Monday 20 May 2013
Then, as I popped open my fourth beer and composed another withering tweet about this year's Eurovision experience, I noticed something from the corner of my eye. Indeed, the rest of Europe did much the same thing.
Anyone attending this week's Balmoral Show will have sensed the new air of optimism from Northern Ireland's agriculture and food industries.
The latest Dan Brown blockbuster was released this week: cue line-up of detractors rushing to rubbish it, while secretly seething with jealousy at his soaring sales figures.
For anyone who regularly travels back and forth across the Irish Sea, the transformation which has taken place in the past 20 years has been immense. That progress should not be under-estimated, or discounted.
John Hume's exhortation, borrowed from his father, that "You can't eat a flag" comes to mind whenever the issue of flags and emblems flares up.
What is the point of Assembly committees? Do they have an important role in holding Executive departments to account? And can they really influence the work of Government? The answer to these questions is an emphatic Yes.
Angelina Jolie was never just a woman. She was never just a movie star, even. Since she first came to the public's notice, she has looked and behaved in an other-worldly manner.
Amid fears of a deepening recession in Northern Ireland, there have been two significant employment good news stories in the past week.
A number of weeks ago, Peter Robinson and myself met with the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, in Downing Street. It was one of only a handful of meetings that have taken place since the Tory/Liberal Democrats coalition came into power.
The Queen's Speech, which sets out the Government's legislative programme for the next session, was read to both Houses of Parliament last week.
ON the day parliament started its new session, Naomi Long (below) tabled two Commons motions about puppies.
WILLIAM McCrea, filling in for Nigel Dodds, spoke for the DUP in last week's debate on the Queen's Speech.
People who are quick to buy new gadgets are known as 'early adopters'. People who are reluctant to move with the times and acquire new technologies have long been known as Luddites (after the workers who smashed up new machines in the industrial revolution).
"Please hold the line; the person you're calling knows you are waiting," advises the plummy BT lady, "and is completely ignoring you – so please clear off and leave them alone."
Students aren't the most house proud and they don't usually get up at the crack of dawn unless they're cramming for an exam.
The current climate holds many challenges for schools in Northern Ireland. The issues around viability and sustainability, in particular, are most pressing and the inevitability of change is clear.
Whatever happened to the mythical American neighbourhood, that Rockwellian idyll of friendliness and normality, where no problem cannot be resolved by community spirit?
There's an equation that defines the traffic flow of a city: cars expand to fill the streets available. And 40-odd years ago, it became clear that the number of cars in Belfast had grown greater than its streets could support. Traffic jams became a regular occurrence in and around the city centre.
The recent arctic conditions were a wake-up call to anyone who thought the snow and thaw emergency of 2010/11 was a one-off. However, the ability of public and voluntary agencies to swing into action to help those worst affected was, once again, hampered by Northern Ireland's lack of any specific, cross-cutting emergency legislation.
In 1945, the Irish government issued a blacklist of men who were not to be given government, or local government, jobs. The list – running to 133 pages – included more than 5,000 names from almost every county.
Yahoo is on the verge of buying online content-sharing site Tumblr in a 1.1 US billion dollar (£725,115,300) deal.
A former Google executive-turned-whistleblower says he has 100,000 emails that expose an “immoral” tax avoidance scheme used by his former employer, that has “cheated” British taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Ryanair pilots have been warned not to sign a letter to airline regulators expressing concern that the airline’s employment practices could jeopardise passenger safety.
England football manager Roy Hodgson will make a personal plea to supporters attending next week’s international against the Republic of Ireland not to sing inflammatory songs about the IRA.
Roger Federer admitted he had no answer to Rafael Nadal's masterclass after the Spaniard put him to the sword to win the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome.
True Verdict built on her promising comeback run to gain a deserved opening success in the Come Racing On June 8th Maiden at Navan.
Another day, another domination for Taylor Swift: She was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards.
Model and fitness fanatic Nell McAndrew has shown off her new baby daughter - and says that children are now her priority rather than her health challenges.
Rod Stewart said he was "over the moon" as he celebrated his 15th number one record with a champagne toast.
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