To All My Blog Readers, Before I start posting for 2016, take a look at this.

Having made it this far I bestow an Honours Degree 1.1 on you all, from the University of Life. Go forward to 2016, and keep doing what you are doing, but even better. Have a beautiful 2016

Watch this 9 minute clip. It will lighten and lift your heart. There is no point in reinventing the wheel and this Graduate speech by Mayor Billy Kenoi is some of the best advice given to us travellers on life’s journey and is just simply heart warming. If you are not smiling from ear to ear after this, I advise bed rest for 2016.

Being compassionate, sharing and giving costs us nothing and it will be returned to you throughout your life.

Mayor Billy mentioned Maya Angelou and here is another piece of her wisdom.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

It will cost you nothing. Just mean it.

Aloha (pronounced [əˈlo.hə]) in the Hawaiian language means affection, peace, compassion, and mercy.^[1]

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Well we are nearly there, there was a mad dash to the supermarket today to pick up the fresh turkeys. Christmas would not be Christmas without that incredibly delicious bird sitting there, centre table, bronzed to death. I mean we love this bird so much we only eat it once a year. The shelves of the supermarkets around the country are, today, bulging with Turkeys of all shapes and sizes, organic, free range, happy birds,  all oven ready, more or less. That was not always the case. In the not so distant past we collected our birds from the various small suppliers , who had started the frenzy of wringing necks and plucking in yards all around the locality in the week running up to christmas and it hung somewhere cool in the house.  I was reminded of this by ‘the brother’  who recalls one hanging somewhere near the top of the stairs that being a very, very cool spot in the houses back then without central heating. This tradition nowadays can be seen away from the sanatised  supermarkets, in the artisan butchers and specialty markets, like Cork’s English Market. So we discovered on our walkabout in the last few days. Much to Jessica’s, ahem, bemusement.

It was also pointed out to me how the hanging puddings became the new ‘punchbag’ for us budding Muhammed Ali’s and were capable of taking the occasional haymaker,  if our small hands were capable atall  of doing any permanent damage to the magnificent  Plump Puddings.

Other treats at Christmas remain engrained in the vaults of the mind was the appearance of our Nan’s bottle of Bols Advocaat which if I’m not mistaken was occasionally sampled  by someone other than Nana. It did get put away safely for a lot of the time however.

There was also the delivery on Christmas week of two crates of minerals from Shannon Minerals, one of orange and one of white lemonade. The weekly budget of most families in the 1960/1970’s would not stretch to buying such indulgences and therefore Supermarkets had not yet installed the now familiar gargantuan isle of Coke, 7Up, Sprite, Fanta, etc. Suffice to say two things here. 1. Our Glass Bottles of Shannon Minerals barely made it to New Years eve and 2, We were never in danger of developing a diabetic disorder in getting a sudden dose of minerals at Christmas. Unfortunately our improving standard of living over the years has made the picture below an essential feature for every supermarket and a few gallons of the inappropriately named ‘Soft Drinks’, a must on the weekly shopping list.

Finally, for this post, wherever you are may you have a peaceful and content Christmas. Given the chance, try to smile and greet all those around you and if you have someone to share this holiday with then have a loving and sharing Christmas. I want to wish a safe journey to all of you who will be making the long trek home via the roads, rail, airports and high seas as you make the journey home. Of course we all know it is a fantastic time for the family and getting home is such a huge part of Christmas. It is very special to return to your family and celebrate this holiday together, to get back to the towns and villages which hold great memories, friends and places that have huge significance and special meaning in your hearts and minds. Safe travelling.

Many thousands of families won’t be able to do this due to the vast distances that now divide our families. We can take to technology to bridge that gap with Skype and a plethora of Apps that allow us see and speak over the internet. Not the same I know and tinged with a little homesickness but this too will fade.

