Heather McFadden of Gobbins Crafts
Photo by Kaja Choma / Excalibur Press on behalf of the Storify My Business programme for Mid & East Antrim Council.
More info contact Tina Calder, Excalibur Press, 07305354209, tina@excaliburpress.co.uk
With more than 30 years-experience making jewellery and teaching others, Heather McFadden’s Gobbins Crafts offers the perfect opportunity to learn a new skill.
Gobbins Crafts gives visitors the chance to learn to make their own bespoke pieces with Heather, in an intimate setting on the Causeway Coastal Route.
Heather, 62, has developed a unique experience where people with no experience can learn the skills and techniques professionals use when making jewellery.
“I developed Gobbins Crafts classes to help people discover the joy that can be had from making your own pieces,” explained Heather.
“Those that attend the classes receive individual guidance every step of the way to create their own beautiful piece of jewellery made from sustainably sourced silver.”
Heather has extensive experience at not only making bespoke pieces, such as wedding and engagement rings, but also teaching at Belfast Metropolitan College and advising City and Guilds on developing goldsmithing courses.
“I wanted to create classes that are intimate to allow everyone to move at their own pace and make sure I can explain and demonstrate the techniques needed,” said Heather. “We have had all ages and abilities and I’m pleased to say that as well as having fun many have wanted to learn more at my weekly classes for those who wish to develop their skills further.”
In the scenic setting of Islandmagee, shaped by sea and stone in County Antrim, Heather teaches each intimate class of up to four people from her personal studio where they will have their own set of equipment and will be able to see Heather’s own work in progress, as well as completed items.
“In our most popular silversmithing workshop, each session will see guests shown the basics of jewellery making and go on to create their own set of stacking rings, knot rings or pendant,” said Heather, adding: “They will be shown how to take silver sheet and wire and cut, shape and solder it into their own unique piece of jewellery to take away as a tangible memory of the time spent.”
Heather’s experience in teaching means that each participant is taken through the experience at their own pace throughout the three hour session, allowing them to embrace the spirit of the experience.
Gobbins Crafts also offers shorter classes for tourists, taster classes, weekend half day classes and a four-week short evening course is available.
“I have found that the simple joy of creation is something uniquely satisfying for everyone that has attended,” said Heather. “And, while most of the participants have an interest in some form of crafting, we have even had hen parties attend for that different experience.”
Award-winning Artist Frances McKenna opens ‘Perceptions’, a new exhibition of oil paintings at the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre in Armagh on Monday 26 July.
Born near Navan Fort in Armagh in 1970, Frances McKenna graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art from the University of Ulster. Throughout her art career, Frances has achieved many awards for her work, including first prize in the Bass Ireland Award. Her major collectors include UTV, The Irish News, Northern Ireland Civil Service, Bass Ireland, Oifig an Taoiseach and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, as well as many private collections. In addition, Frances has exhibited her work in various group and solo shows in galleries across Ireland.
Frances’s current paintings are her emotional and nostalgic response for her love of Donegal and her home in Armagh. Her work captures the atmosphere and energy of the moment. ‘Perceptions’ will include vibrant oil paintings and a collection of some of Frances’s limited edition giclee prints.
Frances says, “Today my paintings are about portraying life’s beautiful energy, I want to move my viewer, to lift their spirits. I want them to be pulled into the painting and feel uplifted. It is my hope that the viewer of my work can get lost in my paintings, with a sense of joy. To walk and lose oneself among the wild flowers in a vast open space of sunshine, to feel the wind in their face, listen to the sounds of the oceans, taste the sea salt in the air & the smells of Irish turf burning fires. To live among colour of every description. A little piece of heaven on earth.”
Perceptions will be on display from 26 July until 4 September at The Market Place Theatre. The exhibition features as part of the prestigious John Hewitt International Summer School. An official exhibition launch by invitation only will take place on Saturday 31 July from 2.00pm – 4.30pm.
To keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.
The Shankill Road, Belfast 1993. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in October a bomb explodes in Frizzell’s fish shop, killing nine people and one of the bombers.
