Diary of a busyish woman

Hi. Please bear with me because I'm not a psychologist/psychotherapist/counsellor or someone with a qualification on modern society. Recently, I met with a group of schoolfriends, one of whom I hadn't met since 1978/79! That's a heck of a long time and the conversation could have been awkward, because we have all gone in different directions; achieved different ambitions or not; married, single, divorced... The variables were incredible. What transpired was, for me, truly special. At one point, I was asked if I was ok because I was so quiet! I was revelling. There were no sides; no competition, just a genuine interest in how we were all doing. It was fantastic. We were all comfortable with each other. I'm fairly forthright and honestly, at this age if people don't like me or some aspect of my lifestyle (including the fact that I prefer to read a book/cook & bake/write my blog to doing housework, which will still await me tomorrow), I really don't mind. I...

I'm currently a church warden in St. Fachtna's Cathedral , Rosscarbery . It's a small role I've taken on this year for the third in a row. While I may be of some use ensuring everything is ready for Sunday morning at 11:30, let me assure you that I do it for very selfish reasons. Let me explain:- There are so many of these 'mindfulness' courses that people flock to attend, I'm in awe. In awe, because every Sunday, I'm in the Cathedral for perhaps 45 minutes before the service. The preparation doesn't take that long, so why am I there? This is my selfish time. I stop. I sit for anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes.  I sit at the back of the church and I don't have a book or a screen in front of me. I just sit and look:-  St. Fachtna's Cathedral, Rosscarbery at the walls - built to last with a little care from ensuing generations;  the stained glass window on my right (there is another in the transept);  the stained glass windows th...

The narrow path Hi, As a child, I remember that whenever we visited the once derelict Castlefreke Estate , we also had to visit the nearby graveyard near Rathbarry House. In those days, you didn't ask why or whine that you didn't want to go. It was simply the done thing that as soon as the picnic was finished and leftovers and paraphenalia returned to the car boot, the whole family including my maternal grandmother would make what I always thought was an expedition. Of course as soon as we reached the graveyard, we, children,. were let loose to explore with the admonition not to fall into any grave or disturb anything! I regret now that I didn't watch to see what grave(s) my grandmother visited because the visit was at her insistence and the reason now lost in the mist of time. We can only assume that some relations or special friends of hers were buried there. I know that she knew the author,  Lady Mary Carbery and probably a few more as she was once invited to a bal...

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...

The Forbes quote today was: ' Have your own definition of success...so you can fulfill your dreams, not someone else's expectations of your dreams. Elliot Fletcher I read this quote & immediately saved it. Since then, I've looked at it, thought about it, applied it to our situation & to me, and then thought some more.  Let's get real here - if we have children, we have expectations. Be they right or wrong, in various ways, obvious and subtle, we do our best to have those expectations realised from their friends to the subject choices they make in secondary school, college choices, even down to our expectation for their personal lives and the type of person they choose to marry. Ideally, we would like them to be a 'chip off the old block'.  It's not going to happen! Even though when we see children and you'd know who they were before they spoke as they are so like a particular parent, currently all children are the product of two peo...

No writing yesterday. On the road at 4.30am to attend The Ploughing . Yesterday, we were amonth the just over 124500 people who attended this amazing event. Europe's largest Outdoor Exhibition and Trade Show. One of my sisters-in-law had never been but took her son and friend. We arrived within 30 minutes of each other; left around the same time & I never saw her. Indeed I didn't see a glimpse of many other friends who were exhibiting either. I must be getting old as this year I studied the exhibitor list; noted those I wanted to see, and after that everything else was a bonus. I actually never saw a tractor & plough either. I really want to be able to go for 3 days but it's not happening in my foreseeable future & that's another story for another time. In the office since 7.30am but have only started my chores! Curing shortly and have to go to Carrigaline and possibly Cork to meet a chef. For sure I'll be back in the office this evening. Tomorrow wil...

I must be getting old. I love driving, but motorways with people cutting in and out as though creating a complicated pattern for material no longer excites me. Instead I find myself slowing down on minor roads to enjoy the different textures of trees; shrubs; grasses etc. When I see an obviously cultivated shrub just growing on a ditch with no indication of a man-made habitation, I wonder if it was just thrown out or did it last longer than the dwelling. Where did this musing start - in the RTE 1 Drivetime programme as Mary Wilson summarised Day 1 of the National Ploughing Championships . How many people in those queues yesterday morning cursed the roads, the NPA Organisers or even their own decision to leave a little later than planned & then were caught in the traffic over the last 5 miles? My own thoughts on the matter: relax and use the queue to mentally gird yourself to enjoy the whole event and be thankful the weather isn't too bad this year! Only 3 days until the Ross...

When you're in the 50+ bracket & not too inclined to physical fitness, a few extra late nights and earlier mornings can have a devastating affect. So yesterday, I hardly got out of bed and I'm still wheezing today. A couple of hot whiskies - not the preferred way to drink whiskey in my opinion - have helped. So today, it's back to work for a short while or as long as I can cope. Just trying to work out what awards we have received this year as I'm the main record keeper and if I don't do something when it occurs to me, it won't happen. Le Confrérie des Chevaliers du Goute-Boudin: Silver & Bronze; Great Taste Awards (U.K.): 1 Gold Star; Belling West Cork Artisan Producer of the Year: Winner. Until tomorrow: Avril Caherbeg Free Range Pork Ltd. & Rosscarbery Recipes Caherbeg, Rosscarbery, Co. Cork 353 23 884 8474 (o) 353 86 822 4415 (Willie) 353 87 914 0811 (Avril) Facebook Caherbeg Free Range Pork Ros...