25 June 1998 Edition
Editor's desk
In the SDLP's election leaflet for Joe Hendron and Alex Attwood in West Belfast the party claim that they will give a high priority to literacy needs in the area.
However they may have a problem in this noble endeavour because on the same page they variously spell disadvantaged as `disadvanatge' and `disadvtanged'. And the Andersonstown News becomes `Anderonstown News'. There are no less than five spelling mistakes on the one page. This may explain the party's recent decision in Belfast's City Council not to support a Sinn Fein motion to end the ban on the Irish language in the Council - they're obviously still struggling with English!
The RUC have now so much time on their hands that they are approaching local newspapers with ideas for public relations pieces. You know the sort. Community policemen always ready to help pensioners across the street and rescue little Johnny's (or Seánie's) cat from up a tree.
The new sub-divisional commander of Downpatrick, Brendan McGuigan, and his deputy, Geoffrey Gamble are clearly the new `acceptable' face of the force to Nationalists; all shirtsleeves and big sunny smiles, as you can see.
McGuigan, in the accompanying article in The Down Democrat newspaper, alleges that their role is to ``protect and serve''.
Who is this nonsense aimed at? Most nationalists have a more realistic picture of the force, perhaps better represented by this RUC man who posed for our photographer in North Belfast last Friday night. He is wearing the RUC's new `public order' uniforms which were first used during Drumcree last year to launch attacks on the Nationalist community of the Garvaghy Road. A police spokesperson subsequently declared that the uniforms had been ``extremely effective.''
Expect more of those puff pieces in your local paper, and all completely useless when your man in the balaclava gets his baton and plastic bullet gun out to clear the way for his mates in the Orange Order.
As anyone who travels the roads of the north will know, the word Londonderry causes great resentment to nationalists and the London, element, is often obliterated from street signs. The cause found an unlikely ally this week during the election in East Derry, where the UDP's David Nicholl joined in the campaign by way of a carefully placed election poster on a road sign in Magilligan. Well done, David...
Just who nationalists are supporting in the World Cup was illustrated on Monday night when England took on Romania in Toulouse. A pub on the Falls Road offered to cut twenty pence from the price of their pints each time Romania scored.
When Romania scored their second - and winning - goal in the 90th minute the cheers lifted the roof. And it wasn't just to do with cheap drink. Oh to lose in Toulouse!
However they may have a problem in this noble endeavour because on the same page they variously spell disadvantaged as `disadvanatge' and `disadvtanged'. And the Andersonstown News becomes `Anderonstown News'. There are no less than five spelling mistakes on the one page. This may explain the party's recent decision in Belfast's City Council not to support a Sinn Fein motion to end the ban on the Irish language in the Council - they're obviously still struggling with English!
The RUC have now so much time on their hands that they are approaching local newspapers with ideas for public relations pieces. You know the sort. Community policemen always ready to help pensioners across the street and rescue little Johnny's (or Seánie's) cat from up a tree.
The new sub-divisional commander of Downpatrick, Brendan McGuigan, and his deputy, Geoffrey Gamble are clearly the new `acceptable' face of the force to Nationalists; all shirtsleeves and big sunny smiles, as you can see.
McGuigan, in the accompanying article in The Down Democrat newspaper, alleges that their role is to ``protect and serve''.
Who is this nonsense aimed at? Most nationalists have a more realistic picture of the force, perhaps better represented by this RUC man who posed for our photographer in North Belfast last Friday night. He is wearing the RUC's new `public order' uniforms which were first used during Drumcree last year to launch attacks on the Nationalist community of the Garvaghy Road. A police spokesperson subsequently declared that the uniforms had been ``extremely effective.''
Expect more of those puff pieces in your local paper, and all completely useless when your man in the balaclava gets his baton and plastic bullet gun out to clear the way for his mates in the Orange Order.
As anyone who travels the roads of the north will know, the word Londonderry causes great resentment to nationalists and the London, element, is often obliterated from street signs. The cause found an unlikely ally this week during the election in East Derry, where the UDP's David Nicholl joined in the campaign by way of a carefully placed election poster on a road sign in Magilligan. Well done, David...
Just who nationalists are supporting in the World Cup was illustrated on Monday night when England took on Romania in Toulouse. A pub on the Falls Road offered to cut twenty pence from the price of their pints each time Romania scored.
When Romania scored their second - and winning - goal in the 90th minute the cheers lifted the roof. And it wasn't just to do with cheap drink. Oh to lose in Toulouse!