Catriona and the Waves
Well I did ask her one question about flooded schools in East Belfast, so I think that justifies the corny title.
The Education Minister Ms Ruane is my guest on Inside Politics this weekend. She has interesting things to say about preventing teenage suicides. She also hints that the Education Boards may have their life prolonged, as the April 2008 timetable for the creation of a new Single Education Authority is proving hard to meet.
But on the key question of academic selection and the replacement for the 11 plus the interview is notable for the sparsity, not the content, of the minister's answers. And I see Sammy Wilson claims 36 grammar schools are already preparing their own entrance exams.
Oh, and I also ask Catriona if she agrees with her colleague Eoin O'Broin that Gerry Adams put up a weak performance on TV during the Irish election leaders debate.
On an entirely different topic, I've written a piece for the main website about Alex Salmond's visit to Stormont on Monday and the interesting dynamics which could develop between Belfast and Edinburgh. It should be published over the weekend.
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It's Eoin Ó BROIN not Ó Brinn as stated in the blog. It might be worth the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's while to be more professional when it comes to reporting the names of people, no matter what language in which they're written. It's not like it's difficult to look up the SF website to get the correct spelling.
MARK REPLIES: Thanks for that Concubhar - will amend accordingly. My name is often mispelled as Davenport so I know it can be annoying. Here, for instance, is an example from the Irelandclick.com website on 10th May last year "Ö÷²¥´óÐã Northern Ireland political editor Mark Davenport, speaking in a personal capacity, told the gathering of his time reporting from Somalia in the 1990s."
That's a good point but there's a world of difference between the Ö÷²¥´óÐã which is a public service broadcaster funded by the licence fee etc and irelandclick.com which is not so funded. However professional standards should apply across the board.
I wonder how the Ö÷²¥´óÐã is facing the prospect of correctly pronouncing and spelling the names of numerous prominent Irish speakers who are coming to the fore in public life in the north. Up to now the corporation has been less than professional in giving recognition to Irish speakers.
Its rich of Concubine slabbering and foaming at the mouth about people/organisations spelling and pronunciation of names, when he cant even bring himself around to saying the proper name of this country!! Its Northern Ireland Concubine! And just in case you dont understand your mother tongue, i.e English, here it is in Irish Gaelic, Tuaisceart Éireann.