Catching up with Stephen Nolan
- 29 Sep 06, 02:44 PM
It has been a remarkable two days of broadcasting on the Stephen Nolan show.
Yesterday we broadcast a moving interview with a rape victim. And today listeners heard a rare first hand account of how one woman suffered violence at the hands of her partner.
Many of you called today to say you had missed yesterday's show. So if you want to hear it you can listen again here or get downloads of both interviews.
Hwyl
- 28 Sep 06, 11:52 AM
Hwyl is a Welsh word that doesn't really translate into English. The closest, or so my Welsh-speaking colleagues here assure me, would be "fun", or even, at a push, "craic". You pronounce it "howl". There might not have been much hwyl in Ian Paisley's message to the Secretary of State this morning, but the DUP leader certainly got a few laughs. Mr Hain started out with a tale familiar to some who've been through the rigorous security procedures - when Dr Paisley arrived in Manchester last night, he found he'd been designated, if you'll excuse the expression, as Ulster Unionist on his all-important security pass. At least it was orange, the audience was told. When Mr Hain told the audience that Dr Paisley had spent time preaching in the Welsh valleys, Dr Paisley told him "I think I got the hwyl". The fringe meeting, the first to be attended by the DUP leader, was sponsored by a Belfast Chinese restaurant, but fresh fruit and yoghurt featured heavily on the menu. Also there - Betty Orr, the headmistress at Edenbrook Primary. She made a guest appearance during the Secretary of State's conference speech, talking about the difficulties the years of violence had brought to the children who attended her school. She looked, I have to say, as cool as a cucumber despite the fact she was speaking to a packed hall full of delegates - although she did tell me afterwards she'd been nervous beforehand. This morning's the final push for delegates - Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott will give the closing speech, and then the trains, planes and motorways will be full of Labour party members heading home, hopefully having had a bit of hwyl along the way.
Environmentally friendly......
- 27 Sep 06, 12:23 PM
Whatever about the events in the GMEX, Mancunians could be forgiven for thinking something very odd's going on around their city hall. We were lurking there this morning, waiting for the Secretary of State (a recurrent theme of this week) when we spotted - well, it was hard to miss - what appeared to be a rather avant garde piece of sculpture, about thirty feet high. We poked around it for a bit, wondering what on earth it was meant to represent, until (with a little help from a nearby press officer) we realised it was an environmental energy provider. It had solar power generators, irrigation tanks, air filters and rainwater harvesting gutters. And best of all, at the base there were little seats - if you sat down and pulled a plastic hood over your head, a multi media display flashed up, telling you exactly what was going on and why. OK, you did look like you were in the hairdressers getting a particularly advanced shampoo and set - but it was, I have to confess, quite impressive. It's all part of the big conference roadshow here - which makes the hearts of local Labour MPs swell with pride. NIO minister Paul Goggins is one of that select band - he was touring the city centre with Peter Hain this morning, ten years after the IRA bomb. More on that on Evening Extra tonight....
After the speech....
- 26 Sep 06, 06:02 PM
It will be on all the news bulletins this evening and all over the papers tomorrow - and here in Manchester delegates are still talking about Tony Blair's last speech as Prime Minister. The queues to get in to the conference hall told their own story - it was the longest line of people we'd seen since arriving here, and trust me, that's saying something (as anyone who picked up their conference accreditation on Sunday afternoon can attest). The music as they showed an introductory video caught the mood : Never Forget by Take That. The banners near the front told their own story : Oh Won't You Stay Just A Little Bit Longer, Things Got Better, Simply The Best. NIO Minister David Hanson told us on Evening Extra he knew it would be an emotional day for the Prime Minister - before coming to Northern Ireland Mr Hanson was the PM's parliamentary private secretary for four years. Shahid Malik worked as an equality commissioner here before being elected as MP for Dewsbury. He told us he thought the speech was "inspiring". Bertie Ahern popped up on that introductory video - talking about Mr Blair's contribution to Northern Ireland. That, unsurprisingly, got a huge cheer from delegates. Just two glancing references in the speech to NI, though - but at the weekend Mr Blair told the Manchester Evening News that Northern Ireland was "really very important" to him when asked about his legacy. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News website gives us the stats on the clapometer - nearly ten minutes of a standing ovation at the end. Delegates are heading off to digest the speech at fringe meetings all over Manchester now...we'll no doubt be meeting a lot of them as we do our own fringe trek this evening.
