Mostly I’m in life, and part of it, or so I like to imagine, until I discover something I wasn’t aware of, and realise that the world has moved on. Recently I read a magazine article that made complete sense up to a certain point. The writer brought up the question of whether it was… Read More WE THINK WE’RE A GENDER
Cláir Ní Aonghusa is a writer and teacher. Born in Dublin, Ireland, she divides her time between Dublin and Tipperary. She has had two novels published. When were you happiest? At sixteen, when I first stayed in Dún Chaoin (Dunquin) in the Kerry Gaeltacht.. My friend and I were there to learn Irish (Gaelic). What is… Read More Q & A – TALKING TO MYSELF!
In May of this year, I underwent complicated foot reconstruction surgery. The surgeon fused my left foot in three places and repaired ligaments and a tendon. Due to a six-week ‘no weight bearing’ restriction on the operated foot I got about courtesy of a knee walker. This resembled a modified scooter, with a raised platform… Read More SURGERY AND ADVENTURES THEREAFTER
When I discovered that my friend Betsy Lerner, the literary agent, had written a memoir, I had to read it. I knew something of Betsy’s life but, from this book, I learnt so much more. The story kicks off when Betsy moved into her mum’s Rosalyn’s New Haven home… Read More THE BRIDGE LADIES by BETSY LERNER
I haven’t posted at all this year, so today, in a belated kick off to 2016, I’m sharing a very amusing Facebook post from Salt Publication’s Christopher Hamilton-Emery on publishing presentations. It’s a wonderful rendering of the jaw-numbing, brain scrambling, body enervating obfuscation of sales jargon. It’s all about readers, their unspoken desires and how… Read More Publishing presentations by Christopher Hamilton Emery
As a response to Sherry Turkle’s recent book that catalogues an alarming decline in the quality of our interactions with others as a direct effect of our increasing preoccupation with digital distractions, the 28th of November’s Saturday Guardian Weekend magazine ran A Conversations Special. Turkle, the American sociologist of digital life, cites vulnerability, and fear… Read More LOST FOR WORDS
In this memoir Felicity Hayes-McCoy whisks us through the story of her family and its links with the Irish Republic from before the 1916 Easter Rebellion right up to the present. Along the way, she reviews almost one hundred’s years of disputed Irish history, and her concise, lively and engaging writing style makes for easy… Read More A WOVEN SILENCE by Felicity Hayes-McCoy
Recently a friend told how—when a new colleague arrived in his workplace—he used to wait for a suitable opportunity to reveal to whomever it was that he’s gay. He reckoned that they needed to know and that he should be upfront with them. In the lead up to the marriage equality referendum in Ireland, he found… Read More JUST LET ME PLEASE EXPLAIN . . .
Recently a friend posted a TED education video from the late Rita Pierson, and I saw it for the first time ever. In ‘Every Kid needs a Champion’ her main point is that teachers need to engage with their pupils, to have a relationship with them as nobody learns in a vacuum. She recalled how… Read More STUDENTS AND TEACHERS SHOULD BE FRIENDS
I didn’t post last week as I was in hospital. Being there reminded me that older people – or people recovering from surgery – can get a raw deal in hospital. I’m talking about what happens at mealtimes. The physiotherapists are dedicated to getting everyone on the move post surgery, the nurses ensure that we… Read More MAY I HELP YOU?
