Tag Archives: belfast

Belfast City Guide

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If you have never been to Belfast before and are planning to go then you will be in for a treat…


Belfast Facts

A thriving city which always has something going on: Belfast is the largest city in Northern Ireland.

Belfast may be a small city but it is big on excitement.

There is a population of only 286,000 in the city of Belfast but what it lacks in size and population it more than makes up for in history, events and fun things to do.

First Thoughts on Belfast

Your first impressions of the city is just how beautiful it is. The accent of the resident will also leave an impression. The Irish accent is know to be beautiful and lyrical, as is the friendliness of the Irish people.

Then there will be so much stuff to do that you won’t know where to start.

If you are a Game of Thrones fan then you are certainly in for a treat as the hit fantasy TV show is filmed in Belfast and the rest of Ireland.

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You can take a tour of Titanic Studios in Belfast where it is filmed. You can also take a Game of Thrones location tour and get a picture of yourself sitting on the throne.

For something else that will also inspire a high amount of awe you might want to go for some real-life history and see the Titanic Belfast. Titanic Belfast is the largest Titanic visitor experience in the world. It is situated right beside the real historical site where the world’s most famous doomed ship was constructed. The 6-floor building will also have all of the information you could ever need to know about the Titanic, from her construction to the very tragic end.

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Because there is so much to do in Belfast and you will be surprised at just how amazing the city is, the best thing to do is to sort out your accommodation first. Find a good hotel from Hotel Direct before you leave so you can just relax and enjoy the rest of your visit. After you have dropped your stuff off the first thing you should do is grab a guinness. A trip to Ireland is not fully complete until you have tried this famous beverage.

Whats happening in Belfast?

There are also a number of festivals that happen in Belfast throughout the year.

Check ahead before you leave and you won’t miss out.

Festivals range from Red Bull Music Weekend, Sound of Belfast and the Belfast Restaurant Week.

You can take your pick depending on when you visit but there is usually at least a few great festivals or events running in the city. Catch some live music and you might hear the next big thing. A lot of famous artist have come our of Northern Ireland like Snow Patrol, Ash, Van Morrison, Therapy?, The Divine Comedy and The Undertones.

What about food?

You will also have a good choice when it comes to eating out.

There is a substantial amount of good restaurants in Belfast. Try and have a traditional dish like Irish Stew, Colcannon (a traditional Irish dish which generally consists of mashed potatoes with kale or cabbage) or soda bread.

Family fun

Belfast Zoo Credit: flikr

There is also plenty of things to do for families. The Belfast Zoo is a good place to start and the W5 interactive science museum will have hours of educational fun to entertain you and your children. For the more sporty and energetic there is the T13 Urban Sports Academy.

Here there is a good range of exciting and sporty things to do: BMX, skateboarding, kick scooter, break dancing, urban art and DJing. Rather handy, the T13 Urban Sports Academy is opposite the Titanic Belfast. So you can catch both star attractions on the same day if you have time.

All in all, Belfast is a wonderful place to visit, not only will it make a good first impression on you, but it will also leave a good lasting one, with wonderful memories and an urge to go back again and again. What are you waiting for?

 

 

Survey Reveals Men Are Healthier Than Women

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Men are healthier and happier than women in general according to a new survey. 

battle of the sexes

Health and Happiness, a nationwide study of 2,000 men and women found that men reported a higher rate of happiness when it came to their weight, shape, appearance, and the way they are perceived by others (55%). Women, on the other hand, were more self-conscious and slightly less satisfied with their happiness levels at around 49%. Women are also much more likely to try dieting (71%) compared to men (47%).

Men don’t feel stressed as often either. Almost 60% of male respondents said they only felt stressed once a month, whereas 60% of women said they felt anxious once a week or more.
Over 70% of men also claim they rarely felt depressed or had mood swings, compared to half of women (50%) who admitted to feeling low or unhappy at least once a month, if not more.

Male respondents reported that they were less likely to have trouble sleeping at night – 51% said restless sleep occurred around once a week or more, compared to 60% of women.
Headaches, bloating or poor digestion were less of a problem among men. Almost half (49%) said they rarely got headaches, compared to 64% women who said they experienced them at least once a month or more. For 70% of men, bloating and poor digestion would only occur once a month or less, but almost half (43%) of women said it was a weekly or daily problem.
Men also reported higher satisfaction levels when it came to their professional lives, from job security (51%) and salary (45%) through to career prospects (46%) and overall finances (50%).

