| Good afternoon
It is an intermittently sunny day from where I write this, in northern Co Down, not so far from Bangor. I grew up in Bangor so I am proud that it has been deemed worthy of being made a city. And yet I cannot think of it as a city. And I do have concerns about these frequent re-designating of what are obvious towns as cities I hoped to be at this ceremony in the Somme this week - it would have been the first time I have been outside the British Isles in three years - but I had too much else on. Relatives who served in the Great War were in the same regiment as the man in this story. Private Roberts died weeks before the armistice, which is all the more poignant because he had survived four long years in the trenches, and was so close to peacetime The Orange centenary parade is today week. We will be covering what Visit Belfast call a once in a lifetime spectacle Meanwhile cost of living remains a huge concern to people And the impact of the Irish Sea border is still wide ranging, including this matter of animal movements In sport, Rangers fans were disappointed on Wednesday, yet have been praised for their conduct in Seville Meanwhile the culture wars still rage on matters such as definition of gender There is as ever so much more to mention. We will continue our biking coverage all summer, and our bumper News Letter and Farming Life includes much to read, including an interview with Paul Young. Remember him? I was 10 at the time of his 1982 hit Wherever I Lay My Hat. And I was 10 when Alex Higgins won his world snooker champion title, ushering in a thrilling period for Ulster sport. The weekend News Letter is in the shops until tomorrow. --
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