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 p.1 #1 · Belfast 2011 (lots of pics...) | |
Just after having a browse through pictures I took in 2011 and thought I'd share some here (most if not all taken in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland).
So here goes....
JANUARY
Like most years, 2011 kicked off with lots of people trekking along to pick up a bargain at the January sales...
Because of cold weather over Christmas, there were larger than usual discounts to attract more shoppers...
The thing most people will remember this month for was snow and freezing temperatures...
Not just for a few days, as normal, but the chilly weather lasted for several weeks. Temperatures plunged into the minus teens in many places, and the icy conditions caused widespread disruption on the roads. I remember one evening seeing the little thermometer in my car showing -15 C.
Thankfully power supplies were largely unaffected...
With lakes frozen over, some people (unwisely) went walking on the ice...
There was concern for birds and animals caught out by the cold weather. This otter certainly seemed to be enjoying his lunch...
Ducks were unable to get into frozen ponds...
Models taking part in a city centre fashion shoot. It happened in the middle of the big freeze, you can probably tell it was cold by the looks on their faces....
The girl below is Elizabeth Day, a feature writer for The Observer and also an author. I'd been asked to take a picture but was late, couldn't get parked, ended up having to jog for nearly a mile to meet her. Arrived with heart thumping and totally out of breath, so much so I could hardly speak. There was only time for a couple of shots - this was the first one, taken just inside the front door of the Holiday Inn....
A young boy admired the gleaming chrome when vintage car enthusiasts held a show of old vehicles at the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle....
Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, creator of the ITV costume drama Downton Abbey, at the Europa Hotel.
FEBRUARY
Medical students at Queen's University held a musical show....
With tens of thousands of protesters on the streets of Egypt's major cities, calling for reforms and the removal of President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian people living in NI were concerned about relatives living in cities such as Cairo. This woman was worried that her son might have might have been caught up in violent clashes between supporters of the president and anti-government protesters..
Vintage fashions were on display at the Europa Hotel. I took this pic of one of the models in the hotel foyer - we got a few strange looks from people passing by...
A balloon seller with some of her merchandise....
Usually they baptise babies one at a time - but in this ceremony they did 18 together....
Pop group The Saturdays played a gig at the Waterfront....
MARCH
Prince William and Kate Middleton made a one-day visit to Northern Ireland ahead of their wedding...
The Script put on a brilliant concert at the Odyssey...
Belfast Fashion Week held its spring show. Went over one evening to take a few pics...
A kid (actually my son) gathers daffodils in the spring weather...
Singer Enrique Iglesias onstage at the Odyssey...
Members of the Indian community held their Festival of Colours....
APRIL
I was lucky enough to have a chance to go backstage with the girl band Wonderland, to do some pics of them getting ready to perform their concert...
The pic below is a favourite. Kick boxer Alex Reid (who was once married to model Katie Price, aka Jordan), ran into two girls promoting Coca Cola when he visited Belfast for an awards ceremony. Given that both were topless, apart from some silver paint, I'd have though it might be best to look at their faces while introducing yourself. Alex obviously doesn't agree....
Just a wee pic of my cocktail being mixed by an expert....
Liam Gallagher and his new band Beady Eye on stage at the Ulster Hall....
Some people enjoying their fried chicken....
Out for a smoke....
There was a spate of security alerts, most of which were hoaxes, but still had to be checked out. This one in Antrim....
Taking part in a colourful Easter Parade in Bangor...
MAY
Spring had sprung, and the lambs were jumping about in the County Down countryside (this one near Dromara)...
Farmers were ploughing the fields....
Other farmers took their prize livestock to the annual Balmoral Show, Northern Ireland's biggest agricultural show....
As well as farm animals, the show also attracts a lot of top showjumpers. This is Geoff Billington and Baloon JXl taking part in the Ryedale Clothing International at Balmoral.
I watched an interesting demonstration by taxidermist Ingrid Houwers, from Bangor, who works mainly with animals killed on the roads, where she put the finishing touches to a pair of foxes...
A local mayor, visiting a cricket club, decided to try his hand at batting. He found it wasn't as easy as he'd thought...
Simon Callow (the Scottish guy in Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Neill Morton at the opening of the new Lyric Theatre in Belfast
A gardener works in the grounds of the five-star Culloden Hotel, Cultra, as an exhibition of sculpture by leading Irish and international artists, by Gormley's Fine Art, gets underway.
June
Reading a book during a tattoo session at the NI Tattoo Convention at the Ulster Hall, Belfast
A Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Belfast Castle to mark the launch of the Belfast Book Festival
Finola Guianne from Belfast wins the Miss NI competition during the final at the Europa Hotel...
Rock band The Journey on stage in Belfast....
Trouble flared in east Belfast. Police came under attack from fireworks and petrol bombs on the Newtownards Road during a night of rioting in the area...
Hmmmm, something of a contradiction here.....?
During the disturbances, a photographer got shot in the leg when a rioter fired a gun. Police applied emergency first aid before taking him to hospital....
Runners set off on a 10k road run in Lisburn...
July
With the arrival of some warm weather, tennis fans watched the Wimbledon men's final on a large screen in the grounds of the city hall...
Some people cooled down by running through fountains....
Others went to the beach....
A young boy climbs on a giant bonfire being built in north Belfast....
Crowds gather to watch the Sandy Row bonfire start to burn...
