In the window of the bargain shop there was a photocopy of the front page of the Sun showing a Belfast boy hugging a British soldier. Speech bubbles had been added to it, so that the boy was saying: 'Why are you going home, Daddy?' 'Because the Provies have surrendered,' the squaddy replies. A few of the Unionists I spoke to sounded this note of triumph at the IRA ceasefire but not many. Most were either sniffing secret deals or talking about waiting and seeing. 'Peace in our lunchtime,' one woman laughed.

LRB 6 October 1994 | PDF Download