You Learn Something New Part 6

As the Assembly is closing for the guts of two weeks we will miss Jim Shannon's Ulster Scots lessons for a wee while so we may savour this week's. Today he is talking about rural dwellings.

Word of the day is heirskeip which means heritage.

This bes a gyely straight forrit question an' hit shudnae tak' ap owre mich tim' the day. Hit cums doon tae a matther o' common wit. Fairmin bes a big pairt o' oor cultur an' heirskeip an' a baag pairt o' the economic balance i Norlin Airlan theday, bit nae matther aboot the historical ties hit hes, hoo monie fairther tae sinn - an' noo tae dauchter, generations hae pleyed this role , hit bes, aa hit's hairt, a business. A gyley haird wrocht bit fulfillin' joab o' waark.

Jim has changed his Ulster Scots for the word a, to aa instead of aa' as he used in previous weeks - presumably the apostrophe was to denote the ommission of a third a, which would surely prove excessive in any language/dialect.

Dreaded Vote of Confidence

David McNarry has the strangest way of pledging his support for a Minister. As the proposed new stadium was again the big issue at today's meeting of the committee of Culture Arts and Leisure, and although nobody called for the resignation of the Minister, Edwin Poots who is still in America, the possibility was raised by the UUP MLA.
The alleged rewriting of the Minister's statement yesterday in light of pressure from within his party was enough for Mr McNarry, who favours the stadium's location in Belfast, to wonder if Poots, who favours it in Long Kesh-Maze, was considering resigning.

"Are the reports true that the statement was discussed prior to its release at a party meeting?" pondered Mr McNarry. "How were the party in receipt of this statement. Is it normal for his statements to be scruitinised by his party before being released? In view of these points, is the Minister considering his position now? Has party influences interfering with his Ministerial role, and therefore judgement?"

If that wasn't bad enough, he continued to say that recent media speculation has placed the Minister in a position whereby "he looks like a MInister only accountable to his party and not to this committee or the Assembly as a whole" and "he is a Minister not in control of his own destination." Mr McNarry, who is the deputy chair of the committee said that Mr Poots may be considering resignation as the only "honourable" option open to him.

Having done so much stirring Mr McNarry then proceeded to say that he rated the Minister, and his resignation would be "regrettable", even though no member other than him even mentioned the possibility at the meeting.
Nelson McCausland, a party colleague of Mr Poots, however dismissed the media reports as a "non-issue". David McNarry is likely to get the chance to ask Mr Poots in person if he is going to resign, if he hasn't already, as they are writing to request a "a single issue meeting" with the Minister which should be scheduled for some time around July 23.

This still gives the DUP time to call an end to the in-fighting, but it seems that on this issue senior party members will be looking to further up the ante in what might be a battle for hearts and minds which could prove fruitful in any future leadership campiagn.

Shameful Scenes

Having missed the last couple of days through illness, I tried to catch up by leafing through Hansard and one debate which brought a smile to my still green cheeks was surprisingly the one on the way forward to deal with victims.
As the vote was taken on an ammendment to the motion, calling on the implementation of the proposals by the Interim Commissioner for Victims and Survivors, the parties were split with the still odd bedfellows of Sinn Féin snuggling up to the DUP, and the UUP and SDLP tugging at the same duvet.
As the 56 ayes and 27 noes were called out, some MLAs shouted, "Shame, shame."
When the speaker Willie Hay's call for order was met with more cries of "absolute shame", David McNarry quipped, " The shames have it."