I am, of course, wildly biased, but I really like this blog kept by my niece. Somebody once said Jane Austen dealt with ‘the twigs and straws of life’. Likewise in these blogs. Have a read and tell me if it’s blood being thicker than water…
A day after reading Life close up, EB, two things remain with one.
This is roughly two things more than normally remain with one these days,, 24 hours on.
1. Memories of a Westie called Josh, who used to take one for a walk in the woods at the weekend. Walking hasn’t quite been the same since he passed over to the great canine trail in the sky, twenty years ago or so.
2. ‘If I only had time’: this a phrase which appears in the piece, more or less. It’s also the title of a soulful song I hadn’t heard in an age,. It was popularlsed by John Rowles about 50 years ago. I haven’t stopped humming it today.
Jude, I suspect that one of the reasons for the lack of comments on this entry is that we who read your blog are, in this case, more like intruders than normal, albeit invited ones. The feeling is similar to the one we used to have in old libraries with high ceilings and a dusty silence – to say something would be to spoil the experience.
And yet, at the same time, having shared with us something so personal, and having invited responses, it seems reasonable to do so.
Blood is, of course, thicker than water, but while the viscosity of family relationships might bring more meaning to you, they do not lessen the experience for us.
Your niece writes of an Ireland I know – from Malin to Mizen, as we sometimes say at home; my only regret is that we have yet to visit Clifden and the furthest reaches of Connemara.
And so she bring to us shared experiences, but enhanced by another perspective. It is an Ireland well described when she writes, “Being here provides a constancy and a security which we do not find elsewhere. It feels that despite with each year being a year older, life remains unchanged.”
One can almost see Tir na nOg when standing in the evening sun.
I also suspect that her blog has not gone unread; I have returned to it on a number of occasions, and enjoyed doing so.
Thank you for pointing us in its direction, and thank your niece for opening the windows of her heart to the world (wide web).
Pf – go raibh cead maith agat – sincere thanks for that eloquent testimony. I’ll pass it on and I know she’ll be deeply pleased. Like all writers, she is a mass of insecurity and self-doubt…
A day after reading Life close up, EB, two things remain with one.
This is roughly two things more than normally remain with one these days,, 24 hours on.
1. Memories of a Westie called Josh, who used to take one for a walk in the woods at the weekend. Walking hasn’t quite been the same since he passed over to the great canine trail in the sky, twenty years ago or so.
2. ‘If I only had time’: this a phrase which appears in the piece, more or less. It’s also the title of a soulful song I hadn’t heard in an age,. It was popularlsed by John Rowles about 50 years ago. I haven’t stopped humming it today.
That’ll do.
Jude, I suspect that one of the reasons for the lack of comments on this entry is that we who read your blog are, in this case, more like intruders than normal, albeit invited ones. The feeling is similar to the one we used to have in old libraries with high ceilings and a dusty silence – to say something would be to spoil the experience.
And yet, at the same time, having shared with us something so personal, and having invited responses, it seems reasonable to do so.
Blood is, of course, thicker than water, but while the viscosity of family relationships might bring more meaning to you, they do not lessen the experience for us.
Your niece writes of an Ireland I know – from Malin to Mizen, as we sometimes say at home; my only regret is that we have yet to visit Clifden and the furthest reaches of Connemara.
And so she bring to us shared experiences, but enhanced by another perspective. It is an Ireland well described when she writes, “Being here provides a constancy and a security which we do not find elsewhere. It feels that despite with each year being a year older, life remains unchanged.”
One can almost see Tir na nOg when standing in the evening sun.
I also suspect that her blog has not gone unread; I have returned to it on a number of occasions, and enjoyed doing so.
Thank you for pointing us in its direction, and thank your niece for opening the windows of her heart to the world (wide web).
Pf – go raibh cead maith agat – sincere thanks for that eloquent testimony. I’ll pass it on and I know she’ll be deeply pleased. Like all writers, she is a mass of insecurity and self-doubt…
A joy to read and all the better for being non political.Somehow I can’t see your good self as being insecure and having self doubt!!
I promise you, Argenta – I’m the same tangled ball of doubt and insecurity that you yourself are…