The world has ground to a halt. Except that the wheels of the world grind slowly, and 2020’s halt felt more like an emergency stop. There we all were, spanking along, foot to the floor, probably on the wrong side of the speed limit, when a shadowy figure ran out unexpectedly. There are no wolves … Continue reading Wolves
The Big Clap – did you do it? Wasn’t it great? I nearly forgot, but I heard them getting going, and came out from the kitchen into the front room, opened my window two floors up and leaned out into the darkness to clap. I find every standing ovation moving, but this one even more … Continue reading Clap Hands
‘Every now and then life says, where do you think you’re going so fast?’ We’re apt to think it’s cruel but sometimes it’s a case of cruel to be kind.’ Those are a couple of lines from a Ron Sexsmith song called ‘Gold In Them Hills’. He’s a Canadian singer songwriter with a voice that … Continue reading Every Now and Then Life Says
I have been lonely in the past, but I am not anymore. I know I might well be lonely again in the future, and, when that happens, I’ll have to remind myself that the feeling will not last. That’s one of the good things about getting older: we’ve seen it before. Some call it, ‘wisdom’ … Continue reading This Feeling Will Not Last
I was at a writing workshop on Saturday. We had to shuffle on and button up the coat of a character we were writing about, inhabit them and get close, try to see life as they did, think and feel the way they would have. For some writers the coat was made to measure, it … Continue reading Wondering
‘The thing I dread most, far more than the gossip – and God knows, I really don't like gossip – is the pity. The thought of people feeling sorry for me is too much. My worst nightmare is others holding a pity party on the coat tails of my misfortune.’ It had been a long time … Continue reading I Don’t Want Pity
I read an article on the BBC news website this week reporting on an academic study published in the American Psychologist journal. Its conclusion: there are more Good Samaritans out there than we might think. It made me laugh, not because there was anything funny about it, rather because of our tendency to require research to … Continue reading Standing By
‘A watched pot never boils’ – that’s what my Nana used to say, meaning that the more we concentrate on a desired outcome, the longer it seems to take. She was also a fan of the phrase, ‘as soon as my back is turned’ – that one wasusually employed in relation to me pilfering sweets from her … Continue reading Waiting
Donal Ryan is an author from Tipperary with an accent like a beautifully played reel on the fiddle and an engaging smile that suggests he is not entirely sure of anything, but that he’s content not knowing. I heard him speak in County Carlow this weekend. His candour was endearing. He told us that every act … Continue reading I Made You Up
People are everything in life. Our relationships, how we communicate, what we understand (and misunderstand) about each other - people make up the essential fabric of our lives. They have the capacity to cause us the greatest headache or the greatest joy, and such extremes of emotion can often be triggered by the same person. … Continue reading They’re Human Too
