Top Gear in Belfast

Top Gear sounds as if it'll be good this week: The BBC flagship motoring programme sees Jeremy Clarkson testing a Renault car in a huge tunnel under Belfast; and then, apparently, firing the car off the dock-side at a departing ferry!

The show is on BBC2 tomorrow at 8.30pm; and BBC HD at 10.30pm; finally being repeated next Wednesday at 8pm.

Tree Installed

This morning I unearthed our Christmas tree from the basement and, generating a modicum of effort, manhandled it to its customary position in the living-room. Amen! The lights are all working. The decorations are all up in the attic, so that shall be the next job.

I'm still interested in writing an article about Stuart Hall in County Tyrone ( I mentioned it on the blower last night to Richard, a fellow-NT Volunteer - and hastened to add that I alluded to the country house, not the It's A Knockout compere).

When I was talking to Lord Castle Stewart this morning he suggested that the local post office in Stewartstown had a few picture post-cards and things about the Hall. I must make a point of paying Stewartstown a visit; I cannot recall ever having been there.

Free Stamps!

It never ceases to astonish me how often, at Christmas, the Royal Mail's machinery fails to frank postage stamps. Waste Not, Want Not, as the saying goes. I remove unmarked stamps from the envelopes; soak and float them on a saucer of water; carefully peel them off after a few hours; dry them; and re-use them with gluey gum.

Within the last year or so I have accumulated 23 stamps, 6 of them first class. That equates to £7.44.

Given that the population of the UK is roughly sixty million, if a mere 1% of people "do what I do", the Royal Mail has lost £4,464,000 in revenue.

Thank you very much, Royal Mail.

Badger Extravaganza

I was motoring up the drive of the old school earlier this evening for my customary sixty lengths when, as I turned the bend, what I suddenly saw was quite astounding: Two adult badgers sparring with each other on the grass verge.

I slowed down in order to observe them in the headlights; then, after a few seconds, they both ran into the undergrowth.

What a remarkable sight.

Prince Edward in Ulster

His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex has arrived in Belfast and has attended a memorial and thanksgiving service at Belfast Cathedral, marking the return of 19 Light Brigade from operations in Afghanistan.

Prince Edward personally represented Her Majesty The Queen.

Amongst the other dignitaries were:-

Dame Mary Peters, DBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast

The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor N Long

The High Sherriff for the County Borough of Belfast, Councillor F McCoubrey,

The Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal,

The Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP, Secretary of State for Defence,

The Rt Hon Peter Robinson MP MLA, First Minister of Northern Ireland,

The Rt Hon Paul Goggins MP, Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office

The Very Reverend the Dean of Belfast, Dr Houston McKelvey, QVRM, TD

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, GCB, AFC

Brigadier Tim Radford, OBE, Commander 19 Brigade.

Lord Belmont's Official Birthday

I am two years old today! Gosh, that is nifty stuff for a two year-old, I hear you say. Here is my very first entry on the 2nd December, 2007. If I may crave your indulgence with a few salient facts and figures:-

• 67,267 hits in 2009 (25,009 in 2008)
  
• 6,200 profile views (2,500 in 2008)
  
• 565 postings (465 in 2008)

The majority of visitors are from the United Kingdom, with 62%; USA, 11%; Canada, 5%; Ireland, 4%; New Zealand, 3%; Australia, 3%; Holland, 2%.

HMS Caroline

I am hopeful that the veteran warship and erstwhile GHQ of the Royal Naval Reserve in Northern Ireland, HMS Caroline, shall remain in the Port of Belfast.

I think it's important that we keep her here, as a valuable piece of maritime heritage; and even as a floating museum - like HMS Belfast moored in London.

There is an article in the Belfast Telegraph today about the future of the 1st World War light cruiser; though they have omitted the small matter of funding, despite the fact that the Royal Navy has confirmed that HMS Caroline, which has been moored in Belfast since 1924, needs around £3.5 million worth of refurbishment, which it cannot afford.

Three million, five hundred thousand pounds is nothing compared to the vast sums spent on irrelevant quangos and commissions. I'm sure the funding can be raised.

One final thought: HMS Belfast is a branch of the Imperial War Museum in London. Why shouldn't HMS Caroline become a section of Museums and Galleries Northern Ireland?