John Lennon's Irish Roots

In my opinion, John Lennon should be recognised as the greatest Irish singer ever: his California-based biographer Jon Wiener after all said that Lennon "thought of himself as Irish." The Irish roots of the two main members of the Beatles, Lennon and Paul McCartney, has not yet been fully acknowledged, despite the fact that Lennon, like McCartney, also had two Irish Grandparents. Incredible then, considering how well known the Irish roots of the world's most popular duo of songwriters - they are for some strange reason, not listed for example in The Guinness Book of Irish Facts and Feats by Ciarán Deane (Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Middlesex, 1984).

The Beatles came from Merseyside - an area around the city of Liverpool which has the largest Irish population in England, mainly as a result of the exodus of people from Ireland during the Great Famine in the 1840's. Early in their career, the Beatles had played in Ireland three times: in Dublin and Belfast in 1963, and once again in Belfast in 1964. It was after the split of the Beatles in 1970, that both Lennon & McCartney began releasing songs about the Irish question - all of which were all banned by the BCC: McCartney wrote Give Ireland Back to Irish which became a hit single in 1972, and Lennon wrote Sunday Bloody Sunday, and The Luck of The Irish, both of which were on the album Some Time In New York City that was also released in 1972.

On one hand The Guinness Book of Irish Facts and Feats informs you, for example, that the Socialist anthem, The Red Flag was written by Jim Connell from Co. Meath in Ireland (d. 1929), and under the heading "Top-selling contemporary Irish and Irish-related popular music artists" it lists only U2, Van Morrison and Bob Geldof. Under the heading "The London Irish", it lists John Lydon from the Sex Pistols (whose father is a Gaelic speaker from Co. Galway), Boy George, Elvis Costello and The Pogues - but nowhere is either Lennon & McCartney, or the Beatles mentioned - but then again neither is another world famous Irish singer - Mary O'Brien - commonly known as Dusty Springfield.

Lennon - like another famous son of Ireland, Che Guevara Lynch - was more Irish than for example than either President Kennedy or Ronald Reagan, but l suspect that the main reason why the Irish state has not given these two proper recognition is because they were both regarded probably as dangerous revolutionaries and atheists - in Lennon's case, for example, he once sang about his opposition to the Catholic Church in Ireland, and expressed outright sympathy with the Irish Republican movement in his song Sunday Bloody Sunday:

Repatriate to Britain
All of you who call it home
Leave Ireland to the Irish
Not for London or for Rome!

Lennon's grandfather, John (Jack) Lennon was born in Dublin in 1858, and like many Irish people after the Great Famine of the 1840's - when Britain allowed over a million Irish people to die of starvation - emigrated to Liverpool to seek better prospects of employment. There Jack married an Irishwoman called Mary Maguire and started a family. Sadly, their children, including Alfred, were orphaned early on and grew up in Liverpool orphanages. As his father Alfred Lennon walked out and left him at the age of 5, Lennon never knew either of his Irish grandparents or anything of his Irish roots. This is probably because he was raised by his mother's family, the Stanleys, were Welsh. In later years he became increasingly interested in his Irish ancestry. In 1975, John give his second son the name Seán, the Gaelic version of his own name.

Like many Irish people, John Lennon came from a musical family, in this case a long line of minstrel singers and crooners. His grandfather had earned his living as a minstrel singer, and his great-grandfather was also a known singer in Ireland. Alfred Lennon had also earned extra money singing as a young man also. The Lennon family tradition of crooning, which started back in Ireland, continued with John Lennon, and later through his own son Julian, who released his highly acclaimed debut album Valotte in 1984.

A real Christmas campaign

Northern Ireland man launches campaign to make John Lennon Christmas No1 2010

A real Christmas campaign

With Christmas being hi-jacked over the last few years by X-Factor, a County Down man, has started a campaign to put a John Lennon classic at the top of the charts.

2010 should have been the year John Lennon celebrated his 70^th birthday, however it instead marks the 30^th anniversary of his murder outside The Dakota building in New York, where he lived, by lone assassin Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980.

In honour of his life, this campaign aims to make John and Yoko’s timeless anti-war/Christmas masterpiece Merry Xmas (War is Over) a hit during this festive season.

The single, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), was released in the US on 6 December 1971, but never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 charts; the UK release was delayed until the following November due to a publishing dispute. Upon release, it reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was re-released in the UK on 20 December 1980 shortly after John Lennon's death on 8 December 1980, peaking at Number 3.

"With the world in such a war-torn state, there has perhaps never been a better time to remember this song, and in doing so, we celebrate the genius of Lennon and remember that he was a true songwriter and musician who would be horrified at the music-industry as it stands today." Said Marc.

So, for Christmas 2010, let us remember a true musician and artist, let us remember and celebrate real music makers and the message of Christmas and finally, let us say together 'War is Over...'

By using using the following link: http://bit.ly/cW4HOD we can make this the Christmas download No 1. Download the track on December 12^th to have a real chance at the Christmas No1 slot.

Join the campaign: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Make-John-Lennon-Christmas-No1-2010/101568756580534

This campaign has been started by Marc Savage from Banbridge, N Ireland. Marc is art director in a newspaper production house called CNS, situated in Blackstaff Square, Belfast.

