Hello coffee snobs, or those that like to feel pretentious about coffee.
Where do you get your beans, what are they like and are they mad money for the good stuff?
I love coffee, I only have 2 a day, usually always french press but fed up with the supermarket shite beans and fancy going up a class or two...
Appreciate it, thanks.
Real disposable income per person in Northern Ireland rose by 4.1% in 2024, the biggest rise of any UK region, new figures suggest.
That growth was likely influenced by sharp, inflation-linked increases in benefits, pensions and the minimum wage.
The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimate the amount of money that people have for spending or saving after they have paid taxes and received benefits.
Northern Ireland has a relatively high proportion of people on minimum wages and receiving benefits. That means when those payment rates change it can have an outsized impact in Northern Ireland.
However the figures are also likely to reflect the fact that real wages across the Northern Ireland private sector were rising in 2024.
The figures show that, on average, real disposable income per person in the UK rose by 3.1%, external.
The lowest increase of 2.2% was in the north east of England.
Northern Ireland is in the middle of the pack overall with real disposable income per person of £22,258, marginally below the north west of England.
The West Midlands, Yorkshire, Wales and the north east of England all have lower disposable incomes.
London is an outlier with an average disposable income of more than £36,000 per head although there are very large variations between London's boroughs.
The UK average is £26,490 per head with only London, south east England and east of England above that.
Northern Ireland's relative position within the UK ranking has improved over the last decade, though that is largely because of a weakening performance in Wales and some of the English regions.
Within Northern Ireland the largest average disposable income per head is in Lisburn and Castlereagh at £24,515.
The lowest is Derry and Strabane at £20,375.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson was “delighted” to welcome a Reform UK delegation to Northern Ireland during a visit that included a tour of Stormont and a meeting at a community centre closely linked to a leading loyalist.
The party’s deputy leader in Scotland, part of the delegation, said following the two day visit he wanted to strengthen ties with the north.
Thomas Kerr and the team went on a tour of Stormont, visited Glentoran Football Club and spent time meeting local organisations in Belfast to discuss “working together for the future”.
Mr Kerr, an MSP from Glasgow, also visited the Hanwood Community Resource Centre in east Belfast, a long-established sports-based facility in Tullycarnet.
Among the organisation’s trustees is leading loyalist Jimmy Birch, formerly linked with the UDA.
“It’s great to be over in Belfast strengthening ties in Northern Ireland,” Mr Kerr posted on social media as he thanked Mr Robinson “for taking the time to show me and my team around Stormont and East Belfast”.
He described how during the visit he spent time with “local organisations in Belfast to discuss working together for the future”.
Mr Kerr, formerly the leader of Scottish Conservatives on Glasgow City Council, defected from the party last year. He was not directly elected to the Scottish Parliament but secured his seat via a regional list.
The DUP leader said he and party colleagues work with Reform at Westminster “on areas where we share common purpose, including working to strengthen our United Kingdom and all its constituent parts”.
“This interest extends to their members in other legislatures also and I was delighted therefore to welcome Reform’s deputy leader in Scotland,” Mr Robinson said.
“The visit allowed him to learn more about the devolved administration in Northern Ireland, but also see some of the fantastic community facilities we are proud of within East Belfast.”
The Scottish politician also visited Belfast City Hall, where he was given a tour by DUP Alderman Dean McCullough.
Alderman McCullough said it was “a pleasure to meet” with Mr Kerr, who was part of a delegation that travelled to Belfast.
“The historic and enduring bonds between Northern Ireland and Scotland run deep, built over generations through shared history, culture, friendship and family ties,” Mr McCullough wrote on social media.
“Those who believe in the United Kingdom and in common sense politics ought to work together in the interests of all our people.”
Earlier this year, the DUP leader hosted Reform MP Robert Jenrick. The pair went on a tour of the Shankill Road.
In 2024, TUV leader Jim Allister and Reform’s Richard Tice announced an electoral partnership ahead of the general election.
