City Hall, mayoral portraits and high ceilings

Belfast City Hall turned out to be a very grand venue for a formal dinner. A couple of hundred people milling about the Rotunda (the landing at the top of the stairs as you go in the main entrance) drowned out the string quartet – even if you stood beside them.

And the high ceilings, huge length and stone walls in the Great Hall made it a great location for food, but a bad venue for a loud band afterwards!

On the way into the Great Hall, you wander past portraits of past Lord Mayors. I’m sure they’re all along the corridor somewhere, but it’s three UUP and DUP ones on the way to the hall’s doors. (I’ve merged together Hugh Smyth, Reg Empey and Nigel Dodds below. There’s something not quite right about the heads.)