r/Belfast

These things need to be fucking banned.

Currently sat up in the RVH cause a dick of a woman knocked my 2 year old down on one just as we got off the bus home from town.

Woman showed no remorse, gave no apology. Blamed my child.

Massive thanks to the two strangers that got off the bus as they spotted the woman was about to do a runner.

Alright so I’ve been in the collecting game for years. Figures, Funkos, memorabilia and so on. Use to collect Hot Wheels and Matchbox religiously as a kid but getting into them again. Last time I collected Woolworths was still at Yorkgate so it’s been a minute 😂

Smyths has a ton of Hot Wheels so spoken for there. Wondering what about Matchbox though? I know there’s My Old Toy Box for the classics but if I wanted to see more up to date stuff, where’s the best place?

Thanks

EDIT: I've got some very fascinating responses here. Clearly, the culture has shifted a lot since I worked in the hospitality industry in terms of managing environments, and the level to which staff are expected to intervene. People are acting like asking for a volume drop is asking staff to go above and beyond into a dangerous battle is very interesting. As someone in their mid-30s, the generational shift in attitudes toward basic floor management and public etiquette is genuinely fascinating to see. Thanks for the insight, everyone.

So I was at a cafe today on the Upper Ormeau Road. I won’t name and shame which one, but I’ve been going there reasonably regularly since long before they became the wildly popular hotspot they are now.

Anyway, went in for a coffee with the better half today and a few minutes after sitting down two people sitting near me started having a video call on their phone with the speaker turned up to absolute full blast. It wasn't just loud, it was incredibly loud, tinny and completely dominating the entire room.

So, I went up to the staff member and quietly and politely asked if she could have a word with them and ask them to turn it down. And the staff member's response left me gobsmacked.

Instead of just handling it, she completely fobbed me off with some excuse about it being "personal" and flat out told me that I could go over and say something to them myself if I wanted to but she wasn't going to. She delivered it with such casual indifference, like she was telling they don't have oat milk.

For context I worked in hospitality for years, cafes, bars you name it, up until about three years ago. If anything like this happened, it was standard procedure for the staff to handle it. Probably since the mid 2010s and everyone got smartphones I’ve personally approached parents to ask them to turn down the iPad their kid was blasting, and I've politely told people to stick in headphones after they started scrolling through TikTok reels at full volume. Awkward yes, but part of the job to maintain a decent atmosphere for everyone.

Since when is it the customer's job to police the dining room? Look, I'm a millennial well into my mid-30s, so maybe I am just getting old. But have we completely given up on basic cafe etiquette, or is Gen Z just that averse to conflict or just even being direct with other people?

It just came to my mind for some reason - it was a place kids would all hang out on a Saturday afternoon.

They had one of the proper Star Wars arcade games, where you sat in a sort of cockpit that moved around as you did the death star run. It's weird to think of a time when you would get together with your friends and go somewhere to play the latest video game, instead of just playing it in your house.

For swimming they had these colour-coded arm bands so you'd know when your time in the pool was up, and you'd dry off and go to the viewing window in the canteen up above, have a cheap chip butty and watch other people swim.

Then about 9 of you would clamber into your dad's ancient Renault Clio with the back seats down and each get dropped home to watch Blind Date or whatever was on.

Apologies for the "do you remember" post but for some reason the nostalgia just hit me HARD.

What bars and clubs are open next Saturday July 11th?

Starting a business but working from home is quite difficult with the noise outside my house. I'm no longer a uni student so can't use the libraries, and wouldn't want to if I could anyway. Anyone know of late night open coffee shops or other places.

Thanks

Im sure im not the only one who remembers a news story from a year or so ago about a Belfast men who went missing. He was in France and due to fly home. He'd left work (oil rigs) and I think hed gone to meet a lady but never got on the flight to come home. He had checked in though. CCTV at the airport had no sightings of him leaving the airport and no sightings of him inside it either

I think there was a good outcome but what actually happened to him? Apologies if I got stuff wrong. I just remembered it this morning.

Anyone skating in Belfast want to hang out? Haven’t skated in over 10 years and pretty much starting from scratch again. Nobody I know skates anymore so would be cool to skate with people

Heya all, wanted to ask what's your personal recommendations for food that is tasty and provides the most value for money? Started working out and my appetite has never looked back

Looking for a new gym in Belfast and would appreciate some recommendations.

I’m leaving Bannatyne and my main priority is finding a gym that’s fairly quiet between 6–8am. I train mostly with free weights and machines, so good equipment is important, but I really want to avoid somewhere that’s packed or where you’re constantly waiting for benches or racks.

A sauna would be a bonus, but it’s not essential.
I’m currently looking at:

Club 24 (St Anne’s Square)
ONYX HPR (Derryvolgie Avenue, off the Lisburn Road)
Anytime Fitness (Stranmillis)
Better Gym Connswater (East Belfast)

Has anyone trained at any of these around 6–8am? Which is usually the quietest? Are there any other gyms in Belfast you’d recommend that stay fairly quiet in the mornings?

Thanks!

I recently moved to Belfast and have a 20 month old little boy who’s full of energy and constantly on the go! I only know one other mum here, but she has a little girl who is younger and a lot calmer, so I realised I’d love to meet other mums with energetic toddlers around a similar age so my som can have someome to play with and it would be great to have a mum friend i can relate to, especially if there are any boy mums with choatic little boys like mine lol.

Does anyone know if there any toddler meet up groups in Belfast? Happy for it to be just mum and toddler meet ups or also parent toddler meet ups as my husband and I would also love to make some parent friends too! Or if there is anyone who is in the same boat and just wants to meet up we can organise a get together 😊

Does anyone know of any second hand bookshops i could donate books to. I am coming down with books and charity shops wont take them as they take up too much room.