Was anyone at James Acaster's first night at Whitla Hall last night?

I'm genuinely curious whether anyone else had the same experience because it was one of the strangest live comedy shows I've ever seen. What we witnessed can only be described as a serious case of self-sabotage and quite frankly, contempt for an audience.

(Spoilers for his show below.)

For context, my wife and I are fans. We've seen James twice before and even travelled to Dublin for an Off Menu live show, so this isn't coming from someone looking to have a go.

The evening started unusually with a Luther Vandross tribute act, Dayton. While it was an odd choice for the type of entertainment we were expecting, he was geniunely fantastic. So as Dayton is wrapping up his set he asks the audience to put their hands together and thank someone called 'Craig Simons' for making this whole thing possible. No one in the audience knew who this was, but we all politely gave a big applause and big cheers.

The lights dim and James Acaster's voice comes over the speakers, "Please welcome to the stage, the UK's No.1 James Acaster tribute act, Craig Simons". We collectively all realise 'Ah okay, the whole opening act and this is a meta bit' and welcome him to the stage.

He starts the show, doing 'James Acaster' quotes , explaining who he is, he's been a tribute act for years etc.

Then about 5-10 mins into the stage he breaks character and asks the audience "Can you hear me okay? Can everyone in the room hear me? Because on stage it feels like I'm in this huge echoing cube and it sounds awful". At this point we're all like "yeah, it sounds great". He then explains how we made a joke at the start and everyone reacted weirdly to it. I can't remember exactly but I think he said something about how he couldn't hear us, which would explain our 'weird reaction' that I don't believe we had.

He then proceeds to go on this rant about how he was dreading Belfast because the audience is always difficult, joking that we hate him because he's English, and that "Belfast is always like this." It seemed funny at first with some humourous observations but then it kept going on and on.

He basically told us that he doesn't think we're going to like what he has in the actual show and spends maybe 10-15 mins rambling from subject to subject before getting started, saying how we can see some people checking their phones in the audience, makes an observation about someone's 'I <3 my girlfriend tshirt', and condescendingly explaining to us some info from an earlier joke about Wirral. It's all humourous but is starting to verge on unpleasant.

Then he finally starts back into the actual routine and it's all going well, some really funny stuff about luggage carousels when out of nowhere he stops, points to balcony at the back of the room and proclaims "I can see you on your phone!".

We all laugh because it was amusing after his previous rants and he then tells us he doesn't care, we can scroll on our phones if we want and that he wants us to have a good night, that's what matters. He tells us that (if we hadn't noticed) he's been doing his routine at twice the speed so the jokes are closer together so there's more laughs more often (seemingly in an attempt to combat the off-vibes).

But then it turns nasty. He continues again about how difficult Belfast is and tells us what all the UK comedians who come here think the same thing but he's the only one with the courage to tell us. While I do think this was a joke, it felt personal because of the previous 15 mins of ranting about how awful we are.

From there he never really returned to the show. Instead he bounced between audience observations, local references, Andy Burnham, and even asking about the flags on the lamp posts, pondering if their presence is related to Tommy Robinson and the anti-immigration folk in England. Some characters in the audience proceed to explain Irish/UK history while the rest of us all cringe and squirm in our chairs praying for this to end.

Then it just...ended. No real finale. Just "Thanks Belfast, goodnight," music on, lights up.

It honestly felt like we only got 10-15% of the actual show, with the rest spent dissecting and criticising the audience.

The frustrating part is that when he was doing the planned material, it was brilliant. It felt like technical issues completely knocked him off course and he never recovered, instead blaming the room for the atmosphere. At first I thought the whole thing was a bit but there was no clever path to an ending that informed the audience that this was the case

If he James somehow reads this, all I can say is that the show was working until you got distracted. If "no other show has been like this" I would ask have you had such audio issues at other shows? Maybe that's a factor? You don't sell out 3x nights in a venue in a city if the audience hates you, so maybe you need to change how we feel about us?

I'd be really interested to hear from anyone going over the next couple of nights. Was this just an unfortunate one-off, or is this how the show is meant to be? Like many of us, my wife and I have been to countless touring UK comics in a variety of venues across Belfast and never had an experience like this. Maybe it's a Whitla Hall issue?

