Maiden City Voyage

This is Derry-Londonderry, the town someone loved so well.

# Keep following...

A city of different cultures, and in 2013, THE City of Culture no less.

# Follow, follow, follow...

It should be the party of the century, but is everyone invited?

Can City of Culture really transform Derry for the future?

For a while, the world is looking at us instead of us looking out at the world.

It's a great opportunity to just showcase what we're made of.

The question is, can we take that confidence, and can we build on it,

and fulfil that dream that there is for this city, and this year?

But behind the City of Culture banners, Derry is still a city

that struggles to stay on its feet in some places.

# Times are changing...

So join me for a tour of Stroke City.

I'll be meeting some regular people whose voices might not otherwise get heard this year,

and hopefully get to hear a few home truths about the difference

between being City of Culture, and the culture of their city.

# And we'll find it

# Follow #

When I think of Derry, I think of John Hume, Bloody Sunday, and The Undertones.

It's been a while, you can tell, so I'm keen to see

what the old place looks and feels like in the 21st Century.

# I was born in Londonderry

# I was born in Derry City too, oh Lord... #

Back in the day, Derry was also a place of big housing estates,

a nervous city centre, and the place where the people tried to make the best of a bad job...if they had one.

Most ancient cities are never backwards at coming forwards in singing their own praises.

This place was once called Ulster's San Francisco

by Derry's very own Eamonn McCann

with a definite twinkle in his eye.

It was once the city that never sleeps for all the wrong reasons,

but most Derry people I know retain a fierce pride

in the place they call home.

It seems like a very young, vibrant city.

And there's lots of stuff going on always, and the people are

some of the best people I've ever met anywhere.

It's just a friendly city, a good city.

It's got a good vibrancy about it.

I think we've probably had our fair share of knocks over the years,

but Derry for me is a truly wonderful place.

We Derry people say there are two types of people in the world -

people who are from here, and people who wish they were from here.

I've always admired the people of Derry's pride and belief in their home city,

compared to the opinion of the place held by self-regarding begrudgers of Belfast.

It's had its fair share of kickings over the years.

Maybe that's the survival secret -

keeping a passion for your city that you can share in good times,

or when your back's against those famous walls.

"The unemployment in our bones, erupting on our hands,

in stones.

The thought of violence a relief, the act of violence a grief.

Our bitterness and love, hand in glove."

SIRENS

Seamus Deane's poetic lament Derry really captures the life-and-death world of the 1970s.

It runs alongside the stark images of a very unhappy society.

In many ways, Derry has come a long way since then.

The Peace Bridge is perhaps the most important, and - dare I say it -

iconic symbol of the change wrought in Derry-Londonderry

since those desperate days.

Not everyone roared with approval when the new bridge was proposed.

Some felt it would be a monument to wastefulness, with its ?14 million price tag.

Others thought that it was a defiant, futuristic shout for a progressive city.

In Derry's history, walls, murals and rivers have divided,

but bridges connect.

When we went to the opening of the Peace Bridge it was just a really fantastic day.

There was thousands of people waiting for this bridge that we've talked about for so many years,

and finally it was open.

It was a real sense of community, and there was people lining the Waterside,

people lining the city side, and then coming together in the middle.

It was fantastic.

The survey we've done... We've a counter actually on the bridge

that shows there's been one and a half million people movements across the bridge both ways.

That's far in excess in which anyone would have predicted prior to the bridge opening.

Visually now, every reference to the city you can see

includes the Peace Bridge.

As I say, it's the over-used term of iconic, but it has become that

very, very quickly, much more quickly than I think anyone suspected.

SONG: "Doire" by Sean Doherty

To mark the City of Culture, a brand-new composition has been commissioned to celebrate the city,

and to capture something of its essence.

Simply named Doire, the original Irish name for the city,

and inspired by its patron Saint Columba, its seductive lilt is both modern and ancient,

a new anthem for the 21st Century.

# ..ar a reide

# Is aire charaim Doire

# Ar a reide, ar a gloine

# Ar a reide

# Ar a gloine

# Is aire charaim Doire #

Well, they built it, but will the tourists come in their droves,

and what will be the legacy of City of Culture,

many people in Derry will be wondering?

Well, no doubt some of the reviews will be mixed,

but it may mark a much deeper change to the social contours of the city.

Behind the hype surrounding some big City of Culture events,

problems that this year's party alone cannot solve.

Recent statistics show two out of three children live below the poverty line

in the city's most deprived areas.

# These burning ships

# These filled-up skips... #

In some parts of town, the shutters are down, and the doctor's surgeries are full.

# Been walking streets

# Been filling sheets in fantasies

# Oh, oh

# I let you in... #

90 per cent of my work is at least related to socio-economic things,

to poverty, to people feeling disenfranchised,

people feeling they've no place in society.

