Italy
We went to Italy for a while. Never have been there before and it is just beautiful. Rome, Spoleto, Orvieto. Hot, old, lots of culture, best food I've ever eaten, expensive, lovely people, tough drivers. I felt like shit when I came back here. Of course, you say. Perfectly normal. Your carefree, carefully tailored Italian holiday just makes this dump you live in even worse. You'll get over it. But that's not likely. Paramilitary flags don't make it likely. Graffiti declaring the bravery of the UDA, UVF, UFF, UYM, and Christ know what other bunch of murderous, psychopathic thugs is not designed to cheer me up. Red white and blue kerb stones. Major junctions flying Unionist flags and it is now fucking October! Don't get me wrong. I hate all the flags, all the graffiti, all the paint. Green white and orange is just as ugly and just as bigoted. But this is a special wee place.

Why else would the town council choose to name a housing development 'Antiville'? Anti what? Why everything of course. There's a sign up there, a piece of graffiti; it's about the Good Friday Agreement. It says 'Antiville says No.' Jesus.

Just about to fuck off out of it..
Right. It's the 16th of August, 2003. I live in the Wee North. The six counties. Ulster. Northern Ireland. Call it what you like. Call it a shithole. No, that's not fair. It is a beautiful place and most of the people who live here are wonderful. Like most places. People just generally tend to be nice, warm, friendly. Most of them. But you know, just as I do, how it just takes a few. Take soccer. A great game, 60,000 fans, songs, goals, superstars, a total rush. And twenty bald, tattoed racist thugs can spoil it all, make the headlines, threaten the future of the game, the whereabouts of the World Cup. It's just not fucking fair on all the rest of us who just want to pour in a few beers and roar with delight at the game. Well, that's what living in Nothern Ireland is like. A great time spoiled. And by a few thugs. Don't let anyone fool you, even if you have already been fooled. Fooled into believing that there is some legitimacy to the vicious, twisted, murderous shit that goes on here; gulled into support of one 'cause' or the other; duped into waving a flag, chanting a slogan, painting a wall.. And if you live here, somebody has tried to fool you. Probably your parents. Have you ever thought about what it takes to make that newborn child into a murdering bigot? Start close to home and work outwards.. So, I'm just about to fuck off out of it. But just for ten days. Then when I come back, it's just in time for 'Black Saturday'.. More of which, later. Possibly just after the last Saturday of August.