Last week, on our hols, Susan and I spent a day in London.  Since we were too lazy to have got up in time to actually do anything touristy, we just ambled along the banks of the Thames, stopping off for many coffees in cosy cafes along the way.

Years ago, any visit to London (or in fact pretty much any major city) would cause me to lament, at length, how shoddy Belfast was in comparison.  That in London the food was better, the cafes were nicer, the streets were prettier, the tourist attractions were more exciting, the sights and sounds and experiences were bigger and brighter.  Even the crowds and traffic jams and rude people shoving past you on the Tube were symptoms of a faster, busier, better city.  But now…

Now I’m not exactly saying that Belfast can now rival London for a day trip.  But, with the Titanic Quarter, Victoria Square, the Laganside redevelopment and hundreds of other projects scattered across the city, it genuinely feels to me as if we’re not the poor cousin any more.  Obviously Belfast is smaller (which, when you live in a place, is probably a good thing).  But in terms of heritage, atmosphere and appearance, it’s actually starting to compete.  Which I think is incredibly exciting.

 

In London, for instance, we walked through Butlers Wharf (the original dockland redevelopment) – loads of cool old buildings converted into trendy aparmtnents, lots of arty blending of old and new:

 

 

 

 

But is it really so different to the blend of lovely old brickwork and striking new architecture in the Titanic Quarter?

 

 

 

 

The docklands in London are scattered with artfully-arranged old bits of industrial machinery – so is the TQ (and I bet they’d love to have industrial heritage as rich as the docks of the world’s most famous ship…)  London on the left, TQ on the right:

 

 

 

 

 

Even the shops and restaurants are starting to compete – the new Westfield Centre in London is fantastic, and you’re spoilt for choice in restaurants…

 

 

 

 

 

But that’s kinda like Belfast’s Victoria Square…

 

 

 

 

 

I know, I know – the two cities are still leagues apart in so many ways.  But the change in Belfast is profound.  It used to be that wherever I went in the world, it looked so much brighter and better; I used to daydream of moving there someday and leaving NI far behind.  These days, I can happily imagine proudly remaining a Belfast boy for the rest of my life.