divis tower

Since my folks moved to Ireland, I have become quite intrigued by the Troubles that have plagued the North of the country for a number of decades. As a result of this I have taken a few photos of political murals and historical sights in Ulster.

Particularly interesting is Divis Tower, linked below.

Close up

Taken from peace line

The tower is a block of flats that lies on the peace line between the Shankhill Road and the Falls Road (Bóthar na bhFál), which was used by the British Army as a lookout post.

The BBC News website reports about the dismantling of the lookout post, as does the Sinn Féin website.

Timmy "More good photos" Magic

william booth college - my home

I have taken 3 great photos of the college in my time here

B&W from my room
B&W of tower
Slightly blurred but still nice

Timmy "Just Call Me Bailey" Magic

subtle differences

When I order stuff from the internet, I normally get what I order. In fact I have never had a bad experience with online shopping. Until now...

This picture is one of a bra. It isn't the bra I received in the package, as it is much smaller and lacier, but it is indicative of what a bra looks like.

This picture, however, is the actual beard trimmer I ordered and received a few days and a phone call after I got the bra.

Now I understand that "beard trimmer" and "bra" begin with the same letter and that the word "beard" is the word "bra" with a couple of letters added and jumbled around, but the difference is clear - one is an item for larger, hairy people and the other is a beard trimmer.

Timmy "Trimmed Beard and Unsupported Bosom" Magic

bearded magic

I got myself a great Christmas and New Year's gift this/last year!

I have a beard (picture taken pre-trim).
This evening I made the first attempt at a trim with my new beard trimmer (there is a story to that - come back tomorrow to find it out)

The result was excellent - at least I think it is!

Timmy "Billy Goat" Magic

kebab for breakfast

Yesterday I discovered a really nice kebab place (yes - you read that right.) It is located in the West End, on the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, near Centrepoint and is very cheap (yes - cheap and in the West End.) Best of all it is quiet (yes - quiet, not busy, unpatronised, peaceful etc)

It is called Dionysus and does takeaway and sit down meals or a reasonable price.

Timmy "Kool Kebabs" Magic

glyn harries' blog

Glyn's blog, linked on the left, is well worth a read - he is witty and insightful, though only when he is not enjoying custard.

Timmy "Look at Matt White's blog for an explanation of this random post" Magic

happy new year

May I, Magic, be one of the later ones to wish everyone a Happy New Year?

I have but 2 resolutions this year - the first is to pass my driving test and the second is to pass my motorbike test. These are strategic aims - if I fail them first time round I can try them again! Clever eh?

Random thing for the day - a video of the Korean Staff Band playing I'll Not Turn Back

Timmy "2007th Heaven?" Magic

magic's new name

I have decided that I will give myself a new name for Christmas - inspired by my current surroundings. Most names have alternatives in different languages, but Irish (Gaeilige) is somewhat different. When the British insisted on anglicizing every name in Ireland (read Brian Friel's play "Translations" for an account of the time), they came up with alternatives. The rough equivalent of Timothy in the Irish language is Tadhg. This name is pronounced like "tiger" without the "r" and not like "Craig" as is the misconception and it means "poet".

Of course it would be remiss of me not to translate "Magic" too. The word "draíocht" is the word for "magic", but it also means, ironically, "glamour" and "romance"

Timmy "Tadhg Draíocht" Magic

nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr!

Happy Christmas from Timmy Magic!

I am currently in Ireland with my parents enjoying a bit of festive rest, hence the slight lack of bloggage in recent days.

Thanks to everyone who sent me a card and/or gift and to those who didn't get a card from me, fret not, for I didn't send any. I did, however, make a donation to a charitable cause.

Timmy "Ho Ho Ho" Magic

i'm loving angles instead?

BBC News reports that around 17 million people in the UK don't have the sufficient reading skills to sing the Robbie Williams' song, "Angels". It is suggested that it requires 5 GCSEs or equivalent to manage the whole song at the right speed. They would also struggle to follow the lyrics of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", the Commitments' "Mustang Sally" and "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen.

In other news, around 50% of prison inmates fail to reach the level of literacy expected of an 11 year old.

So that is why prison karaoke nights aren't successful...

Timmy "Singalong at Strangeways" Magic