Belfast tribute to two remarkable women | Blues legend - Rab McCullough | Mountain memories

Belfast tribute to two remarkable women:Two Belfast women, Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney, will soon have statues commemorating their heroism, leadership and commitment to social justice and freedom erected in the grounds of Belfast City HallBlues legend-  Rab McCullough:Recently I asked Rab if he would join Tomboy, BikMcFarlane and other exprisoner musicans, post the Covid restrictions, in a session of music from the 60s and 70s that they played together with Bobby in the Crum and Long Kesh. Rab was delighted to be asked. He rhymed off a list of potential numbers from Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and others. Tomboy also signed up. Bik agreed to ramrod that gig and we spoke about it only last week. Unfortunately it won’t happen now. Not with Rab  anyway. But his music will live on. Belfast Blues is a classic. Go deanfaidh Dia trocaire ar Rab. Mo comhbhrón le Marian agus a chlann. Mountain memories:IT was an honour for me to be on a panel discussion about the Belfast Hills.I recalled the role the local community played in getting quarrying on the mountain stopped and how the campaign for the conservation of the Bog Meadows and Divis and Black Mountain developed. Getting my notes together for this event started me thinking of the time when my family got a house in the late 1950s in Ballymurphy. At that time the ’Murph was surrounded by green fields. A river, now mostly underground, ran parallel with Ballymurphy. That was one of our favourite places to play when we weren’t on the mountain.