Gerry Anderson's Walls and Peace
Mark Damazer
I've just been listening to a programme on Belfast transmitted last Monday - Walls and Peace - presented by Gerry Anderson. It was made before the murders of the last seven days but it's a very revealing and disturbing portrait of a Belfast phenomenon - the many walls that divide Protestants and Roman Catholics.
It Is not a comfortable listen. The walls are not merely historical relics from The Troubles. They continue to be built. The programme has contributions from people who want very much for the walls to come down - but does not shirk from describing the abnormality of some aspects of Belfast Life. Gerry Anderson's bewilderment and carefully expressed anger shines through.
The programme strips away clichés, is full of surprises (watch out for the poem in the middle of the programme) and has a presenter who palpably knows what he's talking about. It's my favourite programme of the week thus far - though not entirely cheerful.
Listen to the programme:
- Elizabeth Mahoney reviewed the programme in The Guardian
- So did Miranda Sawyer, in The Observer
- The picture, by Grytsje Klijnstra, shows one of the Belfast peace walls and the kind of fortification to a house that's called a 'Belfast Conservatory' in the programme (used under licence).
