I had to make a quick trip to Belfast last week - the city in which I was born and lived until my late teens (and again for a few years in my mid 20s). Although we have been making trips most years to N Ireland (Pauline still has family there) I've not had much opportunity to see the city centre for many, many years. Of course, to anyone who grew up there during "The Troubles" the lack of security barriers, heavily armed police and troops on the streets, etc. is a major plus - as are the signs of significant economic prosperity. However, there's no doubt that the revival of Belfast has come at the price of homogeneity: apart from the accents, and a few bits of instantly recognizable architecture (even if the old Provincial Bank building is now a Tescos!) I could have been in Anytown, UK. Hardly any of the shops that I recall, either as child being dragged unwillingly on family shopping expeditions, or as a teenager hanging out in record shops on Saturday afternoons, seem to be there any more.

I don't think I've ever felt more of a "stranger in a strange land"!