The Belfast bloggee has commented on two recent blogs as follows:
The question of fairies is really not whether you believe in them but whether you acknowledge their existence.
Your German friend's comments lead neatly to the subject of water, particularly Norn Iron water that is not pre-used.
Norn Iron has not fallen victim to the dreaded Council Tax and still maintains the old "rating" system, once known as "Consolidated Rates", which theoretically covers the cost of water charges. But no more. The folks who live on the hill, our erstwhile politicians (whatever did happen to them?) have now decided otherwise and now plan to introduce a separate charge for water. This is the consequence of living in a country which rains for 364 days a year and has a water shortage for 363 of those.
The populace is up in arms, "what do we pay rates for?" they cry as one. Well, the answer partly lies in a leafy suburb of North Belfast where, yesterday, two men in yellow florescent jackets drew a square in blue with the letter "W" in the centre in the middle of the avenue. At 8.00 am today, a lorry, a digger, three vans and six men in fluorescent jackets descended on the small blue square on the road, smoked cigarettes and had a meeting while standing around and pointing at the square. Then they attacked the blue square with machinery for a few minutes before stopping for tea, sandwiches and cigarettes. Two men wearing suits and carrying clip boards arrived in another van, had a cup of tea and stood around the hole that used to be the blue square.
The men in suits left, as did some of the fluorescent men in two of the vans while the remaining fluorescent men finished their tea and spoke into their mobile telephones. Three more vans arrived, a big one and two small ones, and the occupants stood about discussing the hole in the road that used to be a blue square. Another lorry arrived with more fluorescent men and machinery and some of the vans left. There was a lot of noise and a flurry of activity for a brief period, then calm while they smoked some more cigarettes.
The men in suits returned with their clipboards and stood over a shiny new piece of tarmac that used to be a hole in the road but was previously a blue square with "W" in the centre. It is now 12.18 pm and everybody and everything has departed leaving a new piece of road no bigger than 2" metres just outside.
Thankyou Mr B.
