petemartin.org interviews Paul Coles
Hi Paul welcome to the sofa mate, since this feature is new let me explain to my readers what it’s all about. On the occasional Tuesday my plan is to publish a brief interview with a friend or colleague focusing on issues that perhaps are unusual or that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with the interviewee. I hope that we all get something from them, and today I want to discuss with you a little bit about culture - specifically ours and Canada’s.


How long have you been living in Ballynahinch for now and do you like it?
Just over a year and a half and I couldn’t be happier.

What do you miss most about Canada?
I miss my family of course, especially my nephews and nieces. I miss it when they are all together and I can’t be there, and I miss the fact that Fiona can’t be there with them. Next in line would definitely be the weather! I miss the seasons. I miss hot summers where you can wear shorts and sandals every day and when you are too hot you can just jump in the lake. I miss cold winters with snow up to your eyeballs, when you can jump off the roof of your house into snow banks and not get hurt. I miss the first warm days of spring when you know that summer is coming but there are no bugs yet. And I miss the fall, with warm days and crisp nights, when the leaves change into so many colours that no painting could do them justice.

What shocked you the most about northern Irish culture?
Probably the harshness of some people. People do not care much about other people’s feelings. Instead of being sensitive to our brothers and sisters we say “it ill harden them.” I don’t like that. I was also shocked about people’s lack of regard for the environment. Our streets our practically rubbish bins and we don’t recycle anything. We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and no one seems to care.

What would you say is the biggest difference between church in Canada and church here?
I think that church is very similar and very different at the same time. The real difference is that there is just a greater spectrum of everything. There are tightwad churches and liberal churches, charismatic churches and barely audible churches. Just a lot more of them. One thing that might be different is that there are probably more churches involved in social action (feeding the poor, housing, job training, etc…) Having said that, the last church I went to in Canada was very similar to the one I go to now, except bigger.

What would some of the most obvious differences be between youth culture here and there?
With people I think the old saying, “same sh*#, different package,” applies rightly. Kids are kids and there issues just manifest themselves in different ways in different places, but they always have the same issues. Probably the biggest thing though is the undisguised hatred and bigotry. People here are very open about what they do and don’t like here. Canada is a very politically correct country so even if you think certain things, people aren’t as willing to express them as openly. Also in Canada most kids have no concept of church or religion, where as here most people define themselves by their “religious” background. Finally, the most superficial thing of all would be clothes. Style is very different in Canada, although it is starting to creep in here. Kids wear much baggier cloths as opposed to the tight jeans and shell suits that kids wear. I think people dress better in Canada in general.

You know I've heard it said that the man who swears is a man that can't express himself.... Moving swiftly on - If you had to pick one part of Canadian culture that your glad to see the back of what would that be?
Excess! Everything is big in Canada. People have more disposable income and it shows. Houses are huge, cars are huge, refrigerators are huge. People have bigger summer homes there than any homes here period. North America uses up way more than its share of the worlds resources and that really bugs me.

What part of Irish culture would you miss the most should you move again?
Community. I am very fortunate to be part of an amazing community here in Ballynahinch and I would miss that very much if I went back. Even though there is a lot of hate in this country, community is still a very important thing. Maybe this is due to how rural Ireland is, but I like it. Along those lines is the hospitality of people. I love how people always invite you into their homes and offer you tea, coffee and biscuits. It is a trend that definitely needs to continue and I would miss it if I left.

Have you a parting thought for us?
Yep. For all you guys out there I have two things to tell you. If a woman can’t find you attractive, at least she should find you handy, and keep your stick on the ice.

Thanks Paul – May God bless you and all who sail with you!