Your guide to NI Culture
Chris Smith |
I have always had a love for culture from the Arts to nightlife.
After living and working in England for 5 years in UK media, I returned home to Belfast and I plan on making the most of it.
Come Join me as I show you the lesser known parts of Northern Irelands culture and spotlight the hard hitting subjects that are of public interest.
Along with a group of other artisans from Northern Ireland, for 3 days over March 2021, I took a course in online media with the Prince’s Trust, Bauer Media and Cool FM.
Over the course of 3 day’s, we divulged our minds into a masterclass, this covered everything from story telling, photography to even vlogging and blogging.
Working in groups we created some amazing visual masterpieces, whether this be video logs of our pets, to how we spend a basic day over the Covid pandemic; everyone has brought a piece of their personality to the table thanks to our amazing tutor Katy.
Katy was our tutor for the duration of the course, she has a background in media. Originally working for a major shopping company, she packed up and became a tutor in the Academy.
I have enjoyed working within this group and it has brought quite a few new tools to my skillset.
The Course has also inspired the members to kick start their own vlogs and blogs. I have listed a few below.
Courtney –
Courtney plans on delving into a topic close to her heart – Mental health, music and wellbeing; through her YouTube channel she plans on going into the big topics that have been hitting our communities for generations. Mental health is a big factor at the moment with being isolated.
Ryan –
A subject close to Ryan’s heart is the struggles men face in the world; especially when it comes to their past. Ryan plans on hitting subjects surrounding drugs and adapting to life after prison along with life and injustices men face day to day.
Meghan –
Environment – Meghan plans on starting a blog surrounding the impacts of our daily life that effect the environment and what we can change to make this better.
Owen –
Owen has a passion for music and has planed on starting his own vlogs that will target the music scene – the plan is to go behind the music and find out what the music means.
Click here if you want to find out more about the Princes Trust and future Programs they are planning
Joining the course was made easy, Michael our leader helped from start to finish.
I would recommend their courses to anyone looking to build on skills whether it be for employment or interests.
So as the end of lockdown is looming and you’re try to work out what to do with your pet.
Well you’re not alone, during lockdown many of us have sought out company in the form of a fur friend and now we’re ruminating on the next steps!?
Let’s be honest – especially when it comes to dogos, we can’t leave them alone in the house, as they can cause a lot of damage and it is stressful for them.
What can we do?
Don’t despair, when it comes to this the best way forward is to find a pet minder or a pet nursery – most of these will have a fixed fee they can provide to you.
Can you imagine, walking into the best boy/girl nursery and seeing a load of fur babies running around! I think it would make anyone’s morning.
With the current lockdowns and restrictions life as we know it has came to a halt and the people affected most by this are the elderly and single adults.
I myself have felt the burden – when lockdown started in 2019, I was working full time and living in a shared house and that caused it’s own difficulties. Not only did I feel restricted to my bedroom due to the information I was dealing with, but, the problems that I faced living in a share house caused me to have one or two meltdowns until inevitably I decided to move home and leave my job.
Todays life
I have returned home to Belfast and I currently live in a small house alone; I have had bit’s and pieces of work – my most recent job ended after I caught the Flu, sounds unfair right!? Well because I was working through an agency I had no employment rights.
Depression and anxiety
I like many others have faced the factor that is a much larger problem than the coronavirus; the beast that stalks us at night and steals your mind – depression.
Our Community
Due to loneliness in our communities, depression and anxiety is at an all time high and with many of us not seeking help it could affect our health in the future due to the things people do to cope.
Drugs and alcohol.
Due to struggling to cope many people are turning to highs both legal and illegal; drugs and alcohol are now a big factor within our communities whether we like to admit it or not – just remember though once the money is gone and the party is over the people most affected by this are the individual and their families.
In conclusion
If you are affected by any of the above there is always help available.
Never suffer alone!
Samaritans – A free impartial service if you feel alone or can’t go on
Addiction NI – For help dealing with drug issues
Chris Smith NI Blog