Honouring The Past

November is an odd month. A million years ago I worked in the travel business and I hated November. It was ‘the dead month’. Work was so quiet and so the days were long and boring. Nothing defined November except tedium. No bank holiday to cheer us up and the Christmas social whirl was still weeks off. It was like the big anti climax after the fun of Halloween.

And I have always loved Halloween. My childhood memories are dressing up every year as a gypsy with swirly skirt and big hoop earrings and of the excitement of wandering around the neighbourhood in the dark. The air was full of the smell of damp leaves and smoke with the faint tang of gun powder or whatever it is they put in bangers! I loved it all. And I still do. Halloween is an ancient celtic, pagan feast and although it has been somewhat Americanised with sophisticated decorations and readymade costumes, its essence still links us with our past and those who have passed. Halloween to me has always been the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.

And so as we get over Halloween, the Catholic Church borrows from this ancient past and makes the month of November the month of All Souls – the month for remembering our relatives and friends who have left this world for the next.

So I hope you embraced Halloween and had great craic. And as November arrives take a minute and give thanks for those whose lives touched yours. Make a little time to talk to your children about their grandparents and others who may no longer be with you. November is a quiet month which allows us that pause to honour the past and those who inhabited it with love.



OUR HALLOWEEN.........
Dylan da dog, spent the evening trying to work out if he was delighted at having people call to the house or terrified of the noise of fireworks and bangers outside!
In the end he took up a post on the armchair in the hall, where he could mind the sweets and get a glimpse of who was at the door without risking his personal safety!!

My inner child still loves Halloween and I don't know what I will do when my own kids (the two hippies pictured above) decide they are too old for it all and I am embarrassing them by still decorating the house!


And finally, how cool is it to have a Birthday on Halloween? Very cool - Happy Birthday Roisin who turned 11 on Saturday - she is the hippie in the big hat!

Be The Change....

Does this scenario sound familiar to you?

You get up in the morning groaning silently about the night being too short. You pull back the curtains and the sky is grey and a definite dampness pervades the air. You think ‘another colourless Irish day’. The news comes on and brings horror from all parts of the globe. Before leaving the house you have surrounded yourself in a blanket of negativity.

A little later, when you casually exchange ‘pleasantries’ with the paper man or fellow mothers at the school gates, you moan about the weather. Your first proper conversation of the day will no doubt focus on the horrors in the news. And so on it goes.

Let’s replay the scene.

Same morning – same news – same weather. But as you gaze out the window you give thanks for a warm and comfortable house. Instead of listening to the news, switch to music in the morning. Put on your favourite CD or tune into Lyric FM. Greet everyone you meet with a smile and a cheerful comment – even one tinged with irony… “at least it is not snowing”. Spread positivity and humour.

We are surrounded by negative stories in the media; stories of atrocities, wars and suffering. We need to pray for peace in the world but there is little to be gained by constantly immersing ourselves in images and stories that are horrific and deeply upsetting. Remember that the media gives us a completely lopsided view of the world. There are ‘armies’ of good and kind people working for the benefit of their fellow man and for the good of this wonderful planet we live on. There is lots of good stuff going on that more than balances out the bad. Focus on the positives and cull the amount of time you spend reading or listening to the ‘news.’ There is a saying in healing which is “change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.”

We create our own reality. If we choose to see only the dark and the negative, that is how our world will be! So starting today make a conscious effort to look for beauty, joy and positivity everywhere. Slow down a little and listen – are there birds singing over the noise of the traffic? Slow down and open your eyes – even the weeds growing in the cracks in the pavement have beautiful flowers. Go for a walk in the rain and feel how the rain feels on your skin.

We live in a world abundant with beauty and joy. We have forgotten how to look for it. So remember that life is good. Carry that message with you every day and open your heart to all you meet so that they cannot help but be infected by your inner joy. Smile at everyone you pass.

It was Gandhi who said "be the change you want to see in the world" and if you are smiling now you have changed the world already.

