0:00:02 > 0:00:06THIS PROGRAMME CONTAINS SOME STRONG LANGUAGE
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Does that mean I'll be on camera now?
0:00:08 > 0:00:12- You know what men are like. - They're so backward.- That's it.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17If you're going to do this job for money, you'd be in trouble.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- You like sex, yeah? - Oh, doesn't everybody?
0:00:25 > 0:00:27I just think it's the best job ever. I love it.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Daddy's home. HE SNORES
0:00:35 > 0:00:37# But don't even care. #
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Six-three.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- 'Six-three.'- She phoned her. She said she's standing at the top
0:00:57 > 0:01:01- of Callendar Street.- 'On the corner?' Could you put me in that job?
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Direct me in it?
0:01:09 > 0:01:12It's brilliant, meeting new people every day.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16See, at this game, you don't know who's going to get into your car,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18what their attitude is going to be,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21whether they're going to be happy, whether they are going to be grumpy,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24or they're just going to sit and say nothing.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29So sorry to keep you waiting there. That woman in there...
0:01:29 > 0:01:32probably the longest I've had to deal with somebody to get money out.
0:01:32 > 0:01:38- Serious?- Pain in the arse. - Need to chill out.- I know.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43- RADIO MESSAGE - Roger, she's just come in. The bank held her up,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45or she was holding the bank up, I don't know which one.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47LAUGHTER
0:01:49 > 0:01:51I enjoy meeting people, like, it's...
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I think if you ask any taxi driver, particularly in Belfast,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58they'll tell you they are ambassadors for Belfast.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Being a taxi driver or being a tour guide, also gives me
0:02:01 > 0:02:05a chance to actually tell the stories I feel are important to people,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09that people should know about Belfast, about Northern Ireland.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12So they can tell other people and say what a beautiful city,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15a brilliant city this is. That they should come and visit us.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23I'll tell you something. You see these pigeons to my right here?
0:02:23 > 0:02:25See the pigeons? Those are Catholic pigeons.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27LAUGHTER
0:02:27 > 0:02:29They're not allowed round the Protestant side.
0:02:29 > 0:02:30LAUGHTER
0:02:34 > 0:02:40- We love everybody except ourselves. - Exactly. That's what's wrong with us.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Somebody always asks me, how did the Troubles begin?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I say, they hate us and we hate them even more.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Do you know what, my mummy... My mummy was a historian...lecturer in Queen's.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Very good.- God love her, she's passed away now.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58But she used to always tell me, she said, "You know what?
0:02:58 > 0:03:02"The Irish are lovely people to everybody else but themselves."
0:03:09 > 0:03:13- What part are you from? - We're from Rome.- Oh, lovely.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Are you travelling around or...?
0:03:15 > 0:03:19No, we just came here when we were 18 for a youth exchange.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- Do you live here now? - Yes, yes, we stayed here since.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I must say, I have been scared a few times,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31especially at the very first few years,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35but it has radically changed.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- People have always been very nice. - People are friendly.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- That was one of the reasons why we sort of decided...- To come here?
0:03:44 > 0:03:52- We felt quite at home quite quickly. - That's brilliant. That is exactly what we want.- Easy to settle in.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I enjoy doing what I'm doing because I enjoy the craic.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I enjoy getting in people in here. Good banter as well.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Some people just take taxis because they like chatting to people.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10That's maybe the only time they get chatting to people.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12They take taxis and think, all you taxi drivers are best,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14because you talked to them all the way up there
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and this woman might be the only person I talked to that day.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Do you remember what you were like at 18?
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- When I was 18, I moved to Gran Canaria for five years. - Seriously?- Yes.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- What did you do in Gran Canaria? - I was a waitress.- Very good.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27See, my daddy died.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33My daddy got killed on 1st September and I was 18 on the 22nd.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37So I went a wee bit... as you do, I went a wee bit doolally.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39And then decided I didn't like Ireland any more.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49- I'll tell you who my daddy was.- Who?