Then it hit me – my Leanne was under all them bricks …
A mother’s instinct is to protect her child. Who can protect their child from evil? I couldn’t.
Written and directed by Patricia Downey.
“A piece of work that will resonate with all people, regardless of class, colour or creed” – Audience Member
‘What If’ was performed on the Shankill in October 2018 during the 25th anniversary of the Shankill bombing, it had a profound impact on those that saw it.
Since then it has been the desire of those in the Shankill community who organised Shankill25 that the play should be seen by a wider audience. The proposals for the venues in October 2019 fulfil that commitment.’
Patricia Downey has over 20 years experience as a writer, director and workshop facilitator. She is co-founder and artistic director of Spanner in the Works Theatre Company.
Spanner in the Works Theatre Company is known for its distinctive and challenging productions. Drawing inspiration from the communities it works with, it interrogates contemporary issues in accessible and provocative ways.
Home to Belfast’s most innovative and cultural spaces, the Cathedral Quarter is host to a whole host of festivals, art exhibitions and cultural events.
With restrictions beginning to ease, now is the perfect time to explore this historic part of the city again.
Here are 10 arts and culture events happening in CQ this July::
1. Mediating Signals
Available until 10th July, you can visit ’Mediating Signals’, the offline exhibition in Flax Art Studios showcasing works of Belfast-related artists. Mediating Signals is in is a two-part instalment made up of: Tracing Algo-rhythm and Assigning Ambiguity.
2, 3, 4. Photography Exhibitions at Belfast Exposed
AEON by Marcel Rickly
Gallery 1 presents ‘AEON’, the solo exhibition by Swiss photographer Marcel Rickli represents how radioactive waste repositories will affect humanity for generations to come.
A Lightness of Touch
In Gallery 2, you can admire ‘A Lightness of Touch’ showcasing the work of MFA Photography graduates from Ulster University. Their art is far-reaching and diverse, with the overarching theme of capturing their subject with a lightness of touch.
Street View: Yan Wang Preston
Yan Wang Preston’s Street view offers visitors a chance to explore an instalment of the artist previous works He- River Together, Mother River and Forest.
5. Belfast Print Workshop – Fibre: A New Online Exhibition
From the comfort of your own home, you can explore Fibre- The New Online Exhibition by Belfast Print Workshop.
Fibre for printmakers is a subject matter transference, it is what ties their works together and gives the final piece its uniqueness. The instalment focuses on the relationship between fibre, the most fundamental elements of two-dimensional artmaking and print.
To find out more about the exhibition and Belfast Print Workshop, go to bpw.org.uk
6, 7, 8. Thought-provoking exhibits at The MAC
Ambera Wellmann – UnTurning
You can visit the first exhibition in the UK & Ireland by Canadian-born and New York-based painter Ambera Wellmann in the Upper Gallery. In ‘UnTurning’, Wellmann’s paintings negotiate the devastation of the present, one in which the cultural logic of heteronormativity and capitalism are naturalised in the human psyche.
Jaap Pieters – The Eye of Amsterdam
In the Sunken Gallery, you can view Dutch filmmaker and artist Jaap Pieters’The Eye of Amsterdam Exhibition. The exhibit features footage made by using minimal equipment and hardly any manipulations. Instead, he restricted himself to creating short, 3-minute reels and produced numerous films on the small-gauge “amateur” medium over four decades.
Maya Balcioglu
The Tall Gallery is home to Maya Balcioglu’s exhibit, which consists of large scale works on paper, latex and fabric completed over 15 years. It showcases drawings from between 2006-10, latex works from 2019-20, and her most recent fabric works.
For more information about the individual exhibits, visit themaclive.co.uk
9. Across and In-Between – Susan Lacy
Golden Thread Gallery presents you with ‘Across and In-Between’, a creative collaboration between Suzanne Lacy and Cian Smyth with Helen Sharp and several communities.
This project amplifies the voices and experiences of border residents during Brexit negotiations through words, imagery, sound and performance, providing them with an opportunity to reclaim the landscape around them.
