National Trust wants your books!

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The National Trust is calling on the public to donate their used and unwanted books to their second-hand bookshops, run entirely by volunteers, in locations throughout Northern Ireland.

All manner of publications and music – fiction, biographies, cookery books, children’s titles, coffee table books, CDs or LPs as well as music sheets will be gratefully received by the charity’s book shop volunteers.

There are currently six shops in Northern Ireland, located at Mount Stewart, Castle Ward, The Argory, Rowallane Garden, Florence Court and Springhill.  All profits received through the selling of used books are re-invested back in to the property to support special conservation projects.

Everyone loves to peruse a second hand bookshop and pick up a rare novel, or childhood favourite story that was discarded long ago.  With more and more people tightening their purse strings, National Trust second-hand book shops offer the opportunity to pick up a bargain and to support Northern Ireland’s leading conservation charity.

If you have any used books you would like to donate to your local bookshop, please contact your local National Trust property.

Why not visit your local shop and pick up a bargain.  Also make a note in your diary for the annual Book Fairs.  At Castle Ward on 30-31 October you’ll be hard pushed not to find a bargain while on the 7 November The Argory Book Fair will have more books on offer than you can carry!

Wan Big Weekend at the Gasyard Féile 2010

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This weekend sees The Gasyard Féile 2010 take place in Derry, recently crowned City of Culture 2013. It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since the last festival. Time flies and this year the festival’s organisers really have something to shout about with ‘Wan Big Weekend’ – a show case of the best local talent at a two night outdoor event held at the Gasyard Park.

Featuring some of the hottest musical talent the North-West has to offer, the event is sure to be one of, if not, the highlight of Féile 2010.

Headlining on Saturday night is the fantastic, riff rocking, bluesy and ballsy Swanee River who are fresh from an appearance at the renowned Glasgowbury festival at Draperstown.

If you’re more into singer-songwriter style blues than riff-rammed rock n roll then look no further than Paul Casey on Sunday night. It would seem Casey is now Chris Rea’s best friend having been invited on tour to join Chris as special guest numerous times. Paul has also been on the receiving end of a lot of praise from the legendary guitarist: ‘A talent like this comes along only once in a long while.’

David Gray, Damien Rice and, of course, Chris Rea are noted among Paul Casey’s influences and he certainly wears those influences on his sleeve while still managing to make his sound his own.

Paul Casey

Other performances at ‘The Sound of Free Derry’ on Saturday night include sets from: Here Comes The Landed Gentry, Triggerman. Balkan Alien Sound, Our Krypton Son, No Mean City, The Q, The Flying Castros, The Reverb and Revolution Monday.

Joining Paul Casey at Sunday night’s Féile Finale: Inishowen Gospel Choir, OCB, Sheegus, Luke Mac, Caolan MacDermott as Freddie Mercury and Paul Brown.

All this comes with no gate fee and a full bar will be available. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult. For more info on other events happening during Féile 2010 contact the festival office on 028 71 262812.

TJ, Belfast Rocks

Belfast Rocks is run in Belfast, right bang in the centre of the city. We work to list all upcoming live events in the city; if you are organising a live event in Belfast contact us.  Belfast Rocks is part of the Event Rocks suite.

www.belfast-rocks.com

E: tj@belfast-rocks.com

Find them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BelfastRocks

Follow them on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/belfastrockscom

WINNING NI BANDS BATTLE FOR SPOT AT REGIONAL OUR THURSDAYS’ SHOWCASE

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Over the past three weeks, 600 emerging Irish acts have been performing in pubs around the country at the Guinness ‘Our Thursdays’ pub showcases, for the incredible opportunity to share the stage with Snow Patrol and other amazing artists of the moment, as part of the Arthur’s Day line up on September 23rd.playing live with

Northern Irish music fans voted, via text, for their favourite bands that performed at the various pub showcases over the last three Thursdays (22nd and 29th July and 5th August). The three winning bands will now go up against each other in pubs on the fourth and final night (this Thursday 12th August) to be in with a chance of securing a place on the official Arthur’s Day line up and also at one of the regional showcase events taking place in Belfast, Cork, Galway and Dublin on 26th August.

The Logues

The ‘Our Thursdays’ pub showcase finals will kick off at 9pm this Thursday in:

  • Auntie Annie’s, Belfast
  • The Errigle Inn, Belfast
  • Lavery’s, Belfast
  • McHugh’s Bar, Belfast
  • The Empire, Belfast
  • The Limelight, Belfast
  • Bellini’s, Newry
  • The Courthouse Bar, Lurgan
  • Downey’s Bar, Derry/Londonderry
  • The Strand Bar, Derry/Londonderry
  • The Ivy Bar, Newtownards
  • The Joymount Arms, Carrickfergus
  • Sally O’Brien’s, Omagh
  • The Silver Dollar / Madden’s, Antrim
  • The Wild Duck, Portglenone, Ballymena

Pub customers will witness 39 acts performing free of charge across all these pub venues. (*See list of bands below).

