It’s quite nice watching an evolutionary leap running through both the Belfast comedy and poetry circles lately, and it’s not restricted to both Down and Antrim I’ll wager. Last December, while loyalist protestors…actually can we stop calling them that? The protest isn’t what we disapprove of – its the litter, the violence, the tying bags of shit to lamp-posts, it’s the rioting. So, last December, while loyalist rioters pushed the city into gridlock folk took part in Operation Sitdown. Pubs and clubs were filled with commerce to make up for the protests which lost Belfast hundreds of jobs, myself included. This later was co-opted by the City Council to become Backin Belfast, but of course, as it was run top-down rather than grassroots, they messed it up. Still, we had LAD to keep our spirits up.

I met my friend Adam Lively for a pint. Adams a more pleasant creature than me. Intently gentle, self-sacrificing, a little jittery but a little is alright, calm and silent with a black observational wit. I had a camera on me to ask him about his poetry collection, Rainy Days, a title which well sums up our capital.

You can buy Rainy Days through the Lapwing site and Paypal. It’s £10 in print or £5 digital, and they’re currently running a 2-for-1 offer from their vast e-book range.

Cheers

Andy