Belfast on a roll

TAKING the elevator up to the dome crowning Victoria Square Shopping Centre, peering out over Belfast’s twinkling skyline, I try to take in the changes that have washed over this city.

When I first visited, many years ago, the Good Friday Agreement had yet to be signed. The friends I stayed with seemed in two minds as to whether or not to remain. Belfast felt harsh, stagnant and defensive; it was full of no-go areas for tourists. The food was dross.

Fast forward to 2012 and it seems full of possibility. From Victoria Square I can see Harland & Wolff’s hulking Samson and Goliath cranes, the newly restored City Hall, bridges lit up over the River Lagan.