He can be contacted at: marcsavage1706@gmail.com

Living in the 1500's

Living in the 1500's Ireland

Next time you're washing your hands and the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s. Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children -- last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Houses had thatched roofs -- thick straw -- piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof -- hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs." There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway, hence, a "thresh hold." In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite awhile. Hence the rhyme, "peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old." Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man "could bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat." Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Most people did not have pewter plates, but had trenchers, a piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Often trenchers were made from stale bread which was so old and hard that they could be used for quite some time. Trenchers were never washed and a lot of times worms and mold got into the wood and old bread. After eating off wormy, moldy trenchers, one would get "trench mouth." Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust." Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake." England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer." And that's the truth. . . (who ever said that History was boring)?

Peter Andre with Special Guests The Overtones - Odyssey Belfast

ODYSSEY BELFAST
Tuesday 7th December 2010 20:00

Tickets £33
Parents with small children are advised to book tiered seating

Due to phenomenal public demand Peter Andre has announced he will play eleven dates around the UK in December this year.

The tour will see Peter performing live with his band, with audiences treated to tracks from his new album including top five single Behind Closed Doors as well a number of his previous classic hits including Mysterious Girl.

Following the success of his album Revelation last year, he has followed this with the release of Unconditional Love Songs a collection of Peter's favourite love songs from previous albums, as well as five covers of classic love songs, reworked and sung in Peter's own style.

Both Peter's albums have shown how he has developed as an artist, showing a more musically mature approach to his lyrics.

The new tour will give Peter the chance to prove to everyone that he is not only a brilliant studio artist but also a talented live vocalist and musician.
Tickets : click here **

What you should know about Taxis in Belfast.

Many of us use taxis rarely; perhaps only when going out and not wanting to drink and drive. But for others, using taxis each week can be a necessity. Such users include those who do not own a car and have too many shopping bags to climb on and off a bus, the disabled, and the worker who finishes too late to get a bus home. A survey has shown that most taxi users feel they have cause to complain. This is either about the fare charged, the attitude of the driver or the condition of the vehicle.

A few tips for when using taxis in Belfast would be, 1. Ensure the taxi has a valid licence plate. 2. Check to see if the driver is wearing a taxi drivers badge, 3. Check to see if the meter begins at the correct fare, generally £3.00 and make sure the driver switches on the meter when starting the journey. Unfortunately there are some unscrupulous drivers out there that will try to charge a rediculously high fare or charge per passenger travelling in the vehicle. This practice is against the law and should be reported to the DVA on the number below.

Useful information

All Licensed taxis must display the driver's ID badge, a roof light or sign and licence plates on Windows and both the front and back of the vehicle. The taxi Licence plates are rectangular shape and are either coloured Green, Yellow, White or White and Blue.

• A green licence plate means the taxi must be pre-booked either in person at a depot or by phone. These taxis are not required to be wheelchair accessible or have a meter.
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• A yellow licence plate means the taxi can be hailed in the street or from designated taxi ranks when the roof light is on. These taxis are wheelchair accessible and must have a meter and are the only Taxi's that can pick up on taxi ranks or randomly in Belfast without being pre booked in advance.
  
• A white licence plate means that the taxi can be pre-booked or hailed in areas outside a five mile radius of Belfast City Centre. These taxis are not required to be wheelchair accessible or have a meter.
• White and blue licence plates are issued to taxis that provide bus type services, ie they charge passengers an individual fare. These taxis - which operate in North and West Belfast and in Londonderry - are not required to have a meter but are wheelchair accessible.

In Belfast, public hire taxi rates are fixed at £3.00 for the first 0.5 mile and 10p for each one-tenth of a mile thereafter. These rates apply until 8pm Monday to Friday. Fares increase on journeys made between 8pm and midnight Monday to Friday, midnight to 6am Monday to Sunday, and all day Saturday and Sunday. There are other rates for carrying five or more passengers, waiting time and luggage. No other taxi rates are fixed, so make sure you shop around and, especially if you're going on a long journey, make sure you know beforehand how much you're going to have to pay.

Under disability law, all public hire taxis are to be able to cope with wheelchairs. However, there are still some which cannot accommodate a wheelchair. If you're intending to use a taxi, you'll want to be sure that it's safe. First, make sure that the vehicle is actually a taxi. Check that it has a proper roof sign and the appropriate plates, and if in any doubt, ask the driver to let you see his badge. When applying for a taxi-driving licence, drivers must show that they are medically fit and of good conduct. They must not smoke while in the vehicle. Taxis are regarded as Public Service Vehicles and are checked at least once a year by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA). The DVA inspects to make sure the vehicle is roadworthy and clean, that it and the driver are properly licensed, and that there is proper insurance. Meters in Belfast public hire taxis are also checked to make sure they're working out the charges correctly.

What to do if you have a complaint

As we have said earlier, most taxi users feel they have cause to complain. But of those, only about six out of every ten actually do complain. Reasons for complaining include-

• the taxi failing to show up at all, or coming late;
• high fares;
• unacceptable conduct by the driver; and
• the condition of the vehicle.

If you feel you've been treated unreasonably, try first to get it sorted with the taxi driver or, where appropriate, the depot. If that fails, write to the Taxi Licensing Officer. The address and phone number are shown below. Please remember, if you're going to make a complaint, it will make things much more simple and quicker if you've taken a note of the vehicle's registration number or the driver or taxi licence number which can be found either on one of the windows or at the back and front of the vehicle.

Contacts

Taxi Licensing Officer
Road Transport Licensing Division
Driver Vehicle Agency
148-158 Corporation Street
Belfast
BT1 3DH
Phone: 028 9025 4180 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 028 9025 4180 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: 028 9025 4186
Email: martin.smyth@doeni.gov.uk
Web: www.dvlni.gov.uk/commercial/taxi/index.htm