Keith Wilson

w00t!!!

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
Weren't they after Stilton?

I thought it was Wensleydale...?

I'm Irish - and I mean that in the 'I live here and I was born here' sense - and binge drinking is the only way I know how

Originally posted by Joel McNary:
At the Asian fusion restaurant near where I work, the men's room has no urinals. Instead, one wall is a waterfall. It took a moment to realize what the intent was, and then a co-worker actually went up to the hostess to confirm that intent.

I was mildly disappointed to read the article and find out that it was a regular urinal -- I don't really consider 1917 to be "modern" anymore. I was hoping that the restaurant had won some sort of prize or something ...

Believe it or not here in Belfast (Northern Ireland) this is not uncommon in both restaurants and bars. Weird - I think that the city's designers went through a phase of thinking this was cool.

Strangest urinal I heard of was in some highrise in Melbourne - same idea as above but the waterfall was on the outer-facing, floor-to-ceiling window. Your modesty was preserved by the fact you were several hundred feet in the air and the windows were tinted so no-one could see you. Still weird though.

Hi,

give these sites a go first, they'll compare loads of online and highstreet prices and show you the best deals.

Kelkoo

Pricerunner

And there's always eBay as well...

Would be grateful for one, thank you.

smickers@hotmail.com

...as a man once said, if God hadn't wanted me to eat animals then he wouldn't have made them out of meat.
Simple really.

Originally posted by SJ Ponsardin:
There are undoubtedly many bigots in England.
And they vote for political parties that are aligned with thier views.
Let me know when they set up a west belfast tourist information office & I might go and visit so I can see what a wonderful place it is to live.

Good grief. Is your tack now that because one city in NI has a ghetto/run down area, then the whole country is blighted? Tell me ANY major city in the world that doesn't have such an area. That, quite frankly, is an absurd claim. And I don't appreciate the sarcasm, either.
And, by the way, here's a link to the
West Belfast Tourism Office, just like you asked for.
Would you care to tell me which country you hail from?

Originally posted by SJ Ponsardin:
well there is this thing called an election that gets held.
if a ward votes in a BNP candidate then whether I've been there or not I'm going to come up with the impression that the place is full intolerant individuals.
So when you people vote in people like Martin McGuinness & co. That kind of gives me the impression that I do not want to visit NI, and most certainly

So from this I can only assume that you will refuse to ever visit England, and indeed label its residents a 'bunch of racists, that deserve to left alone so they can blow each other up' because this is EXACTLY what they have done: voted in several BNP councillors in several council wards. Obviously this can be extrapolated to the alarming fact that the whole of England is institutionally racist.
To try and explain in a few short paragraphs why ex-terrorists (note I say ex; they have renounced violent struggle as part of the Good Friday agreement of 1998, unlike the BNP who actively support their current & abhorrent policies) is futile; there is over 400 years of complex Irish history behind it.
You also said that the reason you think we in this country are racist is that (to use your paraphrase) 'I am a unionist & I don't want to live next door to a nationalist/black/asian', yet you then go on to say that the reason you don't want to visit is that we 'vote in people like Martin McGuinness & co'. Well McGuinness & Co. are in fact republicans and as far removed from Unionists as is possible. I'm not sure whether this is a shocking display of ignorance about the subject you feel qualified to call me & my countrymen both racist and intolerant, or the fact that you are just tarring us all with the same brush.
Let me tell you something. I am, as I have stated, a Belfast resident of 32 years. I am also a Protestant. I got married in 1998 and my best man was a Catholic - indeed he is still my best friend. I am now divorced and sharing a house with another Protestant and 2 other Catholics. The crowd of friends I have is almost exactly 50-50 split between the 2 'religious' groups. I am neither racist nor intolerant. And this is typical for people in my country; sure, you see different reports on the news but then who is going to make a news report about people here getting on well? About people NOT fighting? This country has made amazing strides in the last few years, there has been a huge investment in jobs and infrastructure and it is a GOOD place to live. The recent assembly results were disappointing from a progressionist POV, but in my experience the more extreme elements of any society are generally more motivated to vote and make their voice heard - perhaps this was exactly what the moderate majority needed to give them (us) a good wake up call.
Don't blindly believe everything you hear in the media.

Originally posted by SJ Ponsardin:
present company excepted of course, combined with the fact that I have never been there...
'The residents' of northern island come across in a similar way to the residents of israel.
(i.e. a bunch of racists, that deserve to left alone so they can blow each other up)
or to paraphrase
'only jews should be allowed to live in israel'
'I am a unionist & I don't want to live next door to a nationalist/black/asian'
Probably not near to the truth, but thats the way it comes across in the media.

Thanks for the sweeping generalisation. So you say that although you've never been here and you listen to only what you've heard in the media (ie other people's opinions), you're still able to make a statement that we are all 'a bunch of racists, that deserve to left alone so they can blow each other up'. I'm sorry but I find that very offensive, ignorant and prejudiced. :roll:

Originally posted by SJ Ponsardin:
I disassociate myself from northern island. No matter what my passport says.

Having been born in Northern Ireland (assuming that's what you meant) and lived here for all of my 32 years, I'd be interested to hear your reasons?
[ January 20, 2004: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]

In a similar vein, a lot of products claim that they now 'Taste Better' - than what though? Fertiliser? Toejam?
Or the amount of products that are marketed as 'New and Improved'. To think that all that time previously I was happy with old and inferior... :roll:

Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor.
An excellent read about the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII, presented in a balanced fashion. Both sides are represented and their decisions - whether forced or of their own free will - insightfully analysed and dissected.
There's obviously a lot of factual content in the book but Beevor tempers this and prevents it from becoming too dry by including many, many eyewitness accounts and human stories & tragedies to keep the reader interested.
I've just bought another of his - Berlin (about the fall of Berlin in 1945) - can't wait to start that one!
[ October 23, 2003: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]

IIRC the original (Roald Dahl) book was called 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' - the sequel was called 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator'.
I could be wrong though...

Folks,
one of the best non-fiction books I've ever had the pleasure of reading was Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor. You can read the Amazon (UK) review of it here.
Zaitsev gets a good mention - and a photograph - although the author reckons that there was a more successful sniper.
[ July 31, 2003: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]