Across and In-Between runs at the Ulster Museum until tomorrow, with projections every 15 minutes from 6pm until 9pm. The exhibition opens from 10am until 9pm. More details are available at belfast internationalartsfestival.com.
land and Northern Ireland as they meet on the border.
“The first thing that was important to me was not to come at this as a singular person from another country. A lot of ideas came up that were very parallel to my experience in the States, but it was important not to take a position on Brexit, but to allow people along the border to express their ideas.
“What might be needed was the point of view of the daily lives of people who live on the border — how does the border impact on their lives now and what did they think about the future?”
The main questions being explored, she says, were: “What is the border in our imagination and in our histories, and what is the border physically? And how do you bring the voice and expectations of people who live there to the fore and right into Stormont?”
Around 150 people have been involved in the project, including ordinary people, writers and artists, and they were invited to the Border People’s Parliament, hosted in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, at the weekend as part of the festival. The events celebrated their involvement and engaged them in a series of recorded discussions about questions that have arisen over the course of the project — resulting in the Yellow Manifesto, a set of principles based on what can be learned from life in the borderlands and due to be published to coincide with the crunch Brexit border summit in November.
“One of the questions was, is the border a third space that we should understand in its uniqueness? Somebody in Belfast has a very different experience of the border from somebody living in Pettigo — in Pettigo they walk across the bridge and they’re crossing the border,” she says.
“The other question is, do people who live on the border develop a certain kind of character? Is there something we can learn from people who live there? When you’re a farmer who lives near the border, your neighbours are people who are other farm- Part of the project was filmed on land owned by Grant Clark (53) at Magheraveely, three miles from Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, and three from Clones, Co Monaghan.
He is married to Evelyn (47) and they have two children, Oliver (8) and Anna (6). He grew up in Co Cavan until he was in P4, when his family moved to Lisnaskea, but he found it hard to settle in Co Fermanagh.
Grant says he wasn’t much aware of the Troubles as a youngster. “I didn’t pass much remark until I went to work as an electrical contractor and I knew there was something wrong. None of my family were in the security forces, but I remember one of my bosses, a German man, was shot and murdered by the IRA because his franchise was doing the catering in the police station,” he says.
“A lot of my friends would have been Catholic. I never got involved — I tried to get along with everybody. I was a happy-go-lucky chap.”
ers, not people who are from the south or the north. There are decisions that are being made about the lives of people who live there without serious consideration of their voices or their preferences.”
The interviewers didn’t specifically ask about Brexit, but it always came up.
“It ranges from... if you talk to a young person, they are pretty unconscious of it and they don’t know where the border is,” Suzanne says. “But it you talk to people who lived through hard times in the Troubles, and they are very worried about whether this brings back the border. It varies from people thinking they are never going to bring back a hard border to people who are moving their business to either side of the border just in case.”
What does Suzanne make of Brexit herself? She says she works all over the world and is interested in the commonalities between people and how the political system should be geared towards protecting the needs of the vulnerable and powerless.
“I would say that in general my politics would question the relationship between the current rise of nationalism and of identity
❝ If you talk to a young person, they are pretty unconscious of it and don’t know where the border is
During the Troubles, he worked for a time at Sean Quinn’s cement factory in Co Cavan and that often meant long queues at the border checkpoint.
“You just queued until you got through. We had to be in Ballyconnell by 8am and you needed to be early to get through in the morning. You could have been there until 11am if somebody took a dislike to you. I wouldn’t want that hard border checkpoint again,” he says.
Grant says Brexit needs to be sorted so that people know what is happening one way or the other. “It’s like the political situation — it’s a bit up in the air. They’ve had a lot of time to talk about it and still nothing is sorted out,” he says.
“It’s going to be difficult. People were trying to go in (to vote) with very little information on what was going to happen. I ‘d nearly say there should be another poll with people explaining what is going to happen. People were going into it very blind.”
politics in a way that causes people to draw firmer and firmer boundaries,” she says. “I think America has become a country divided — perhaps it was always divided — but the divisions are being nurtured and spread and the imbalance is not healthy.
“The rise of nationalism has created a pathway for prejudice, particularly prejudice against black people and prejudice against Muslim people. The ability to express this hostility to the other is very disturbing.”
