Monthly Archives: February 2009

Why do some people only decide to marry when they are dying…?

Posted by Wendy on February 27, 2009 No comments

Statistics show – and prove – that more couples these days are opting out of the marriage game and choosing instead to cohabit.

Cohabit – could there be another word more devoid of romance or sense of committment than that…? but, nevertheless, cohabit is what increasing numbers of couples are choosing to do in place of walking down the aisle.

What I find interesting are those couples who spend years together, happily claiming that their relationship does not need ‘a piece of paper to make them a couple’, and who state that they do not need a wedding to show the world their committment to each other…

Until one in the couple develops a terminal illness.

You see this especially with celebrity couples; just recently Jade Goody married Jack Tweed (I doubt that guy would ever have done this had Jade not been terminally ill…) and last year the actress Wendy Richard married her longtime partner when her cancer was declared untreatable. Sadly Wendy died yesterday.

It seems that it takes a real jolt to the senses, such as being told you are going to die, for people to realise just how important being married to the person you love really is. For both these women, Wendy and Jade, marrying the people they loved and would have spent their lives with suddenly became the top priority when they knew that their time was running out.

It’s interesting, lovely and heartbreaking, but interesting all the same. Obviously marriage does matter in the end.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

Saint Patricks Day in Belfast

Posted by Wendy on February 26, 2009 No comments

I am really excited to be back in Belfast for Saint Patrick’s Day. I know it is a couple of weeks away yet but I have already planned where we will go on the 17th March as the kids get the day of school.

We have done St Pat’s day in Dublin, Donegal and Sligo in the past but this time it will be my first chance to see it celebrated in Northern Ireland and it looks like it will be huge. They have a massive parade in Belfast followed by a concert as well as celebrations in Londonderry/Derry – pretty much all around the province.

But the place to go, I think, is to Downpatrick where the Saint himself is said to be buried in the grounds of the Cathedral. There’s also the wonderful St Patrick’s Visitor Centre where there is a permanent exhibition of the myths and legends of this important part of Irish history.

It is also said that this day is particularly a lucky day for those who live all over the island of Ireland and people try their hand at various fun events ranging from a spot of gambling and Live Roulette to having a bet on the horses or just a fun game of local bingo.

If perchance you have a try at the Live Roulette on LuckyLiveCasino.com you can take advantage of their St Patrick’s Day promotion and maybe win some great prizes. Only the luck of the Irish can do this :)

The say the biggest St Patricks Day parade of all is in New York City and you have to admit it is on a grand scale, but there’s no doubt the place to be on the 17th March is right here – if you can manage it of course.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

The Unification of Ireland – who will foot the bill?

Posted by Wendy on February 26, 2009 2 comments

I am no expert on the politics of Northern Ireland and that is probably one of the reasons why I love it here so much and am able to feel so at home living here. When I arrived here in 2001 I took it as I found it – wonderful, friendly people, glorious scenery and a very relaxed approach to life.

The fact that I had not lived through the tumultuous Troubles or been raised here with an outlook coloured by them probably made it alot easier to see this land through clearer, though naive, eyes. To me it was simply a great place to be -  but by 2001 Northern Ireland had gone through a hell of a lot for it to be the relatively peaceful place I found and have grown to love.

I prefer to see it stay this way, not only because I hate turmoil, but my childen are going to be raised here and probably their children as well. So you could say I have a vested interest in Northern Ireland now and feel I am qualified – though not overly – to have an opinion on the subject of the unification of Ireland.

Sinn Fein are at the helm of this issue and I would hazard a guess to say you would find a Protestant/Loyalist who would be in favour of being asked to call themselves Irish. Northern Ireland is British; pension schemes and the welfare system here is bankrolled by the UK. The republic of Ireland is in dire straights economically at the moment as, since it’s inclusion in the EU, it’s economy is almost entirelly funded by Brussels and those funds have run out.

In the event of the North and South becoming ‘one’ would this new nation need to be funded by the cash-strapped EU…?

Or, more likely, the UK…? which would certainly make it very interesting. A United Ireland – yes – but a United Ireland financed by the United Kingdom…

Just where would the money come from to create a new welfare system, pensions, taxes…?

And how on earth will the people ever vote in favour of it?

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.