Ireland day 0791. Tuesday 28 November 2023- Belfast Conference 2 *

Ireland day 0791. Tuesday 28 November 2023- Belfast Conference 2

Today’s summary	A full day at the Belfast conference. Very hard work networking with people I didn’t know. After 11 hours I’d had enough, and finally left the evening reception at about 8pm. Fabulous walk back to the hotel along the riverside. Belfast looking its best
Today’s weather	Dry and bright but quite cold. Almost no wind. Appx 7c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Night walk across Belfast

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

Today was the first full day of the conference I’m attending through work. It was interesting – and the venue in the Titanic Centre was outstanding. But very hard work socialising and networking with people I didn’t know. It’s not my favourite thing, but it’s essential if you want to find out what’s really going on.

There was a ride in a hydrogen powered bus (very cool) at the end of the day’s proceedings, taking us on to the evening reception. The reception was finger buffet and networking in a large hotel bar – very swish and good food, but I find standing around drinking and eating while trying to talk to people you’ve never met before, all without spilling anything or choking on your canapés, very hard work. Eventually, after a couple of hours I felt I’d got as much out of it as I was going to, so rather than waiting for the bus I walked back to the hotel along the riverbank.

Belfast was putting on a good show tonight – it reminded me a lot of London’s South Bank – and certainly a million miles from the troubled city I’d first visited in the 1980s, when there seemed to be gun turrets on almost every street corner. It’s fabulous to see the peace dividend really playing out and I hope nothing further comes along to disturb the delicate equilibrium which has made so many people’s lives so immeasurably better.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


View from the conference suite on the 5th floor of the Titanic centre. A brilliant venue	100% hydrogen fuel cell bus. I wonder how carbon-free the hydrogen was?

Inside a real Conference. Not been to one of these for a long time	After the evening networking event, I walked back to the hotel alongside the Lagan river – here looking downstream from the western embankment to the Queen’s bridge

The Sound Yard by the marina. It rattles when you walk through it – I think it’s supposed to sound like the riveting hammers in the shipyards many decades ago	Empire biscuits by any other name. I am so happy

*“Beacon of Hope” – a sculpture by Andy Scott erected by Queen’s Bridge in 2007. It is sometimes also known as “Nuala with the* Hula” or even “The Thing with the Ring“**