June, 2010

I was talking to a man last week and all the time we were talking (or he was talking – it was largely a speaker-listener relationship),  he kept impressing on me…well, impressing on me his own importance. I was told about a number of high-powered projects he had been involved in,  about other projects he […]

I was talking to a man last week and all the time we were talking (or he was talking – it was largely a speaker-listener relationship),  he kept impressing on me…well, impressing on me his own importance. I was told about a number of high-powered projects he had been involved in,  about other projects he […]

 So QE2 plans to visit the south of Ireland next Spring. That’s something to look forward to, isn’t it? As we struggle through January and February, the cuts biting ever deeper, weary from the rains of March and the showers of April, we can turn to each other and say “Don’t forget – Her Majesty […]

 So QE2 plans to visit the south of Ireland next Spring. That’s something to look forward to, isn’t it? As we struggle through January and February, the cuts biting ever deeper, weary from the rains of March and the showers of April, we can turn to each other and say “Don’t forget – Her Majesty […]

My son’s girl-friend is English and every so often she expresses bewilderment and just a touch of irritation at the attitude of Irish – and Scottish and Welsh – people when England are playing football. “If Ireland or any of the other home countries were playing, we would be supporting them completely” she says. So […]

My son’s girl-friend is English and every so often she expresses bewilderment and just a touch of irritation at the attitude of Irish – and Scottish and Welsh – people when England are playing football. “If Ireland or any of the other home countries were playing, we would be supporting them completely” she says. So […]

I was on ‘Good Morning Ulster’  ( why do they call it that when they don’t serve one-third of Ulster? Answers on a postage stamp, please) this morning, talking about the amount of sport that’s currently on TV. I like sport, particularly football (soccer) and football (Gaelic), but  at the moment we’re like pate de […]

I was on ‘Good Morning Ulster’  ( why do they call it that when they don’t serve one-third of Ulster? Answers on a postage stamp, please) this morning, talking about the amount of sport that’s currently on TV. I like sport, particularly football (soccer) and football (Gaelic), but  at the moment we’re like pate de […]

The past –  pain in the arse, eh?  Full of what-might-have-beens and  dashed hopes and petty slights.  Full of a sense of loss – of loved ones, of what once seemed so permanent, of one’s own youth. The only way to cope with the bloody thing is to bend it into a shape that suits […]

The past –  pain in the arse, eh?  Full of what-might-have-beens and  dashed hopes and petty slights.  Full of a sense of loss – of loved ones, of what once seemed so permanent, of one’s own youth. The only way to cope with the bloody thing is to bend it into a shape that suits […]