"Hope" to come.

 Without Hope what would be the outcome?

Today news came from the Ulster University campus, where in 1985 I graduated with a degree in fashion and Textiles. When I started there it was the Art & design centre and then it became the UU before I finished with my Hons Degree. When I remember back to the summer of 1985 and my final year degree show was on exhibition I think of a missed opportunity. The visitor that summer was Lady Diana Spencer. As my Mum watched the news she ran to tell me that I was missing the chance to see Lady Di!! Suddenly I remembered I was meant to go in that day, the only day I had been absent but it was our summer holidays!! Worse news was to come!! I had been choosen by the tutors to meet Her, my exhibition was very feminine and romantic well suited to someone who was about to be married as the embroidery work was perfect inspiration for something special. Oh dear was I ever going to be allowed to forget that disappointment.

I was reminded of my time there as I watched the news today.
But I have long since released that there is no point crying over spelt milk.
Hopefully I would learn to try and never miss an opportunity again.

I was again fortunate to get chosen after that to do an exhibition of my work in London, and I was advised that if I wanted to make a career in fashion I would need to move to London. Well I wasn't ready for that move!! I decided it would be better to get experience working for my local clients to gain experience before I took that leap of faith. You can have ambition, you can have confidence but you need to gain knowledge and experience so you don't waste an opportunity.

Today Joe Kennedy made a wonderful speech, well worth the listen to and in it he told the tale of an American who needed help so that he could make a good impression. He got that help from a kind, generous, ambitious and opportunist Northern Irish person. Without spoiling the story it involved a stitch or two! This was and is Northern Ireland's USP, Ulster's Special People, Hope.

Then we heard a speech from Joe Biden, our 6th US president that I can remember visiting our little province. In it he made another sewing reference about "mending by connection"!

It was a fleeting visit but hopefully it will have a positive influence, for future peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.

May this new state of the Art building now, more university facilities mean that students are inspired to better things to come. I heard an impressive statistic that 94% of the University of Ulster students get a job within 12 months of leaving university.

Clear skies, sun shining 25yrs from The Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland's economy has doubled! May the next 25yrs be full of opportunity, ambition, hope, confidence and belief that we can improve even more.

"Dare to Dream"