The exhibit is shown across the entirety of The Golden Thread Gallery. For an in-depth review go togoldenthreadgallery.co.uk
10. Paddy McCann – Friary
Fenderesky Gallery is showing the works of Paddy McCann in the exhibit, titled ‘Friary’. The new paintings are available to view until the end of July by appointment.
A Five Day Festival of Sailing, water activities, environmental, Drama Plays, crafts, food foraging and lots more a Festival for everyone based in Portaferry and on the shores of Strangford Lough Co. Down
Portaferry is preparing for a five-day Festival with covid restrictions in place they have adapted the programme which will include celebrating their heritage Sailing event The Narrows Series launching with the spectacular Bar Buoy Race with over 100 boats participating. The festival which will be the biggest maritime event to come to Ards Peninsula since the very popular ‘Galway Hooker Festival’ of many years ago. The event is being hosted again this year by Portaferry Sailing Club and is supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council will centre around the lough on the Shore Front. The Events will spread out from the Club to all parts of the town ensuring plenty of family fun for everyone.
The Club is running the festival we are expecting boats from all over the lough and North Down, Scotland, Isle of Man & ROI and farther afield. The boats will gather on Thursday and racing will begin on Friday through to Monday for competitive racing with ticketed taster sessions kayaking/boat rafting and coastal rowing to allow locals and visitors to get up close and witness the spectacular boats in action
The festival highlight is a unique opportunity for the public to engage on the water and to cruise the lough on the beautiful boat “Cuan Shore” and for Game of Thrones fans an opportunity sail past the original filming ground of “Winterfell” not forgetting 2 Game of Thrones doors one in Strangford and one in Portaferry. The new environmental boat “Citizen Sea” will be visiting and an opportunity to explore and sails on this beautiful ship
New event this year is two fantastic plays by Belfast production company Spanner in The Works performing “WHAT IF” & “BUTTERCUP” we also have family adventure day, food foraging/cooking demonstration, craft workshops, guided walking tours in Portaferry and Kearney Village.
To compliment the Sailing, there will be local food outlets promoting local produce The visiting public can avail of free activities PAST maritime and heritage museum
Heritage & ferry door trail, family fun treasure map trial, Nugent’s Wood national trust woodlands walk restaurants, coffee shops, hotel and fast food outlets are also gearing up for the Festival with special food menus to keep locals and visitors replenished.
The Festival this year due to covid restrictions and guidelines are limited in what can be delivered in comparison to other years, although different there are quite few new additional activities for everyone to sign up and try Eventbrite
Look out for details of all events, locations and times to be published and distributed all over the province in the near future. The festival program can be found on our exclusive website www.portaferrysailsandsounds.com or follow us on facebook & twitter – (www.facebook.com/Portaferrysailsandsounds) for updates and festival information on where to buy tickets.
This promises to be one of the highlights of the summer and will involve many volunteers and local business owners who will go out of their way to extend a welcome to all visitors whether they come by land or by sea.
Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District today (Friday, July 2) welcomed the long-awaited reform of liquor licensing laws, after a bill passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Destination CQ BID Manager, Damien Corr, said the changes within the Liquor Licensing Bill represent a significant step forward, after years of pressing for reform.
“For more than a decade there has been a relentless campaign to remove antiquated licensing laws,” he said.
As Belfast and the CQ quite rightly positions itself as a modern vibrant city, these new arrangements are a step change in enabling us to meet visitor expectations and should see a healthy increase in footfall and dwell time.”
The new laws, which will come into force in October of this year will extend closing time to 2am, with an additional hour of ‘drinking’ up time, for 104 nights each year. Opening hours on Sundays will be the same as any other day of the week.
Easter restrictions on sale of alcohol have been removed, and there is set to be flexibility on opening hours at major events.
“The changes couldn’t have come at a better time for our hospitality sector who have taken a big hit since March 2020,” said Damien.
“Cathedral Quarter, and the other BID’s in the city worked hard to get Purple Flag status for Belfast to enhance our night time economy.
“These changes mean we can work over coming months to support the sector in advance of the new laws coming into force.
