School’s out
The school term doesn’t finish until lunchtime on Wednesday, but teacher training finished on Thursday, 11th July. At a farewell gathering at 2.30 pm that day, identity badges and laptops had to be handed in. The next day there was an overwhelming sense of tiredness, I slept for twelve hours in twenty-four. Joining a school visit to Flanders and France … [continue reading …]
Bonfire questions
The Eleventh of July bonfires in Northern Ireland have again been flashpoints, both physical and metaphorical. To the outside world, the capacity for Loyalist communities to bring rubbish, pollution and destruction into their own streets seems confusing. Why would anyone want to build a forty foot high bonfire that causes smoke and scorch damage in the area in which it … [continue reading …]
Paying respect
As one can talk about someone being apolitical or amoral, perhaps there needs to be a word that conveys a similar sense for someone who lacks any awareness of the concept of respect. A-respectful? It doesn’t really have the strength necessary to express what is meant. Listening to a school teacher telling students on what behaviour was appropriate and what … [continue reading …]
TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER NOTICE ,
This was spammed by Google. It is very amateurish. Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd 39 Cornhill London EC3V 3ND United Kingdom tel: +44 70 8646 8527 Fax:+447043071539 Dear Esteemed Customer, TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER NOTICE. We are hereby officially notify you concerning your fund Telegraphic Transfer through our bank, Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd United Kingdom, to your bank account, which has been officially … [continue reading …]
There are highways and there are byways
Halfway House is three miles or so from High Ham. Lying on the Langport to Somerton road, it is the pub for the village of Pitney. It is a pub that is packed on summer’s evenings. Much of Halfway’s custom is due to the excellence of the chef, who is probably a distant relation, Hugh, her father, and my mother … [continue reading …]
Sermon thoughts for Sunday, 21st July 2019
“Mary has chosen the better part.” Luke 10:42 Growing up in the small rural community here in the west of England, there wasn’t much regard for book learning, nor were university graduates accorded much respect. The main concern always was the constant work necessary to try to make a living from the small farms. People were always very wary of anyone … [continue reading …]
There’s no ending capitalism
A column in the New Statesman asserts that only the end of capitalism will ensure the environmental survival of the planet. The writer does not suggest how capitalism may be brought to an end, only that end, it must. The definition of “capitalism” implicit in the column seems to embrace the entire working of the free market. How would the … [continue reading …]
Crackle and hiss
The crackle and hiss of the record could not be disguised by the digital signal by which BBC Radio Six is broadcast. The record was sixty years old and the presenter suggested that it had been played many times. To be honest, even when it was new there was probably some crackle and hiss. Crackle and hiss were part of … [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 …]