Island Dwellers

No man is an island. I don't agree. We are all islands. We build bridges, connecting our island with another island and another and another. Some bridges are strong, well connected, able to withstand extremes of weather, high seas, howling gales. Some are flimsy, sway in the wind. Some are frequently crossed and recrossed. Some are overgrown with weeds from disuse but passable. Some have been bombed into pieces never to be crossed again. Ultimately all men are islands. I like my island. There are many bridges.  I will make you go through passport control on your first visit. Be nice and you will be welcome.

Oh Sunny Days....

Sitting in the Garden - all day
Reading a well written Witty book
Listening the the lads Next door F-ing & Blinding
Laughing at their Attempts to -
Mow a Postage size lawn

Three Day Weekends

You've got to love 'em.  Am so looking forward to the bliss of a lie-in on Monday morning.  That split second when you wake, panic that you're going to be late for work then the flood of relief when your brain registers, "It's a bank hol" Yeah, then roll over back under the duvet for a second sleep. That's worth more than any money can buy.

Girl's Best Friend

So I'm not a dog owner, don't have a pet, not even a gold fish. But today I saw the relationship between a girl and her dog which made me smile. The girl in question is a student who was in her classroom as she should have been.  The dog in question was not where he should have been. He trotted accross the road, through the school gates, through the open doors of the school, up the stairs, along the corridor and into the classroom where his best friend was. He had never been there before yet he was able to find the exact room where she was.  That just has to make you smile.  How just cute is that. He missed her, he went looking for her, he found her.  The girl was absolutely mortified in front of her friends. She had to grab his collar and march him along the corridor back accross the road and home. She kept her head down on her walk of shame but I saw the little smile on her face.

Communal Spaces

Chatting to a friend made me think about our stange relationship with communal spaces in this country.  He told me about his friend who lives in an appartment complex where a courtyard is shared by all tenants. The strange thing is that written into the contract is the agreement that tenants will use the courtyard as a walkway only. In other words they may not pause to chat with a fellow neighbour, they may not catch some rays on a sunny day, they may not use this outdoor space in any meaningful way.
      I understand that some neighbours might worry that the courtyard would be turned into a party area for drinking sessions. But surely this is comparable to telling tenants living on a row of terraced houses that they can never use their front gardens!
     My feeling is that in this country we are very uncomfortable about using the outdoor spaces that are part of our towns and cities. In other European cities you will see people sitting in parks and in town squares, playing games such as boules in city centre parks, sitting outside their houses watching the world passing by.  I used to think that our dessertion of communal spaces was due to the inclement weather we largely enjoy here, now I'm not so sure.  Is it perhaps snobbery? We think of it as working class and so not fitting with our new mainly middle class society to hang around outside? Being present outside without a purpose like jogging, rollerblading, shopping is seen as loitering and therefore for knackers only? Is this a symtom of a deeper insecurity with who we are?
   I just don't understand a society who thinks it acceptable for people to live in appartments, with no balcony I might add, and then insist that the only outdoor space available may not be used.

From Red Roses to Pink Tulips

My red roses have been replaced by these quieter, kookier but nonetheless adorable pink tulips.

It's raining...

After nearly four weeks of sunny dry days it's finally raining! Normally this would not be a reason to be cheerful. Normally I don't suffer from hairfever.  Normally the ground is not so dry that bogfires flare up for miles around.  Normally the ground is not smattered with dusty/ashy stuff. So given the circumstances rain is delightful. The air is fresh, the ground is clean and the tree pollen is kept at bay. Happy Days!

More reasons to be cheerful: Josh Ritter's new album, "So Runs the World Away" is on repeat.
Each time I listen I hear something new, I'm still on a high from his concert on Saturday night and I've a new John Connolly book to read.

Help we're trapped on an island

So a volcano on an island of comparable size to our own has decided to cough out volumious amounts of sulpherous ash. That would be all well and fine, well not for those Icelanders who live beside it, except the wind is in cahouts with this belchy volcano. This complicitious wind is blowing in a southerly direction bringing the ash cloud over our land. So what? Well unless you want to get on a ferry you are stuck on this island. Planes flying into an ash cloud will apparently suffer acidic corrosion and drop from the sky. So all planes were grounded yesterday. No flights in or out of this land. I wasn't planning on going anywhere but I'd like to have the option. Know what I mean? So today some flights to the US are departing but for one day we were reminded that yes we do live on a little island that can very easily be isolated from the rest of the world.  We think of ourselves as citizens of Europe, of the world. We're a small country that punches way above it's weight. Why then haven't we ever thought about our geographic vulnerability. Why don't we have a tunnel under the Irish sea linking us to the UK, to the Chunnel and the rest of Europe? Why are we the only people in Europe who can't get into a car and drive to another country?

Reasons to be Fearful

Volcano eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland

What a reminder of just how powerless we really are in the face of Nature.
No harm to be humbled now and again.

Reasons to be Cheerful 3

Reasons to be Cheerful 2

Great music, cheesey dance moves, makes me laugh.

Reasons to be Cheerful