It’s January once again and there are a couple of things you can be sure of every time January comes around. Firstly, the weather will be Baltic and fairly grey and miserable. Secondly, our hospitals and health service will be unable to cope. They never can.
And, of course, for those of us who still listen to the radio and read the newspapers , it means a never-ending parade of doctors and other medical sorts warning us that, even if we accidentally cut our arm off whilst cooking, we’d better not stagger into A&E. It’s a bit busy, you see. Instead, just buy lots of Elastoplast and a wee packet of painkillers at the chemists.
Earlier this week, we decided cheer ourselves up by listening to our old mate Mark Simpson, who’s standing in for the big man on Radio Ulster whilst he’s off to California once again to do whatever he likes doing in the Sunshine State.
And, on that note, it was an enormous relief to be informed by the Belfast Telegraph that Big Stephen is safe and well and has survived the wildfires that have been affecting the Southern California area, where the temperature yesterday was around 22 C. God love the poor soul.
In his absence, Mark chatted with the ever cheerful Dr. Alan Stout (remember him from the Covid days?) about whether we should all stay at home, start wearing masks again, and avoid risky activities like playing five-a-side football or riding a bike. All for the common good, you understand. If we can’t help the Health Service, after all, what’s the point in playing fast and loose?
And so we quickly switched channel to a more upbeat London-based station where the discussion was all about how we should all be taking much more exercise…..like five-a-side football and cycling. Our local radio output, not for the first time, just sounds downbeat, dowdy and not a little bit depressing.
What’s the reason for all the doom and gloom on the health front this January? There’s a lot of flu about, apparently. Our poor downtrodden and overworked GP types don’t have enough appointments to see all the patients who want to see them, so there’s a spill over to A&E which is already overflowing as it always is, and there are no beds for those who need them because lots of them are taken up by those who don’t want to leave because there’s no care available to them at home or in care homes. That’s it in a fairly large nutshell.
Mind you, one of the callers painted a picture of A&E at the Royal that we hadn’t considered. People, she said, were vaping, drinking and taking drugs. Party time amongst the blood and vomit. Ah well, it was Christmas after all. Give them a break!
But surely this can’t be the first time there’s been a lot of flu about in mid-winter. As ever in Northern Ireland, we could all see this coming a mile away but nothing was done. Like last year, the year before and the year before that again.
At the tail end of the Nolan Show (without Nolan) the other day, there seemed to be some hope that the Assembly’s Health Committee, meeting up at Stormont in the snow, would come up with some answers. They didn’t.
But we couldn’t help but note a contribution this week from one of our favourite disruptors up at Stormont, the DUP’s Paul Frew. The Department of Health, he claimed, has underspent its budget for the past four years to the tune of £32 million in 18-19, £69 million in 19-20, £25 million in 21-22 and £27 million in 22-23. That’s a handy £153 million.
What do we know, though? Someone will have a smartarse reason for it.
Murphy’s Choice
Our beloved Economy Minister could be exiting stage left having decided that he might prefer to take it easy on the well-upholstered benches of the Irish Senate rather than guide economic policy here in the grim north.
Conor Murphy has been named as one of a group of candidates put forward by Sinn Fein for the Seanad election process that takes place at the end of this month. So, by the start of February, we could be welcoming a new Economy Minister around these parts, a direct replacement nominated by Sinn Fein.
On the face of it, it might seem like an odd decision. Until, that is, you consider the fact that Conor Murphy suffered a health scare a couple of months ago. He’s claiming that health isn’t the reason for the possible move, but it might just have come into the equation, and he could be forgiven if that’s the case.
Deirdre Hargey stepped in during Murphy’s recent health scare and that probably makes her front runner for the job. But there could be others. Declan Kearney is an experienced operator whilst both Philip McGuigan and Padriag Delargy serve on the Stormont Economy Committee.
We wait with bated breath. Almost.
Losing Perspective
It’s hard to see the disappearance of Titanic Belfast behind a multi-storey apartment block as anything other than yet another example of how we tend to get things wrong in this part of the world.
Back in the day, the very idea of a multi-million visitor centre with a Titanic theme had plenty of critics. But it turned out to be an inspired piece of forward thinking. The place has become one of the world’s most recognisable buildings, it’s a world class tourist attraction and it’s helped to put Belfast on the map….for the right reasons.
Why then allow an apartment complex to be built that obscures one of the world’s most recognisable buildings from view. To get a clear view of it these days, you’d need to be peeking out from behind one of big cargo ships moored on the wharf opposite.
