Another Norn Irish person
Unlike my compatriots in the earlier post, although born in Belfast, my parents brought me to England to live in the early '70s. My early school days were not the most enjoyable of my life.

It all started well enough, kids thought it amusing that I said certain words differently, fillum instead of film (for those from NI, try saying these two words in an English accent and it will make sense). But seeing as my school mates were mostly of the dropped h and t variety, lots of my words sounded different, not just because of my country of birth. It would have been somewhere around my third year of school, 1977, when some bright spark realised that the people in the IRA were all Irish, I was Irish, therefore I was a terrorist. Ah, the joys of being eight years old and my friends repeatedly making jokes about me bombing them. This continued, pretty much until the last couple of years at school. No amount of explaining that all six of my uncles had served, or were still serving in the British Forces, or that I was happy with the way things were as far as NI being part of the UK would persuade them that I was not in the IRA.

Sorry, the more I think about it, the less I can manage to make it amusing.
(lardyboy Next stop, Fissplap Central, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 14:05, 2 replies)

It's hilarious isn't it?
When I was about 8 there was a cycling proficiency class being run at a school near where I lived. Loads of kids from my school (catholic so loads and loads of kids with Irish forenames or surnames) went to it. My friend and I were talking about going back in the summer to see cousins and aunts and stuff when one of the blokes screamed at us (two 8 year old girls) DON'T YOU MENTION THAT PLACE TO ME. MY BEST FRIEND GOT BLOWN UP OVER THERE BY YOUR PEOPLE'. He said that. To two 8 year old girls. We never went back.
( Blue Star was working part time at the 5 and Dime, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 15:41, closed)

Hmmm
I used to love my holidays 'back home' as it was the one place that I never had to worry about this kind of prejudice. Even with all the road blocks, car searches, pat downs, barbed wire and weaponry that was such a part of daily life back then.

Ho hum.
(lardyboy Next stop, Fissplap Central, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 16:03, closed)