And definitely the final word. In our eagerness to know what would be under the tree for us at Christmas, me and the brothers, undertook feats of superhuman sleuthing that on occasion included screwdrivers to remove locks, doors and anything that got in the way of inquisitive minds. The ‘Timex’ watch being pointed to below was found in a locked wardrobe in Nana’s bedroom. We got the lock off but never succeeded in refitting once we sneaked a glimpsed of the treasures inside. I wonder if Mam noticed. What do you reckon.

Dad always worked on Christmas eve when we were younger. There was always the last minute panic from one of the Crescent Clothing Company’s customers for a suit, jacket or slacks, even an alteration or something as simple as a steam pressing, (some strange terms there). The Crescent Clothing and Cyril Benson for that matter were renowned for their incredible Customer Service, it was their hall mark.

By lunch time Dad was home and in great spirits, simply because Christmas proper had started for him. The wage packet was in the pocket, a few days respite from the job. Mam however had been mixing Christmas magic, hard labour Christmas magic it should be acknowledged,  behind the scenes for a couple of weeks now. The house had incredible smells as huge Christmas Pudding’s boiled, windows steamed up and the Christmas Cakes baking in the oven,  we all knew it was approaching but unlike today, it was not the commercial juggernaut it is today.

Much of these Christmas puddings and cake made their way to Mam’s brothers and sisters across the Irish sea. I remember the sheets of brown paper, sellotape and quiet a few stamps on the finished packages. The Limerick Christmas magic was exported to London, Lincoln and even up to Dublin. Imagine the postage.

The singer sewing machine had been burning the midnight oil for weeks now in the run-up to Christmas. No Primark or Penny’s back then so the Christmas clothes were made by hand across Limerick by the many gifted seamstresses that had grown out of Ireland’s busiest rag trade town. And my Mam, was and still is one of the cream of the crop when it comes to turning a simple roll of fabric into Christmas, Wedding, Holy Communion, Conformation, and Special Occasion Majesty.  Those incredible fingers made the difference in our happy household, on how we were turned out and the added support to the household budget.

Anyway, Christmas Eve, Dad arrives home, to a very busy household, floors had been polished by the joyriding boys with old socks on their hands old jumpers under their knees. The girls  hands  had potatoes peeled, sprouts prepared, carrots scraped and everything ready for the evening and day to follow this very busy Christmas Eve morning. Guaranteed, all of this work was completed before the Dad arrived home as the most important event had to happen.

Polished shoes, new pants and coats and the girls in their Christmas dresses were all ready for Mam and Dad to take us to town to soak up the Christmas spirit, and the most important task, to have one last look at the magical toys that were fast disappearing off the shelves. We were walked about Cannocks in O’Connell Street to see toys we would never dream to own and hope that Santa, might, just might conjure something really special for his visit later that evening.

One truly amazing fact, for us children anyway, was that if we lingered for more than a few minutes on one of the demonstration models or maybe even a toy out of its box, the ever ubiquitous eyes of Santa’s helpers made sure that that was the toy for us. After our walk about in the big people’s world we ventured back out into Patrick or O’Connell Street and invariably made our way to Thomas Street, often through another of Limericks department stores (The ‘Santa Photo’ Store) Todd’s  and out the Thomas Street door to Geary’s Hotel on Thomas Street. It was here we had another of our Christmas Eve treats of minerals and crisps, Tayto to be precise. Then home to put up the Christmas Tree (Yes, on Christmas Eve) and the excitement grew, so much so that you thought your chest would explode in anticipation of the Big Man’s visit after mid-night.

Today,

It’s that wonderful time of year again where for the most part we have a pretty good time, over-indulge, over-eat and us Irish might over-drink a tad. I’m not going to rain on anyones parade, we can do that in January, but Christmas 2015 started a good 46 days ago at least. November 1st. Started the onslaught of Christmas ads on TV, Radio and in print.

