It looks like some bright young entrepeneur is setting up a super-brothel specifically to cope with the influx of football fans to Berlin when the world cup comes to Germany in 2006. The Artemis brothel's going to be only "yards" from the main stadium in Berlin so Wayne Rooney shouldn't have too far to stumble if he's tired after a hard match.

Now that's what I call meeting customer demand. Pity Northern Ireland can't qualify!

Aghalee in Co. Antrim was hit by a strange kind of weather today as a freak gale destroyed property in the village, despite lasting for less than a minute according to locals. The wind even overturned a mobile home in between blowing tiles off houses and a road outside the village was blocked by fallen trees.

Sounds like it was as scary as it was strange.

No, not my real job. I got that a couple of weeks ago. I've been asked to write a post occasionally over at The Guvnor Times. It seems to have quite a wide range of topics covered from the little time I've had to read it.

I made my debut just after that famous 'One Night in September' and tonight posted at length on what might be the second most significant happening, in relation to the history of Northern Ireland, that took place this month: the IRA decommissioning.

A wise man (or wise arse) once said "A day like today is not a day for sound bites really. We can leave those at home. But I feel the hand of history on our shoulder.".

That was one "historic" day. Recently, we've had another - ah I remember it well. That famous day (apparently it was the 28th July) when P O'Neill said he was going to stop using all those guns and assorted weapons he'd been using to mount his attack on Northern Ireland. I said at the time it was a non-story, a non-event and that I'd believe it when I saw it, given their failure to live up to their word in the past.

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You can faintly make out the orange glow behind the warehouse. I was some distance away with a poor quality phone camera, but it's there..

As I was heading home this evening I noticed the Boucher Road closed from Glenmachen Street heading south/west. I also noticed plumes of smoke coming from the direction of Windsor Park and immediately feared the worst, so went to investigate. OK, so my place of work is in that same direction, but I think I was more worried about Windsor.

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Tyrone won the all Ireland GAA final in Dublin today beating Kerry in the final. At the same time Down won what I believe was a junior championship. I must say I couldn't really care less. I'm sorry, but despite Trevor Ringland's call for Northern Ireland to get behind the red hand county, I just can't support a sport so hostile to my country, regardless of who is playing.

I don't begrudge them their success and I was about to say that that means I'm maybe not as bitter as the editor of a certain west Belfast "newspaper". I say about to, because when I thought about it, if pressed on the international rules series, I'd have to admit to wanting to see Ireland lose to the Aussies, and and probably still would, even if my friend hadn't donned a new Ireland shirt as she prepares to depart for Australia tomorrow

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The government's plan for a Millenium Dome type project for Northern Ireland became more laughable this week as ministers announced that the 30,000 seater white elephant of a stadium that would cost £55 million was now a 42,000 seater stadium costing £85 million!!

30,000 was already too many and now they're building more?! There's a debate going on over at Our Wee Country and yours truly gave a short interview on Radio Ulster's Talkback this morning. The show can still be listened to online until Friday 30th September (the stadium debate is just over an hour into the show, to listen click "listen again" and find Friday's Talkback).

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Sorry folks, I haven't posted on EU in what seems like ages. I've just started working after a brief period of glorious unemployment and I'm back to uni on Monday too. Add that to a family member's wedding on Tuesday and a brief interview on a radio show that I haven't heard yet and I haven't had much time to stop and catch breath lately. Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly.

Seemingly unnoticed by BBC Newsline this morning, police in Antrim came under attack for the second night running last night as nationalist rioters threw petrol bombs, bricks and bottles at officers. A mob of about 60 youths also lit wheelie bins across Stiles Way, closing the road for 4 hours.

3 male teenagers were arrested but later released pending further reports.

This really does demonstrate quite well the fact that no matter what "side" you find yourself on in Northern Ireland, 'themuns' is just as bad as 'usuns' and vice versa.

Senior security sources in Northern Ireland are said to believe that IRA decommissioning is close. Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP MP for Lagan Valley, who was briefed on the situation by Tony Blair said "We believe that we will see the announcement on decommissioning in the next couple of weeks."

In response, the DUP have put forward proposals for the potential negotiation of the return of a power-sharing executive that could follow such a move. Hopefully dangling the carrot of power-sharing in front of Peter Hain and Tony Blair might help them achieve some of these goals, particularly the investment in deprived areas.

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