Opinion

HEALTHWISE: Men and women: How does my body store fat?

FAT is stored in almost every region of our body either around our organs, beneath the skin and within muscles.  

PLATING UP: Grilled sirloin steak, salad and runny fried egg

We hope you enjoy our cookery  column with chef Paul Watters who each week will take the fear out of cooking with his easy to follow recipes...

EYE ON THE PAST: August 1985 – SDLP councillors criticised over City Hall stance

We look at the stories that were making the headlines in the Andersonstown News this week in 1985...

ROBIN LIVINGSTONE: That's what friends are for, isn't it?

robin livingstone

ANDRÉE MURPHY: Féile discussion programme puts it all out there – yet again

As we embark on another Féile it is breathtaking to see how women and women’s issues are centre stage, equally, proudly, diversely and complexly. Nine years ago when the Féile programme came out there was a dearth of women speaking at events, or even chairing events. There were manels every day and it was uneven in representation. Those days are firmly in the past.

JUDE COLLINS: There's a reason most unionists will turn their back on the Fleadh

Starting next week, as you know , we will have the Fleadh Ceoil na heireann in Belfast for the first time. The projected number of visitors to Belfast, drawn by the Fleadh , is expected to be 800,000. So here’s the question: how many of those enjoying the Fleadh will be unionists? I’m guessing very, very few.

CELTIC STORIES: Arigato, Daizen – you've earned your place in the Celtic Pantheon

TEARJERKER. That is the only way to describe the heartfelt farewell post from Daizen Maeda on social media last weekend after it was officially announced the Japanese forward had officially left the hoops after four and a half seasons in the green half of Glasgow.

ROBIN LIVINGSTONE: Unionists need to locate their own comfort zone

DUTCH is a tough language to master. Not as tough as Portuguese, which I’ve been trying to get my head round without a great deal of success for some years now as a mark of respect for my Portuguese son-in-law and my Portuguese-Irish granddaughter.

GERRY ADAMS: Féile opens another chapter on women’s experience

FÉILE an Phobail is the launch pad each year of exiting new projects, and especially new books. One such book this year is ‘Women’s Voices, Hopes for a New Ireland’. The book is published by Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland and will be launched at 1pm on August 4 in Áras Uí Chonghaile by Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald TD.

MIKE TOMLINSON: Will Burnham bring budget relief to Northern Executive?

Within days of becoming prime minister in July 2024, Keir Starmer visited Stormont, stating he was committed to “rebuilding strong public services”. After years of Tory austerity and Brexit chaos, the mood was promising, but not for long. First Minister Michelle O’Neill recently said that Starmer refused to meet with the Executive over the past two years and, in effect, treated the people of the North as “second class citizens”. When Andy Burnham visits, what will he be faced with and will anything change?

ANDRÉE MURPHY: Chris Bryant unlikely to be a champion for victims

New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s decisions on the Secretaries of State for the regions voting for parties who campaign for independence tell us something important.

JUDE COLLINS: Feisty Argentinians ignored no-politics charade

CELTIC STORIES: A club like no other or a business like no other?

IT is safe to say I think fans are starting to get tired with the after-dinner charade that Martin O'Neill has continued since the pre-season started a few weeks back.

MINDFUL MOMENT: Dublin visit reopens the page on a dream

There are places we visit that simply pass the time, and then there are places that leave an indelible mark upon us. My recent visit to the Museum of Irish Literature in Dublin was one of those rare experiences. I arrived expecting to learn a little more about Ireland’s remarkable literary heritage. I left feeling cultivated, inspired and quietly encouraged to embark upon a new journey of my own.

PLATING UP: Chicken parmigiana with Avocado, cherry tomatoes

We hope you enjoy our cookery  column with chef Paul Watters who each week will take the fear out of cooking with his easy to follow recipes...