Lindy Mcdowell

Many, many years ago, when I was doing that travelling-solo-around-the-world thing that young people do, I spent the best part of a year working at Bondi Beach in Sydney. In a Jewish soccer club.

The angle grinder

From world affairs to life closer to home, Lindy McDowell chooses her most unforgettable quotes of the year

Happy new year to one and all — including to celeb chef Gordon Ramsay for whom 2026 has got off to a great start following the wedding of his lovely daughter, Holly to Adam Peaty, Olympic swimmer and son of the working class.

Has our government any idea how poorly Stormont now rates in the opinion of the electorate?

A few days ago, Mary Lou MacDonald posted on X a picture of lapel pins of the Easter lily exhorting followers to buy and wear one to “honour those gallant patriot rebels who gave everything for the freedom of Ireland. Brave men and women who stood for the Republic. We keep their memory and the hopes of the 1916 proclamation alive”.

Donald Trump’s deity-themed post reveals a narcissism so boundless it would make even the original Narcissus blush

I hate to use the word hate, but lately I’ve developed a perfect hatred (if there can be such a thing) for one section of society with whom I’ve had to converse in recent days: AI bots.

Has Belfast International Airport — previously regarded by local passengers as a grim, grubby embarrassment, giving tourists a woeful impression of Northern Ireland’s hygiene standards — really spruced up its act as much as bosses would have you believe?

Traditional allegiance is no longer enough to keep an evolving, more questioning working class onside. And with this comes a warning to our big local parties