“With the new student campus coming soon at the Ulster University, and the associated accommodation we anticipate that Cathedral Quarter and its businesses will continue to thrive and grow.
“We will work with partner agencies as we look forward to these welcome changes.”
Mr Corr added that restrictions around self-service alcohol point of sale, restrictions on off-sales promotions and banning loyalty schemes represent a balance to protect vulnerable people.
Adrian Hack of Lead The Way Tours
Photo by Kaja Choma / Excalibur Press on behalf of the Storify My Business programme for Mid & East Antrim Council.
More info contact Tina Calder, Excalibur Press, 07305354209, tina@excaliburpress.co.uk
The rich and varied World War Two history of Carrickfergus is becoming ever more accessible thanks to the Lead The Way walking tours by Adrian Hack.
Uncovering the history of the town’s past in the 1940s Adrian reveals how a linen factory was converted to make parachutes, that tanks were built, how the iconic US Rangers regiment was formed and the role the town had in sheltering refugees from the Belfast Blitz. The tour name is taken from their motto ‘Rangers Lead the Way’.
“While everyone knows Carrick Castle not everyone is aware of the vital role the town played during the war,” said Adrian. “It was home to the US Rangers, one of the key regiments on D-Day, storming 100ft cliffs to seize the Pointe De Hoc battery and all that began in Carrickfergus.”
When Adrian, now 57, took early retirement from the civil service due to health reasons he realised he was the same age as when his father had passed away.
“I remember on my 55th birthday, thinking, ‘I am now one day older than my dad ever got to be’ and how fortunate I was,” he explained. “That’s when the interest in finding out about my father’s life kicked in.
“That led me then, into finding out a bit more about the town itself where he grew up, and the history then of the Second World War in the town, that I didn’t know about. I lived a hundred yards away from the site of a major tank factory. I didn’t know it was there.”
The rich history of the town is explored through a walking tour, of up to 30 people *subject to COVID guidance). Over the course of just over a mile, Adrian takes participants through air raid precautions, the tank factory, the local Ulster Home Guard, the creation of the US Rangers, the formation of a new post-war Belgian Army, and the racial segregation of the American military at that time.
“Last year we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of VE Day and interest in World War Two has never been higher,” Adrian said. “So much history is in the bricks and streets around us that we simply haven’t been aware of.
“I hope that this tour will lift the veil and show the memories of our friends and families are entwined in our common history and ensure the efforts of those who lived through the Second World War endure, and are acknowledged by future generations.”
As well as Adrian’s Lead The Way tour he also gives talks in schools about the war and can provide more detailed private tours on request. Plans for the future include incorporating the town’s remaining Nissen Hut, as well as providing A Day In Carrickfergus for cruise ships and other overseas tourists.
Sean Greer, from Bangor, who is a survivor of oesophogeal cancer tells his story for the latest OG Cancer NI awareness campaign CATCH IT.
The symptoms of oesophageal-gastric junction cancer are vague and difficult to determine, but when Sean Greer was sitting in front of a bowl of soup for lunch and finding it really difficult to eat it – feeling like it was climbing a hill – he knew there was something wrong.
“My first recollection of feeling that something was unusual,” Sean said, “was back in September 2019. I’m in a drama club and I remember going down to rehearsals on Sunday afternoons and the feeling I had was that my stomach wasn’t right. I was slightly nauseous and I couldn’t tell if I was full or hungry, which sounds a bit strange, but from then on the messages that my stomach was sending to my brain didn’t seem to make any sense. I had this sense of “Have I not eaten enough?” or “Am I too full?” There was this strange, uncomfortable feeling, but it didn’t stop me from doing anything. Eventually, however, there was just too much discomfort and so eventually I did go to the GP.
