... it's christmas time

!?

... seen in a large national record store. Apart from employing somebody who knows something about music they should make sure they employ somebody who can also read.

A quiet corner

............. almost.
Blog Brother is watching!!!

Isn't it wonderful to be young and in love and totally oblivious of the world around you.

All shopped out

... those tiles must be really cool and soothing on tired, worn out feet.

Oh So Pretty

... that's the name of the band who were playing in Zavvi, Victoria Square this evening and pretty good they were too. They did a really good rendition of 'Teenage Kicks' (but I wouldn't expect anything less) and a few other numbers I didn't know. I left before they finished their session - so they may have done some more familiar stuff. Hunger got the better of me.

I am fairly sure that they are not as in the words of the song 'Oh so pretty and witty and gay' (c:
... but then again how would I know?

... and because my grand-daughter wanted to see the unedited version.

Heat forces city dome's closure

Thanks to chillzero for pointing out this wonderful piece of news:

The dome on top of Belfast's landmark Victoria Square complex was forced to close because it became too hot.

Management at the city centre shopping development decided to shut the tourist attraction on Saturday for health and safety reasons.

The public viewing gallery which crowns the complex was closed for several hours as the temperature rose to an uncomfortable 30 degrees.

more:

Victoria Square manager Hugh Black said: "The decision was taken for the health and safety reasons for the both customers and staff.

He said the dome had safety measures in place to stop it becoming too hot.

"The design of the dome includes a system which automatically opens windows in the dome once the temperature reaches 19 degrees, plus a solar shade which follows the track of the sun in order to prevent the intense heat of the sun from directly reflecting into the dome.

"However, due to the higher than usual temperatures on Saturday, these were not enough to reduce the humidity in this particular area."
The dome has safety measures in place to stop it becoming too hot
Victoria Square said it was currently looking into additional methods to help control the temperature of the public area.

How about a sprinkler system and that way the poor trees would get some water.

Victoria Square - the shame

It really is a shame that they spent all that money on this big shopping complex and can't afford a watering can for the plants - maybe they should have left the roof off, at least they would have got a bit of rain. To look at these trees, you would think it's autumn.

Victoria Square (cont.)

I took a walk through Victoria Square this afternoon and was surprised to hear a jazz band entertaining the crowds(!) ... well the few people who ventured in to this rich woman's playground, it's certainly not for the plebs like you or me (c:

This may be an effort to draw in the crowds because, as you can see from the pic below, there were very few shoppers in now that the original fascination has worn off. Can we have our old Victoria Shopping Centre back now, please!

Victoria Square, Belfast - the grand opening

Two jugglers, who were part of the entertainment laid on for the public, at the opening of Victoria Square shopping centre.
A view of the inside of the centre from the second level.
Unfortunately the viewing area was closed by the time I arrived (having been hi-jacked by the BBC for an outside broadcast, which was extremely inconsiderate of them in my opinion) so I had to settle for taking photos on the other levels of the centre. This is the viewing area - looking very much like an alien space craft.
This is the view from level 2 of the harpists on stage on the ground floor.

This is the view from ground level of the harpists on stage.

A jazz duo, also part of the evening's entertainment.

I thought all the bloggers of Belfast would have been in attendance but, as yet, I have not seen any other posts. Perhaps they are still at the centre, maxing out their credit cards?

Update:

Alan in Belfast was there for the main event. Andy, Adada, healysequoia and Connormcc have also visited.

Victoria Square

The new Victoria Square complex is to be opened shortly and at present they are busy putting the finishing touches to it. The Victorian style fountain which has just been erected is in memory of Daniel Joseph Jaffe who, in 1852 with his wife Frederiké, brought their family of four boys and five girls from Hamburg to Belfast and along with his older sons, Martin, John and Alfred, set up a business exporting linen.

However, it is the legacy of the son – Otto – that often overshadows his father’s testimony. Louis Hyman’s account of Sir Otto’s life records this most distinguished of Daniel’s children as “shrewd, sharp-witted, far seeing and [whilst] almost parsimonious in business, he is lavish in unostentatious charities”. Otto was elected a city councillor in 1879, was elected as Belfast’s first Lord Mayor in 1899 (as mentioned the first incumbent of the title under the new status of the city as a county borough). He was knighted after his first term, served as High Sheriff and was re-elected as Lord Mayor in 1904. Sir Otto’s interest in education extended not only to the primary education of Jewish children in the Cliftonville Road School. He was also a pioneer in the foundation of Belfast’s Technical College and contributed £4000 to Queen’s University. History from Headstones:

I do hope they are going to paint over that garish yellow colour.

UPDATE from Alan in Belfast:

The Jaffe Fountain began life in the 1870's in Victoria Square, Belfast. It was
moved out of the city centre and up to Botanic Gardens in 1993. But today (14th
Feb 2008) it was returned to its home in Victoria Square.

An interesting old photo of Victoria Square, with fountain, circa 1910 can be seen here: