In addition to making Belfast look like a war zone, at least on television, the dissidents drove a wedge between politicians and police.

It turns out that text messages and social media sites like Facebook and MySpace - so beloved for bringing people together - can also drive a wedge between couples.

It was something to see him wedge the foot of the crutch against a bulkhead, and propped against it, yielding to every movement of the ship, get on with his cooking like someone safe ashore.