As I mentioned earlier, I was out taking a few pictures of the 12th July parade in Belfast today as it made its way towards the field.

"Floats" carrying bands were introduced to the 12th July parade for the first time this year

While the steady drizzle was a slight disappointment after the beautiful sunshine of last years parade, it didn't seem to deter the crowds at all who, as usual, seemed to get caught up in the atmosphere and not notice themselves encroach further into the road with every passing band.

As well as the bands themselves there were a couple of floats this year; their inclusion aimed at broadening the appeal of the parade (the "floats" could perhaps more accurately described as hauliage lorries with the sides off, but the concept worked). One featured an Ulster-Scots folk band while a second carried an English drum band. As well as the local bands there seemed to be more than ever from Scotland this year, particularly Glasgow.

Marchers in World War One uniforms led one band

This year being the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme set the theme for this year's parade, and one band was led by two men in the uniforms of the YCV and 36th Ulster Division from World War One and there were flags to both groups of volunteers at various intervals along the parade.

316 orange and purple balloons were released in the city centre - one for each year that has passed since 1690. Lord Laird was interviewed on TV, dressed in a 17th Century costume, and encouraged people to be proud of their heritage.

"This is a day which celebrates our culture - we are proud of our Ulster-Scots and Orange background. We want people to come out and join us, and people who don't know what we are about to come and understand who we are."
Lord Laird, Parade Organiser

It seems that most of the marches have so far gone ahead without much trouble (touch wood), despite the fact that restrictions have been imposed on a parade in Ardoyne and nationalist protesters blocked a feeder parade in Maghera.

I should add that, while I didn't hear any Billy Boys this year, I did notice one silly bitch (not part of the parade) wearing a UFF flag like a cape, but I suppose every long journey takes a lot of small steps.

I was disappointed to read this post on Slugger yesterday. After congratulating the Harryville Ulster-Scots Society just a few weeks ago on having a UDA mural replaced by a new one promoting Ulster-Scots culture, I'm dismayed to read that the mural is to be painted over with a fresh UDA one.

The move comes after Republicans have failed to live up to their part of the deal which saw the mural replaced (ie removing tricolours from another part of the town) by putting up more tricolours than there were in the first place.

This is not the first time Republicans have deliberately provoked unionists and loyalists to create controversy, but yet they seem to fall for it every time. Instead of taking the moral high ground and expressing their disappointment at the failure of Republicans to adhere to a compromise with their British neighbours, the loyalists of the area have decided the best way to retaliate is to blight their own community, once again, with a mural honouring a murderous gang, responsible for the deaths of many people, Protestant and Catholic alike.

When will they learn? Look guys, it's not too late. Instead of cutting off your nose to spite your face, leave the Ulster-Scots mural there. It'll instill a much greater sense of pride among your own community, as well as demonstrating to the world the world that the republicans in question are completely unreasonable.

Update
Apparently there's a row over who started it. Surprising, no?

No, it's not an April fools joke; a UDA mural near Harryville chapel, has been replaced by an Ulster Scots mural, while Tricolours were removed from the north end of Ballymena. Red, white and blue paint on railings around Harryville church was also painted over.

The gestures come as the result of a deal brokered by the Harryville Ulster Scots Society following cross-community talks. Father Paul Symonds from the Harryville chapel was present at the unveiling of the new mural. Both Fr Symonds and Geoff Calderwood of the Harryville Ulster Scots Society claimed the new mural represented a positive step for the area.

Maybe I'm feeling unusually positive today, but I'm inclined to agree, and it has the potential to represent a positive step for Northern Ireland as a whole, not just Harryville and Ballymena. I only hope the move isn't seen as some sort of appeasement by hardcore fanatics. The simple truth is nobody will benefit more from this a decline in the dominance (both symbollically and physically) of loyalist paramilitaries will be the ordinary decent folk living in their own communities.

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I realised last weekend but managed to forget about it all day yesterday. Yesterday was 28th September: Ulster Day - the 93rd anniversary of the signing of the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant throughout Ulster, signifying the people of Ulster's opposition to the plans for Home Rule being introduced; an act that would see Ulster under the control of a Dublin parliament. There's more on the covenant at Wikipedia.

In most other places in the world a day as significant as this in the history of a country, significant enough for Rudyard Kipling to write the poem "Ulster" would be marked as a national holiday and celebrated. In Northern Ireland it is conveniently ignored. It should be a public holiday.

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Senior security sources in Northern Ireland are said to believe that IRA decommissioning is close. Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP MP for Lagan Valley, who was briefed on the situation by Tony Blair said "We believe that we will see the announcement on decommissioning in the next couple of weeks."

In response, the DUP have put forward proposals for the potential negotiation of the return of a power-sharing executive that could follow such a move. Hopefully dangling the carrot of power-sharing in front of Peter Hain and Tony Blair might help them achieve some of these goals, particularly the investment in deprived areas.

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The Apprentice Boys have had an upcoming parade banned from passing the Ardoyne shops, scene of the mindless violence and wanton disregard for human life of republican "protestors" on 12th July. This ban continues the trend from last year when the same ban was imposed.

My initial reaction on watching the story on the lunchtime news was "Right, republicans, if you want parades banned just go out and riot at them." Sounds like they're being given a free reign to cancel all parades. This view was soon to be backed up by the Parades Commission themselves whose ruling cited "potential for public disorder" and could have an "adverse effect on fragile community relations."

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