0:04:49 > 0:04:53You know that prison officer who got killed there, the other month?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56David Black. That wasn't my daddy. My daddy was the one before that.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02- Prison officer before him? - Aye, Jim Peacock.- Seriously? - Yes, so that was 18 years ago.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- That's terrible.- I know.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09But anyway, my daddy had left me money, and I gifted my mummy, because I was 18.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12I had just turned 18 just after my daddy died,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16so I gave it to my mummy, and then when she died, God love her,
0:05:16 > 0:05:21she give it back to me again. Plus interest, loads, so...
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- You give your money to your kids anyway, you know.- Exactly.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28RADIO: ..has now been cleared.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Traffic is still very busy approaching Nelson Street.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34So it'll cost you £10 for the pleasure of my company, OK?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Do you know what? For the pleasure of your company,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I'll give you more than £10.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Everyone's welcome to Belfast.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Even though people haven't decided that's how it's going
0:05:47 > 0:05:50to be, you know, if they need to get something
0:05:50 > 0:05:53off their chest, sure, a taxi driver is a great person to do it with.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57See, if it's somebody that looks interested.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Because that's how you get the best out of people - tell them
0:05:59 > 0:06:02a little bit about you, they tell you a little bit about them
0:06:02 > 0:06:05and the next thing, you've got relationship.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Just a short-term relationship, you know.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Maybe just the length of the journey, but, sure, that's great.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Hiya, how are you doing?
0:06:19 > 0:06:22And your boyfriend still lives in England, then?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Yes, well, you see, he's from there.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26So how does that work out for you?
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Yes, we see each other every couple of weeks.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31We're always flying back and forth. I'm trying to get him to move over here.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Would you not maybe...would you be interested in going to live there?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38He hasn't asked me. Do you know what I mean? I'm not going to...
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Yeah, you've asked him.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42I'm not going to force myself on him.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44"Please can I come and live with you?"
0:06:44 > 0:06:51- Exactly, you know.- You know what men are like.- You know, that's it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56- Did you just arrive yesterday? - No, Monday.- You been before?
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Not Northern Ireland, no. We are usually in Southern Ireland.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04- First time over here.- Right. What do you think of it?- I love it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- LAUGHTER - You've obviously had a good couple of nights, then.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13- How long are youse going together? - Three years.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15And so if he decided to come over here...
0:07:17 > 0:07:22- I'd have to think about it. - Yes, I'll tell you in five minutes.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- No point being too keen.- Would you? If he said, would you?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I probably would, yeah. I just have to...
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- I bet you've thought it?- No, because I'm a big commitment-phobe.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38We were supposed to have a quiet one yesterday,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- and ended up getting in at six this morning.- What had happened?
0:07:41 > 0:07:42How did that happen?
0:07:42 > 0:07:45He left me at 9pm in the bar in the Premier Inn
0:07:45 > 0:07:50- so I just thought I'll have one more beer.- Where did you end up?
0:07:50 > 0:07:53I don't know. It was a club.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Did you meet any nice girls when you were at the club?
0:08:00 > 0:08:02No comment.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08- Or boys? I don't know. - Definitely not boys.- OK.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12- So it was a girl that led you astray?- Yes.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Thing is, she wasn't even that bad. Usually they are munters.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21They can smell desperation.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Yes, if you act truly desperate, they run away.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- But if you're more aloof, sort of, "Whatever, mate."- Exactly.
0:08:29 > 0:08:36- So did you, you know, get off with her, then?- I can't say on camera.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41- You probably already know. - Of course we do.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I got my call at seven this morning, "Where am I?
0:08:45 > 0:08:47"I don't know where I am there. I'm walking home."
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- You maybe met the love of your life last night.- I seriously doubt that.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- Can you remember what she was like? - Yes, she was nice.- Oh, good.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02- Did you get her number?- No. - Don't do numbers, do you?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Whenever I was single, I wouldn't take phone numbers.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10They used to go, "Do you want my number?" and I'd go,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13"No, I don't take phone numbers. You can have mine, but..."
0:09:13 > 0:09:15That's the way to do it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Why buy a book when there is a big library out there?
0:09:24 > 0:09:25That's the way, isn't it?
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Could you send a job out and job assist for me?
