No difficulty in recognising the building behind my mother this time… it’s the Northern Ireland Parliament Building better known as Stormont…

In 1937 the building was just five years old and the Portland stone is brilliant white. After the air raids that devastated Belfast in April and May 1941 it was decided to camouflage Stormont with a coating of bitumen and cow dung as can be seen in this photo from the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum‘s collection…

Although this was removed after the war, the stone was permanently stained and it never looked as bright again.