Suzanne says she sees the Brexit vote as a real expression of fear of immigration, a fear that is also being stoked by Trump. But she adds that her previous work on a project in the north of England with Muslim communities suggests the divisions in the UK don’t run as deep: “I think on a political level and a social level, there is much more interest here in breaking down those barriers than in the US.” aving an unwell baby and not knowing what to do about it can be terrifying for a parent. But a free app developed by The Lullaby Trust charity aims to help mums and dads decide whether their baby needs a doctor or not, through outlining 19 simple checks which test for different symptoms or signs of illness.
The Baby Check app gives a score for each symptom, and the higher the total score, the sicker the baby is likely to be.
The Lullaby Trust warns that, of course, the app is only a guide and is not meant to replace your own judgment.
Serious problems, such as your baby having a fit, being unresponsive, having a serious injury or a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed with a glass, demand an urgent trip to A&E.
Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says: “Having a baby can be an extremely anxious time for parents, so any device that can help put their mind at ease may be incredibly useful.
However, if parents are very worried about their baby, I would encourage them to seek medical help from their family doctor for example, to ensure that if their baby is indeed unwell, any illness is caught early.”
Here are the checks you can run through on the Lullaby Trust app and what score they’d ‘earn’. Add them up as you go through the list. If the total score is seven or under, a baby is only a little unwell and medical attention shouldn’t be necessary. A score of above eight means you may need to seek medical advice, and above 13 means the baby is ill and needs to see a doctor. If the score is 20 or above, a baby may be seriously ill and should be seen by a doctor immediately.
1. Unusual cry
You’ll know your baby’s usual cries from hunger or tiredness. An unusual cry could be: weak, high-pitched, moaning or painful. If your baby has an unusual cry score 2.
2. Fluids taken
If your baby has taken a little less fluid than usual over the last 24 hours, score 3, about half as much fluid as usual score 4, or if your baby has taken very little fluid score 9.
3. Vomiting
If your baby has vomited at least half the feed after every one of the last three feeds, score 4.
4. Green vomit
Vomit is green when it contains bile, and this may be a sign of obstruction in the intestine. If your baby has green vomit, score 13.
5. Wet nappies
If your baby has passed less urine than usual, score 3. Small flecks of blood in a baby’s dirty nappy are usually due to a tiny split at the opening to the back passage and aren’t serious. However, a large amount of obvious blood may be serious, as it could be the result of a blockage or damage to the bowel. If there’s a lot of obvious blood in your baby’s nappy, score 11.
7. Drowsiness
This check isn’t about the time your baby’s been asleep or irritable. If your baby’s been occasionally drowsy and less alert than usual score 3, or if drowsy most of the time, score 5.
8. Floppiness
If your baby seems more floppy than usual, score 4.
9. Watching
This check may be difficult if your baby’s crying or irritable, but your baby should watch you between cries. If your baby is watching you less than usual, score 4
10. Awareness
Watch your baby — is he or she responding to what’s going on? If your baby is responding less than usual to what’s going on, score 5.
11. Looking pale
If most of your baby’s body is much paler than usual score 3. If your baby’s had an episode of going very pale at any time during the last 24 hours score 3.
12. Difficulty breathing in
If a baby has breathing difficulty, the lower chest and upper tummy will dip in with each breath. This is called ‘indrawing’. When baby is quiet, watch the lower chest and upper tum- my. If there’s indrawing just visible with each breath, score 4, if there’s obvious or deep indrawing with each breath, score 15.
13. Wheezing
If your baby is wheezing when breathing out score 3.
14. Blue nails
Compare your baby’s nails to the natural colour of your own fingernails. If your baby’s nails are blue, score 3.
15. Circulation
Gently squeeze baby’s big toe to make it white. This won’t hurt your baby. Then let go and wait three seconds. Watch how quickly the colour returns. If your baby’s toe was completely white before the squeeze score 3. If your baby’s toe colour doesn’t return within three seconds, score 3.
16. Rash
Babies often have a few spots or small areas of rash. But if your baby has a rash which covers a large part of the body score 4, or a rash which is large, raw or weeping, score 4.
17. Hernia
In boys, a hernia shows as an obvious bulge in the groin or scrotum. It’s very rare in girls. If there’s a bulge in the groin or scrotum which gets bigger with crying, score 13.
18. Temperature
In a baby below three months, if the temperature is 38.0C or more score 4. In a baby above three months, if the temperature is 39.0C or more score 4.
19. Crying during checks
If your baby has cried during the checks (more than a little grizzle), score 3.