A monochrome figure carries a netted bundle of colourful baggage, many times his own weight and mass, on his bent, drawn back. The image is resonant of medieval depictions of ‘Folly,’ which often showed the Fool with the world on his shoulders, or of classical depictions of the mighty Atlas, holding […]
News of an upcoming event this summer caused a stir in running circles this month. For the first time ever Skibbereen is hosting ‘RunSkibb’, a 10k and half marathon event on Sunday July 14. Both routes promise to be scenic, fast and will have you coming back to chase that […]
Thank the Lord! The rain has stopped, the sun has come out and the soggy land is slowly soaking up all that excess water. The cows are back in the fields and some farmers have even managed to get the tractor into the mud and get the ploughing done. It […]
“One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day”. I spotted two swallows one morning this week, one swooping low near the bridge in Skibbereen and the other on the road to Union Hall. Both filled me with mixed emotions, first a deeply instinctual, primal, sense of joy […]
I have a good friend who lives in Kenya – we used to teach in the same school in Mombasa. Some years ago, I stayed for a couple of weeks with her and her family in an old stone and thatch cottage right beside the Indian Ocean. Around the nearby headland […]
The arrival of spring migrants from their over-wintering grounds in Africa is well underway. The morning birdsong chorus of our resident birds, such as Blackbird, Song Thrush, Great Tit has been joined by summer visitors like Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. As we move into May, the volume […]