On his release, Stuart ended his almost two decade stay abroad. He left a number of unfinished portraits behind and fled to America. He returned focused on a single goal, painting a portrait of George Washington.

Billy, The Dutch Prince of Orange was brought over from The Netherlands to marry his protestant first cousin “Mary” who is also the daughter of King James II, as part of his overthrow (talk about Game of Thrones or Succession plot lines). So, for hundreds of years, the Orange Order march to celebrate their identity and ties to the English (well maybe Dutch and German) Monarch sitting in London.

The SDLP is already making progress. We have relentlessly pressed the Secretary of State for reform, secured Assembly support for change and engaged with both Governments to build momentum for delivery. We also hosted a launch event in Dublin yesterday evening, where we reinforced our message that making Northern Ireland work and preparing for a New Ireland are not competing ambitions, but part of the same project.

We carve the pumpkins, we turn the clocks back, we complain of the early dark. But the old month is still all around us, and still all with us. The leaves fall, the year dies, the Church still calls November the month of the holy souls, and somewhere beneath our busy days the same truth waits: this is the season for remembering the dead.

The largest unionist party in government, the DUP, has not yet joined the minority but has instead refused to work “publicly” with the Sinn Féin First Minister. How sustainable this nonsense position is among its own supporters, or within the work of government, remains to be seen.