|
|
Post by Ciao Bella on May 14, 2008 3:17:01 GMT -5
My 2 other favorite Scottish things:
Danny Bhoy
Iron Bru (oooh yeah esp. after a nasty hangova) LOL
|
|
|
|
Post by irishclaire on May 14, 2008 4:35:47 GMT -5
Irn Bru is THE ultimate hangover cure! genius invention.
|
|
|
|
Post by trollfuhrer on May 14, 2008 5:25:47 GMT -5
Claire, are you Protestant? Just curious. Do you remember any of the fighting? Guess I'm fascinated with the conflict.
|
|
|
|
Post by irishclaire on May 14, 2008 8:49:15 GMT -5
if i had to say what i was, then yeah i guess you'd say i was protestant, just because of my family background and the schools i went to etc. don't remember fighting, it was all pretty much over by the time i came along. people think it's still a dangerous place but it's not. belfast city centre is being totally re-done, think they're trying to show how far it's come as a city. "the troubles" are def a thing of the past, but there are still a few idiots who think that being a different religion from someone gives them the right to fight. spose it's the same in a lot of places, the general public are fine but there's always gonna be idiots! the worst times were the 1970s, glad i wasn't around then. my grandad told me stories that were just horrible. but back then it was something people in northern ireland (in particular) had to deal with. there's some things that even he wouldn't talk about.
|
|
|
|
Post by trollfuhrer on May 14, 2008 19:35:56 GMT -5
Good insights. Were The Troubles something the average person could avoid, or was there always a real threat of getting blown up, no matter who you were? I guess I have a sort of strange fascination with societal violence. I've studied history my entire adult life, and I even served in the Army for 20 years, and have yet to see war or any form of serious social disorder. I also studied martial arts for decades, training, planning, over-training, for a massive throw-down, which never came. So, here I am, obsessed with WAR, yet I've never seen even a glimpse of it in real life. The great question I now ponder is this, "What would you do, Troll Fuhrer, if you lived in a combat zone?" I can't answer that question. Dunno.  |
|
|
|
Post by irishclaire on May 15, 2008 3:57:04 GMT -5
i think it depended where you were. if you were in belfast city centre...yeah i reckon people were always aware that something could happen. more often that not though, the bomb-scares were just that...bomb-scares. my grandad started his and my dad's business in the most blown-up building in belfast lol it was always targeted as it was always busy. def woudln't call it a "combat zone" though. it was just not a very nice place to be. i've been involved in a few bomb-scares but that was before the IRA handed over their weapons. but it really hasn't affected me much at all. think i just don't like the place because of its history.
|
|
|
|
Post by trollfuhrer on May 15, 2008 5:27:39 GMT -5
Interesting. Is the British Army still there? Do Catholics and Protestants freely intermix / interact, without noticing their differences? I guess I need to do some reading. Sorry about all the questions.
|
|
|
|
Post by Triassic on May 15, 2008 5:49:32 GMT -5
google and wikipedia are wonderful things.
|
|
|
|
Post by irishclaire on May 15, 2008 14:40:19 GMT -5
lol no the british army haven't been there for years as far as i'm aware. they still have army bases, but that's not due to the troubles. and yeah, most protestants and catholics interact. hell, my dad married a catholic 2yrs ago!
|
|
|
|
Post by andyc251 on May 15, 2008 16:27:01 GMT -5
I love Northern Ireland.
It was my first ever operational tour as an 18 year old fresh out of training, straight into West Belfast, patrolling up the Falls Road and into the Shankhill.
I'm glad people have stopped blowing eachother up and stuff now-a-days (although some bad news again the other day), I'm actually hoping to go back over when Chan is visiting and have a look around the places I used to patrol to see how it has all changed then drive down to Dublin if we have time.
Will be very interesting to take a ride up the Falls in a black cab. Pretty sure, even now, I want tell them I'm ex-army who used to patrol there.
It's quite the tourist thing to do now, get driven around and shown murals and stuff, so even an english accent wont draw too much attention any more.
I know Windy and I have done well to avoid talking about the troubles before, so hopefully we can keep that going and not turn this thread into a political who is right type mess.
Also, Stirling is pretty cool, I went to school in Calendar and used to bunk off, get the bus through and basically be a delinquent.
(PS - Danny Boy = Written by an englishman ;D )
|
|
|
|
Post by E on May 15, 2008 16:52:19 GMT -5
It's obvious who is right.
The not left.
|
|
|
|
Post by trollfuhrer on May 15, 2008 19:15:02 GMT -5
lol no the british army haven't been there for years as far as i'm aware. they still have army bases, but that's not due to the troubles. and yeah, most protestants and catholics interact. hell, my dad married a catholic 2yrs ago! Cool. I hate to see Christians kill each other. It's uncool, big time. |
|
|
|
Post by trollfuhrer on May 15, 2008 19:15:31 GMT -5
I love Northern Ireland. It was my first ever operational tour as an 18 year old fresh out of training, straight into West Belfast, patrolling up the Falls Road and into the Shankhill. I'm glad people have stopped blowing eachother up and stuff now-a-days (although some bad news again the other day), I'm actually hoping to go back over when Chan is visiting and have a look around the places I used to patrol to see how it has all changed then drive down to Dublin if we have time. Will be very interesting to take a ride up the Falls in a black cab. Pretty sure, even now, I want tell them I'm ex-army who used to patrol there. It's quite the tourist thing to do now, get driven around and shown murals and stuff, so even an english accent wont draw too much attention any more. I know Windy and I have done well to avoid talking about the troubles before, so hopefully we can keep that going and not turn this thread into a political who is right type mess. Also, Stirling is pretty cool, I went to school in Calendar and used to bunk off, get the bus through and basically be a delinquent. (PS - Danny Boy = Written by an englishman ;D ) Ever take any hostile fire over there? Just curious. |
|
|
|
Post by trollfuhrer on May 15, 2008 19:21:22 GMT -5
Hey..........what do folks from NI call themselves in ordinary conversation? "I'm a Norhtern Irelander." ?? |
|
|
|
Post by irishclaire on May 16, 2008 4:40:19 GMT -5
northern irish. but our accents make it sound like we're saying "norn irish"
|
|
