We were standing outside the barber shop .Mark was opening the shutters and two of his cutters were chatting outside on the footpath .I had arrived as the school- run rush thinned the early traffic out.School was back after the summer and this was the perfect time for that monthly trim .All the little darlings […]
September, 2014
The Scots: canny or conned?
Sometimes I don’t understand the Scottish people. Sometimes I don’t understand sections of the Irish people either, but sin sceal eile – that’s for another time. The signs today are that the Scottish No camp will succeed in winning the referendum on Scottish independence. The question then is: why? History shows us that the Scots […]
On the brink: six thoughts about Scotland
Well, nearly there now. So many interesting things, it’s hard to select a few. But I’ll try. 1. Scotland is a beautiful and fascinating country. When QE2 visited the southern section of our country, the expense involved was said to have been justified by the international exposure it gave, the boost to Irish tourism. If that’s true, […]
HISTORY IS BUNKUM by Harry McAvinchey
Well , there you have it. The next time you lift up and read a passage in a history book about some great leader or some world event…are you to take it as the whole unvarnished truth.? I don’t think so . Do you remember the events in your life ? All the events […]
Bob and Dan and singing the Union song
Bob Geldof made a speech yesterday. That’s Sir Bob Geldof, the Irishman with the honorary knighthood. He was speaking at a No campaign rally in Trafalgar Square organised by Dan Snow. That’s Dan Snow who married Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the 6th Duke of Westminster, a landowner worth 8.5 billion (you heard me, Virginia […]
WORDS OF WISDOM by Harry McAvinchey
“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”….{attributed to Walt Disney} Are you wise? I mean , have you any words of wisdom or have you gleaned any advice to impart to help your fellow travellers through the jungles […]
Throwing QE2. And David. And Posh.
First of all, let’s get the gratitude expressed: my heartfelt thanks to all those good and big-hearted people who sponsored me in my run for Trócaire on the Waterside Half-Marathon yesterday. I am glad to say that we smashed our target of £1,000 by at least £100 – well done to all of you. Maith […]
A MURDER OF CROWS by Harry McAvinchey
A murder of crows….or was that a murder of ravens? It has a great ring to it , hasn’t it? I wonder who came up with that descriptive collective. I suppose it’s lost in the swamps of time. It makes perfect poetic sense though. It’s hanging in my mind not unlike that September sultriness that […]
George Galloway: then and now
Has something happened to George Galloway? I remember listening to him talk in Mandela Hall at Queen’s University, shortly after the invasion of Iraq: he was stunning. In front of a huge audience he spoke for nearly two hours without notes and I don’t think there was a person who wasn’t mesmerised by the passion and […]
Ian Paisley is dead
Ian Paisley is dead. He was without doubt one of the great figures in Irish politics over the last fifty years and I think he’ll be remembered for two things The first is that he accepted power-sharing between unionists and republicans and, astonishingly, formed a friendship as First Minister with the Deputy First Minister Martin […]