 

Londoners rate themselves the healthiest
Londoners rate their city the health capital of the UK, with 59 per cent of people describing themselves as ‘healthy’, the highest proportion in the UK and above the national average of 54 per cent.   The average units of alcohol consumed per week was relatively low at 5.5 units, compared to Manchester, which saw the highest average of 6.7 units. 79 per cent are non-smokers, and only 12 per cent classed themselves as regular smokers.  Londoners are also keen exercisers, with half doing at least 20 minutes of exercise twice a week or more. They have a high sleep average of 6.7 hours per night and get their serving of five a day an average of 3.16 times per week, compared to the lowest average of only 2.6 times a week in Belfast.

 

Sleep leads to happiness in Sheffield
Sheffield has been revealed as being home to the happiest residents, probably because they are most likely to get the right amount of sleep. 40 per cent said they get a healthy average of seven hours sleep per night, compared to the national average of 34 per cent. Under half (48 per cent) said they were only likely to experience difficulty sleeping once a month or less.  That might be why one in ten said they never feel stressed or anxious. They were also happiest  in the country with their  family life (75 per cent), where they live (66 per cent), shape and weight (54 per cent), and appearance (55 per cent), compared to their respective national averages of 69 per cent, 62 per cent, 52 per cent and 52 per cent.

 

Feeling glum in Brum
Birmingham was revealed as the unhappiest and most stressed city in the UK. The city had the highest number of smokers and its residents suffered the most ailments in the country.  Brummies had the lowest average when asked to rate their happiness in terms of their relationships (56 per cent), family lives (63 per cent) overall health (55 per cent) and their appearance (50 per cent), below the respective national averages of 60 per cent, 69 per cent, 60 per cent and 52 per cent.

 

Over 30% are smokers and the city has the second lowest quitting rate.  When it came to stress and anxiety, 62 per cent said they experienced one or the other once a week or more. Jobs were cited as the biggest cause of stress (31 per cent) closely followed by money (29 per cent). Brummies also suffer the most ailments, with 48 per cent experiencing bloating and poor digestion, 44 per cent having headaches, and 47 per cent complaining of low moods once a week or more. Nearly half (44 per cent) reported difficulty sleeping most nights.

 

Unhealthy but loved up in Belfast
Almost half (46 per cent) of respondents from Belfast described themselves as ‘unhealthy’ when asked to rate their current health status – the highest percentage in the country.  Over half (53 per cent) complain of difficulty sleeping once a week or more and one in ten say they get daily headaches. More than one in four (27 per cent) experience low moods or depression once a week or more, and 37 per cent admitted that they would only do 20 minute workout sessions once a month or less. They were also the least likely to get their portions of five-a-day each week.

 

Although Belfast had the fourth highest number of smokers in the UK, it also had the best quitting rate, with a quarter of people saying they have given up smoking – the highest in the country. They also came top of the poll when questioned about how happy they were in their relationships and love life, with an average happiness score of 67 per cent. They also reported the most satisfying sex lives, with an average happiness rating of 55 per cent – above the national average of 51 per cent.

 

Cardiff is the capital of cardio
People living in Cardiff are the exercise pros of the UK with over half (54 per cent) doing at least 20 minutes of exercise twice a week or more, the highest percentage in the country. But despite high levels of exercise, Cardiff residents are the least content with their shape and weight, with an average happiness score of 49 per cent, just below the national average of 52 per cent.
When it came to money, however, the city was the happiest with their overall finances, with an average happiness rating of 52 per cent, compared to the national average of 49 per cent.

 

Sleep deprived Scots
Edinburgh is home to anation of sleep deprived residents with nearly 1 in 10 people only getting up to four hours sleep a night, a good two and half hours below the national average. When they do sleep, over 70 per cent said they have restless nights or difficulty sleeping. Feelings of stress and anxiety were a weekly occurrence among 47 per cent of respondents and money was cited as being the biggest cause of stress (39 per cent). The city also experienced a high proportion of daily ailments with one in five suffering from arthritis and joint problems every day – the most in the country.

 

Manchester drinks the most

Manchunians have admitted to being the biggest drinkers in the UK with the highest weekly average units of alcohol consumed. Residents admitted to drinking an average of 7 units of alcohol per week, compared to the national average of 5 units, and 15 per cent disclosed that they consume on average over 15 units per week.

Despite this, almost half (49 per cent) of residents described themselves as healthy when asked to rate their health status. Manchester was also revealed to be the second keenest city when it comes to exercise. Nearly one in four claim to do at least 20 minutes of exercise four times a week or more, closely behind the highest which was Cardiff at 26 per cent.