Back Then

Back then, these memories are from Christmas in the 1960’s and 1970’s,  for my Mam and Dad, and for many Mam’s and Dad’s in Limerick City around that time, Christmas was a time measured by what you had managed to save, or the wages paid out that week, sometimes on Christmas Eve itself. Christmas really did not start until Christmas week, and for a lot of folks it was Christmas Eve when Christmas started. They were lean times but such incredible memories. Happy Christmas memories readers. Love to you all.

I sat amongst some really good and beautiful people this morning. It was a very sad occasion as we were attending the requiem mass of the Dad of one of our friends. Simply to sympathise, to say we understand what you are going through, and if there is anything we can do, just ask. For now, all we can do is embrace you and say sorry.

It’s always a really sad and tough time to say goodbye to a loved one but boy, December, is such a rotten time of year to suffer this loss. The world around us seems to be on ‘Happiness’ overdrive, while for so many their world is not a happy place at all, In the words of WH Auden, The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, it can be heartbreakingly sad. Switch off those Christmas lights.

But….

I sat there and realised that we can forget so easily in those sad moments how great and important it is to have good friends surrounding you, and there I was surrounded by people I have become close to in my working life, really good people. We gravitated together in the church, eight of us in total in the two pews, four in front and four behind. I had not seen some of them for some time. I have moved onto a new path in life so it was great to see their warm and friendly faces. (see my previous post)
Everyone carries burdens and this group was no different but they were together and the feeling of warmth was tangible. It was, it really was. I felt so privileged.
So….

I’m sending out a very special wish to all the people that I have had the pleasure of share this fragile world with, my beautiful family, my beautiful friends. May the burdens of life be set aside for you all for even a few minutes this December. May the joy of this season reach the parts of your heart that aches a little bit or better still may the joy of the season continue to fill your already joy filled soul.

May I suggest that we

Switch on those fairy lights for all of those we love and loved, do tell people they are beautiful, those close and even those who are not close but should know their worth. We may not always get the chance to do it. To tell people this will touch their soul. This I promise.

You see, all around me today were people supporting people in their own way and this is the beautiful thing about us. We are capable of such beauty, even in the toughest of time. So to all my friends, and I’m not going to name you, you are far too many, in Carrigaline, Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Donegal, Wicklow, Kerry, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, France, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Poland, Slovenia, Greece, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Norway. If you are seeing your country you know I am thinking of you. You are beautiful. A bright light upon you.

Jeepers, I’ve been away for an awful long time. You see, life can get in the way sometimes. I am sorry for not having made myself write a few line over the past few months but I just could not bring myself to sit down and hit these keys. It is not like I did not have quiet moments, or those reflective times when some real gems come to mind. I have, many times but I also had a lot of other distracting things that seemed to block me. ‘White Noise’ if you like.

Anyway, here I am, Sunday morning 15th. November 2015. The Rugby World Cup is fading into the distance, European Champions cup is up and running. Watched Munster beat Benneton Treviso last night in Thomond Park. Shocking weather but a bonus point win is a win. Moving minutes silence, really moving actually, before kick off to mark the Paris tragedy the evening before.  I’m not going to pen a word on this horrific example of man’s inhumanity to man as there is acres of print this morning and continuous TV coverage suffice to say that when 20’000 rugby fans stand in silence in Thomond Park, gale blowing, driving rain and the French Flag on the big screen many cried and most of us just did what men do, choked back the lump.  Rugby does this to an awful lot of us eejits. I don’t care I love it. Great game, great courage and it’s passionate for all involved, even the fans.

This weekend marks a change of direction for me. Finished up 24 years of fairly full on work on Thursday last and now look to something new. The fork in the road, the chance to at least try and do something that will make a difference to this fragile and precious world we live in.

That’s not to take away from what I have been doing over the last 24 years in the health care world. We made a difference, had a secure job, made our yearly targets and performance goals. The time to downsize a company is a big change for everyone and hence the ‘White Noise’ dominated and the blog was very quiet. Mea Culpa.

