From Perth, Australia, came the message that she could not countenance, these days, reading anything that was not beautiful. She is right. Why, by choice, should we read about ugliness of action, deed, character, when all that is so readily available in our daily newsfeeds? Why shouldn’t we self-select and sanitise what we choose to … Continue reading The Sunny Side of Life
Flying out of Northern Ireland from the airport in the countryside, not the one in the city by the shore of Belfast Lough. There’s half a moon, drifting escapes of black cloud blowing like scraps of burnt paper, and our ascent is long and low enough for me to pick out towns, or to try. … Continue reading Night Flight
Once upon a time, when I lived in Dublin, I dreamed of owning a Donegal Tweed overcoat: tailored, to the knee, single breasted, with a 100-year guarantee (isn't that how long they last?). Specifically, the coat of my dreams was to come from Kevin and Howlin, a traditional outfitters on Nassau Street, down the side … Continue reading Jacket
My Edinburgh Press 