But this was followed by leader Nigel Farage publicly declaring his support for two DUP candidates, Sammy Wilson and Ian Paisley. Mr Allister defeating Mr Paisley in North Antrim.
The Hanwood Trust was contacted for comment as was Mr Kerr.
When I designed and built our DIY IKEA SEKTION kitchen, I built a dedicated small cabinet just for our special edition SMEG toaster.
Easy to reach, but concealed and hidden when you don't need it. It's all wired up inside so the toaster stays plugged in and ready to go.
Even got the Eva Solo crumb brush hanging on an IKEA hook on the back of the door — so everything stays clean and neat.
This was one of maybe a dozen custom details I worked into the kitchen. I documented the whole build as I went, so if you want specifics on the wiring, the cabinet size, or any of the rest of it, ask and I'll go into it.
Passed my test 2 months ago and still no license. Is this normal? I call and all they can do is leave a message on the system to convey "urgency", but nothing gets done. At this point I'm convinced they have 2 school leavers sorting out paperwork, 2 more print a couple licenses a day and calling it an agency to give it some legitimacy
People paid for tickets and Ive got the show up on the hill in West Belfast for free
Just wondering if anyone else here is having a bit of a crisis over where all of this AI stuff is all headed...
I work in software development for Belfast based company and the change I've seen even in the last 12–24 months is absolutely mental and I'd say the vast majority of PRs I’m looking at now contain code that's nearly entirely AI generated or at least heavily influenced by AI in a way you just wouldn't have seen a couple of years ago. I suppose initially I wasn't bothered by it because I’m no coding purist and happy days, whatever gets the job done quicker and easier, but it's the speed of the change that's starting to properly scare me, especially when you look at it alongside everything else that's already happening in the tech industry and how many people I know who are struggling to find work in tech.
Morale at my company is at rock bottom, there's zero atmosphere left in the office anymore and just constant corporate BS from C suite types who can't act like normal humans and instead talk in meaningless buzzwords. At the same time there's a massive drive to offshore work to cheaper labour overseas and that has gutted the moral to the point where most local people just don't give a single fuck anymore and everyone I work with is just waiting for that email from HR telling us we're being made redundant.
I'd probably be able to convince myself this was just another cycle in the tech industry if it was only happening to me, but my partner works in the creative industry and watching what's happening to her is scary aswell. Look everyone knows creative industry was already a race to the bottom before AI came along, but ChatGPT (and other tools) have given clients and businesses the excuse to grind people down even further, and to be honest it's getting to the point where she'd be financially better off working in Lidl or Tesco than doing the thing she spent years studying and building a career in.
We keep joking that if we could go back and talk to our teenage selves then we'd tell ourselves to become nurses, doctors, plumbers, undertakers or sparkies or just anything where a machine, or cheap offshore labour can't fuck up your entire career overnight while some suit profits from it.
We both studied hard, we worked hard to build up experience and we did everything you're meant to do, so if we both end up getting made redundant down the line then what? Who pays the mortgage? How exactly are we supposed to retrain when the same thing is happening to more and more people? Everyone can't just retrain to become a plumber, electrician or tree surgeon and at some point you have to ask what happens when entire industries are being hollowed out faster than people can move into something else.
The weird thing is that you look around Belfast and somehow everyone seems to be loaded. We ourselves don't drive fancy cars, we don't blow money on stupid shite and we're not living some mad lifestyle. Yet you walk through town and the coffee shops are rammed, the pubs are rammed, there are brand new cars everywhere, massive extensions going up, and people seem to be spending money like there's no tomorrow. Meanwhilse we're sitting here worrying about whether our jobs will even exist in 1 years, and we can't help but wonder what the fuck we've supposed to have done differently.
Maybe that's the part we're struggling with most because we were all basically told that if you studied hard, built a decent career and didn't completely take the piss then you'd have some level of security for the rest of your life, but it feels like that whole thing has just disappeared now.