Revellers dance in the street as the bonfires get underway...
The following day, youths at Ardoyne threw petrol bombs after an 12th of July parade passed nearby...
A police officer is set alight during the disturbances....
Although they generally stood well back, police fired plastic baton rounds when the rioters got too close....
A water cannon is used to hold back rioters...
Onlookers watch as a car is set alight during the disturbances....
On a happier note, Jedward played at the Waterfront....
Budding disk jockeys learn how to spin CDs and mix music during a week-long workshop at the Oh Yeah Music Centre...
Jane Boyce becomes Northern Ireland's only Master of Wine, and the only female Master of Wine anywhere in Ireland...
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness visits Belfast City Hall to sign a book of condolence in memory of those killed during shootings at a young people's camp on an island in Norway.
August
The scene at Belfast Central Station where a bus with more than 30 people on board overturned. All escaped without serious injury....
Yasmin on stage at Customs House Square, at the Belsonic music festival...
Tinie Tempah peforms at the Belsonic music festival....
Adrenaline drop.... A man leaps from a 100 foot high crane as part of a fundraising event in Belfast...
The NI Hot Air Balloon Festival took place at Moira. Unfortunately it was too windy for the balloons to go up when I called. Here a balloon pilot tests his burners....
Sometimes I like to wander around and take random snapshots. These were from an afternoon in Ballymena....
September
A single candle burns during the Sunday morning service in St Anne's Cathedral to remember those who died in the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York 10 years ago....
A number of motorcycle road racers died in accidents during the summer. Here fellow motorcyclists escort the body of racer Wayne Hamilton, who was killed in the Junior Manx Grand Prix, along the M1 motorway back to his home in Portadown...
A banjo player tunes up during the opening day of the Bluegrass Music Festival, at the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh...
Members of Sunny Side play Blue Moon of Kentucky during the opening day of the Bluegrass Music Festival at Omagh...
Richard Dormer, who plays Terri Hooley in the new biopic Good Vibrations, shooting a scene for the film in Belfast. The movie traces the story of famous Belfast record store owner Terri Hooley and his contribution to the local music scene, especially punk rock...
Musician and composer David Holmes, who has produced soundtracks for major films such as Ocean's Eleven, Buffalo Soldiers and Analyse That, chats to script-writer Glenn Patterson in Belfast during a break in shooting for the movie Good Vibrations....
With the summer coming to an end, bikers gather for a run along the North Coast...
While taking the above pic, I noticed some people launching a boat and sailing off into the sunset....
There was a big increase in the scrap value of metals such as lead and copper. Here a priest stands outside his church where thieves stripped lead from the roof on two occasions in the space of one week....
Rihanna filmed her new music video in Belfast....
And, yes, she did wear that controversial necklace....
Delays along the Westlink after a traffic accident....
The Belfast Fashion Week autumn shows got underway.....
October
Members of the Occupy Belfast group staging a protest in Writers Square against austerity cuts. The group camped out at the square over the weekend, and say they will remain there for some months...
Kids release balloons at Belfast Castle....
Some people arriving at an awards evening in Belfast. Former Miss NI Joanne Salley....
Holly Sweeney, former girlfriend of golfer Rory McIlroy...
Actress Karen Hassan
Stacey Haskins from Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model
Heavy rain led to flooding on some roads, including here on the Lisburn Road...
November
Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph....
There was lots of excitement in the run-up to the MTV awards being staged in Belfast. Music fans were able to get free admission to the event by going along to the Waterfront Hall. Here some who were successful leave with their tickets...
Queen guitarist and song writer Brian May checks out the iPhones during a walk around Victoria Square, Belfast, before the MTV awards
Guns N Roses co-founder and bassist Duff McKagan out and about in Belfast before the MTV awards...
Thousands of fans watch Snow Patrol on stage during an open air concert at Belfast City Hall, part of the MTV Awards
Katie Perry has to step back as a fan appears to reach for her chest. The singer was going into the Europa Hotel MTV Awards after-show party...
A guy enjoying a late night snack at a restaurant is surprised to see David Hasselhoff outside the window on his way to the Europa Hotel MTV Awards after-show party.
December
Auctioneer Charlie Williams with a Jimi Hendrix signature which was among the items at an auction in the Culloden Hotel, the signatures are rare because the legendary guitar player died young and seldom signed autographs for fans.
Reality TV star Mark Wright from The Only Way Is Essex is greeted by female fans when he dropped into a Belfast nightclub
Ruby Wax hosted the Women In Business awards at the Ramada Hotel
A campaigner for a ban on the process of "hydraulic fracturing" for natural gas in Northern Ireland outside Stormont
Making leather belts at the Continental Market
There were concerns about Christmas sales as shoppers had to battle with winter weather...
Carving a traditionally-cooked turkey during the Spirit of Christmas Past day at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra...
Showing children how to make traditional willow stick stars during the Spirit of Christmas Past day at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum....
Actress and model Kelly Brook, in Belfast for the making of a film with comedian Keith Lemon, is recognised by a late night reveller as she leaves a night club around 2am after spending the evening with friends....
Comedian Leigh Francis (Keith Lemon), in Belfast for the making of the Keith Lemon The Movie film...
Angels wait to take part in a Christmas play....
The Dean of St Anne's Cathedral collecting donations for charity as part of his Black Santa sit-out. He stayed out for seven days, regardless of weather....
So that was 2011..... 
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