The offending apartment complex, of course, went through the planning process like any other major project, so we’re all trying to shut the door after the horse has bolted. But, as it’s risen from the ground and grown taller, it’s become clearer and clearer that we haven’t really thought this one through.
The city’s leading visitor attraction has been disappearing from view piece by piece and day by day.
We might need more housing, particularly social housing, but coudn’t we have put it somewhere else instead of Titanic’s front yard?
You’ve Been Warned
We should have mentioned it earlier. The other thing we get a lot of during January is weather warnings. In fact, there seems to be one every day at the moment, whether it’s for snow, ice, wind, rain or fog.
The only thing they didn’t warn us about was how unseasonably warm it was on Christmas Day. What with the heating turned up in most houses and ovens at full blast, surely there was a danger to life?
The media, of course, just loves to whip up a weather frenzy. Temperatures don’t just drop, they always plummet. We don’t get icy spells, we get icy blasts. Winds are always of the battering variety. And a centimetre or two of the white stuff means that it’s a blizzard out there.
What it actually is is January. Do we really need a daily warning that it’s going to be a bit chilly in the morning? Or that we might slip if we’re not very careful?
The moral of the story and the earlier one can only be this. Stay at home, turn up the heat and save the NHS. Unless you’ve got work to do, that is….
Air Travel Woes….Where’s My Phone?
We’ve mentioned it before. There’s nothing like a spot of travel bother to get the great, the good and the higher profile straight onto their phones.
We sometimes feel a bit sorry for easyJet, Ryanair, assorted airports and Translink, all of whom come in for a social media battering on an often daily basis. A certain BBC Northern Ireland journalist (who shall remain nameless because she can be a bit touchy) even took to Twitter/X not long ago to complain about her city centre bus being a bit late.
Latest culprit is Michael Long, Belfast city councillor and other half of Naomi. Michael unleashed a Sunday night Twitter frenzy when his plane landed at Belfast International but no steps were delivered to get the punters off and into the luxury of the terminal building.
Stuck on a plane for an hour already after landing at Belfast International, said Michael in his first post.
Then…..The pilot says there are 2 people operating all of the steps. Seriously???
The pilots have informed us they can’t make contact with the ground staff at Belfast International Aiport. Is there anybody there? You couldnt make this up……..
Another 40 mins for passport control. What are Belfast International doing? As the pilot said – this is bit of a joke!……You could fly to London quicker than you can get off a plane at Belfast International airport tonight
Not sure Michael saw the funny side of it, though.
And don’t be complacent, Translink. Next time the Bangor train is a tad late, I’ll have my keyboard warmed up and ready for action.
Brexit Bull****
While the vast majority of Northern Ireland businesses aren’t too concerned about the net effects of the Northern Ireland Protocol/Windsor Framework, there’ve been a few in recent months and years who’ve moaned and whinged about it all and provided rare ammunition for DUP and TUV politicians.
One of two of our haulage/transport companies, based around Ballymena for the most part, made a noise or two before going to to make hay while the sun shone and rack in record profits.
Another business to complain about post-Brexit arrangements was thriving garden centre group Hillmount. Not long ago, its owner said this:-
“Every day poses a new problem…..these Brexit-related changes are going to impact the future of gardening for the rest of our lives. Every supplier I talk to gives me more bad news, a new problem or consequence with no solution. So I’m appealing to the government to step in and ensure that our industry is saved.”
They didn’t step in, even though the business was quoted in one of the DUP’s glossy anti-protocol documents.
Earlier this week, despite the painful challenges, it announced that it was to invest £1.5 million in a new garden centre in Carrickfergus.
Room With A View
Like last year, we brought in the New Year in the warm and welcoming surroundings of the Salthouse Hotel up in Ballycastle, revelling (when we weren’t drinking and eating) in the wonderful views of Rathlin Island, Fair Head, Islay and the Mull of Kintyre.
It’s a place apart, and one of those rare places where you can watch the next batch of weather rolling in over the Atlantic. There’s no need for weather warning. You can see it coming.
A joint venture between the McHenry family, who developed the place, and the McGarrity family, who run it, the Salthouse is now five years old but it’s got big ambitions. New rooms are on the way, and a glance out the panoramic front windows reveals the advanced construction work on a new leisure complex including an infinity pool over looking the coast down below.
A special shout out, though, to Head Chef Oliver Molloy. The food on New Year’s Eve was little short of stunning. Seven courses but seven superbly executed courses.
Anyone know the easiest way to get a load of Ozempic?