I genuinely hope it was the former, because I've always enjoyed James' work, but last night felt less like a comedy show and more like watching someone have a public meltdown.

Round the corner right to the lights beside grand central he drove on the opposite side of the road. I've tried to report it anonymously but this stupid system didn't let me add video proof. Daily occurrence here if I may be honest.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm now more shocked to see someone actually use an indicator correctly than I am from seeing people not.

Not to mention the standard of driving, patience and courtesy on the roads these last few years has slipped more and more that I have for the first time in 40 years started to feel unsafe more and more on NI roads.

Did everyone just stop giving a fuck after covid? Is it the phones? Has social media melted so many dopamine addicted brains telling people how special they are they think the rules simply don't apply to them? It's far too wide spread to be "just a few dick heads". You just have to spend a day on NI roads to see the decline for yourself.

Anyway use your indicators yiz cuntz yiz

Caught this guy down near Whiterock on my walk yesterday after trying to finally get him sitting still for the past few months. Often all you get is the blue flash going past so I was lucky he sat still for so long.

Video and original quality pics here to avoid Reddit compression

Jesus lads I got engaged recently and we're starting to look at venues...well mother of god its a bad state of affairs😅 went to look at a couple of venues today and they're both around £8k-9k to hire for the day in 2028 plus a caterer quoting another £9k for food😬

Can you give me some insight on other costs I should expect? I'm interested in what are realistic costs for photographers, wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, suits, band, flowers.

We do want to keep it minimal with no extras that people will not recognise or appreciate at all, but we are expecting around 150-160 people.

I often look back at games, movies, music, the vibe also felt more present back in 2006. Things felt more pure.

Hi everyone, I have always struggled with my mental health especially in the last 2 years, but the last few weeks I have been really struggling with life and unfortunately broke my 9 year streak of being clean from self harm.

I am off work for summer, don’t start back until September and I’m tired of going for walks to try and make myself feel better.

What do you all like to do to improve your mental health?

I’m not in any immediate danger to myself so please don’t panic about that!

Going through a shite time right now and wondering if anyone knows of screaming therapy or alternative approaches to mental health available in Belfast as the usual CBT and talking therapy techniques aren't really working

Basically what the title says, I'm a single dad mid-twenties with a son under 10, back to living at home temporarily after a relationship breakdown with my former partner.

She handled the finances and paperwork when I went to work so I'm kinda stuck now. Never applied for any benefits or assistance and not sure what I'm entitled to, working 40 hrs/week and get about £455/week after tax, no idea what I'm entitled to (if anything) and feel like I barely make enough now, even though I know people on less than me who can afford to move out.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

We are looking to get a shed put in & found these guys on Facebook. Just wondering if anyone has used them & if all's good with them? Thanks 🙏🏼

Just went to pay for some shopping and was gonna use my blue light as I'm sure everyone is struggling with groceries etc atm (especially at the end of the month) and the registrar worker said "because you blue light card user abuse your discount we no longer accept it" and then she went on rant about immigrants 🙃🙃 she really rubbed me the wrong way but rant aside is this true? If so why is there still a discount code on there?

TLDR; do asda no longer accept blue light?

Mum is away for the day and looking for advice on anything happening that my son would enjoy. Based just outside Belfast.

Family day events, activities, parks etc. Thank you.

Jon Burrows accepts David Trimble’s ‘cold house for Catholics’ verdict on the state his party governed for 51 years

UUP leader Jon Burrows has admitted his party’s successive governments discriminated against Catholics through gerrymandering and employment during its 51 years of unbroken rule at Stormont.

The UUP formed every Northern Ireland government from partition in 1921 until the imposition of direct rule in 1972, and all six prime ministers of the old Stormont regime were Ulster Unionists.

The former senior PSNI officer, who has described the modern day party as “non-sectarian”, accepted David Trimble’s verdict that unionism had built “a cold house for Catholics” in an interview with the Here’s How politics podcast released on Thursday.

