WHEN I was young a trip ‘into town’ was a huge deal, it was something which was looked forward to and carefully planned.

“WHATEVER is achieved by businesses in Northern Ireland is despite our politicians, not because of their decisions or support .

ON summer holiday in Italy this year (it was a wonderful trip) we took a number of train journeys, one from Desenzano to Verona on what was the hottest day of the whole trip.

Sport, at the highest level, is big business. In fact even at the highest amateur level, sport is big business.

THE road back to a Stormont Assembly and Executive is now very clearly set out, and it is widely expected that we will see a devolved Government in place before too long.

What is your favourite memory from the Euros? Maybe it was 2016 in Lille when Robbie Brady got on the end of the laser like cross from Wes Hoolahan to send Ireland through to the knock out stages for the first time?  

THE first day of March officially heralds the start of spring, although some people use the changing of the clocks later in the month as their barometer for the changing of the seasons.

MANY years ago, in the pre-internet days, I used to subscribe to a Spurs fanzine called, without a huge deal of imagination, ‘The Spur’.

I'VE made a schoolboy error as I begin to write this article. I have gone back to last year to see what I had to say as 2021 drew to a close.

I THINK we can all accept that Belfast is far from perfect.

FOR the last week anyone who has asked ‘how’s things?’ or ‘what’s going on?’ was met with not with the usual, ‘all good’.

THE news last week that Patisserie Valerie and Cookie Box food outlets have closed, with no notice at all, is a grim portent of the autumn and winter to come.

THE return of post pandemic foreign travel has not been hassle free, as can be seen from multiple news accounts of out of control airport queues, missing luggage, cancelled flights, train strikes.

Our two older boys have finished their university courses for the year and after a bit of downtime (how do they sleep so much?) They eventually turned their attention to finding some part time work for the summer.

IN his online news piece covering the launch of the final report of the NI Fiscal Commission into the potential for the devolution of powers of income tax, the BBC’s John Campbell begins: “Income tax powers could be devolved to Northern Ireland by 2027 if there is political agreement to do so, an independent commission has concluded.