Alone vs Lonely As I talk with my friends whose relationships are no more, either through death or separation, it feels like a common thread comes up. Whether they had a good relationship or whether they have a current partner, they miss something. The assurance that there is going to…

Brand New Irish Bank Holiday — I’m so disappointed to be missing being in Ireland ahead of the country’s brand new bank holiday today. One that perhaps even rivals St. Patrick himself. I could only do the next best thing and visit Beckery near Glastonbury, which has a long tradition of a saint and ancient goddess…

Groping for Clearer Days — A timely prompt this month, as I feel like I am only beginning to emerge from fog into a lighter mist. My writing has been at the wayside for a few months. I missed a couple of Weeds and Wildflowers prompts I could…

The story behind the story Well, the Queen has died, Long Live the King. I suppose that it is assumed that, as an Irish person, I would be happy about this. It is fairer to say I feel nothing, really. There is much being said about a nation’s Granny —…

Well, do if you haven’t got a safe friend and need a neutral party to offload to. But what if it isn’t you that’s the problem? What if it…

The Woods are Echoing my Mood — What strange days we live in! Our natural Hibernian world is so discombobulated with the extraneous heat that it is convinced that Summer is gone and Autumn (Fall) is in full swing! August is not even out and the floor of my favourite woods, where I do much of my…

A Visit to a Very Special Location — “Why do we have to get up at this time?” cried my children! Cruel parent that I am, there was a very particular reason for dragging them out of bed on their second day of holiday in Ireland. When I was about their age, I had been to a very…

Flint & Steel Full Circle Writing Challenge — Around we go again. The summer drawing to a close announces another voyage around the sun as my friend and I discuss similar themes in our regular coffee shop haunt. “That sounds familiar,” I laugh, “it must be August!” as really musts pepper the conversation. We talk about most subjects…

In my time counseling fathers with young children, there was often one theme. Good men trying to do their best to support the mums and do…