People who literally can't put food in their mouths.

They have to choose between eating, and turning on the central heating.

I mean, Derry has... In these islands, if you look at per electoral area,

and by almost any of the indices which are commonly used to measure socio-economic deprivation,

in Derry these are higher.

We have the highest rates of child poverty, we have the highest rates of personal debt,

the highest rates of house repossession,

and I mean, that...

I don't want to be too raining on people's parade,

but these are real, these have a real impact on people's health and their wellbeing.

And what would you say to those politicians who would say,

well, that's a kind of culture of neediness

that has developed, and they need to pull their socks up,

and get out there, because there are those people.

What I would say to those politicians is come and sit in this chair.

Come and sit, and listen. It is real, this isn't a sort of a benefits industry.

It absolutely isn't.

There's an old saying that if you want to understand somebody's life,

you should walk a mile in their shoes.

That way, if you don't like it, you'll be a mile away, AND you'll have their shoes.

Maybe that's what the planners intended when they designed this part of Shantallow in the 1970s.

In a way, it mirrors the walled city it overlooks,

except with its own invisible walls of economic and cultural separation.

People are suffering and worrying about, how am I going to pay my mortgage?

How am I going to get food on the table for my wains,

how am I going to get the roof over my head,

how am I going to have a decent life for me, my children, my husband, for us to stay together

without any income, or money, or a decent standard of living?

It's tough.

So the last thing on their mind, really, is the City of Culture.

What Derry needs is not a Turner Prize -

you know, half-eaten apples and unmade beds as art.

They don't really need the Ulster Orchestra because they can't afford the thirty quid for the tickets.

What these people need is a Derry which is factories.

I'd love to see it, instead of a City of Culture being a city of heavy industry, and smoke stacks.

It'd be great.

Turning raw materials into stuff - Derry needs that.

The biggest challenge facing the city at the moment is skills,

so in the next ten years it's estimated that 60 per cent of all new jobs

will need Level 4 or higher qualifications,

so that's graduate or above.

We are not producing sufficient numbers of people within the city

with those high-level skills at the minute.

And we're left with a legacy issue where an awful lot of the population from ages of around 35 to 55

entered low-skilled occupations such as shirt-making or basic assembly-type operations

where there wasn't a high level of skills.

The skills that they have are not transferrable in this new age,

this new digital age, if you want to call it that.

Derry needs to find long-term solutions to these deep-seated economic problems

if it's to enjoy a prosperous future.

If the future's to be so bright, you've got to wear shades...

of orange and green.

As for entering this year's culture party,

well, there's still arguments at the door from some people who nevertheless love their city.

They really don't understand.

Derry deserves to have its cultural heritage recognised as a right.

This is the fourth-largest city on the island of Ireland.

It's second-largest city in the northern state.

We deserve concerts, we deserve theatre,

we deserve proper venues.

You know, we don't need these things to be gifted to us,

and also we don't need them to come with a poison chalice,

with an attachment which says that in a way you must negate your cultural identity,

and your history.

I think it was Martin McGuinness who says, "Oh, United Kingdom. Sure it's only two little letters."

But they're two little letters which encapsulate a whole political ideology

which is diametrically opposed to the one for which this city,

I suppose, has been recognised for throughout the ages.

You have to be able to walk the talk of unity

in this historically divided city.

For some, those divisions have defined their lives.

These stones were laid to protect Londonderry's Protestant population, Presbyterians and Anglicans alike,

and to shut out resistance.

They were a definitive statement of religious, political,

and architectural power,

but they look out over a city heavy with contemporary history -

the Bogside, the Creggan, home to aspirations far removed from the architects of these city walls.

The walls speak of a city born in conflict,

yet today their presence continues to carry people around and through that history.

That history resonates today in places like the Fountain,

the Protestant enclave on the predominantly Catholic west bank of the Foyle.

It's a tight-knit community which nestles in the shadow of the great walls.

How would you characterise the Fountain, then?

Give us a little snapshot of it.

It's a great place to live. It's so close to town.

Like, in terms of location, I don't understand

why more people aren't diving back to it, you know.

And it's a fairly resilient wee community, you know.

It's determined that it's going to stay here, and it's going to continue to prosper,

and get on with things, so...

There's a whole variety of people who live in the Fountain, you know,

in terms of age, but they all, I think, have one thing in common -

they're all fairly resilient, you know, and they have stayed in the Fountain

despite sort of some of the stuff that has gone on,

and they're determined to stay in the Fountain.

I think they're determined now as well that

the Fountain's going to continue to remain a community on the west bank.

They'd love to see people coming back to live in it again.

They've love to see improved services in it,

and they'd love to feel safer, I think, where they live, more accepted by the rest of the city.

What about the City of Culture, Catherine?

Does that mean anything for the people of the Fountain?

