• Blog

    Memories, Poems & Fairy Ribbons ( Day 28 )

    The Challenge Today, I’m meant to be writing my own Eulogy. Thanks, but no thanks, Jeff! All I’d want on a gravestone is ” I tried, I really did.” Tried to be loving, honest and open-minded. That’s about it, really. Still, he got me thinking about my past and some early childhood memories, lovely memories, came back to me. And that’s when I started writing ” Fairy Ribbons”. Maybe you could call it a Eulogy to my inner child, the innocent me? Guess that keeps us all happy then, Jeff. I’ve written three verses so far this morning.  Little pen pictures of me before I was six, before life got complicated, …

  • Blog

    Waiting ( Day 18)

    The Challenge for Day 18 Today’s challenge seems straightforward enough, Jeff asks us to ” Write about Waiting.” One particular incident comes to mind, not one of my proudest moments, but here goes anyway: “Waiting”   Waiting I’m sitting beside my son and daughter, on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin airport to Faro, waiting for take-off.  The hand luggage smiles down at me from the rack, reminding me that this is an adventure. Enjoy the journey, it’s part of the holiday, says my logical self. The rest of me is relying on a few pre-flight wines to stay calm. And loads of Hello magazines for distraction. Reading anything more serious is out of…

  • Blog

    Hope ( Day 7 )

    The Challenge for Day 7 The challenge for Day 7 was to write a letter to your younger self. I found this quite difficult. Too many competing emotions, I think. The poems of Emily Dickenson have always inspired me and never more so than today. Here is the first verse of ” Hope”   “Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –   Hope   Dear Bernie, You are probably wondering who is writing to you out of the blue like this? Well, let’s say a little bird told me…

  • Blog

    Hitting the Ceiling Light ( Day 6 )

    The Challenge for Day 6 ” Tell Another Person’s Story” The challenge from Jeff Goins today is to tell a story from someone else’s point of view, perhaps even a friend.  I reached back into my past and this is what I came up with. Part fiction, part memoir, but told from a friend’s point of view. Hitting the Ceiling Light… Hitting the Ceiling Light “Look at the pair of ye.” Miss Hennessey has me and Annie Smith standing out in front of the class.  Rows of wooden desks in front of us and her sitting behind us. I can’t even see her face, but her voice makes me jump.…

  • Blog

    Old McDonald had a Car ( Day 5 )

    The challenge for Day 5 Today’s 500Words Challenge( Jeff Goins ) is to write about a day you will never forget. Everyone has loads of those days that stick out in the memory for one reason or another.  I went for the day I attempted the driving test for the second time. Most of it is true to the original event, though I changed a few small details. Here it is, Old McDonald…   Old McDonald had A Car Just an hour to go. I’m sitting in my car, the little orange Punto, waiting. And breathing. Calmly. In through the nose, out through the mouth. My heart doesn’t seem to…

  • Creative Writing

    Last Light

    “Imagine living for a whole century, Stella. Your grandmother was made of strong stuff. They don’t make them like that anymore.” “ I know, Mam. I’ll never forget the day she attacked Doctor Carey about the driving license. She was so mad at him!” “ That was typical Gran. She figured she had her license and that was it. There was no talking to her.” I’m helping Mam sort through Gran’s things, looking for a photograph to put on the memorial card. It’s been almost a year since she died and it’s about time we got something sorted. It’s cold outside but the dining room already feels warm from the…

  • A Creative Journey

    Noelle and Rosamund Ffrench, Photograph c 1903

    Noelle and Rosamund Ffrench Photograph This photograph of Noelle and Rosamund Ffrench was taken at Hill’s Studio in Galway city around 1903. It is a fairly typical child portrait of the times, though a little more relaxed than most. I love the way that they added a country feel by the use of props, like the gate and spade. Props were very important in those days and helped to convey the story behind the image. Indeed photographers often used them to distinguish between girls and boys at a time when very young children of both genders wore dresses. That is why so many vintage photographs of girls include dolls, while…

  • A Creative Journey

    Childhood Memories , Adult Thoughts

    Childhood Memories “The Past beats inside me like a second heart ”     John Banville,  The Sea   What are your earliest childhood memories? Studies on this topic vary, but the general consensus is that the earliest valid memories are from about the age of three. Some people claim to remember events before that age. Others can’t remember anything before the age of seven. Does that matter? Not really, according to the experts. It seems that what actually matters is the quality of the experience that you remember.  This is significant because it lays the basis of your self identity ,  helping to shape you as the person you are…

  • A Creative Journey

    Bushy Park House: Ivy Clad

    Bushy Park House: Ivy Clad Thank you so much to my mother, Helga Weiss Mullins, for supplying me with this picture of Bushy Park House.  The photograph of the house, covered in ivy, comes from her own personal collection.  This is what the house would have looked like when she arrived from Germany in 1946 and, indeed, it retained that facade well into the 1960’s.  Eventually my father , Larry, decided that the ivy had to go because it could cause structural problems with the building. Tractor Pulling My mother once told me the hilarious story about the day the ivy met its’ end. Larry, on the tractor, tugging at…