I have been going for walks at Island Hill for many more years than I care to remember and I have…read morenow reached the stage in life when I take my own nippers there for some fresh sea air and a little bit of old fashioned exercise. The most exciting thing for children is that there is an actual island which is cut off at high tide, with a concrete walk way linking it to the land. So depending on when you visit, you may have a clearly exposed path to the island, a path just above the water or no path at all! When you can cross the walkway, you can get onto the island, which while tiny, still seems very exciting for children. There's a car park, toilets and a few picnic tables so if we ever get a nice warm sunny day you could happily spend a few hours at Island Hill. The views across Strangford are stunning, so it's a good little spot to take visitors to Belfast and let them see some great scenery.

Island Hill is a local secret. It's a little island with a circumference of about half a kilometre…read more There is a clear walkway around the island if you want to stay on dry land or you can walk along the shore. The fun part of Island Hill is that it's sometimes closed -there is only one way out to the island and when the tide is in that walk way gets totally submerged. To get out to the island you have to walk, often on a slippery path that is only broad enough for a bicycle or a horse. This can only be reached at particular times during the day as it will flood over and anyone who is on the island will have to either, swim, call the coast guard or wait the tide out. This sounds far fetched but people do get stuck out there. The views around Island Hill on a nice day are beautiful with Scrabo Tower on the hill to your left and Strangford waters all around. The car park has a grand Totum pole and other pieces or art on the cemented flood barriers. There are also picnic tables that are often used by families on sunny days. I walk my dog here at least once a week and so far I have avoided getting stranded on the island but I have had to roll up my trousers and wade back a few times. It's a lovely place to clear your head, look at the birds, and to poke the strange miniscule crabs and the large purple jellyfish that wash up.

A beautiful city in a beautiful land. Belfast is steeped in history. It's a city that's divided…read morebetween Protestants and Catholics. I mistakenly thought the city had moved on from this reality. While the casual visitor might miss this it's still apparent if you scratch the surface. We found all the population to be kind nonetheless.

This City!! It's seen so many troubles!! (Yeah- pun intended!) and yet the spirit of the people…read morewho live here - passionate and wry with that ironic sense of humor- is what also makes this city great! There are so many iconic and interesting places to tour. Plus the food is fantastic! If you are a fan of seafood - the abundance and freshness found here will make both your wallet happy and your stomach sing! My one advice - take a Black Cab tour! There is no better way to get acquainted with this city and then of course you can also use this city as a base to discover the Antrim Coast and all those places Games of Thrones filmed at, and hence made famous. Yelp 134/ 2019

Someone somewhere is a bright spark. Putting pianos on the street just to brighten up people's…read moremiserable, monotonous days. It is so simple. And it was so effective. I suppose in a way it was public art, but public art that the public could actually get involved in. Which is a nice change. Not something to look at, but something to do. It was a bit confusing when I first walked past and seen a piano (as you would expect, you don't go down to the shops and expect to have a piano sitting in the way). And admittedly I did that passer-by thing that meant I just looked at it instead of actually doing anything. And then someone with a hat and bright hair sat down and twinkled away. And she was quite good. But then I got this overwhelming urge to play. Despite the fact I have no piano skills. I can do a bit of Twinkle Twinkle. But that's pretty much it. So I skipped it. But still, to the artist Luke Jerram, Well Done! We need more things like this. Give me a trumpet and i'll play a jazz version of Ground Force.

Last Monday while I was walking through town I came across in my opinion one of the coolest ideas…read more(of its kind) ever implemented in Belfast. I was walking by the Tesco's minding my own business when I came across a crowd of guys sitting around singing and laughing, and bearing in mind in was around 10.30am I thought it more likely that it was a crowd of drunks enjoying themselves rather than anything else. As it turns out I was half right. Yes it was a crowd of drunks and yes they were enjoying themselves. At the centre of their entertainment however was a piano that had been locked to the nearest sturdy object, out of the way of busy shoppers but obviously placed so it could grab the attention of passersby. One of the guys was playing out tune after tune much the pleasure of the small gathered crowd and this definitely put an out of place smile on my face for a Monday morning! As I carried on about my business I came across two more pianos around town and I'm sure there are more in the places I didn't walk around. The pianos were obviously well worn but had been fixed up so that they could be used for this initiative and fair play to whomever it was that did it! It was great to see people getting such enjoyment out of an object that would most likely have been discarded and the fact they could be used by anyone that wanted to have a go represents a notion of sharing and kindness that is rarely seen and sadly lacking these days. Good work!!

We were staying in the neighborhood, quite close, so we had to go for a walk to see it. It's in a…read morequiet working class neighborhood with a small plaque to let you know you're at the right house. I'm a huge Van Morrison fan so I was pleased. If you're staying in East Belfast and are close by, certainly go. But don't make it a priority or a big effort to get there.

I went to see Van Morrison in December in Boston. I saved for two months for the $360.00 dollar…read moreticket. I went to the concert and he had a cover band. not who I came to see. I paid for Van Morrison. when he came out a younger couple sat down and immediately started talking so loud I could not hear him. four people to my left told them to stop talking, but they kept talking loudly. I loo f help, but no one could be found. I never heard a song that was sung. I wast my money. what a disappointment. I wrote to Van Morrison and told him what happened, but this fell on deaf ears. He could care less for his fans. I'm no longer a fan after fifty years, I have had enough of him. I feel he is white trash. no good. he should have refunded my money. White trash!

