Happy Christmas everyone.  See you next year. Answers:   Haddon Sundblom:   Sundblom is best remembered for his advertising work, specifically the Santa Claus advertisement.It was he who drew Santa Claus in a red suit during the twenties and he painted for The Coca-Cola Company starting in 1931. [1] [2] Sundblom's Claus firmly established the larger-than-life, grandfatherly Claus as a key figure in American Christmas imagery. So popular were Sundblom's images of Claus (Sundblom's images are used by Coca-Cola to this day) that Sundblom is often credited as having created the modern image of Santa Claus. [ The Greedies, originally The Greedy Bastards, formed as a part time band with members of Thin Lizzy and Sex Pistols combining with sometime members from Dublin act The Boomtown Rats and even one time Nucleus guitarist Chris Spedding dropping by for the odd gig. The idea was to play small gigs and get paid cash in hand so as to avoid paying tax, wh...

OK, this isn't particularly Irish, except that the Christmas season is in full swing here too, but what the hell. If you can answer all of these without having to resort to Google, you win this year’s star prize: A smug sense of Christmas superiority.  Answers will be posted here on Sunday. Enjoy.  ____________________   Who made Santa wear red?   Who were ‘The Greedies’?   Which singer has been on the most Christmas number one singles? What chance is there of a white Christmas (in the UK)? What Christmas carol was the first song ever broadcast? In which Christmas movie does ‘the Donald’ make an appearance? How much would you have to spend to match the most expensively dressed Christmas tree? Which Christmas movie was investigated as possible subversive by the FBI?

What is there to say that hasn’t been said already?   The election is already fading into history, and on this side of the border we have a split EU/ UK personality to look forward to, with a border in the Irish Sea.   Since both the DUP and Sinn Fein lost out at the polls, a new attempt to make our local politicians actually go to work in Stormont now may have some leverage, since even her in good old Northern Ireland, their near three year absence from work is starting to get to even the most staunch DUP and Sinn Fein voters (these two parties lost votes in this election to more centrist ones J ).   It’s about time someone held these absentee idiots to account. So what happens next?   In the long run, I still hold by my comments here: https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/brexit-dirty-word-in-any-european.html   , that the Irish sea border could be used to Northern Ireland’s economic advantage by encouraging British companies who trade with Eur...

It was a strange day yesterday, not least because of the election (more of which in the next post).   I finished work early, so had Tilly out for her evening walk shortly after 5pm.   We walked a circuit near to the shore that brought us to the top of Grey’s Hill, one of the roads that leads to Bangor’s seafront. There the road was cordoned off with police tape, and a real life policeman to make certain of compliance.   I was initially inquisitive as to why the cordon was there, but the upside down wreck of a car that was blocking the road quickly filled in the missing details.   According to the BBC, the accident involved 4 cars ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-50759186   The picture below is taken from here).     First, let me admit that I cannot comprehend how this accident happened on a narrow hill that has a lot of very large speed humps?   It was the young policeman that really puzzled me though.   As ...

A great spoof from those very funny guys at The Ulster Fry.  ( https://theulsterfry.com/ ) The Sound of Stormont

'Tis the season to cringe at all the bad Christmas cracker jokes (and there are a few of those included here!).  Lets get the only Irish joke in this selection in first.  As usual, I make no claim that these are in any way tasteful! Enjoy.  :-) _______________________________________________________   Knock Knock Who's there? Irish! Irish who? Irish you a happy Christmas ____ I went to the garden centre today and bought a Christmas tree. The assistant asked me, "Will you be putting that up yourself?" I replied, "No, you sick bugger. I'll be putting it up in my living room!" ____ A Marks and Spencer’s advert claims that it wouldn't be Christmas without M&S. They're right too. It'd be Chrita. ____ Nigella’s new Christmas recipe……..Cold Turkey Maybe not presented in the same giddy style but will keep Scotland Yard off her trail. ____ A couple were out Christmas shopping and the shopping centre was so packed...

As seen at the Continental Market at the front of Belfast City Hall. You know you are living in a first world country when a company like this (see picture below) even exists.  One of their products is even more interesting/ ambiguous (see below again).  Is this product to be used on a particularly bushy growth in a personal part of the male anatomy, or is it simply a colloquial term for someone who sports a bit of face fungus?  All answers written on the back of a £10 note please.  ;-)