I know there's some great events going on.

The youth club have a big programme of events, including an outdoor music concert,

and the William King Band, the flute band,

have an outdoor concert as well, kind of a band competition coming up in June.

I think the City of Culture showed up a lot of divisions,

and you just had to look at the number of locals they put out,

so you had the UK version, the version without the UK,

the Londonderry version, the Derry version,

You know, I'm not... That sort of shows how many divisions there are within this city.

Something like the City of Culture maybe will plant a wee seed in people's heads

that it's OK to have major events where everybody's invited, you know,

or might create opportunities for people to engage in something

that they wouldn't have otherwise got to see...

In terms of the City of Culture, some of the public realm stuff that's happened has been amazing.

The city's starting to look like a proper cultural city.

I love the Peace Bridge, I love what they did with Ebrington.

The whole way along that walkway on the city side even has been great.

Ultimately, the most important culture is the culture that happens in spite of the City of Culture,

or in spite of big events -

the culture that happens all the time, and that's the sports clubs,

the mums and dads that are ferrying kids to music lessons,

and to Scouts and Cubs and whatever else,

Despite its beauty, the River Foyle has always been the city's other great divider,

with the Waterside home to the majority of the city's Protestant community.

That population has dwindled significantly in the years defined by the Troubles,

and few have crossed the river to find a home.

Yet turning the former Army barracks at Ebrington Square

into the focal point of City of Culture celebrations

was a calculated move to weave the Waterside more deeply into the fabric of the city,

and mark 2013 as a great opportunity for Derry's Protestant community to join the party.

# ..was black, her dress hung like a... #

I think the Protestant community in the city is rediscovering itself at the moment.

Over the years there's been a tendency to keep the head down,

and say nothing, and walk on,

and there is still an element of that, but I do think

that people are looking to vocalise their stories,

and find their place in this city.

You now have Ebrington Square, you now have a space which is opened up

which is right in the heart of the Waterside's traditional Loyalist working class areas,

and there's access to it.

There's more access to the city now.

You know, for people from those areas to go to the city it was a bus ride or a taxi fare.

Now it's a walk down over the Peace Bridge, and you're in the city centre.

There's plenty of stuff out there.

The Walled City Tattoo which is obviously coming from the Ulster Scots culture...

which would appeal to the Protestant.

The bands are involved. I'm working with two bands on separate projects,

which are two plays, but I've got training and education outreach programmes attached to them.

So I think the opportunities are there.

We have got a year to kind of put ourselves in the shop window,

both in terms of the kind of the profession and the industry,

but also in terms of encouraging people out,

giving them big events, and saying,

"Look, if you come out to these, if you enjoy these, hi, there's more to come. We can deliver more here."

It could yet be an important legacy of 2013

that the Foyle as a symbol of division

is beginning to lose its significance.

There is definitely a new dynamism around town,

with more events and gigs than you could possibly queue in the rain for.

Everyone recognises that this year is a big opportunity for Derry to reshape the present,

and the future, so that's been the focus for some of the city,

but there are older cultural traditions -

the brave chanters - who are still doing their thing with gusto.

# The high walls of Derry

# Look ancient and grey

# And so does lovely Johnny now that he's going away

# He is going to bonny Scotland

# New sweethearts to see

# May the Lord protect my Johnny until he...

You can't help but feel the timeless essence of the city at a moment like this

with that voice, and a room with a generation of people who are Derry to the core.

This is the culture of the city behind the City of Culture.

They've been doing it here for years, and will continue to for many years to come.

# Until he comes home to me #

APPLAUSE

Thankfully, Derry also hold on to some important remnants

of its industrial and manufacturing heritage,

and it's great to know that even today there's a living, breathing connection

to the city's legendary shirt industry.

When the linen industry declined in the 19th Century

Derry found itself a city full of women who were skilled at working with cloth.

Along came shirt-making, and that made Derry famous around the world.

Indeed, by the 1920s, there were 44 shirt-making factories in Derry employing 18,000 people.

Sadly, those heady days are long-gone,

but glory be, there's one still working.

There's an element of craft going on here that is a million miles away from a mass-production factory.

Yes, this is not mass production.

We do produce about 1,000 shirts a week

which might be perceived as mass production, but this town has a history

of factories that could produce, I don't know,

1,000 shirts an hour, you know,

thousands and thousands of shirts in a very different way.

This is a very, very skilled, highly crafted product.

It's a very different quality of garment

to a garment that's made in a huge off-shore production facility.

Does the name Derry-Londonderry still have a cachet in terms of a place where shirts are made,

Oh, absolutely. You know, walking through to the door to see a buyer in Bloomingdale's in New York,

they have an understanding that Derry has a reputation for this type of manufacturing.

So it's an immediate help. You know, Rolexes are made in Switzerland,

so if I have a new watch to sell that's made in Switzerland, it's half the battle.