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Belfast, at the moment, I would class as a taxi society.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09I think taxis evolved in the city through the Troubles.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Taxi companies developed to take people different places
0:10:12 > 0:10:15because of the fear factor, I think, as well.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18People got to the stage that they were relying on them.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23If you're going to cross the city during the troubled period,
0:10:23 > 0:10:24people had to get a taxi because
0:10:24 > 0:10:27there was no transportation, no buses.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34But me, I enjoy what I do and what I'm doing
0:10:34 > 0:10:39and how you can get to interact with the sort of community.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42I don't think of it, like, to be sitting, waiting on a job,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46going to pick up somebody I've never met before all the time.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52- Good morning.- Morning, how's things? - Not too bad, yourself?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- RADIO:- 'Traffic and travel now with Michael.'
0:10:55 > 0:10:59'Yes, we've just heard from Angie, there, still some ice and...'
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Lot of traffic building up again.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04You know yourself, you see that, we've got our main and only one,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- and we can't go on there.- Yeah. It's just like everything shuts down.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Everybody and their dog goes out and drives, cos they're...
0:11:12 > 0:11:15- I don't know, starting to get back. - Yeah.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Same for everything.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26- Like all our the rest of us, it's all about survival.- Exactly.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28See, the likes of you, you're all right,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31people have always had bad taste. They'll have to go to you.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38I've been doing tours that long that you learn it from everybody else.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42You learn wee snippets of everybody, and just join it all up.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45And as long as you're telling the truth, that's all, you know,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49the truth is...sometimes the truth is hard to hear for some people.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53But it is the truth, everything I say is the truth about.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Or the truth as far as I'm concerned.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Have you been to Belfast before? How about you?
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- No, we haven't, first time.- Great.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- You see this big white building on the right?- OK.- That's my house.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- Ha-ha.- Or it will be my house when the revolution comes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Where we're going now, right, we're going up into West Belfast.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12So West Belfast is, well, was a pretty rough area, both
0:12:12 > 0:12:14a Protestant, Catholic side, West Belfast,
0:12:14 > 0:12:15that's where the trouble was.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18It was so rough that when you went down the pub in West Belfast,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- they used to search you.- Right.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23They'd literally search you in the pub.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26If you didn't have a gun, they used to give you one.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- I'm joking, I'm joking. - I know you are.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38So this is what the wall looks like.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I'm going to give you a chance to write your own message on the wall.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44My favourite message is actually Australian, it says,
0:12:44 > 0:12:45"Can't work you guys out.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49"Stop this shit and have a beer, the game's over, boys." The most unusual
0:12:49 > 0:12:51message I've seen was Canadian, it said,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53"You think you've got problems?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55"Those dumb Americans steal our fish."
0:12:55 > 0:12:57But most people just write their name, where they're from.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08This job is such a great leveller. I meet people from all walks of life.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12And they get into my car and they're exactly the same,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15from the celebrity to the wee person who's no money.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22They come in differently, they're in the car the same, and I love that.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26I've always been very interested in the psychology of people anyway,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29you know, what makes people tick. So that's why I ask a lot of questions.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31When you look at somebody for the first time,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35you do make a little analyty of them, anyway.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And then it's interesting to chat to them
0:13:37 > 0:13:41and see if that's really how they are. Do you know what?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44You can really judge a book by the cover, sometimes,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48be completely floored by how different they really are.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50And that fascinates me, too.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I actually love this town.
0:13:52 > 0:13:58- To see this town that I'm in. - In this town, there's definitely...
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- The city just cracked me.- Aye.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06Belfast is such a better place than Derry. It really is.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- Hello there.- Hi. How are you? - Fine, thank you, and yourself?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- Good, thanks.- That's good.- Are you going to the Titanic Quarter?
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- We are, actually. - You'll enjoy it, everybody loves it.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28- And did you get into the Crown bar opposite the Europa?- We looked at it.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31We looked at it, we were dying to go in, because there were
0:14:31 > 0:14:35- two little, cheeky lads getting onto him coming up the street.- Were they?
0:14:35 > 0:14:38- What were they doing?- Anyway, they were talking rude to him, you know.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- Were they?- Two little bits, I think they were only, 11 and 12, I'd say.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- The cheek of them!- Yeah!- Asked me if I was looking for any services.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48THEY LAUGH
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Derry's too small.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Belfast a small in itself, but it's got its own wee thing.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03There's stacks of clubs and restaurants and cafes and all.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06You wouldn't even have to go to the same place two nights in a row,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08you know what I mean? If you wanted to avoid something.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11There's something about it, I always say, "You're in Belfast?!
