Yup-Yeh-Boy-Yeh!
I have always been curious about language ever since I discovered that cowboys in the first movies I ever saw seemed to use the same strange words as my uncles in Donegal. Just as Hopalong Cassidy hopped aboard his ‘hoss’, so did my uncles talk about hooking up their ‘hoss’ to the cart. Seemed that…
I Feel Empty Now, Like a Fruit Bowl
I’m not normally a namedropper so forgive me if I transgress today. Nor do I normally seek, or particularly enjoy, the company of celebrities – it always seems too much like hard work. Nevertheless, last week was full of them. There are two types of celebrities. Those who are good at what they do and…
Getting the bird
During the course of an outside broadcast the other day at the behest of BBC Radio Ulster, I interviewed a woman and her parrot. People who know me well are aware that I am no slouch when it comes to the art of talking to pet owners and their charges, but this encounter differed from…
Where Was Kincasslagh When I Needed It?
NO wonder people from Northern Ireland flee to Donegal whenever they can. I spent last weekend in Kincasslagh, following Daniel O’Donnell around like a puppy, for the purposes of making a radio documentary about the Great One. The village of Kincasslagh is about as far away from anywhere else that a person can get. For…
There was a time when I thought the world’s oldest profession was carpentry
We at the outerly northern limits of the province take a justified pride in being every bit as up-to-speed on current events as any other Northern Irelander. So, intent on furthering this end, I was devouring a full-page Londonderry Sentinel story about how that newspaper broke the news of the 1879 Zulu rout at Rorke’s…
Musicians Are Made by Moments, Not Music Lessons
Recent research has shown that many children who play the recorder at school are put off music for life. The dangerous conclusion drawn from this is that the recorder is to blame. The suggestion is that children would be more inclined to develop an interest in music if they were given guitars to strum. My…
Life’s a bargain
WE live in interesting and acquisitive times. I ponder this as I stand squarely in the middle of a large department store on the day after Boxing Day, observing the carnage that surrounds me. I have foolishly, forgetting the day that’s in it, wandered in from the street to buy some miniscule batteries, otherwise unavailable…
Celebrating a Remarkable Year for the Gerry Anderson Music Bursary
As we come to the end of the year, we have been taking time to reflect on the incredible journey of the Gerry Anderson Music Bursary—and what a journey it has been. What started as a simple hope to honour Gerry’s legacy and support emerging musicians has grown into something truly special, powered by the…
The night Ricky scrubbed up well
A man recently sent me a clipping from an English language newspaper printed in Spain for consumption by British exiles that leads me to believe Ricky Valance is still alive; older now, silver-haired, alas, but recognisably the pop idol I had known so well. The clipping told me that Ricky had appeared unannounced in a…
Two Monks by the neck in the pub with no name…
THERE is a pub in Co Donegal that shall remain nameless. I first came across it one late afternoon whilst passing through with a showband (no more showband yarns, I promise). Two of us were somehow separated from the pack and found ourselves idly walking down the one and only village street. All was silent.…
My legs keep coming backward and forward
PEOPLE from Northern Ireland have always had a communication problem. Not just about how we explain the Troubles, but about almost everything else. I sometimes think that we’re not altogether comfortable with the English language. Unlike people from the south of Ireland, who seem to love words and roll them about their tongues like ice-cream,…
Rosie Ryan’s Letter to Gerry
One of our favourite items on the radio show was when Gerry used to read spoof letters that he had received from a lady by the name of “Rosie Ryan”. They have been put together into two books, volume 1 and 2. “Deer Gerry and extended family, how excruciatingly merry it is to sea you…
How Ireland went ‘pop’
I HAVE been declared fit enough to present a two-part radio documentary on BBC Radio 2 called ‘How Ireland Went Pop’. The enterprise is ably produced by Owen McFadden and it’s a fascinating story. Part 1 was aired last Saturday night but you can hear Part 2 tonight at 9 o’clock if you feel so…
History has a habit of repeating itself
Gravy train has ground to a halt News drifts towards the province that Irish people in America are scrambling like lemmings to return home. This is happening because the United States is no longer the happy-go-lucky country it was before 9/11. The American authorities used to turn a blind eye when Irish people outstayed their…
American Indians: when Mister Big Pond came to Derry
I remember thinking American Indians were just like our Derry people. Except their Dole looked different, and wasn’t as crowded. It was sad to note during the week that those most gentle and forgiving of people, the Native Americans, are now just like the rest of the Americans. A young man on an Indian reservation…
The Derry Flair
GERRY Anderson never dries up. Whether he’s on air or off it he’s unstoppable. You’re tempted to wonder not so much what makes Mr. Anderson tick as what makes him talk. Nonetheless. the fact that he has probably never been party to an embarrassing silence in his life, has paid obvious dividends on his morning…
Hitler’s dropping bombs … not sandwiches
THIS week we’ve been remembering the Belfast Blitz. It’s hard to believe that 60 years have passed since Hitler dedicated the Luftwaffe’s finest planes, men, time and money to the task of flattening Belfast. If the Fuhrer had known anything at all about the character of Belfast people he would have stood down the bombers…
When in Rome, better do as the Romans do….
ONCE, waiting to cash a cheque in an Italian bank, I was attacked by a man on a crutch. Let me set the scene. When one enters a bank in Northern Ireland, one usually joins a long, orderly queue. Civilised and slow-moving, the queue is usually made up of remarkably patient customers who resignedly accept…
Using Aztex logic, I got it right away
IN London last week, and finding myself with an hour or two to spare, I went along to the Aztec Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. For those of you who would rather spend your trips to London walking around Piccadilly Circus staring at junkies and girls wearing short skirts, I would highly recommend…
Gerry Anderson and Colum Arbuckle: The Toejam Story
Gerry Anderson and Colum Arbuckle go way back—to their early days in Derry, where they became fast friends over guitars and a shared love for music. The two even shared a flat in Manchester, where they played in bands, navigated the ups and downs of life, and eventually got evicted—a memorable chapter in their journey…
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