The lucky bands selected by the public in each pub will become the official Arthur’s Day act set to perform in that pub on 23rd September. What’s more a judging panel comprised of music industry experts and Snow Patrol will choose 24 bands from the list of pub showcase final winning acts that will perform at the regional showcases.

Four regional showcases featuring all 24 shortlisted bands will take place on 26th August at music venues in Belfast, Galway, Cork and Dublin.  In Belfast, The Empire will host a regional showcase music event where six bands will battle it out for a place in the national showcase.  At that stage, four lucky bands from the four music events will be selected to perform at the national showcase in Belfast on 9th September.

Three acts will be chosen at this final by members of the judging panel and Snow Patrol to perform on 23rd September at the Arthur’s Day celebrations in Galway, Cork and Dublin. The lucky band selected to play in Dublin will perform alongside Snow Patrol on September 23rd at Hopstore 13, at St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.

Arthur’s Day celebrations are strictly over 18’s events.

Drink Responsibly. Drinkaware.co.uk

For detailed information about GUINNESS® and Arthur’s Day visit www.guinnessmedia.com

The GUINNESS word and associated logos are trademarks.

Pub Town Bands / Artists Performing
Auntie Annie’s Belfast Drifting Waves

Sinner Falls

High-Output
The Wild Duck Portglenone, Ballymena Schiehallion

Cat Malojian

Picture the Sound
The Empire Belfast Nick Carswell &The Elective Orchestra

Katie and the Carnival

Amberline
Errigle Inn Belfast One Shot the King

Jason Clarke

The Dead Parrots
Joymount Arms Carrickfergus Sweet Taste

Escape Fails
Lavery’s Belfast The Glory Holes

The Emerald Armada

Stillpoint
The Limelight Belfast Indigo Fury

Thom Southern
McHugh’s Belfast Nanook

GinXed

Firebobbies
Silver Dollar / Madden’s Antrim Issue Zero

Sethway
Courthouse Bar Lurgan Signed by Jeff

Naoimh O’Hagan
Downey’s Bar Derry / Londonderry Bettylee & the Blonde

Future Chaser

Sweeney and the Bull
Strand Bar Derry / Londonderry Barefoot

Rainy Boy Sleep

Furlo
Ivy Bar Newtownards Louisiana Joyride

Man Made Skies

Legions Elite
Sally O’Brien’s Omagh The Logues

Chocolate Love Factory

The Belfords
Bellini’s Newry The Red Admirals

Shoreline Festival bigger than ever!

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It’s the highlight of the summer as the famous Shoreline Festival returns with three fabulous days of music and family fun over the August Bank Holiday weekend, running from Saturday 28th to Monday 30th August, climaxing with a spectacular fireworks display over Belfast Lough.

Headlining on August 28th are Conspiracy and two great tribute acts, Pink and Lady GaGa. The next day, back by popular demand are The Big Kahuna, who rocked last year’s festival, followed by the brilliant Eagles and west coast tribute band the Illegals and Eurovision Song Contest winner Niamh Kavanagh.

On August 30th, Live Classics in the Park features the wonderful talents of tenor Adriano Graziani, described as one of the most thrilling voices to emerge from the UK, superb soprano Charlotte Kinder and acclaimed Welsh baritone David Kempster. Bring along your favourite picnic food and a chair and enjoy the ultimate al fresco summer entertainment, which finishes with a fantastic fireworks extravaganza.

There’s so much for all the family to enjoy throughout the festival with a funzone, arts and crafts, brass bands and speciality food stalls.  And not to be missed is the latest craze of water walking in a large inflatable ball, ran by Eden Water Walking.

This is one of the last opportunities to enjoy some summer fun before the schools go back, so get yourself down to Jordanstown Loughshore Park to experience a weekend of FREE family entertainment that will not disappoint you.

For more information follow Shoreline Festival on Facebook, or visit www.newtownabbey.gov.uk/shoreline or contact Newtownabbey Borough Council on 90340000.

LENNY HENRY to bring new show “Cradle to Rave” to Belfast & Dublin

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The hilarious LENNY HENRY brings his brand new show “Cradle To Rave” to The Waterfront Hall Belfast on Friday May 13th and Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on May 15th 2011.