There is also a relatively low rate of smokers, with only 12 per cent of people regarding themselves as regular smokers.
Bristolians best at beating the bulge
Bristol is the city of successful dieters, with 42 per cent saying they have tried dieting and that it has worked for them. 17 per cent of respondents said they hadn’t tried to diet but would be willing to give it a go. They get their serving of five a day on average three times a week but happiness levels are below the national averages when it comes to their salary, career prospects, appearances, job security and overall finances.

 

Liverpool high anti-diet rate
Liverpool has the highest rate of anti-dieters with a quarter of residents saying they would be reluctant to try one – the highest in the country. Only 14% who had never tried one before said they would be open to the idea, still the lowest percentage in the country.  They are also one of the least likely cities to get regular exercise with 36 per cent reporting 20 minutes of exercise once a month or less.  76 per cent said they felt stressed once a month or more, the second highest in the country after Birmingham.

 

Leeds stressed and losing sleep
Over half of Leeds residents (54 per cent) experience stress once a week or more. Money was cited as the biggest cause of stress (34 per cent), followed by jobs (24 per cent) and then family (14 per cent). Leeds also experiences frequent levels of sleep difficulty, with 64 per cent saying they have trouble sleeping once a week or more.  Over one in ten admitted to only getting up to 5 hours of sleep a night.

 

A Tale of two Cities

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Good Vibrations and Spike Island at the London Film Festival

I had great plans for the London film festival, with many press screenings marked out on my diary.  Unfortunately timing was against me, as it turned out to be a very busy period in my other two jobs (acting and teaching), and apart from “A Liar’s Autobiography,” which got cancelled (read the article here), I actually only ended up at two screenings.  But they were good ones.

Good Vibrations

My regular readers (if there are such people) will be aware that I enjoy a bit of music from the 1980s, so I was in a positive frame of mind when I turned up to see Good Vibrations – The Story of Terri Hooley.

For every Richard Branson, there are probably hundreds of Terri Hooleys.  Known as the Godfather of Ulster Punk, Terri was the owner of Good Vibrations record shop and label, was responsible for discovering the Undertones, and encouraged punk and alternative music to flourish during a dark time in Northern Ireland’s history.  I imagine that there were people like him in towns and cities all over the UK and Ireland during the 70s and 80s; running record shops, managing and/or playing in bands organising events.  Do these people ever make a profit in the long run or do their charming mix of naivety and idealism work against them in the end?  Good Vibrations never released a top 40 record, and Terri sold the rights to “Teenage Kicks” for £500 and a signed photo of The Shangri Las (which he never got.)  But that isn’t the point, as this film shows: Terri Hooley made a lot of people very happy, which was in itself no mean feat in Belfast at the height of the troubles.

This was a highly enjoyable film from start to finish.  Richard Dormer made an excellent Terri, and I particularly enjoyed Jodie Whittaker’s performance as his wife.  It’s hard to pick out anyone else as cast lists are not given out at press screening, but everyone performed very well.  It would have been nice to have a few more female characters – maybe some girls who hung around the record shop for instance – but apart from that I completely loved it.  One particularly memorable scene is when an RUC officer is hassling a girl in a bar for suspected underage drinking and Terri comes over and tells him he’d like to report a civil war.  Scenes like these show the bravery of the character as well as the naivety and idealism.

Of course, being a film about music, the soundtrack is a major part of the experience.  Set in a fertile time for Northern Irish music, the tracks chosen add to the energy and exuberance of the story, as obviously does the setting with its air of menace just under the surface.

Go and see this if you’re interested in music, Belfast, or just plain enjoy a good film.

Spike Island

Good Vibrations is a true story about a real man, with a real record shop/label, and the punk scene in Belfast, whereas Spike Island, my second choice of film, is a coming of age drama set in Manchester in the 1990s with the music of the Stone Roses providing more of a secondary theme.  As such it worked well, and the soundtrack (a mix of the Roses and the characters own band, Shadow Caster) added greatly to the ambience and power of the film.  The characters did seem to blend into each other a bit at points, and some of what could have been more potent moments could have been better explained (I was never sure why one boy joined the army for instance).  Having more female characters would have added more variety, and this film does not have the excuse of being a true story as a reason for not doing so.  Teenagers since the 1960s or 1970s onwards generally tend to hang around in groups of both sexes (I did) and the whole male bonding theme seemed to me a little old-fashioned.

That said, the music really lifts everything up, and the festival atmosphere of Spike Island and young love is captured perfectly (leaving aside the dubious morality of deserting your father on his deathbed to go to a Stone Roses concert that you don’t even have tickets for!)

Once again, I am hampered by a lack of a cast list, however everyone concerned gave a very competent performance, with Emilia Clarke standing out in particular.

Go and see this film if you enjoy a good coming of age drama with an excellent soundtrack, or want to recapture your youth!