Hiya folks
Well, I went to Ireland. My son took me to a terribly posh hotel in Belfast. We, that is, my son, his wife, my wife, and myself, thought it was excellent, with beautiful grounds, views, food service. The Culloden. Smashing.
Lisburn, unfortunately, was a bit of a let down. What ever happened to the Wallace Park, and to the once lovely Castle Gardens? Absolutely disgusting. I had to close my eyes to remember both as they were.
Luckily, meeting my old family was a wonderful experience. As a very emotional wee man, I enjoyed having a good cry. My English family thought they were all warm and welcoming, and, though equally unimpressed with the Castle Gardens and Wallace Park, thought the town centre was quite a nice wee place. That said, they felt that, with a whole world to see, they are unlikely to rush back. We were only there for a few days, and the main purpose of the visit was achieved - for me to meet again my brothers and sisters.
Mind you, I hardly stop talking, so I’m sure they will have heard enough of me for a while.
Joe

Hi Dabbler
Yes lots of modern!!!changes to Lisburn. I feel most of the town's energy is put into the new and perhaps the old is being forgotten a little.

Lots of regeneration which is terrific, but little things like big pot holls in the roads, old fashioned road junctions, little things that need fixing!!!
Do you feel the same?

Sadie

Welcome back Dabbler / Joe
was getting worried about you. Lucky you , staying in Culloden, the nearest I got to that was Afternoon tea and buns there a few years ago when we visited the Folkpark in Cultra. I suppose you heard that Hilden school is closing.
Donald

Sadie, Donald,
I had heard of all this money being thrown into the regeneration of the town, and was ill prepared for the drabness. Parks and gardens are a focal point of any modern city, from Barcelona to Brighton, and need to be looked after.
I don’t know about the financial state of the Education Department, but I would have thought that in these times of attempted integration, the last hing Northern Ireland needs is the closure of schools like Hilden.
Joe

Hear Hear!

Yes it's very sad news......

Sadie

By the way Donald, I don’t know who put in that advert mid April for a ‘torrent’ search engine.
Definitely not me.
THE Joe.

Must have 2 Joes now, perhaps you should stay Dabbler
Donald

Joe, your son wanted the best for you to entertain you at the Culloden. It must have been a great reunion, and in a fitting place for the boy of the back streets as you were. It must have seem worlds apart. My husband and I and the three grown up children were there in 2000 for a family wedding. Did you see the helicopter landing pad? I suppose for the VIPs from Stormont.

I remember my aunt Betty saying to me that day, "Betty, there is only one thing missing at this wedding. Your daddy, your mammy and Will. We all sat in thought with dewy eyes for a moment or two remembering them. You know I can't see that being done in England, old fashioned, I suppose. But it made my day.

Glad you had a good time.

Liz

Liz
We met up in a sister’s house, where my brother is being nursed towards the end.
It was logistically impossible to get them all to the hotel.
I have spent holidays abroad in many places claiming to be five star, and been ‘underwhelmed’, but this hotel lives up to its reputation.
But for me, the overwhelming experience was the sweet/sad one of meeting siblings after such a long, long time.
Liz, looking at your post, I am remembering once again your dad, with his cheeky grin, and his wild curly hair, and youthful appearance. He used to do as much road running as a professional boxer. I recall the shock with which I learned that such a fit fellow could have been brought down by a pulmonary disease. I think it was TB. As far as I know, he never boxed again after that diagnosis.

dabbler
i was home 19 months ago and like you was saddened by the state of wallace park and castle gardens. apparantly the council want to sell half of the park to a hockey club but a vocal resistance is opposing this rightly so
they,ve gone to court with a qc to say the park was bequeathed to the people of lisburn for their their enjoyment in perpetuaty by william wallace so the park is not theirs to sell as a result the council is not spending any money on the upkeep to force the issue in a few years


i spoke to a lady organizer who said since lisburn became a city the people in council for a large part are not lisburn people as w e would know it they,re from all over the plane a lot from belfast where the big dollar or quid is king

so things like your castle gardens poem which affected us all in it,s simplicity and memories and so good are only for us,

the new council have moved on and have no knowledge of days gone by

The new council have not a clue about Lisburn full stop. The hockey club have built their own pitches and clubhouse outside Hillsborough, and still the Wallace Park is in disrepair!

Not only do the Councillors seem to know or care little about Lisburn’s history and heritage, but their short term penny pinching attitude suggests they know little about running a city. Give the old place the parks and gardens the citizens and children deserve, and make it a city that people will flock to visit!