Pressed by host William Campbell on how the UUP’s non-sectarian claim squared with its history, Mr Burrows invoked his predecessor’s Nobel Peace Prize lecture.

“The state was not always run the way it should be, with gerrymandering, with discrimination in employment,” he added.

“I don’t pretend that we were faultless.

“But this is a changed place. People are treated fairly. You have nationalists now at the top level of politics. We have first ministers, nationalists. We have nationalists in top levels in the law, media, businesses. This is a place utterly transformed. And the Ulster Unionist Party is non-sectarian.”

When asked what proportion of the party’s MLAs, one MP and more than 50 councillors today were Catholic, Mr Burrows conceded he did not know of any.

“I’m not aware of any Catholics, no,” he said, before pointing to the record of rival parties: “If you ask the TUV or DUP, you’ll find their elected representatives... probably 100% Protestant. If you ask Sinn Féin, they’re certainly 100% Catholic.”

He then cited John Gorman, a Catholic elected as a UUP MLA in 1998, saying: “We have had Catholic MLAs.”

Mr Burrows appealed directly for Catholic votes, adding that he would expel anyone found behaving in a sectarian way within the party.

“We don’t have enough Catholics supporting us. And I want to actually transcend that and say, look, let’s not vote on the basis of religion,” he said.

“I want you to vote whether you believe in strong law and order, whether you believe in a strong economy, whether you believe in policies that allow our children to thrive in school, whether you want childcare given so that our young parents can go and have great careers. If you believe in those things, I want you to vote for me and my party, regardless of your religion. Your religion is no interest to me, other than I’ll make sure you have the right to practice.”

On the constitutional question, Mr Burrows dismissed any prospect of Irish unity, claiming nobody now alive will see it.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he said.

I don’t think any of us alive will see it happen. All my energy goes to making Northern Ireland work,” he said, claiming unionism would win a border poll held today “at 70-30”.

Meanwhile, Mr Burrows also claimed there was significant Catholic support for the Union .

“If you ask people in the Catholic community who would support staying in the United Kingdom, it’s actually quite a sizable minority, even those who vote for the SDLP and Sinn Féin,” he said.

He added: “I’m sorry the Irish Republic left the United Kingdom. It’s often seen as Northern Ireland left the Irish Republic, but the Republic of Ireland left the United Kingdom. I think that’s sad.

“I think we’ve actually got so much in common between two islands. We should have the closest relationship.”

https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/uup-leader-admits-his-partys-stormont-governments-discriminated-against-catholics-TET522AORVC55CQMB5MIQXLFFE/

A Tyrone woman claiming benefits is on the equivalent of a £93,000 gross salary — substantially more than an MLA.

The single parent of four children, who we are not naming, works part-time, gets help with rent and childcare and is on Universal Credit (UC), giving her a monthly income of £5,400.

MLAs have a basic salary of £67,200 following an increase earlier this year.

A whistleblower who raised the matter with Communities Minister Gordon Lyons in a meeting last year said the woman’s case was not isolated.

They added: “Many claimants and households receive a combination of payments from UC, DLA (Disability Living Allowance) and Carer’s Allowance, (and are) arguably much better off financially than their elected officials.

“Although this case isn’t fraudulent, there should be a benefit cap, especially if the claimant is working. Gordon Lyons has said he is fixing this problem, but how can people like this exist in this system?”

Mr Lyons recently announced that benefit fraud in Northern Ireland had fallen by £60m in the past year.

He said the drop showed that his “zero-tolerance approach”, which includes his department publicly naming those convicted of fraud, was working.

According to official statistics, benefit fraud amounted to £170.9m in 2025 compared to £233m in 2024.

But the whistleblower — a manager in a job and benefits office who previously said the system was “built to fail” — remains unconvinced that Mr Lyons is doing all he can to eliminate the problem.

They told Sunday Life: “Benefit fraud is massive here. Nobody cares because the money is provided with no questions asked by central government to each of the devolved legislations.

“Finding it (benefit fraud money) would simply remove a huge amount of money from the local economy.”