Is anyone else feeling this same dread at the moment?
Is it just my place or is the gossip and two-facedness rife. Some days it feels like no one has anything good to say about their colleagues. I know familiarity breeds contempt but it's out of hand (I work in a school, apparently one of the better ones)
I don't give enough of a fuck about the people I work with to really let them putting their bread back on the wrong shelf in the communal fridge annoy me, and it's not really any of my business if they had a nasty divorce. I'll help them out of a jam but Jesus sometimes the cliqueiness and vacant chatter and gossip does my bap in. If they spent half the time they spend gossiping and whining about the slightest problem or perceived slight they'd solve half the problems they whinge about.
Considering getting a sign for my chair saying 'don't talk to me'
Sadistic hunter linked to far-right Northern Ireland group behind race hate in Glasgow
WARNING: Distressing images below. Neil Pinkerton was among a band of Northern Irish men to travel to Scotland on July 25 to join an anti-immigration event that was badged "Protect Our Women and Children"
A sadistic animal hunter is at the centre of attempts by far-right agitators in Ireland to stoke racial hatred in Scotland.
Neil Pinkerton was amongst a group of Northern Irish men who travelled to Scotland on July 25 to participate in an anti-immigration demonstration branded "Protect Our Women and Children".
He was joined by close associates Mark Sinclair, a former UVF bank robber, and sectarian killer Glen Kane, in Glasgow during a shameful weekend when masked individuals performed Nazi salutes and chanted "get then out".
Pinkerton can now be exposed as an "urban hunter" who takes pride in killing wild animals with dogs.
He has shared videos and photographs of his own dogs covered in blood following brutal underground fights with foxes, which appeared to have been killed for sport, reports the Record.
Pinkerton and his associates posted a graphic video of one hunt alongside disturbing images of both the dead fox and his injured dog.
He captioned his trophy photograph: "One's going to feel this in the morning, one's not".
Northern Ireland remains the only part of the United Kingdom where hunting with dogs is still permitted - though causing animals unnecessary suffering remains illegal.
Pinkerton previously led a street vigilante group that patrolled areas of East Belfast, in disgraceful scenes now being replicated in Glasgow.
Campaigners in Northern Ireland claim Pinkerton has been one of the most prominent agitators in Belfast, appearing at the "pogrom" that followed the alleged assault of a white man by an immigrant on June 8 this year.
I'm clearing out a relatives property and I was wondering if anyone knew places in Belfast or close by that would be good to sell the following kinds of things:
- Action figures and sci-fi, fantasy collectibles
- tech like laptops, cameras etc
- musical instruments
- antiques and furniture
I know cash converters and CEX can buy stuff but I hear neither are very good and will only offer a couple of quid for things that sell for lots more online. I also use Vinted and eBay but it's quite time consuming so would appreciate hearing about any specialists.
Since NI has been dominated by pantomine politics as usual….
I’m interested to see who you think are ‘Deadon’ politicians?
There was a post similar 4 years ago but a lot has changed since then.
I’ve met a number of politicians over the years and I found John Stewart UUP to be super sound.
Discuss!!
I don't have solar yet but possibly sometime in the next few years. Apart from solar is there any decent ways to make savings on electricity?
THERE are a few nonsenses about the Assembly which need to be dismissed and then dumped for ever.
The first is that there is some sort of magic formula, involving the jigging-about of the rules and regulations, which would allow the Executive parties to govern better together.
That is not going to happen. And it won’t happen because there is no reform of the institutions which won’t leave a unilateral veto option in place for unionism and nationalism: meaning that one or the other can topple the institutions whenever it suits their electoral interests.
The Good Friday Agreement was built and then sold in the 1998 referendum on the premise that it would protect the interests of unionism and nationalism.
Those interests, by the way, were for unionism and nationalism – the largest party of each – to define. There doesn’t have to be any logic to what either of them defines as an interest which needs to be protected.
