Diary of a busyish woman

Maybe it’s a good thing that  Advent & Christmas happen at the end of our calendar year. There is very little if any reviewing and critiquing like for example New Year when we’re expected to review the past year and make resolutions for the coming one. I honestly believe that the number of people who have no idea of the reason for celebrating the Christmas season is increasing in Ireland. I suppose it hit home when I realised that the Advent calendar with a different Biblical thought for each day is now a chocolate a day or for the adults a bauble or even an alcohol minitature a day. Does anyone have any comment, I wonder. Is Christmas a stand alone commercial event loosely based on a pretty story or does anyone note there is a very old tradition and belief on which it is based. Sure, the Christian Church has taken over many a pagan tradition from the season timing to the feasting but now the tables are turning and it is increasingly a commercial opportunity to encourage c...

Hi, You know this is a diary of a busyish woman so when I am really busy, then there's no writing. I'm sure I'm not the only person with this conundrum - it's not that I don't want to write nor that I have nothing to say, but it's to find that window of uninterrupted 'me time'. But back to asking a busy person.... Thursday next, 14th September, 2017, will see the second Food: Fiction, Fads & Phonies seminar take place in the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Clonakilty. This, I confess, is my baby; my idea which was a spin off from a conversation with one of our speakers, Paul Treyvaud , and it happened. Right up to 48 hours before last year's seminar, I had a phone call asking me if I'd like to cancel the event as there were only about 15 attendees. I was a typical Taurean and refused to countenance an event cancellation especially as I had organised a speaker from U.K. On the day, 22 people came and enjoyed provocative pr...

Many moons ago, I was a year behind my peers when I eventually struck out on my own and headed to Cork to begin an intensive secretarial course. My parents decided I should stay in a hostel and that proved to be a learning curve. I always viewed it as a stepping stone but met people who had spent years living there! I became a 'joiner'. It was a case of anything but sitting looking at four walls and I was never the person who'd been involved in sport so voluntary organisations were the natural outlet for me. One organisation very often led to another so that when there was a N.Y.C.I  - 80's Revisited ( National Youth Council of Ireland ) gathering in The Mansion House , Dublin recently, I was delighted to go. From Scouting to church organisations and political, this umbrella organisation crosses many a divide and those people who were involved in voluntary organisations 30 and 40 years ago are still willingly giving their time to the same and other organisations in thei...

Summer is coming and in West Cork , we welcome people from all over the world. Some will pass us by on the roads and increasingly, in my view, we spend less and less time going out or indeed going out of our way to meet and speak with people. Perhaps I'm being simplistic by suggesting that from the moment we were able to listen to a radio followed in short order by the television and now computers and telephones, our need to interact with anyone including our nearest neighbours has diminished. Humans are social creatures and one of the reasons that there haven't been more hermits is because we're also curious about what's happening in the world around us. Now the fantasy is touted that you don't have to step outside your front door (or even your bedroom door) for the world to come to you - everything from the clothes on your back to the food you eat to the people you 'virtually' call your friends. I believe this is unhealthy and it horrifies me to watch pe...

Hi, Was speaking with a friend of mine recently about food and nutrition. He was telling me that sugar has a huge effect on his mental well being and it's all negative! Into my mind popped the very old phrase, 'You are what you eat' or don't. I've never pretended to have anything other than an ongoing love affair with chocolate. When I worked in Cork City and back in the day when chocolatiers were a rare sight, I remember the first Leonidas shop opening. Friday evening, I would almost always make a detour so that I could buy £1 worth of individual chocolates! These were savoured. Nowadays there are many producing chocolate and the quality varies or perhaps it's my taste that has changed. I'm not too sure if I'm at all unhappy that our bars are downsizing, but even acknowledging the fact tempts me to buy 2 when I really shouldn't. There are a few favourite brands and they're all relatively local: Milseán bars are enjoyed when I need a little ...

Wedding - 31.03.17 Falling in love was the easy part; planning a wedding - yikes! Niecy Nash Niecy Nash is an American comedian but this quote nails the Wedding Day prep. On our part, it was immediate family only at 8am and all over following breakfast (same day). Willie & I were on the road at 10.30 am to begin 'wedded bliss' and honeymoon at Caherbeg, Rosscarbery, but that's history....  I hadn't been to a wedding in years, but 4 months ago, a long time, very good friend rang out of the blue. She asked us to ensure 31st March 2017 would have no other commitment than attending her wedding.  I looked forward to the day so much and from the moment I walked through the church door at 12:50 (50 minutes early in case of delays on the road), I knew I would have a good time. 39 guests plus the bride & groom is not a big wedding, but for that reason little things can mar the day and are more noticeable.  My friend thought of everything - the church flowers wer...

Rev. Jesse Jackson is an American  American civil rights leader, Baptist minister and politician who is extensively quoted. This one seems most apt to me at the moment:   If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against the odds.  Focus! This has been a funny few days. In fact on a personal note, since before Christmas I've enjoyed a few highs, but mostly lows. I wasn't feeling the best - no appetite, lethargic, digestion problems - and I put all of this down to flu, which I managed to 'enjoy' twice, but eventually with family pressure, a visit to my G.P. became a reality earlier this week. Nothing major, but it was brought home to me that I'm no longer in the first flush of youth and need to look after myself and my life - become selfish if you will. A tablet a day for a couple of weeks and we'll see how I go, but to celebrate, I returned to my gym, Guerilla Fitness , on Friday, 24th March. I hadn't been in a fortni...