
Every year I have an opinion about imperfect Christmas trees, premature decorations, too early celebrations. This year, unpredictably, tragically, everything has changed…
Continue reading “Push against the darkness”Every year I have an opinion about imperfect Christmas trees, premature decorations, too early celebrations. This year, unpredictably, tragically, everything has changed…
Continue reading “Push against the darkness”Maybe it’s the story-teller in me, or the Irish, but I’ve always been prone to over-hyping any account of my experiences. You know, the reality of a few minutes becomes hours and hours. If an eye witness is present, then that wrecks it. But, in their absence, the sky’s the limit. My dad was always the best at this, ignoring mum’s eye roll and making the telling bigger and bigger every time.
Continue reading “Tell tall tales”Do you ever have a moment, a short time, even a day, when you think, maybe life is not so bad after all?
Continue reading “A day like today”There’s a Swedish expression, ‘no cow on the ice’. Back in the old days, the cows of Scandinavia were allowed to roam outside all year round. Farmers would make a hole in the ice for them to drink. Sometimes a cow’s forelegs would fall through the thin ice and the farmer would have to pull them out by their tail. ‘No cow on the ice’ means, don’t stress, things are going to be ok.
Continue reading “The cows are on the ice.”When I was pondering what I would write about last week I was thinking about blankets. At the time I was walking with heavy steps along my street, fighting against a horrible sense of fatigue. Quite often, when I try to explain fatigue I talk about having a wet woollen blanket dropped over my head, my shoulders, my arms and legs.
Thankfully, I’m not going to dwell on that horrible image today.
Continue reading “The blankets”Do you ever realise when you walk past other people, or sit near them on the bus, that they are all hiding something?
Continue reading “Swans and icebergs”