Ticket information:

Tickets £27 including booking fee for Belfast go on sale on Sunday 8th August & tickets from €30 including booking fee for Dublin go on sale on Monday 9th August

To buy tickets:

The Waterfront Hall, Belfast
Telephone – 02890 334455
Book On Line: www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ulsterhall/

In Person – Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Box Office,10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday. Address: Belfast Waterfront, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3WH

Olympia Theatre, Dublin

In person: From 100 Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide
By Telephone (24 Hour):
ROI – 0818 719 300, Northern Ireland – 0844 277 44 55
Buy Online: www.ticketmaster.ie

www.lennyhenry.com

www.mcd.ie

“Cradle To Rave” is the brand new one man show from LENNY HENRY, fresh from his award winning stint in Northern Broadside’s Othello. Lenny returns to his roots with a funky, funny and touching show about the thing he loves most: music. “Cradle To Rave” is a musical journey, exploring the role music has played, and will play, at every stage of Lenny’s life from the womb to the tomb. Hit it!

UB40 ‘Signing Off’ 30th Anniversary Tour Belfast Date Confirmed

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UB40 are to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their seminal debut album, ‘Signing Off’, by performing the whole album live during a tour of intimate venues across Ireland and the UK throughout October and November 2010.

UB40 will play The Waterfront, Belfast on 21 November, The National Stadium, Dublin on 22 November and The Royal Theatre, Castlebar on 23 November 2010. Tickets for all shows will go on sale on Friday 13 August at 9.00am.

Taking its name from the unemployment form, ‘Signing Off’ was heralded as a landmark album when it was released in late August 1980.  Considered by many as one of the greatest reggae albums ever released by a British band, ‘Signing Off’ was well received amongst many music fans, including followers of punk and the 2 Tone movement, and struck a chord amongst a large proportion of the UK’s disaffected youth. Mixing reggae and dub, ‘Signing Off’ chronicled the times, and wider social and political issues, as well as the plight of communities throughout the country during the early Thatcher years.

‘Signing Off’ went on to attain Platinum status after spending 71 weeks in charts, peaking at #2. The album features hit singles ‘King’/‘Food For Thought’ and ‘I Think It’s Going to Rain Today’ (#4 & # 6 on the UK singles chart, respectively), along with other UB40 classics such as ‘Tyler’, ‘Madam Medusa’ and ‘Burden of Shame’.

The album artwork for ‘Signing Off’ also famously depicted a replica of the bright yellow unemployment card from which the Birmingham-based band took its name: Unemployment Benefit, Form 40.

Since the release of ‘Signing Off’, UB40 have become one of the most successful reggae groups of all time, with over forty UK Top 40 hit singles and sales of 80million records across the world.

UB40 saxophonist Brain Travers said, “2010 marks UB40’s 30th anniversary, three decades since we started this incredible journey. We had to ask ourselves “How can we celebrate? How can we say thanks to the fans for their unconditional support?” We decided to go back to where we started, downtown to the heart of the cities and the venues where we played our first gigs, then perform our first album ‘Signing Off’ in its entirety, something we have never done before. Of course, there will also be some surprises, but we’ll save them for the night.”

In addition to performing ‘Signing Off’ in it’s entirely, UB40 will perform a second set on the evening featuring some of the band’s most loved tracks.

MCD Proudly Presents
UB40

SIGNING OFF TOUR 30th Anniversary Tour

Tickets on sale Friday 13 August at 9.00am

The Waterfront, Belfast
21st November 2010
Telephone: 02890 334455, Book On Line: www.waterfront.co.uk

The National Stadium, Dublin
22nd November 2010
Telephone: 0818 719 300, Book On Line: www.ticketmaster.ie

The Royal Theatre, Castlebar
23rd November 2010
Telephone: 0818 300 000, Book On Line: www.royaltheatre.ie

Roller Derby Hits Northern Ireland

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Women in Belfast are getting their skates on for a new sport proving to be very different to your average netball game.  It’s an extreme contact sport on wheels that began in America called roller derby.  Northern Ireland’s first derby team will be competing under the name ‘Belfast Banshees’.

When a team in Dublin emerged it spurred on civil servant Hannah ‘Hannahbolic Steroids’ Whitall (24) to start the Belfast team earlier this year.

“The name has Irish folklore mixed in, it’s something to be feared and it’s associated with women,” she said.

Miss Whitall said that roller derby was something she always wanted to do after being involved in ice-skating and rollerblading so decided to start a team herself.    “I set up a Facebook group and everybody joined, it just snowballed really.”  To date The Belfast roller derby Facebook group has attracted nearly 500 members.

During a match two teams skating in a pack will block and tackle their opponents as a ‘jammer’ from each team tries to break through the pack to rack up points.

Roller girls dress up for bouts in little more than their protective padding and have their derby alter-egos adorned on their shirts.  The outfits may be tongue-in-cheek but the action certainly isn’t, as games are extremely fast, aggressive and exciting to watch.