0:15:11 > 0:15:14"And you're going to bed early? Are you serious?
0:15:14 > 0:15:20"You're in Belfast, like, I come down here for a good time, like."
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- RADIO:- 'Windy, though, with highs of five or six degrees.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- 'The dry theme continues through the evening...'- And this is you?
0:15:32 > 0:15:36- See this lovely building?- Wow. Look at that. Oh, that's beautiful.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40I love living in Belfast now. 20 years ago, I was ashamed of it.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- Look at that, that's beautiful. - You got to enjoy it.
0:15:43 > 0:15:4620 years ago, or ten years ago, we were cock at the wall,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49we couldn't do anything wrong, everybody was coming down to see how
0:15:49 > 0:15:52the economy, our economy was going.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55And now we're caught the other way.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00- Times change.- When God sees you. - We're the dopes of Europe, now.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- Thank you.- Bye.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14- I got a transfer back up to Derry. - Oh, right.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I don't know, because...
0:16:17 > 0:16:22just the gurn, all that there, you know? It's funny now, so.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25- So you can transfer, then?- You live and learn, you live and learn.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Transfer back to Belfast.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30PHONE RINGS
0:16:33 > 0:16:36'And where are you going? Kevin, where are you dropping off?'
0:16:38 > 0:16:40There's a lot of talk about money at the moment
0:16:40 > 0:16:44because of the financial crisis that we're all in.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48But not too much, people in Northern Ireland don't dwell on that.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51You know, you might say, "I'm a bit skint,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54"and this time last year, I was doing this and I can't do it this year."
0:16:54 > 0:16:56But, generally, they're quite up.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- Lot of big, big buildings, offices, and all, isn't there?- Aye.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Do you know that one, it's over there,
0:17:09 > 0:17:10it's the tallest building in Belfast.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13I've seen that on the news, there's something about that, aye.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- It's in receivership.- Is it? - Apparently so.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22Times are not good.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26You feel sorry for the young ones who bought a house in the last few
0:17:26 > 0:17:29years and now got negative equity on it.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Or family and they'd be getting paid off.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And there's a lot of cheap houses now, but people haven't
0:17:34 > 0:17:36the deposit, the young ones haven't the money to get them, you know.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38You get bargains if you...
0:17:38 > 0:17:40If you've the money, there's bargains out there to buy.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- RADIO:- 'The headlines at three o'clock. The Chancellor scraps
0:17:46 > 0:17:48'a proposed rise in fuel duty but confirms
0:17:48 > 0:17:51'austerity measures are likely to continue for another six years.'
0:17:51 > 0:17:55- It's a sad world, at the minute... - It is, you know, it is, aye.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57All these people losing their jobs.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Up at that big patent group, or something there.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04People think they're set for life, doing a job like that.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09You got to laugh last night, anyway.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Yeah, that will do us for a while, now.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Cheers you up lovely, doesn't it?
0:18:13 > 0:18:16MUSIC: "Crosstown Traffic" by Jimi Hendrix
0:18:34 > 0:18:36# You jump in front of my car when you
0:18:36 > 0:18:40# You know all the time 90 miles an hour, girl
0:18:40 > 0:18:42# Is the speed I drive
0:18:42 > 0:18:46# You tell me it's all right You don't mind a little pain... #
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Where are you falling out?
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Paradise. If you don't mind.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- Have you had a good day? - It's not bad, now, you know,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57taxi-ing's a wee bit quiet at the minute
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- but it's ticking over, you know? - Yeah.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10If you're down, and sometimes people do get down,
0:19:10 > 0:19:14they're not in a good mood, maybe something that's happened to them.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18You try and tell them, get them up, get them up, you know what I mean?
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I did mental health work for a long time.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I tell you, I'm sure I'd be a very talkative person anyway,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25so you tend to put them in a better mood, you know?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Maybe tell them a funny story or tell them something that actually
0:19:28 > 0:19:31puts them in a better mood, takes away from their bad mood.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34What do you do yourself? What do you work on yourself?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Well, I sort of do a couple of things.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39To pay the rent, I just waitress.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41What's the best tip you've ever gotten? You went,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43"What? That's more than I get in wages!"