Ulster Fry
- 26 Sep 06, 10:34 AM
The Ulster Fry's an annual event here at the Labour Party conference - an invitation to all with an interest in Northern Ireland to eat, chat and hear debate. The fry came with all the trimmings - anyone listening to this morning's Good Morning Ulster will be reassured to know that the wheaten bread did arrive, and was much enjoyed by all. Of course some have to sing for their supper (or fry) so Nigel Dodds of the DUP, SF's Pat Doherty, the SDLP's Alistair McDonnell and Sir Reg Empey of the UUP took their seats at the top table for the question and answer session. Now, the venue for it all was in one of the big marquees that surround the GMEX centre where the conference is being held - exactly like a wedding marquee, in fact. We did have this feeling that at any stage one of the panelists was going to ask us all to raise our glasses to toast the bride and groom. And remember what I said yesterday about the sunny weather? Well in the middle of the debate the heavens duly opened and the wedding party.....err.....panellists were nearly drowned out by the sound of the rain on the roof of the tent. But away from wheaten bread and tents - Tony Blair makes his last conference speech as Prime Minister today - more on that of course on Radio Ulster throughout the day.
Sunny days
- 25 Sep 06, 05:47 PM
It's more like midsummer than the end of September here in Manchester. A quick look at the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s five day weather forecast promises more warm weather this week - good news for the delegates who get to eat their sandwiches al fresco at lunchtime. For those of us who trek from fringe event to fringe event in the evening, it's nice to know raingear will not be necessary - for the next day or two at least. And as the delegates poured out into the sunshine this afternoon, the main topic of conversation was have been Gordon Brown's conference speech. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News website gives us the stats - 37 minutes 37 seconds long, a 2 minute 45 second standing ovation and 41 bursts of applause during the speech. Northern Ireland got no more than a passing mention, in a list of Tony Blair's achievements. The fringe merry-go round continues tonight - Mark Devenport's already popped in on the Ulster Unionists who are holding their event as I type. Last night we had the Agreed Ireland Forum, and later on it's over to another Manchester hotel for a Labour Party Irish society event. Traditional music is promised, apparently.....
Postcard from Manchester
- 25 Sep 06, 01:07 PM
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Northern Ireland news team is at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester. Along with ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ NI's Political Editor Mark Devenport, I'll be keeping you updated on all the goings on from here. We've just been watching Gordon Brown's big speech to conference - you can hear more on that on tonight's Evening Extra. And last night we had the first Northern Ireland fringe event with the Secretary of State in attendance. So it's going to be a busy few days.
The first posting
- 22 Sep 06, 03:35 PM
Welcome to the first day of the new Radio Ulster blog. The first and most obvious question is what exactly are we trying to accomplish here.
Well¡For many years the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ with a greater and lesser degree of success been looking for ways to engage more directly with the audience.
We¡¯ve used emails, message boards, text messaging, set up radio phone ins and we even still read your letters.
And what have we learned? That sometimes by the time we get involved the conversation is taking place elsewhere.
Think of it this way ¨C it is like one day the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ walks into a pub where there is a loud conversation going on and it all goes quiet when we come in ¨Cand the next time we go the pub is empty because the scene has moved on elsewhere.
Well this time we are here at the start of the conversation and we would like you all to join in.
So here is the plan in a nutshell.
What this blog will try to do is offer you access to Radio Ulster¡¯s output in a more dynamic and meaningful way than may have been possible before.
So if Stephen Nolan or David Dunseith or Good Morning Ulster start a feisty debate it can continue afterwards on the blog.
If Across the Line does a secret gig we¡¯ll offer behind the scenes pictures.
If there¡¯s a major event like a party conference or a big political day we¡¯ll give you more and different aspects to the story on the blog.
And the beauty of it is ¨C you can tell us what you think ¨C what you like and what you don¡¯t like straight away and share your opinions with others.
Of course there will be some ground rules which you can read here. And there is also more to find out about what the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is up to in the blogosphere.
So that¡¯s about it ¨C we¡¯ll be kicking off with London correspondent Ruth McDonald blogging the Tory and Labour Party Conferences from September the 24th
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