Sound technician Thayna ‘LilyBee’ McLaughlin (27), currently helps train the new team.  She joined a roller derby team two years ago when she was living in Glasgow and says she was “hooked instantly”.  “Traditional sports never really appealed to me, derby just seemed a lot more fun and a challenge. It’s more than just a sport it’s like being part of a community,” she said.  “I have enjoyed training with the Belfast roller derby and as I don’t expect anyone to have skated before it’s great to see everyone improving week by week and building up their skills.”

Recently the Belfast team had an intake of new members and also joined the first all-Ireland roller derby training session in Dublin.   They joined the Dublin Roller Girls and new team Rebel County Rollers from Cork at the Dublin team’s training venue in Inchicore to rough each other up.

Roller derby has become extremely popular, aided this year with Drew Barrymore’s derby film ‘Whip It’, which hit the cinemas in April.

In the past three years the number of teams in the UK has increased from three to at least 20, with three now in Ireland.   The sport has built up globally from grass roots, so Miss Whitall has dedicated herself to getting the team up and skating.

“It’s taken over my life. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but it doesn’t leave room for much else. It’s definitely worth it though.”

The team are still seeking more local girls to sign up, men are also needed to be coaches and referees.

Belfast ladies getting their skates on! Photograph Phillip Walsh

Belfast roller derby are recruiting new members, email belfastrollerderby@hotmail.com for more information

Men are welcome to join and can help with coaching, refereeing and committee work. Each match has up to seven refs so anyone interested should sign up.

Robert Plant – The Band Of Joy Tour Waterfront Hall Show Announced, Tuesday 2 November

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Robert Plant

Album Band Of Joy released September 13th

Robert Plant and The Band Of Joy will play a rare live show at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast

on Tuesday 2 November.

Plant’s hotly anticipated tenth solo album “Band Of Joy”, recorded in Tennessee and co-produced by Nashville legend Buddy Miller will be released on September 13th. It’s Plant’s first album since 2007’s six time Grammy Award winning “Raising Sand”.

The Band of Joy is Buddy Miller (guitar and vocals) Darrell Scott (vocals, mandolin, guitar, accordion, pedal, lap steel and banjo), Patty Griffin (vocals and guitar), Byron House (bass) and Marco Giovino (percussion).

Tickets for the Waterfront Hall,

Belfast go on sale Friday 13 August priced from: £38

Robert Plant and The Band of Joy

Tues 2 November, 2010

Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Dublin

Tickets from £38, on sale Friday 13 August at 9.00am

Waterfront Hall Box-Office: 028 90 334455

www.waterfront.co.uk

From 100 Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide By telephone:

Northern Ireland – 0844 277 44 55

Book On-Line: www.ticketmaster.ie

Here comes the Last Days of Summer.

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Northwest Lifelong Learning an educational Charity in Limavady who operate across the North Coast with partners in Coleraine and Ballycastle, specialising in helping people return to work, will be in Portstewart on the weekend the 28th & 29th August 2010.  A family fun day has been organised on the 28th by kind permission and in association with the Crescent Portstewart.  This will include amusements for the kids, food, and water-skier Richard McCooke from Castlerock will be in attendance.

The event runs from 12 pm – 3 pm.  All under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.  At time of going to press this event is subject to licence.

On Sunday 29th August Northwest Lifelong Learning are holding a club night ‘last days of Summer’ in association with Havana Portstewart from 9 pm – till late.  Tickets are £5 each and are available from NWLLA 63 Irish Green Street, Limavady contact 02877764429 or Trevor Keys 5-7 Society Street, Coleraine.

Transport will be available to and from last days of summer at an additional charge.  To keep up-to-date with these events, watch local press or check out our digital media partner http://www.whatsonni.com

More information, including the bus schedule to follow later.

Lookaly roundup July 2010

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Popular Places in July

  1. The Other Place, Belfast
  2. Fenaghy Veterinary Clinic, Ballymena
  3. Little Wing Pizzeria, Belfast
  4. Ruby’s Diner, Belfast
  5. Doorsteps, Belfast

Featured Town: Lisburn

What we’ve been blogging

What happened to my review?
Why sometimes reviews will be removed, and other times they’ll remain.

Why complaining customers can be a good thing for your business
The negative feedback is far more important than the positive. Don’t ignore it, take it on board and make the necessary changes to improve.

How to deal with negative comments and bad online PRWhether it’s using Facebook, Twitter, a blog or an online review website, people are free to say what they think, and you as a business owner can’t ignore this.

Lookaly is a user review site that lets you find the best places and services in Northern Ireland. Anyone can rate and review somewhere based on their experience.

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