A cowslip of memory
The dairy herd of twenty cows gathered in the concrete yard each evening awaiting the moment when they could enter the cow stalls. Once the three wooden doors were opened, each cow shuffle into her customary place. A mixture of Frisian, Guernsey and Jersey, each member had her own name. The names were hand written on a printed chart. After … [continue reading …]
Billhooks
RTÉ News reports the case of three mourners at a funeral in Co Tyrone being arrested for carrying offensive weapons. The items confiscated from three men at the funeral included two billhooks, several Stanley knives and two dozen hatchets. One wonders how many weapons a single person can carry. Carrying sharp agricultural tools seems to have been a common cause … [continue reading …]
Being really isolated
Terry Waite was kidnapped in Beirut on 20th January 1987. It would be 1,763 days before he was released on 18th November 1991. He spent the first four years of his captivity in solitary confinement. During those four years in a dark, windowless room, there had been a single glint of light. Joy Brodier, a British woman who regularly wrote … [continue reading …]
The old scams seem to work
There can be few people with email addresses who have not received at least an occasional email that seeks details that would allow the sender to defraud them. The “Spanish Hostage” scam is the oldest approach used (thus named because when it began two centuries ago people wrote letters claiming to be held hostage in Sapin and promising abundant reward … [continue reading …]
Looking for Hobbits
A white Citroen Berlingo overtook. A car for all sorts and conditions of people, flower-shaped decals in green and purple across the back of the car suggested the driver might be of a more bohemian inclination than the average motorist on the M5 motorway. The hippyish impression created by the flowers was reinforced by a sticker on the rear of … [continue reading …]
Sunday reflection for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, 29th March 2020
Welcome to those of you who are unable to attend worship today and who have come here for a moment of reflection. The words for today are thoughts on the Gospel reading that, but for the current world crisis, would have been read in many churches today – Saint John Chapter 11 Verses 1-45. Jesus said to her, ‘I am … [continue reading …]
On the news
“I was on the news, sir.” ”You were?” ”Yes, there was a television crew and I stood behind the reporter and waved.” I was not sure how many people would have noticed a boy standing behind a news reporter. The cameraman probably simply closed in on the reporter, cutting out from the shot anything that was around. I did wonder … [continue reading …]
Tunes that are lost loves
Twice a week, Chris Hawkins’ early morning show on BBC Radio 6 features a “lost love,” a song that is remembered by a listener but which they have not heard in years. The song generally come from some point deep in the person’s youth and will bring forth memories from other listeners. Songs that linger are songs that have a … [continue reading …]
Settling the account
This story was expanded from a piece of flash fiction. It was entered for this year’s RTÉ Francis McManus Short Story Competition. The evening classes at the college gave her the opportunity. It was a computing class that had taught her to use the Internet, something of which she had been frightened. It had been the stories in the papers … [continue reading …]