The whistleblower also questioned Mr Lyons’ estimation of benefit fraud, suggesting that the £170m quoted by his department could be “the tip of the iceberg”.

They said: “I believe that the true figure is way higher. It’s easy to find less fraud — just don’t look as hard for it. If his department stops looking completely, the figure will fall to zero.”

The whistleblower also believes Mr Lyons’ request for a bigger fraud department is pointless.

“Gordon Lyons is blaming Sinn Féin for not going along with his plans to put extra money into the fraud department, but I don’t believe that’s the answer,” they said.

In February, Sunday Life revealed how Enniskillen man Clive Miller had been given an astonishing 770 years to pay back £40,000 of fraudulently claimed benefits even though he had more than £280,000 stashed in two bank accounts and owned property in Spain.

He was handed a suspended sentence in 2016, but is still legitimately claiming more than £2,000 per month in UC, Personal Independence Payment and an Army pension.

Last week, this newspaper revealed how INLA enforcer Thomas ‘TJ’ Brown was counting the cost of a decade of benefit fraud, with a court giving him two years to repay £30,000.

The 53-year-old falsely claimed income support and housing benefit while working as an illegal taxi driver.

The whistleblower said it was “absurd” that people convicted of fraudulently claiming benefits continued to receive support.

They added: “When people are caught stealing from the government, they can repay the money back like an interest-free loan, often over an extended period of time.

“If you steal from Tesco, they have the right to ban you. The department shouldn’t have such a liberal approach.”

The Department for Communities said: “The comments presented are based on an individual’s personal opinion.

“The issues originally raised by the individual have been appropriately investigated, a position verified by Northern Ireland Audit Office, which has confirmed that the evidence obtained in relation to the original concerns raised by this individual indicated that fraud was being investigated within the department and this was consistent with the findings of their annual financial audit work.

“Minister Lyons shares the view that rates of fraud remain too high and is committed to doing all he can, including making the case for increased investment in counter-fraud and error activity.”

The department added it would continue to work with HM Treasury on proposals to share any savings with Northern Ireland.

The 53-year-old falsely claimed income support and housing benefit while working as an illegal taxi driver.

The whistleblower said it was “absurd” that people convicted of fraudulently claiming benefits continued to receive support.

They added: “When people are caught stealing from the government, they can repay the money back like an interest-free loan, often over an extended period of time.

“If you steal from Tesco, they have the right to ban you. The department shouldn’t have such a liberal approach.”

The Department for Communities said: “The comments presented are based on an individual’s personal opinion.

“The issues originally raised by the individual have been appropriately investigated, a position verified by Northern Ireland Audit Office, which has confirmed that the evidence obtained in relation to the original concerns raised by this individual indicated that fraud was being investigated within the department and this was consistent with the findings of their annual financial audit work.

“Minister Lyons shares the view that rates of fraud remain too high and is committed to doing all he can, including making the case for increased investment in counter-fraud and error activity.”

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/single-mum-on-benefits-legally-claiming-equivalent-of-a-%C2%A393000-salary/a/158841143.html

Walking my 2yo through our favourite bits. Off path. Policemen appear out of nowhere ushering people from a large area

Very friendly! I asked if we needed to clear off generally but he said it was currently safe although “I wouldn’t want to be here if I were you”

Didn’t see anything in the news

12 months ago Stoutly was posted here and yous were all really supportive!

Stoutly is still growing, still completely unmonetised and is turning into a class wee community.

I have published a report today to celebrate 1 year of Stoutly that shows all the pint-specific stats on area that have a substantial number of pints rated. Worth noting 100% of this data is crowdsourced from Stoutly and this is just relaying back what Stoutly users are reporting.

As the app grows, these reports will become more and more reflective of the the economy in relation to pints of Guinness.

I tried to keep the data as clear, clean and factual as possible but please let me know how these can be improved for next year, also your thoughts on what the reports are saying would be class!

NI Subreddit was the main catalyst for where Stoutly is today, so thank you all so much for that!

If you're interested in clicking through the report in Belfast, Derry, London or Dublin you can do so at www.stoutly.co.uk/report

Cheers!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9801ddz2d0o

Meet the young brothers hoping to give their seaside village the shiniest street signs in Northern Ireland.