Excited to see what new events are in store for 2016…read more I will add to this review as I delve into the events of 2016.

Love being a Yelper. It's so alt and interesting. Great to connect with fellow foodies and find out…read moreabout the hot spots and try new ones through the Yelp events. The events are awesome. So well organised.

I'm happily and joyfully Childfree. In my daily life I actively avoid situations where I might have…read morenoisy children inflicted upon me. However, I must admit that now and again having one might be useful, such as when I might want to watch an animated movie at the cinema, visit Build-A-Bear or right now when the NI Science Festival is on and running from 18 to 28 February 2016! A delightful festival, filled with fascinating workshops, exhibitions and activities which are a celebration of all things science, engineering, technology and mathematics related. Although many events are geared towards young people (hence the usefulness of having a child!) there are many events suitable for adults too. A lot of daytime activities are for the young but there's a wealth of evening activities for grown-ups including talks, plays, music and film. Much to my delight there are also some Art and Science events on amongst the 100 activities taking place across Northern Ireland. I recently visited one of these events, an Artist-In-Residence exhibition by Gemma Anderson, currently on display until Sunday 6 March in the Naughton Gallery, located within Queen's University Belfast. This art exhibition titled 'Drawn Investigations from Art and Science' has as its central theme the connection between art and science and how each subject can inform the other. Anderson's subtly coloured drawings of natural forms are an investigation into living organisms and look like the sort of abstract images you might expect to see through a microscope. Hung amongst these patterned drawings are beautiful sketches of plants, birds and insects. Said exhibition is also part installation with exotic plants placed around the Naughton Gallery (courtesy of the Palm House and Tropical Ravine, Botanic Gardens) and glass cases of artefacts such as shells, fossils, minerals, insects and lizards on loan from the Ulster Museum. All beautiful, intriguing items in themselves and displayed in such an interesting way that even the very layout of the exhibition is a pleasure to behold. So far I've visited once but I plan to return a couple more times before it ends in March. Quite a few other events coming up in NI Science Festival have caught my eye, especially the Art related ones. There's something for everyone, even those of us who consider ourselves more arts than science people, and those of us without sprogs!

A fantastically well organised and varied festival with events throughout Belfast over 10 days…read more Venues included The Ulster Museum, The black Box, W5 at the SSE Arena and Queens University. There is literally something for everybody at the NI Science Festival. The interactive exhibitions at W5 are excellent for young aspiring science and technology enthusiasts and the lectures and exhibitions at Queens and The Ulster Museum are an excellent deeper insight in to the Scientific world. Five stars so far, I'll update my review when I've attended a few more of the events!

A remarkable sculpture at Holywood Arches that depicts the author CS Lewis as he opens the door of…read morethe wardrobe where the journey to Narnia begins in the well loved series of children's books, of which the first is The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. CS Lewis grew up in nearby Ballyhackamore and some of the landscapes described in the Narnia books are identifiable with north Co Down nearby. Ross Wilson was commissioned to produce the sculpture in 1998, the centenary of Lewis's birth. The Searcher stands just outside the library, a surprising sight when you first see it, especially in a rather unassuming part of the city. As a landmark I suspect is not as well known as it might be.

The people of East Belfast are always proud to refer to the likes of George Best and Van Morrison…read moreas having come from the area, and rightly so. Oooh, story time... [The podiatrist I worked for has dealt with Van Morrison's feet, and this somewhat excited me, though he never appeared while I was working for her. I was quite gutted to say the least...I had rather hoped he would serenade me with "Brown Eyed Girl", but it just wasn't to be.] Anyway, back to the review! One of the most famous and recognisable stars to have come from this side of Belfast is CS Lewis, though he is often forgotten about amidst the other names, such as the aforementioned Best and Van Morrison. I absolutely love this sculpture, as it epitomises CS Lewis' most famous work, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by including him in it, as the narrator of another of his books from the Chronicles of Narnia - The Magician's Nephew. I remember The Searcher being erected, and I can't believe it was 12 years ago in commemoration of the centenary of Lewis' birth! Since then, CS Lewis has become a bigger talking point for the tourist industry, with tours based on his life occurring every Sunday of the month from June to the end of September, and on the first Sunday of every month from October to March. Tickets are available from the Belfast Welcome Centre. I truly hope this wonderful and inspirational man is remembered for another hundred years, and East Belfast will continue to be proud of a man who was born here, educated in Campbell College, and lived here for much of his life.

A crane, a ship, a plane, a factory and a phalanx of workers on the tiled mural that decorates…read moreTransport House harks back to a pre-Troubles Belfast when the city still had significance as an industrial centre. Built in 1959 as the office of the Transport and General Workers Union it later became the headquarters of Unite the Union. Now that the office of Unite has moved elsewhere Transport House is empty, a grubby shadow of its former self. By the look of it, the main use now for Tranport House is to provide shelter for some one sleepoig rough, judging by the melancholy sight of a dirty pink blanket bundled in the doorway that I saw when taking a closer look at building. Though far from beautiful, its Russian Constructivist style is a real curiosity these days, if only it could be given a good scrub.