Operatic Matinée

We spent a delightful afternoon at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, yesterday.

Having had an aperitif (!) in the Europa Hotel's piano bar, we walked across the street and into the theatre.

We were watching a lively modern production of Salome, the one-act opera by Richard Strauss.

Beware: visit the loo before taking your seat!

The opera was performed by Northern Ireland Opera.

From our seats in one of the boxes we had a wonderful view of the heavenly ceiling in the auditorium, one of the finest in Belfast (lest we forget the sumptuous ceiling of The Great Room at Belfast's Merchant Hotel).

While I was waiting for M, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Jay and Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle.

Mrs Jay-O'Boyle, CBE, succeeded Dame Mary Peters as Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast in 2014.

M and self dined at Flame Restaurant, one of several good dining establishments on Howard Street.

We both had the fillet of beef, which was trimmed and cooked to perfection.

Flame is located on the ground floor of the old Presbyterian War Memorial building, a seven-storey red sandstone block of 1922-25 at the corner of Brunswick Street.

A mural plaque in the restaurant reminds us that it was laid by Lord Beatty in 1923.