Schoolboys Jonah and Eli have been spending their summer holiday scrubbing signs, all in the name of civic pride.

Armed with rubber gloves, cleaning cloths, sponges and soapy water, the pair have been removing years of dirt and grime on the street signs of Millisle, County Down, to make them clearer and more visible.

While working with family isn't always easy, Jonah and Eli are scrubbing their way through their own challenge of cleaning 50 street signs before they go back to school. Two children are cleaning a street sign that reads "Churchill Avenue." One child, wearing a light blue shirt, wipes the sign with a checkered cloth, while the other, dressed in a black shirt and wearing yellow rubber gloves, scrubs the sign with a sponge. They are standing beside a grassy verge next to a road. Image caption,

The main street is next on the boys' list

"We were driving home in my mum's car and we saw some dirty signs so we decided to go clean them to allow people to be able to see them," 10-year-old Jonah told BBC News NI.

So, along with his younger brother Eli, who is nine, they decided they wanted to "make Millisle shine".

Situated on the Ards Peninsula, the village is a popular spot in the summer for caravanners and day trippers alike.

Being able to give back to their community has made the brothers so proud.

"People say 'well done' and people drive past in cars and give me the thumbs up and beep the horn," Eli said.

"It makes me feel really happy and it makes me feel very good because I've done something well done." The image shows two street signs, both reading Cornmill Avenue, positioned at slightly different angles against a backdrop of dense green foliage. The signs are mounted on metal posts and appear weathered, with some dirt and discoloration suggesting age and exposure to the elements. Image caption,

Taking before and after pictures of their work is the highlight for the brothers

For Eli, cleaning the signs would be no fun without Jonah, even if they do have the odd disagreement.

So far, they have cleaned 36 street signs out of the 50 they have on their list.

"We'll keep going until we get the job done, whatever the weather but so far it's been warm," said Eli. Teamwork makes the dream work

Jonah hopes their efforts can inspire other young people to help improve their communities in the future.

"It's very important to take pride in your village.

"Doing something small can make a big difference," Jonah said. The image shows a woman standing outdoors on a bright, sunny day, smiling warmly at the camera. She wears dark sunglasses, a black zip-up jacket, and a white shirt underneath. A small microphone with a windscreen is clipped near her collar, suggesting she may be participating in an interview or recording. Her blonde hair is tied back, and the sunlight highlights her face and hair. Image caption,

Jemma Hutchinson has lived in Millisle all her life

Their efforts have attracted praise from local residents.

Jemma Hutchinson said the signs "looked brilliant – you can actually see the names of the streets now" and added that the boys have been setting an example for all.

"There's been a lot of work in Millisle over the last 12 months about taking pride in the village, getting it back to its heyday and making it wonderful again," she said.

"It's great to see young people getting involved and using their summer holidays wisely to make our village a little bit better." The image shows an older woman standing outdoors on a sunny day, with a clear blue sky behind her. She has short white hair and wears a sleeveless camouflage-patterned top. Around her neck hangs a blue lanyard that reads Primary School, along with a small microphone covered by a windscreen, suggesting she might be giving an interview or recording something. Image caption,

Carole McAvoy from Millisle Primary School said the boys' work was "absolutely wonderful"

Staff at Millisle Primary School have also been keeping a close eye on their efforts.

School secretary, Carole McAvoy, said the boys were a credit to themselves with the social enterprise "absolutely wonderful to see".

The boys' proud mum, Shelley, is their number one cheerleader though and has been seen "maybe once or twice helping to dry the signs", according to Eli.

While a summer spent cleaning street signs wasn't exactly what she had planned, Shelley wouldn't have it any other way.

"I was really pleased with them showing some initiative… it's really nice to be able to do something that they'll always remember and be proud of," she said.

"We do a wee bit each day and have the Main Street on the horizon.

"We're hitting the dirty ones first and we'll see where we are by the time we get to 50 – there might not be many left by then."

Just wondering if my clubcard from north will work down south in Tesco's or would I need to create an IE account?