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- Well, the other day, I gave somebody a pint.- Right.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Just a pint of Stella, and he gave me a tenner and
0:19:49 > 0:19:50he let me keep the change.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- Did you follow him all the rest of the time, did you?- Every time.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56He went to the toilet and I was waiting on him coming out.
0:19:56 > 0:19:57"Do you want another pint, mate?"
0:19:57 > 0:20:00But I think it's cos he was American.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- You see, it was his first day in Belfast.- Aye.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07So I suppose he didn't realise we were as old as him.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10He thought, "She's quite friendly in that basement there."
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Have you seen anybody famous or anybody I would know?
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Well...
0:20:15 > 0:20:21- Nobody.- Oh, yeah, we had, like, Dizzee Rascal, he was there.- Who?
0:20:21 > 0:20:23- Who?- You know Dizzee Rascal? - Is that a group?
0:20:29 > 0:20:30I'm easy-going.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33But fun loving, music loving.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36Caring.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41And it's my job every night to make sure you get home safely.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42The light's shining on you.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45You know a taxi driver who doesn't like traffic?
0:20:46 > 0:20:51It's long hours. Antisocial. Relationships suffer.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55There's nothing I love more than to be out with my friends.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59But that's the shift I'm on. That's where I make my money.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01And I suppose if I was being honest,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04I'm craving to get on the day shift,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07so I can relax at night, go out.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11But I find a bit of comfort in picking up people that I know.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14You've picked them up before, and you know where they live.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17You get them home. They know you and you can have a bit of craic.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Home for your dinner as usual.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Oh...aye.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Got a wee bet on today?
0:21:31 > 0:21:33- What's that?- Got a wee bit on?- No.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38- Couldn't afford it. - Couldn't afford it. Wise up.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43SIREN BLARES
0:21:47 > 0:21:49I was away at the, er...
0:21:49 > 0:21:50Was it the Royal?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- About two weeks ago.- Oh, aye.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53That's right.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59How are you now? It doesn't stop you from going for a drink?
0:21:59 > 0:22:02They're not full blown ones, you know.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04If I ever take one...
0:22:04 > 0:22:08it's hard to lift it... and the arm just goes,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10lying in a hole, like, collapsed.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I don't know what the hell happened to me.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20- They kept me in four days. - Did they?- Couldn't get out to bet.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23- Well, you silly.... - I'm waiting on the big one.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Ach!- You know what I mean?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- Don't be knocking that tree down. - No, I won't.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40- That's it there. - There you go.- There.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45RADIO CHATTER
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- Where are you from?- I am from Algeria.- Good. Do you live here?
0:22:53 > 0:22:55I've been living here 14 years.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- And you like it?- I love it, yes.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- You love the cold? - Yes, I do sometimes.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Belfast at the weekend is now buzzing.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08There are so many different bars
0:23:08 > 0:23:11and different types of music you can go and watch.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13All over the city.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18I think, Friday night, the customers are different from a Saturday night.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Saturday night, everybody parties, everybody has to get out.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Even if the weather is bad, they get out. They find a way.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28And they get out and enjoy themselves.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32- Right, Mark, I want you to tell me all about your DJing. I believe you're a DJ.- Yes.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35What sort of music do you play?
0:23:35 > 0:23:38All pop and hardcore.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41- Oh, I don't know much hardcore, I'm too old for that.- Yeah.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43- I like bit of pop, though.- Yeah.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45How do you like DJing?
0:23:45 > 0:23:50- It just gets me out and gets me a hobby.- Aye.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54- Cos I lost my mum to cancer there, so...- I'm sorry to hear that.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58It was actually three years ago there, so...
0:23:58 > 0:24:02- Ah, I see.- I'm actually going to be doing a charity event.- Right.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05We're going to have a big night, lots of music.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And you are going to DJ? Good for you.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11It will be a really, really good experience for me.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15- It will be brilliant experience. - Cos Mum's...
0:24:15 > 0:24:19is...is special. Special.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21You only get one mum.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I have autism, so...