“His guess was that it might be helicobacter pylori.(HP) – a bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. There was a simple test for that that proved positive, so they gave me a course of antibiotics for a week and I took those and that eradicated the HP, but it didn’t make any difference to me, so my initial assumption was that the antibiotics hadn’t worked. I was back at the GP in December and he had started to think it might be a kidney stone or gallstone, so he said not to worry and he referred me for an urgent endoscope. I was happy enough with that as, again, I wasn’t in any terrible discomfort. I didn’t think I was losing any weight but, in retrospect, I maybe had but I’d never been very big anyway. If I’d been 20 stone and had lost four stone, it would have been significant, but if you’re nine stone and lose half a stone it’s not that much.”
For a while, things seemed to be OK, but, by late January, Sean still hadn’t heard anything and so he’d started to think the GP hadn’t called the hospital or hadn’t made the referral, and so he called the hospital himself. It turned out that Sean’s name was on the list, but the list was an incredible 72 weeks’ long.
“I didn’t know what ‘urgent’ meant,” Sean continued, “but evidently “urgent” didn’t mean “urgent” at all. That was the first big shock.
“Meanwhile I was starting to feel a bit more uncomfortable. It was a strange feeling in my stomach. The nausea was stronger and I wasn’t enjoying eating as much, but I didn’t have any problem with anything sticking or anything like that. then I started to think maybe I should try and get something done privately – reluctantly – but we had some insurance at work that had actually just come in, so I thought I would try that, but, before I did anything about that, the hospital called me in for an ultrasound.
“I went for the appointment in mid-March for an ultrasound and it was all clear. Everything – stomach, spleen, gall bladder – all was clear. That was good news but equally bad news because I still felt the same and now had no answer. Just the next week, everything went into lockdown and I wasn’t able to get anywhere with the GP or even private clinics and they were only offering consultations over the phone.
“It just felt really uncomfortable and my stomach started to feel cramped – especially early in the morning. I stopped sleeping well and would get up in the middle of the night after two or three hours, so I’d started sleeping on my back. Towards the end of April my wife and mother-in-law persuaded me to go to A & E. I knew it wouldn’t help because they don’t give you endoscopes at A & E, but it was my only option.
“I’d also started to get night sweats – you wake up and your clothes are wet. You wake up after a sweat. It was surprising how wet my clothes would be. I didn’t know that was a sinister symptom. When I was at A & E they treated me well but they weren’t really able to do anything for me beyond the normal observations. I went to them because I had nowhere else to go. What they actually did was send my blood to the lab, asked about symptoms, felt my stomach and told me everything was fine, and keep pushing for an endoscope, which is what I really needed most.
In April I was furloughed from work, but I spent a lot of time in the garden. I was really tired and I didn’t know why. I think symptoms creep up incrementally on people. Some are more reluctant to heed their symptoms and avoid the GP. Because things creep up you don’t take them that seriously but you just start to notice. I couldn’t understand why I was so tired.”
It was much later in early August that my blood was taken again at the request of the hospital consultant who was now on the case after a private CT scan in July. It was then that I got a phone call from the hospital telling me my iron level was 79 and to go, almost right away, for an iron infusion, my iron levels had been slowly going down as a result of the undiscovered tumour which was growing in size.”
“The time period between when I went to the GP and the tumour was confirmed was about nine or ten months – between October 2019 and August 2020. I asked about the stage of the tumour several times, but consultants are very reluctant to tell you the stage because each individual varies and each cancer case varies as well. It was about ten centimetres but not in diameter; I asked the consultant if it was like a big apple but he said more like a banana.”
As with most patients with cancer, Sean’s journey with the disease was just beginning.
“Everyone’s cancer journey is two halves,” he said. “You have symptoms and you’re trying to get it diagnosed and that journey can be long and stressful because you know something’s wrong. It’s nearly like a relief to get a clear diagnosis, but then it’s a scary diagnosis and then you’re looking at the next road ahead which is treatment. It’s bumpy too, but you’re in the hands of experts. When you get the final diagnosis, it’s a mixture of relief and anxiety and fear. I didn’t dwell on things because I didn’t want to scare myself too much.”
Sean immediately started focussing on his recovery.
“I was determined to be positive about it and I’m lucky too that the people around me were very supportive as well. It’s quite hard telling people. That’s a stress in itself. Calling your friends and family – going round to tell your mum – even though they knew something was wrong. You have to explain it seven or eight times to different people.
