Getting Personal
When I heard David Ford on the Nolan show earlier in the week talking about what a good night out you could have in Glengormley, I didn't think we had much in common. The Alliance leader was defending Glengormley's honour against the jibes of a Jet2 advertising campaign, which also took a crack at Drains Bay. Not that I've got anything against Glengormley, but it's not my first choice for an evening's entertainment.
But then Nolan reported that Jet2 was also having a go at South Shields, in the North East of England, my father's birthplace and a very nice little seaside resort, if, shall we say, a bit bracing. Now this was getting personal. I started ruminating on setting up a Glengormley-Geordie Alliance.
So I invited the Alliance leader on to Inside Politics to indulge in an anti-Jet2 rant. Well that's a lie, actually. I thought of doing that but decided it was unethical as I had a specific Geordie dog in this fight.
Instead I stuck to asking him about alleged Executive junkets to Washington, the latest ructions in the UDA, the thoughts of Chairman Mel (Lucas, that is, his DUP dissident colleague on Antrim Council) and the general problem of being an opposition in a place where just about everyone else seems to be in government.
If you want to hear it the programme is on at a quarter to one on Saturday afternoon on Radio Ulster, and can be found thereafter on the web.
Next week this blog should be renamed the Purdy Paragraphs as Martina is once again sitting in for me as I take my summer leave in a suitably haphazard fashion. Apologies but normal service will be resumed in the autumn.
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"Bracing" is an understatement Mark. I once worked in Jarrow in the morning and decided to go to South Sheilds for the afternoon, but was beaten back by aforesaid bracing north easterlies within five minutes flat...
Wor Ulster folk divn't nar wuh're born!
Having lived in Glengormley and grown up there for the last 22years,i've never had a single nite out in the town, why? cause where are you ment to go? there's only 2 bars in the town and they are very much sided with one side of the community, basicly its a hole! and anybody with a bit of sense will follow me and move out of there!
however, it does have the best arch around the marching season in co. antrim and is testiment to the unionists that have been forced out of the area