0:24:23 > 0:24:25You would never know, Mark.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28- I have a learning disability.- Right.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30You'd definitely never know.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34SIREN WAILS
0:24:39 > 0:24:44What happened? They say you have plenty of police.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Tonight, it's Belfast city centre, a bit of trouble.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- About the flag, yeah?- Yes.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55- No more flag?- In this city, in Belfast? In the town?- In town.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- Shaftesbury Square, Donegal Road. - Oh, right.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02But, er...but no flag beside Castle Court?
0:25:02 > 0:25:05He says no more flag in...
0:25:05 > 0:25:07- At City Hall?- Yeah.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11- Well, certain days they're going to have the flag.- Just 15 days a year.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Yes, the Queen's Birthday and certain holidays.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- It's kind of stupid, like, people fighting for a flag.- You're right.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Yes, it's stupid fighting about a flag.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29I know.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- Eat, live, go for a drink and that's it.- That's right.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- Sex.- And sex, yes.
0:25:37 > 0:25:38And sex.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41- You like sex?- Doesn't everybody?
0:25:52 > 0:25:55# Taxi, taxi, take me anywhere... #
0:25:57 > 0:26:01I said to my father, I told my parents I wanted to be a drag queen.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03My father turned and said to me,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06"Don't be A drag queen, be THE drag queen."
0:26:06 > 0:26:10I was getting more money in one night at a gig than
0:26:10 > 0:26:15I was on a week's wage working at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Saturdays and Sundays.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17What did you actually do in the Royal?
0:26:17 > 0:26:21- I worked in the fracture unit as a clinician.- In the fracture unit?
0:26:21 > 0:26:22Right.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26If you don't mind me asking, are you married?
0:26:26 > 0:26:29I am not married at all, I am a single individual.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31I believe that the human species aren't meant to be
0:26:31 > 0:26:34in the one environment their whole lives together.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36- Maybe my thinking is wrong.- Hmm.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- I don't know.- I'm not being cheeky, how many relationships have you?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43It would be an encyclopaedia.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53- I fell in love twice.- Yes. - And I was betrayed.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56- Yeah.- There's times when I find myself thinking,
0:26:56 > 0:26:57"I would love to walk in the living room
0:26:57 > 0:27:00"and someone who I'm really in love with be there."
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Or they're on the way home from work and I'm making the dinner.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Making the dinner, waiting. - Know what I mean?- Yes.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Do you find at times now your life is lonely?
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I don't know when, but I know I'm going to end up with someone.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14This is too good to go to waste, you know what I mean?
0:27:17 > 0:27:20At times, on a slow night,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24when you feel you want to go home,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28I hear a driver saying, "I'm going home, this is crap, this isn't good."
0:27:28 > 0:27:32I wish I could afford to say that. So I hang on in there.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36I discipline myself to stay to the time I want to stay to.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38But sometimes the only thing that gets me
0:27:38 > 0:27:42to six o'clock in the morning is the thought of a McMuffin.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45A McDonalds breakfast.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- Up to 20 quid already. - We're up to 20 quid already.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51That wasn't the deal.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55What's this? What's he doing now? Is it a guitar?
0:27:55 > 0:27:56It's a bass.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02'The late show, with Cherrie McIlwaine on BBC Radio Ulster.'
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Here's the thing if you don't want any sex, right?
0:28:04 > 0:28:07- Secret is to try and sneak in. - I don't want any sex.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Yes, but sneaking up the hall, "Who's that?!"
0:28:09 > 0:28:13You see, in five minutes I'll open the front door and say,
0:28:13 > 0:28:14"Who's a horny big bitch?
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"Who wants Daddy? Daddy's home."
0:28:16 > 0:28:18She'll be...
0:28:18 > 0:28:19HE SNORES
0:28:19 > 0:28:21LAUGHTER
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Hang on, the beast's home.
0:28:25 > 0:28:31# You give me love and consolation
0:28:31 > 0:28:34# You give me hope to carry on
0:28:34 > 0:28:38# And you're always there
0:28:38 > 0:28:41# To lend a hand
0:28:41 > 0:28:45# In everything I do
0:28:45 > 0:28:49# That's the wonder
0:28:49 > 0:28:52# The wonder of you. #