I am not a doctor. I am not a dietitian. I am not a gym instructor. I am not a nutritionist. I am open minded. Can someone explain to me, the meaning of ‘gluten intolerance’? Continue reading Glutenphobia
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‘Did you have some ‘WORK’ done?’
Today I bedazzled my bowl of porridge with a few sprinkles of coconut and a drizzle of honey. My morning bowl of gruel may as well be tasty.
I made my way to a seat. I sat opposite a colleague who had just returned from a several week holiday, back to her home country.
I asked ‘How was your trip?’
‘It was lovely – I went to the seaside for a while.’
‘Nice, and did you go visit your family?’
‘No they came to visit me.’
I glanced at her for the first time that day – I’d been fussing with putting butter on my toast and brewing my bucket of tea, so I had been distracted while making this small talk up until this point. If the truth be told I didn’t genuinely care how the holiday was, or what she’d been up to, aside from a vague hope that she’d enjoyed herself. I wasn’t looking for details though.
Back to school – for Murphy
I guess that by tomorrow all the schools will have reopened, and be fully operational for students of all ages. The five-year-olds’ not having a clue about how long education is going to last. The seventeen year olds facing into one of life’s more brutal experiences – the Leaving Cert. Regardless of the age of these students however, the personal impact on me, is easy to define – it will be a very protracted journey to work tomorrow.
I was in Limerick over the weekend, visiting the Mammy. One of The Sisters was home as well. We were chatting about the psychodrama of the beginning of the school year,
I was then reminded of my very own first day of school, many decades ago. Will I ever forget it? More to the point, will my mother ever forget it? It is quite the story. Continue reading Back to school – for Murphy
Home sweet home.
There are 8,000 homeless people in Ireland (of which almost 3,000 are children).
78 families became homeless in Dublin in June 2017.
800 people aged between 18 and 24 are homeless.
Almost 50% of homeless people in Ireland are under the age of 24.
On 1 August 2017 there were 2,930 properties available for rent in all of Ireland.
The number of available rental properties in Ireland on 1 August 2017 is the lowest number in recorded history.
Continue reading Home sweet home.
Patriarchy (with a side order of casual homophobia) for breakfast
Rarely do I talk about my colleagues. It’s not that I don’t have interaction with them, it’s more to do with the worry that if one of them ever comes across this blog, there may be negative repercussions for me. Personally I don’t find the description ‘settled suburbanites’ insulting. But people can be sensitive out here in the industrial wastelands.
Having given that disclaimer, I am now going to describe my breakfast. I was early, so I toddled downstairs for food. This morning I decided to live dangerously, so I added a bowl of porridge to my usual meal of a slice of toast and a boiled egg.
After paying, I looked around and saw the group of people I usually sit with for our canteen’s fine dining. Continue reading Patriarchy (with a side order of casual homophobia) for breakfast
Back to school
It’s back to school time for the children of Ireland after their summer holidays. I know this – but not from any interest or involvement in these people’s lives. I have figured it out because of my bus journey to work this morning. I am alert to change, despite being barely conscious until after my second cup of coffee each day. There were teenagers in school uniforms present on the bus today. My scientific analysis indicates that primary school children are not back just yet – thanks to their continuing absence from public transport. I expect them to reappear by the end of the week. Continue reading Back to school
Manchester Pride
My flight was at the unholy hour of 8.30 on Friday. This required me to leave my house at 6am. I was not happy. Not one bit. Some people are morning achievers. I am not one of those weird people. Continue reading Manchester Pride
Closing Night
The atmosphere was jovial as I entered the Pearse Centre. The previous evening’s run-in with audience members seemed to have given us fresh resolve. Having a pair of rowdy drunks in the audience hadn’t affected the performance of the pieces. At the same time, people were slightly on edge about our final show. Continue reading Closing Night
Actors with issues.
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Fiction: ‘The Doll’
Today’s blog is a departure. As my loyal readers will know I write regular pieces for this blog, and also plenty of short plays. I have been neglecting my prose writing however. Having no writing project on the simmer at the moment, I decided to attend a writers’ workshop near my house today. Time to practice my fiction.
The concept was simple. The facilitator provided a visual prompt. We then had thirty minutes to write a piece. Afterwards those who were willing would read it to the group.
Today’s prompt was a ‘Tiny Tears’ doll. This is my endeavour. I’ve not edited it apart from the spelling mistakes. I hope you enjoy it. Continue reading Fiction: ‘The Doll’
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