BonnieShels
03/07/2015, 12:17 PM
I found some cracking stories today following on from the apparent plan to transport Hong Kong's population to the outskirts of Derry and Coleraine.
The extraordinary proposal was more a political in-joke than a genuine plan – but one civil servant said at the time that it should be taken seriously. It has emerged from a 1983 file released to the National Archives in Kew, in London, on Friday.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/03/uk-officials-discussed-resettling-55m-hong-kong-chinese-in-northern-ireland
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Then there was another plan to boost morale and "Brighten Up Ulster" with Frank Sinatra and Morecambe & Wise at Stormont.
In a letter to committee members on March 18 1975, just over a month after the IRA declared an indefinite ceasefire, Michael Cudlipp stressed the need to "think really big" in organising a campaign of "morale-boosting" events. "Why not have big variety stars?" he asked, suggesting Morecambe and Wise, who were then at the peak of their careers, and who he hoped could be persuaded to "give their services for more or less free as part of an attempt to boost Ulster".
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/29/uk.past4
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And then there was the prospect of an "independent, Dominion" of Ulster.
It would have to be negotiated with all parties and if it were in the next four months, say... It would mean the transfer of sovereignty from Westminister. Dominion status would not, of course, carry guaranteed entry into the Commonwealth. I would think this ... most unlikely and so would membership of the United Nations.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/01/past.nationalarchives6
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And the Queen doesn't like us at all... who knew?
The Queen's "alleged dislike of the Irish" caused anxiety among Foreign Office officials examining the possibility of a state visit by Ireland's president.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/dec/30/diplomatic-notes-callaghan-thatcher-1978
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I love this stuff, like Fatherland, and other what ifs... Fascinating.
The extraordinary proposal was more a political in-joke than a genuine plan – but one civil servant said at the time that it should be taken seriously. It has emerged from a 1983 file released to the National Archives in Kew, in London, on Friday.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/03/uk-officials-discussed-resettling-55m-hong-kong-chinese-in-northern-ireland
---
Then there was another plan to boost morale and "Brighten Up Ulster" with Frank Sinatra and Morecambe & Wise at Stormont.
In a letter to committee members on March 18 1975, just over a month after the IRA declared an indefinite ceasefire, Michael Cudlipp stressed the need to "think really big" in organising a campaign of "morale-boosting" events. "Why not have big variety stars?" he asked, suggesting Morecambe and Wise, who were then at the peak of their careers, and who he hoped could be persuaded to "give their services for more or less free as part of an attempt to boost Ulster".
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/29/uk.past4
---
And then there was the prospect of an "independent, Dominion" of Ulster.
It would have to be negotiated with all parties and if it were in the next four months, say... It would mean the transfer of sovereignty from Westminister. Dominion status would not, of course, carry guaranteed entry into the Commonwealth. I would think this ... most unlikely and so would membership of the United Nations.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/01/past.nationalarchives6
---
And the Queen doesn't like us at all... who knew?
The Queen's "alleged dislike of the Irish" caused anxiety among Foreign Office officials examining the possibility of a state visit by Ireland's president.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/dec/30/diplomatic-notes-callaghan-thatcher-1978
---
I love this stuff, like Fatherland, and other what ifs... Fascinating.