“I read a bit about it on the internet but Dr Google can get you into lots of areas you don’t want to be in. I found a good book and read it because my idea was to know your enemy. I didn’t get down about it. The hospitals do move quite quickly. Chemotherapy was only a few weeks away and it was good because you felt something was being done. The chemotherapy worked quickly and eating became easier soon after the treatment. I was still anaemic for quite a while – I had to get iron infusions and I was very tired for a long time, but eventually that came back. The chemotherapy lasted until November last year and then I had a brief window of about three or four weeks in December when I could eat well and felt good. That was the best I’d felt in a year. I felt I was on the road to recovery. Then I had surgery on 4 January.
“I’m now walking every day and trying to get used to eating again. I’m looking forward to getting back to work again – I think I’m too young to retire. Being on furlough has been inadvertently helpful for me.”
“It was a weird time for everyone but maybe even weirder for me. Furlough or not though, I wouldn’t have been able to go to work at that time. My workplace was very understanding.”
Sean’s outlook and perspective on his experience is extremely positive and he’s looking forward to what the future holds for him.
“From here on in, I’ll be getting a regular CT scan just to check everything’s OK,” he said. “I think everyone with cancer always has that niggling fear of a return in the future and it’s vital to go back to the doctor if symptoms return, but the pathology results of my surgery were very good. The consultant told me they were very confident that they got it all. My surgery was the very last one of the oesophageal-gastric cancers they operated on before they stopped all the surgeries because of Covid. I got someone else’s slot because they cancelled, so I would only have been getting it now, so I consider myself extremely lucky.
“After experiencing oesophageal cancer, the main thing is that you feel lucky. Lucky to be alive.”
Due to the overwhelming response of the new Line of Duty Experience from Hastings Hotels and McComb’s coach Travel, new dates have been added and an overnight package has been launched.
The Line of Duty Overnight Experience, begins with lunch in the Grand Café in the Grand Central Hotel, before an action packed guided tour onboard a luxurious coach, taking in some of the most recognisable filming locations including the iconic Subway location, the favourite meeting point for Steve and Kate to have their secret rendezvous; ‘Pelbury House’ the headquarters of the Central Police force and ‘Hickey’s Bookmakers’ from the opening scene of series six that first made viewers suspect that DCI Davidson was a bent copper before finishing the afternoon with an AC12 cocktail or Wee Donkey mocktail in the Observatory, Ireland’s tallest cocktail bar in the Grand Central Hotel. Then it’s time to check in for a luxurious overnight stay and full Irish breakfast the following morning.
Guests will also receive the Hastings’ Line of Duty duck which has been designed with some of Northern Ireland’s best-known sayings.
The Line of Duty Overnight Experience is available from £220 per room (based on two people sharing) on selected dates from Sunday 25th July. To book go to www.grandcentralhotelbelfast.com
Great news for all the urban sports enthusiasts out there! The V36 Urban Sports Park, is one jump closer to opening.
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Councillor Billy Webb and Deputy Mayor Councillor Stephen Ross photographed with JP from Skateboard NI.
This exciting project is now ready to commence and is aiming for completion in late 2021. There will be so many features in this unique park, in particular its size, which when complete will be one of the largest in the U.K.
The V36 Urban Sports Park is a project supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding for this project has been provided by The Executive Office, Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development, Ireland.
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Councillor Billy Webb said “This is great news for the Borough. Urban Sports have really taken off and we are delighted to be working in partnership with the Peace IV Programme, to provide one of the biggest Urban Sports Park in the U.K. As a Council we are continually looking to improve and develop leisure facilities for our residents and this fantastic project is only part of a developing programme of enhancements.”
Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey and Chair of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Peace IV Partnership, Councillor Stephen Ross said “As Partnership members we have been involved in the development of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Peace IV programme over a number of years. It is fantastic to now be at a stage where we are seeing projects come to life and this project will have a real impact by providing a new, accessible, shared space for our Borough.”
Keep an eye on our social media channels for more information.