The Imposter in the Biscuit Tin - A True Hollywood Story

Ever since I was a child, I have loved to spend a rainy afternoon with the box of family photographs; wrapping myself in memories of days out and birthdays and other events which might have merited being captured forever. Being a bit on the disorganised side our family photographs were often not marked with dates or any other information which added to the excitement of delving into the captured past. And as was the norm in the innocence of the 60’s and 70’s, our photos were held in an battered biscuit tin which lived in the dark recesses of an old, enormous side board in our dining room. As a young child, one particular photo in this biscuit tin always bothered me somewhat.

Unlike our small, out of focus, family snaps, this offending photo was a shiny, large black and white image of my father being kissed by some very glamorous woman. The photo was taken at Dublin Airport where my father worked as a Customs and Excise officer. He was a handsome man and looked very dashing in his uniform. But who was this impostor woman kissing him? She was clearly not my mother. The photo always made me feel mildly uncomfortable. When I asked my mother, she said “Oh that’s Margaret O’Brien. She was some actress or something. She arrived in Dublin and a press photographer asked your father to step in for a photo.” I still felt she had no business kissing my father, regardless of who asked her to. Although I must say that my father looked altogether delighted with himself. But as a child, I had a sneaking feeling that Ms O'Brien must have been a bit of a hussy and was not entirely happy about her image resting in our biscuit tin with the rest of the family.

All of that was a long time ago and nowadays photos are held on hard drives and only those good enough for framing ever see the light of day in our homes. So the joy of rooting around in an old box full of family history is slowly dying out.

Two weeks ago we were lucky enough to be on holiday in Los Angeles. We did all the usual sights of Hollywood including a tour of the Kodak Theatre which is home to the annual Oscar Ceremony. Although it only opened in 2002, it is a very beautiful building, full of art deco lines and subtle glamour. Our tour group was very small and our guide was a wonderfully knowledgeable and articulate woman called Barbara (aptly named of course).

We stood on the stage and gazed out over the auditorium, dreaming of how it must feel on Oscar night. We were then taken on the same route that the stars are taken when they leave the stage with Oscar and head off to do their first press interview before returning to the theatre.

Our journey took us down a long corridor which is hung on both sides with beautiful black and white images of various actors and actresses down through the years receiving their award. There was Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Dustin Hoffman, Tatum O Neill. Suddenly I am stunned to find myself looking into the face of the impostor in our biscuit tin, Margaret O’Brien. “Oh my God, she kissed my father” I exclaim. My own children and indeed my husband are stunned. They have never heard the story or had a rummage in the old biscuit tin in my mother’s house.

Barbara, our guide explained that Margaret O’Brien was a young actress who won an Oscar for her part as Tootie in the movie “Meet Me In Saint Louis” with Judy Garland in 1944. As I recounted the story for our little tour group, I could feel my father’s presence beside me, grinning from ear to ear just as he had in that old photo. And as the group moved on down the corridor, I took a last backward glance at Margaret O’Brien. “Good for you Dad” I thought. An Oscar winner no less!

p.s. How handsome was my old Dad?

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

Regular readers will know that I have been (virtually) very quiet this week as I was away with the family on holiday in California. It seemed like a long way to go for a week, but eldest daughter, who works in travel, got us a great deal which was too good to pass up. And although we spent 24 hours travelling each way, it was well worth it and not half as difficult as I thought it might be.

We had a busy schedule of things to do and we feel like we have been away for a month. It is like having an amazing dream and on waking, finding out that you were only asleep for ten minutes. But then again, many of us already know that time is elastic and not the straight line we perceive it as being!

I will refer you to Mia’s Room for a flavour of what we got up to. Mia can capture the spirit of our holiday much better than I. And if you visit – do leave her a comment. The excitement when she gets a comment on her blog is pure joy echoing through the house.

For me, suffice to say that I love America. We in Europe (and particularly in Ireland) could learn a thing or two about service from our neighbours on the other side of the ocean. And once again I have returned wondering how the Irish got the reputation of being the friendliest nation on earth. My experience of America has always been that they, in fact, are far worthier than us of this particular accolade.

And so from the sunshine and palm trees and fantasy of Hollywood, we return to Ireland which seems to be reluctantly moving into autumn. And one of the great things about travelling abroad is that it provides us with fresh eyes coming home. And as our flight sank through huge layers of grey cloud at Dublin Airport, we were greeted with the greenery and the autumnal colours of the fields of North Dublin. It’s great to get away. And it is also wonderful to arrive back home. Home, to the unbridled joy of Dylan and the more subtle welcome from the four moggies. Home to where we can feel complete, to where we belong and to where our hearts are. And home to begin to dream about where we might be able to travel to next.

