⛵🪵
Scots crossed water with little to spare,�
Settled the fields and the towns they’d share.�
Faith ran deep and the work ran long,�
Built on discipline, will, and song.
#UlsterScots #ScotsIrish #PlantationHistory #IrishHistory
⚓
🧱
Flags were raised on corners and on walls,
�Marking who belonged and who would fall.�
Names of streets meant more than just a sign,�They told you where you stood and on what line.
#BelfastStreets #IrishHistory #Division #Community
🕊️
Ulster’s past still speaks out loud
,�In accents sharp and shoulders proud.�
Belfast stands, both scarred and strong,�
Carried forward by those who belong.
#UlsterScots #Belfast #NorthernIreland #HistoryAndIdentity 💚
⛰️🌧️
This corner of Ulster took wind and rain,�
Hard land worked over again and again.�
From glen to shore the ground held tight,
�Shaping stubborn lives from soil and fight.
#Ulster #Belfast #NorthernIreland #Poetry #Landscape 🌿
👥🛠️
People here learned early how to stand,
With empty pockets and a steady hand.
They shared their tea, their grief, their fight,
And faced the dark by facing it together at night.
#BelfastPeople #Community #WorkingClass #Resilience 💪
🇮🇪
Songs were sung for land and right to rule, Learned at home before they taught at school.
Hope was passed like stories, hand to hand, Of freedom claimed and taken for the land.
#IrishNationalism #HistoryOfIreland #Struggle #Identity ☘️
Been working hard, getting ill and training when possible. Finally back up to 3x5x132.5kg on squat and bench. Next bench mark target is 3x5x140kg.
#squat #squats #legday #quads #hamstrings #quadzilla #squatrack #bench #benchpress #pecs #triceps #strength #StrengthTraining #power #powerlifting #gym #gymprogress #LiftHeavy #hypertrophy #Bodybuilding #bodybuilder
My poem is published in All Your Poems Anthology – August 2025, now available on Amazon.
I wrote this piece two years ago, soon after returning to London. It’s a quiet reflection on the city I once called home.
If you want to read it, the anthology is out now.
Or you can message me...
If you buy a copy, I will sign it for you.
#poetry #poetrypublication #AllYourPoems #London #poetrycommunity #allyoupoems
Beyond the gate, the past still whispers.
At the entrance to Diocletian’s Palace stood no inscriptions but at the threshold I beheld the words atop the entrance:
"Only those elements time cannot wear,
Were made before me,
And beyond time I stand.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." 🔥🚪
"Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create
Se non etterne, e io etterna duro.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate." 🔥🚪
But unlike the gates of Hell, this threshold led not into eternal fire, torment and punishment, but into sunlit stone, winding alleys, and the ghosts of empire. 🏛️🌞
Split is a place where history isn’t behind glass—it surrounds you, speaks to you, walks with you.
Post 2 of the journey. More steps ahead.
Again, eternal thanks to @ericavstein@explorewithlee@Alistairln@ben_jobbo@o2uk and everyone else involved.
#SplitCroatia #DiocletiansPalace #GatesOfHell #DanteInspired #AncientStreets #HistoryEverywhere #MidlifeJourney #LiteraryTravel #AdriaticWanderings #O2Priority #TravelReflections #WanderWithPurpose #CroatiaOldTown #EchoesOfEmpire #NelMezzoDelCammin #PoeticPlaces
I would like to express a very special thank you to those who saw fit to bring me along on this once-in-a-lifetime experience 🙏✨
@ericavstein@explorewithlee@Alistairln@ben_jobbo@o2uk and everyone else involved.
At the midpoint in the journey of life, I found myself, once again, in the ancient city of Split 🇭🇷.
"nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita"
Once more, The Pilgrim has returned to his journey.
Bathed in Adriatic light and layered with the memory of centuries, it was the perfect place to pause, reflect, and begin anew. 🌊🕊️
This is the beginning of a little series from a truly unforgettable trip. More to come: moments, people, places—and maybe a little poetry along the way. 📸🌍📖
Photo 2 taken by the wonderful @explorewithlee
#SplitCroatia #NelMezzoDelCammin #DanteInspired #AdriaticDreams #O2Priority #TravelReflections #CroatiaTravel #MidlifeJourney #DiocletiansPalace #LiteraryTravel #WanderWithPurpose #TravelAndPoetry #SlowTravelMoments #ThankYou #AncientStreets #SoulfulWanderings
It takes a lot of grit to get to the point where you're holding back vomit for half the session. But somehow, I manage with every leg session.
Does anyone want to train legs with me?
#LegDay #FridayPump #NoExcuses #QuadGoals #GymLife #Bodybuilding #LegGains #TrainHard #FitnessMotivation #HardWorkPaysOff #FitFam #StrengthTraining #MuscleGrowth #Shredded #AthleteMindset
