February 2008 Archives
Although I'm not by any means a train fanatic, I do like them. When I was a child growing up in Rathcoole, our big treat during the summer holidays was a day out on the train to Carrickfergus or -even better- to Whitehead! My younger sister and I would wake up excited and raring to go early in the morning. Our first job was to prepare our sandwiches and flasks of tea. We would have these as a picnic on the beach when we reached our destination.
We would walk down the long route through Rathcoole, on to the Old Irish Highway and the Station Road to Whiteabbey Station where we had to wait for our train. While my mum rested on a bench we would be all over the platform looking out for signs of a coming train. We'd look down the line for a green light. We'd look for smoke signals that might indicate a steam train coming our way. Soon, we would see smoke and hear the distinctive puffing sound as the train approached the platform. It really was exciting.
I'm glad that the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is keeping at least some of these engines running. I saw one crossing the Lagan last May Day bank holiday and it brought back all these old memories for me. Some of these days I must travel on one of the RPSI's day excursions just to soak up all these old experiences.
In the meantime, my memories have been rekindled by a book I came across the other day. The Ulster Transport Authority in colour by Derek Young is a reminder of the trains and buses that used to serve the people of Northern Ireland from 1948 to 1967. Most pictures of this era tend to be in black and white, so it's really great to see a lot of vintage colour photographs from all parts of Ulster.
I was struck by a 1967 picture of a Belfast Corporation double-decker bus outside Carrick train station. A number of railway wagons had derailed between Downshire and Eden, so this bus was taking rail passengers between Carrick and Whitehead. Nothing new there, then! There's a terrific 1967 picture of a steam train passing Downshire halt and a poignant picture of Jordanstown station showing all the lovely station buildings that NIR tore down by stealth one Sunday morning to be replaced by a bunch of ugly boxes.
There's a lot of other interesting stuff in this book that I'll come back to in a future Kerr's Corner.
Cat Malojian
Cat Malojian or just ‘cat’ for short used to be slang for not very good. I can only assume that the members of this wonderful two-piece band were being ironic. Lurgan lads Stevie Scullion and Jonathan Toman are anything but crap. They are terrific!
We’re Alright is the second EP disc to be released on the band’s own BadPaw label. The CD has four cracking tracks; We’re Alright, Have Mercy on Me, Planets and Bad Company. If you like indie music with more than a hint of bluegrass, then Cat Malojian is for you.
The final track, Bad Company is a rip-roaring, storming live recording. The subject of the song is addicted to beer and whiskey and the baser sort of companion. So much so, that his exasperated mother threatens to put him out of the house. This song goes down a storm with the well-lubricated and enthusiastic audience. The other tracks are a bit less boisterous but none the worse for that. Have Mercy on Me takes a different tack from Bad Company. The subject of the song is a bit more remorseful for the things he may have done wrong. It’s a haunting tune that stays with you when the CD player clicks off.
View image I
rather suspect that we’ll be hearing more from this fine band in the months and
years to come. Check out their MySpace
page on http://tinyurl.com/39v9ep Copies
of the EP can be had from their MySpace page or from Phoenix Records,
Haymarket, Royal Avenue, Belfast.
