the Troubles  lingers – but it is now confined to a tourist attraction – we stayed off the Shankill Road and the murals are still up. The tour taxis kept pulling up to show them off to the tourists.  The house next door to our  Air B&B  had red, white and blue plastic flowers in tubs, displaying their allegiance. And I suspect there are houses in another part of town who display green, white, and orange flowers.  Parts of the city are still in ruins. Apparently Dublin is now by far the more prosperous thanks to Tech.   They have redone the Titanic Quarter which has 8 glass panels dedicated to the Game of Thrones. The film industry is something which is helping to regenerate NI in general.  One of the big attractions is the Game of Thrones studio tour (one of my children went on this today and said it was fun).  Sometimes Westeros politics make more sense than British politics. 

https://gameofthronesstudiotour.com/

We did go to Belfast’s oldest pub which dates from 1636 – Whites Tavern. If you ever saw the Sandman (Neil Gaiman) on Netflix, you will know there is an episode where he keeps going back to same pub every fifty to 100 years. This pub had that same sort of feel. Turf fire burning, blackened beams.

https://whitestavernbelfast.com/

 Another good pub was the Crown Bar which is now owned by the National Trust because of the ornate Edwardian interior.  Absolutely heaving but enjoyable. We had a meal upstairs before the concert and every second person seemed be wearing a Bruce t-shirt. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/the-crown-bar?awc=3795_1715345175_bc75802e3d5b78cb35097c29695fad51&campid=Affiliates_Central_Mem_AWIN_Standard&aff=271445

Paddy with a new toy

Back to normal service next week.  My youngest said that Paddy was reasonably well behaved except when he saw a rabbit or a lamb on his walk…

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