The stunning weather broke today. Such conditions are rare even in the sunny month of May, but when it does come I think it is actually nicer here even than Spain in the same. But adverse weather in the Isle of Man means the TT Superstock race has been called off. Kyle White as ever is there. The Jeffrey Donaldson trial heard his barrister say yesterday that a letter he wrote in which he described himself as a “sinner” had nothing to do with alleged abuse that he denies. The judge in the trial of the savage murder of Steven Peck in Ballymoney said some would say the violent McCook brothers had "literally got away with murder" and it is "not my role to argue with them", but he can only sentence the lesser crimes they admitted. The children's commissioner's call for Northern Ireland's age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 16 was unfortunately timed when it coincided with uproar in England after rapists under that age in Hampshire were spared jail. Last night I was at an outstanding Orange Order-hosted lecture by Lord (Dan) Hannan on the 1688 Glorious revolution's links to 1776 American independence. The midpoint between those dates is 1732, near to the launch of our paper (1737). A week earlier a Public Records book on Ulster links to America was launched, when the US consul general praised the Stormont minister's Gordon Lyons' "phenomenal" work on the topic. We will continue to report on Ulster links to the US 250th anniversary.
Enjoy your weekend and your reading,
Ben |
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