What about individuals, then?

Would you make for people who enjoy have the cash to enjoy the quality in vast numbers?

We get our fair share of interesting people.

Notably for us, really, I suppose, Gary Barlow wore our shirts every single X Factor night.

At the moment we're making shirts for Ant and Dec for Saturday Night Takeaway.

You know, it's a really nice thing to do, to make a bespoke shirt for someone,

and there's a strong market for it.

Bespoke shirting, it's a real, important aspect of our business.

What Richard and his wife have done with their business

maybe provides an important model for Derry's future.

They've taken something that the city was once great at,

turned it on its head, and re-imagined it for the modern age.

They embody the art of the possible,

and wouldn't it be great, instead of waiting for the big boys and their tax breaks,

if the city followed their small-is-beautiful lead?

Because it's innovation that counts,

especially in a city which still has a strikingly high rate of male unemployment.

Derry has a way to go shake off its men-on-the-dole image of yesteryear.

And what about Derry's up-and-coming generation?

Foyle College, once an exclusively Protestant grammar school situated on the city side of the river,

now has a quarter of its pupils from Catholic families.

Do they carry the past like a yoke,

or is it worn lightly as they plan their future?

How has Derry changed from when you started going to school,

compared to now when you're about to leave school?

Well, starting school, I think, I myself,

and quite a few other people were a lot more naive to the...

to Derry and all its aspects,

but now that we're grown up and mature, we're more aware of everything that's going on.

We weren't really aware of the sectarianism in Derry.

It wasn't really affecting us.

We actually went to the same primary school,

and it just felt then, when we came to Foyle,

we were mixing with a different religion, but it doesn't bother us.

We see past it. Everyone's a person.

Everyone's a human being. It doesn't matter about religion.

There's a minority that still cling to the past of what happened,

but I think the majority of the people living in the town on both sides

are thinking of the future, thinking what we can do with the city

if we just put the past behind us.

Do you see yourself coming back to Derry,

or starting a working life somewhere else?

If the work starts to pick up here again, I would come back.

It's just that, from what I'm hearing, I'll not get a job in teaching here,

so most of the jobs are filled.

It's mostly to do with economic reasons,

so if there was places going back here, and it picked up, I would certainly come back.

I'm thinking of going to the Tech to do a HND course

in electrical engineering, because I don't think it's time for me to leave the city just yet.

And if I do do electrical engineering at some point,

I'd like to come back, and work here.

What are the things about Derry that are keeping you here, then?

Well, it's home.

It's a place I'm familiar with.

You can walk around the street, and if you smile at someone

you know they'll smile back at you.

There's a lot good festivals, music and events going on here,

as the City of Culture showed, and if that picks up after that,

and keeps going, then I'm sure there'll be plenty of reasons to come back here.

I think we should really take the reins on City of Culture,

and just, regardless of religion,

regardless of race, just include everyone,

and use their talents to create something...wonderful,

and something that we can show the rest of the world.

It's refreshing to know that this new generation

have a spring in their step, despite their city's spiky history.

Now it's a place they believe can remain home, if they can find the jobs to keep them there.

And compared to the past, that's a great aspiration.

But for many less fortunate teenagers from Shantallow, and the back streets of Ebrington,

the future may not be so bright, because there's always two sides of the story,

like there are two sides of Derry.

# Oh, Danny boy

# The pipes, the pipes

# Are calling...

Remembering vital parts of our past is important, as these evocative murals in the Bogside help us to.

# ..the mountainside...

But I hope the future of this city will run freely like the Foyle

under the symbolic new bridge.

# ..falling...

Derry's always been political, it's always been cultural,

and I think it'll remain that, you know.

You're always going to have new musicians, new artists, new writers, new poets.

No matter what the subject, or what the art,

Derry has somebody who's brilliant at it.

# But come ye back

# When summer's in the meadow

# Or when the valley's hushed

# And white with snow...

There is a new generation in town, you know,

and we're just forward-thinking, we're not dwelling on the past.

The past's important, and we should mark it and celebrate it,

commiserate it, but we have to think positively,

and look towards the future, you know.

# ..in shadow

# Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy

# I love you so

I reckon 2013, City of Culture, will go down as a really important moment

in this city's 21st Century history.

Not particularly for the events. More for the space that it's created in the imagination of the people.

City of Culture 2013, and its more lasting monuments like this amazing bridge,

have boldly declared Derry as a place to be reckoned with on a much bigger stage,

and it's going to be impossible to put that genie back into a provincial bottle.

So let's hear it for the people who have written Derry's name large in the sky,

for those already making the culture of the city vibrant,

and those who simply want to love their town so well.

# ..and all my grave will warm and sweeter be

# For you will bend and tell me that you love me

# And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me #

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