I FELL into interesting company last week when a group of excited women sat at the next table in Harlem Restaurant in Belfast. I just had to know what all the chat was about so we got talking.
This was a reunion: 50 years on these girls were celebrating the days they worked in the pipe tobacco, cigar and snuff department of Gallaher's Tobacco Factory in York Street.
Condor Ready Rub was their responsibility and they obviously had a long, strong and happy friendship. Known as 'the Gallaher Girls', they’d travelled from Bangor, Antrim, Carrick, York Street and even Sydney Australia to spend a day reminiscing, laughing, crying and having a ball.
I left them planning the 51st party!
POIGNANT VISIT
"AN OBELISK of awfulness," is how journalist Rowan Hand describes the sight that confronted him when he travelled from his home in Newry to the shell of the Grenfell Tower Block a week after the disaster.
"I don’t know why I felt the urgency to go and see for myself, to talk to the people and let them know we care."
Rowan wanted nothing and took no notebook, no pen. Instead of observing the story he wanted to be part of it.
"I met an elderly Egyptian woman who lived in that part of London for many years, she was sitting alone outside the Methodist Church that was a gathering place for survivors and families.
"Mary’s friends lived in the tower block and she lived close by. She told me she heard a strange noise, stepped outside still in her night dress to see the building burn like a pile of paper.
"Then she whispered that she saw her friends and their children at their window on the 10th floor, she could see they them screaming as the flames rose, then they disappeared and she could see them no more.”
It’s obvious that the experience affected Rowan very deeply. He met firemen still in uniform – they’d had no time to go home, they just kept working.
"At one time they were gathered round the wall of photographs and messages and appeals for information of the missing, they were shattered. I just took their hands and thanked them. Tough men, hard men, reduced to tears."
He heard reports that neighbours huddled together in one apartment – 42 of them – how a little girl borrowed her friend's mobile, phoned her mum and told her she was fine.
"Don’t worry mummy, I’m on my way down." She was never found, her friend survived.
"There was an eerie atmosphere, no birds were singing, muted sobbing, a symphony of terrible sadness. That experience was a lesson in priorities."
SAFETY FIRST AND FOREMOST
My thanks to Group Commander Geoff Somerville of the Fire and Rescue Service for some important contacts to ensure safety surrounding fridges and fridge freezers.
In the year 2016/17 the fire service attended 826 accidental house fires and the cause in three cases was due to fridge and freezers. Topping the list is cooking-related fires, often from leaving items unattended.
The fire in the Grenfell Tower originated in a Hotpoint model FF 175 BP, there’s also a model FF 175 BG. If you are anxious about these models or any other Hotpoint query, you can phone 0800 316 3826 or go to Hotpointservice.co.uk/fridgefreezer.
I phoned this number and talked to a young man who was insistent that anyone worried should phone their helpline but have all your details ready so a representative can look up the relevant data.
Other manufactures also have advice lines.
To alert people to other recalls go to Registermyappliance.org.uk and register, a very simple and informative web site.
What can go wrong? Basically there’s a compressor in the workings of the fridge or fridge freezer which pumps gas round the cooling system and, in order to avoid straining the system, fridge doors must be kept closed – otherwise the appliance thinks it has to keep the whole room cold, and that just isn’t within it’s remit!
You can find details about the cooling mechanism by typing 'How does a fridge work?' into your Internet search bar.
Electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk is another important page of information, such as; don’t use a fridge freezer outdoors where it might get wet or damp, make sure that no paper or flammable material has fallen down the back, keep free from a build up of dust, keep it away from the wall to allow air to circulate – especially worth considering if your device is tucked in under a shelf.
Defrost at least once a year to avoid working the fridge too hard, have a smoke alarm nearby and check the battery – otherwise it’s pointless. These may be obvious points, but they are still worth checking right now.
Fridges have to run 24 hours, all other electrical devices should be turned off overnight or when you’re away from home: that little red light could stress the transformer unit and might cause a fire.
And make sure there’s an automatic trip device on your mains supply at the fuse box: modern houses have this, but older house may need to be checked.
Remember, if there is a fire in your house, dial 999 immediately – then get out and stay out.
THE PLAY’S THE THING
The British Final of One Act Plays will be held on July 7 and 8 in The MAC, Belfast. Performances begin at 7.45pm, the best finalist will be selected by adjudicator Walker Ewart OBE, choosing from Bangor Drama Club with Galway Girl, Aberfeldy Drama Club Scotland with Ring Road, The Unknown OUTcasts from Wales with Future Shock and, from England, Total Arts Community Theatre presenting Lear’s Daughters.
:: TheMAClive.com
