Blind light

Although I grew up close to where he grew up, I did not know Glen Hansard. I did come across him once in The Great Institution, We exchanged a few amusing lines. He died tragically last week. My intention is to keep him alive through our sessions every six weeks as he was a patron…

Mam would have wanted me to leave no stone unturned with regard to my brothers. And so I gave it one last shot. And what do you know? There was a bit of progress, It would appear that there is a crack in everything and this is how the light gets in. Anger clouds understanding.…

More and more I find myself being selective with regard to those that I spend time with. I am 60 years old and closer to the exit door than the entrance. It just seems like the logical thing to do. 

A new music session was started up by a friend earlier this year. It is one where I get the opportunity to play classical guitar. It is in a pub in suburban Dublin. As such there are distractions so it is a good challenge. For me it is the arena. The latest edition of this…

I was chatting with a friend today about my sibling issues. To a large extent, it all boils down to a simple matter of right and wrong. Accepting that I am not always right, there are times when I definitely have something reasonable to say. My friend told me of somebody he knew who never…

Every now and then I make the mistake of thinking that I do not have to work too hard anymore with regard to moving my mind in a more positive direction. I forget that it has been in a poor state for close to 60 years. The journey continues. 

England are two matches away from winning the World Cup. As with most things in life there are two sides to this coin. All of my English friends will be ecstatic. However, the entirety of the Irish football supporting population will need to buy earplugs if the unthinkable does actually happen. I was never a…

Many years ago, I saw a movie called Ordinary People. It is a family drama about an American couple with two sons. One of the children drowns in a sailing accident and this has a very strong impact on the family dynamic. In particular the other son feels guilt. A psychiatrist is brought in to…

I had a message from a friend the other day. She is a similar age to me, a little younger. She is attractive and caring. It would appear she is also somewhat addicted to playing games. Peace of mind and games rarely go together.

I was chatting on the phone yesterday with my friend who lives in Washington DC. I was telling her that I felt I was in good shape of late. She suggested that I find myself a woman. I told her this is the last thing that I am interested in currently. Peace of mind and…