I have often heard warnings not to eat cheese before bedtime. The reasons vary from causing a disrupted night’s sleep to nightmares. I have never believed these stories. A tall tale if ever I heard one I thought. Nevertheless I have always been slightly reluctant to consume this sacred, dairy product too close to my bedtime. My sleep patterns are temperamental at the best of times and I don’t need further disruption – regardless of how far-fetched and unlikely it sounds. Continue reading *Murphy investigates* Cheese dreams →

There is a woman who gets on the bus every morning who takes her six year old bespectacled son to school. She boards at the same stop each day, pushing the pram in which her infant daughter sleeps. The little boy seems very clean and neat and well spoken, but never smiles. The mother looks utterly worn out. The joys of motherhood, or so I thought. We are on the same bus each morning – getting the son to school on time coincides with my struggle to make it to the industrial wasteland of county Dublin. They disembark several stops before I do. Continue reading Take back the city. Raise the Roof →