What do you think? Do like returning home after holidays?

Hurray for Hollywood

Back in a bit with all the latest from the sunshine state!!!!

The Hairdressers

The walls of my hairdressers are painted a soothing combination of coffee and cream.

An abundance of large mirrors throws the morning light around the salon.

Soft music filters through the air, intermingling with snippets of small talk.
“He didn’t?”
“Going anywhere nice?”
Words riding on the waves of warm hairdryer blown air.

The rustle of a newly laundered gown.
“Take a seat at the basins”
The splash of a shower of water.
“Is that ok for you?”

The aroma of fresh cappuccino mixes with the heady, heavy scent of shampoo and the occasional pungent odour of colour chemicals.

The ringing of the salon phone punctuates the gentle energy of this place.
Phone conversations are short.

The flipping of magazine pages.

Cocooned in this feminine world, a younger me used to feel claustrophobic and bored. But now I relax here and relish the reviving therapy and the alchemy taking place at the hands of the stylist.

I bounce, in time with my newly brown again hair out the door, better able to face the world.

_________________________

So - do you love or loathe the hairdressers?

"And I would like to thank....."

"I am so overcome, I can't believe it! Oh my God, I am so thrilled."

OK, so that's actually from my Oscar acceptance speech but I am very honoured to have been given my first blogging award from my friend Suzannah at Joy Frequencies. Being appreciated by fellow bloggers is a great pleasure especially when that blogger is someone who writes as well as Suzannah! So thank you S.

Now I have the pleasure of passing the award on - and it must go forward and not backwards ( Joy Frequencies is one of my favourite reads - along Suzannah's other great blogs Journeys Close to Home and My Name Is Zing).

So, first off I would like to give this award to Niamh Griffin over at Writer On The Way Home. Although Niamh's blog is really aimed at returning emigrants and new arrivals to Ireland, her view of this country with fresh eyes (having spent many years abroad) often gives native readers such as I, a quirky and wry look at Ireland and her writing is insightful and always entertaining. So congratulations Niamh - here is your award!

I would also like to present this award to Alison Wells at Head Above Water. Alison is a gifted writer and her blog is full of wisdom and beautifully put together words. She is a great encourager of anyone attempting to write and an inspiration. So here you go Alison!

Finally, (and I know this could be seen as nepotism), I am going to hand this award on to one of the best photographers I know - Paul over there (a few feet away) at Sherwood Photography, not for his words but for his sublime images! Here you go Sherwood - catch!

Now, part of the deal, apparently is that on receiving this award I now have to list 7 things I like (excluding people). So here goes....

Books / Bookshops / Libraries.... in other words I love spending time with books, whether reading them or just being surrounded by them.

Animals - regular readers of this blog will know that I love my cats and (as they say at all the best gigs) it's time to introduce the band. Tiger (tortieshell) is the Matriarch and beginning to show her age now, Simba (very large tabby - used to be male) is the constant in the house or garden and the most vocal, Pasqua (ginger used to be male) is a shy boy who had a very difficult youth but just wants a quiet life now and finally Kitty - or girl cat as she is known. Kitty hangs with my youngest whom she loves very much. She used to love the eldest until eldest (who is 22) got a boyfriend. And my boy Dylan (da dog) needs no introduction!

Good Coffee - must be proper coffee, especially in the morning. My favourite is Illy - and thanks to Nor who keeps me supplied.

Churches - especially when abroad I love to visit churches. Churches especially when devoid of priests and dogma are truly beautiful and sacred spaces.

Autumn - my favourite season. See my post A Heartfelt Welcome for Autumn

America - great service, good positive attitude and some of the friendliest people on earth. And we will be there in less than two weeks. Whoop de doo

Laughing - I have a sign in the kitchen that says "a good laugh is sunshine in the house". And so it is!

So there you are - over to you Niamh, Alison and Paul should you wish to play!

Now excuse me while I go and move some things around to make space on the mantlepiece!