Scrap the BBC

[Marco]

We had some splendid wild camps - waking up one morning to see an otter catching fish right in front of the van, another time two basking sharks circling the bay and one memorable evening watching dolphins playing in the surf for hours. Its a splendid place and when I last went it reminded me of Scotland from 40 or 50 years ago - more laid back, less developed and pretty quiet in most places, most of the time. When I first went as a child in the 1960s the local farmers were still delivering single churns of milk on donkey carts to the dairy beside our campsite - then staying for hours to have the craic with their mates.

Sometime in the late 1990s I was driving from Castlederg in Co Tyrone to Killadeas in Co Fermanagh on a road I'd never been on before. It was winter and dark, but not quite pitch dark as the sky was a very, very dark blue colour.

The road was rural, and there was nothing on it, and I was using main beam lights, so when I turned a corner and started uphill I was a bit surprised to see a large black triangle at the top of the hill against the very dark blue sky. (Back then on British motorways they used massive road signs for roadworks, possibly 2 metres high triangles with a scaled up version of the roadworks sign.) As I approached the top of the hill the triangle had moved and was now somewhere else and bigger. To my complete astonishment I could then just make out the shape of a black horse, pulling a black trap, driven by someone wearing a black coat and hat. No lights, no reflectors, nothing that wasn't black

[MattPo]

I was working as a steeplejack/rope access worker in the 90's and we had a contract to paint a chemical storage sphere at the Dupont works outside Derry (London). This was just around the first ceasefire. 3 of us were over there for 3 weeks working all the hours of daylight to get it done whilst the weather held, We finished it on a Sunday morning and it was obvious that the pub was the next stop. We went into the local at about 1.30 and I've never been into a more intoxicated pub. Everyone was slaughtered and we had some serious drinking to do to catch up. I was talking to an old guy and his pint just slipped through his hand to smash on the floor. He was amazed and said that had never happened to him before. A bloke was sat on a tall stool by the bar and tipped over backwards to smash the back of his head on the stone floor. He lay there unconcious and bleeding and no one took any notice, just stepping over him.
We escaped at about 5.00 and went back to the campsite we were staying on so pissed. Lovely friendly crowd though!

[Mark G]

We listened the radio a lot, in particular Gerry Ryan and a couple of lads called (I think) Colm and Jim Jim. They were hilarious and there were some fascinating phone ins. Eire had temporarily introduced a rule allowing learner drivers to drive unaccompanied due to a severe shortage of examiners. More examiners had been recruited and the concession was about to end. There was an irate lady demanding to know how she could be expected to take her children to school if she had to pass a driving test. Another one was a student who was running out of grant money after spending some of it on a drum kit. On national radio Gerry Ryan simply responded 'Well you're a fecking idiot then aren't you?' Radio 4 it wasn't but it was great entertainment.

[Marco]

Back in the 1990s the first motorway to be opened in Eire was a short stretch from Dublin to the airport, just off the Belfast road. The first time I drove this route I was somewhat shocked to see a road sign saying Belfast 168. I knew this couldn't be right, but then I realised that it was in km. I wasn't sure what the speed limit was, so when I saw a 50 sign, I duly slowed to 50km/h. I instantly became the slowest vehicle on the road by some margin. I discovered some months later that the distances were measured in km, but the speed limits were in miles per hour.

[Mark G]

I hired a surfboard at Keel. I'd chatted to the guy earlier. When I arrived he handed me a board, wetsuit, boots etc. At that point I hadn't got round to asking him the price but I'd hired a windsurfer the year before and that had cost me £15 - a reasonably hefty amount back then. I asked how much I owed him. 5 Punts was the answer (£3) - I said '5 Punts? How long for?' Straight away he replied 'Well, it's meant to be an hour. But to be sure, just take as long as you like'.
That was on Achill Island, spectacular place. A ridge a bit like Halls Fell on Blencathra rises straight up from a sandy bay to the summit of Slieve Mor. Some great running on that and nearby.

[Mossdog]

Can we have Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch for BBC Governor General please...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwH45WlpDoo