It can, quite literally, be anything they choose to define as of particular importance to their electoral base.
So important, in fact, that it can lead to the complete collapse of the institutions for months or even years on end.
As I say, that veto will exist in some form or other unless and until there is a rewriting of the GFA, followed by a referendum in which a majority endorses the removal of vetoes altogether. That is not going to happen.
In 1998 there may have been a hope that a new electoral generation would leave the past behind and reinvent politics here along the socio-economic lines seen in other European countries; but that hasn’t happened and it isn’t going to happen.
Shifting demographics and the same old constitutional clashes have simply entrenched the past in the present. Our kids and grandkids aren’t doing it for themselves: they’re simply doing what we did.
Another nonsense has it that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland just want good government. They don’t.
If they did, then Sinn Féin and the DUP would not have reaped the benefits of the St Andrews Agreement deal that, to all intents and purposes, created two governments in the one Executive.
The only purpose of that deal was to enable both parties to ensure that every election would be about the biggest party of both communities and, as part of that process, the squeezing out of the smaller varieties.
The deal never had anything to do with making Northern Ireland a better place for everyone: it was always about who would be First Minister.
It’s what a majority has voted for since then; with the SDLP, UUP and TUV buying into it all to try and make themselves relevant.
The third nonsense is that there has been a ‘remarkable growth’ of the centre ground. There hasn’t.
Alliance may have had a post-2017 electoral surge, but most of the evidence now suggests that the surge is dipping and receding.
Anyway, Alliance isn’t actually a centre party; merely a party that places itself – uncomfortably, or so it seems to me – between the two communities.
In so doing it actually facilitates and perpetuates their way of doing politics. Indeed, there’s a compelling argument to be made that Alliance is, more or less, still occupying the role it had when it emerged over 50 years ago.
To be honest, I’m not persuaded that a new and genuine centre ground is possible against a background where the shadow of the gunman has been replaced by the shadow of the border poll.
The political centre requires compromise; yet what, other than the ongoing stalemate, is the compromise between those wanting a united Ireland and those supporting the constitutional status quo?
All of which leaves Alliance disliked and distrusted by both nationalism and unionism.
Which is ok, I suppose, because unionism dislikes and distrusts nationalism and nationalism dislikes and distrusts unionism.
Polling of Alliance members in The Alliance Party Of Northern Ireland (Professor Jon Tonge et al) indicates that 95%, 87% and 46% dislike/strongly dislike the DUP, SF and UUP – meaning there’s not a lot of love lost between the party and its Executive colleagues.
The biggest nonsense of all, though, is that the Executive can ever deliver good, collectively agreed governance.
I really don’t see how it can. The reform it requires is not deliverable.
Election results suggest that a majority prioritises continuing polarity over cohesion and compromise.
The constitutional question is likely to predominate and eclipse every other issue.
Trust between the parties is non-existent. Failure is taken as a given by the parties and their electoral bases.
But the British and Irish governments will continue to indulge the farce.
Neither of them wants the GFA to formally collapse because they don’t want the accompanying headaches.
So the Executive will stagger on like a perpetual drunk, trying to convince himself and his family that the AA sessions are really helping.
We all know politics here is shite and stormont is an absolute turd, but has anyone here had good experiences with particular politicians? I don't just mean folks I agree with, because some of them are actually pretty shite at their job despite shared political beliefs.
But more like, who is actually sincere and genuinely wants NI to be better and seems to DO stuff? What is the sort of behaviour we should be encouraging and championing?
To clarify, I would vote greens normally. But I was contacting local representatives a few years back to try and get alliance's integrated education bill through. Andy Allen from the UUP was incredibly easy to reach on the phone, barely a middleman between calling his office and speaking to him. At the time the UUP were flip flopping about it (Mike Nesbitt seemed against it initially I think) but he did genuinely listen and think it through. Can't say fairer than that.