One incredible thing I did over the last months was complete a Mindful Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) course. After 3 or four years dipping my toe into water with Mindfulness I decided to go and do the full course. I’m now doing a Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on-line course also. This is of course on top of 35 years of Transcendental Meditation,

So here goes as we run into Christmas 2015 I look forward to sharing my journey with you.

On Sunday I wrote of the ‘Darkness into Light’ event, the power of it and it got me thinking. I ended the piece saying we have to really listen to really try to understand, to not judge, to open a door for those in pain, so they may be able to open up themselves and take off their masks .

I came across this poem again a few days ago and it struck a chord. It is a powerful piece by Charles C Finn, an american poet. This is the abbreviated version.

Please hear what I’m not saying
Don’t be fooled by me.
Don’t be fooled by the face that I wear. For I wear a mask.
I wear a thousand masks that I am afraid to take off, and none of them is the real me.
So don’t be fooled by me, I’m good at pretending.
I give the impression that I’m cool and confident, but inside, it’s different.
I’m not in command.
I’m often confused, lonely and desperately need someone to understand me.
But I hide and I don’t want anyone to know.
So when I’m talking, please listen carefully and try to hear what I’m not saying, what I’d like to say but I can’t.
I’d like to be genuine, honest and sincere, but I cannot without your help.
My trust grows very slowly, so you will have to be patient with me
Each time you are kind, gentle and encouraging, each time you try to understand,
I am given new hope and I start believing in myself in a new way.
You let me see its o.k. to be me.
So I can take off the mask and be happy in your company, I can let you see the real me.
Who am I you may wonder? I am someone you know very well.
For I am every man and woman you meet.

Charles C. Finn
(abbreviated version, the longer version is on this LINK)
September, 1966

Yesterday was the annual ‘Pieta House’ Darkness into Light event. Few events are as moving as this walk at 4.15am in the morning as dawn breaks. It supports the incredible work that ‘Pieta House’ does in creating a safe place for vulnerable people.
So many have hurt themselves and far too many have taken their own lives. This annual event is both heart warming and heart breaking to see the hundreds of thousands of people gather at 4am to support this cause. So many are hurting themselves, so many have gone, so many have been bereaved without answers. Congratulation to everybody who took part or supported this incredible event. Click on the ‘Darkness into Light’ image above to see the 2014 event that was filmed and posted. The 2015 event is not up yet but it was featured on Ireland’s National News last night.
We all have to ‘Listen’

Have a listen to Glenn Frey’s classic song Part of Me, Part of You (playing in my ear’s as I type). Its a catchy tune but a line that always appeals to me is ‘We can never know about tomorrow, still we have to choose which way to go’
It’s a brand new year and we all think about the 356 days ahead and even though we have no idea what lies in store we mostly all make some effort to choose a different, better, calmer, healthier path for the year ahead. I wish you luck in whatever choice you make for the year ahead.
Don’t worry about the future, Please…

Folk’s is a sodden, windy and thoroughly ‘stay under the duvet‘ New Year’s day but like everything, this will pass and we will have some bright and breezy days very soon. The ‘New Year’ here in Carrigaline normally starts with a delicious meal in preparation for the year ahead. A fine affair with starter, main (traditionally fillet steak) and a indulgent dessert. Not this New Year, for me it’s going to be a year of calm and simple pleasures and a more active and healthier approach. This whole rat race can creep up and destroy your inner balance, peace and stability. Fight as hard as you can to get it in your life or regain it if you have not experienced it in a while. Do it. Remember my post on ‘Mindfullness’

A homely, spicy, ‘make it your own, Sausage Casserole’ is what is in the oven this morning to be served with Mary’s creamy mashed potato. Simple and warming.

2 x Chopped Carrots , 300 grm. Mushrooms (1 punnet), handful of tomatoes, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 packet of Lidl Kania Sausage Casserole recipe Mix, (if not available, try ‘Vegetable Stock Cube and add tsp. Paprika and tsp. Cyenne Pepper). 1 .5 lbs. of best Sausages (we are blessed with a good supply of O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages and of course Mattersons, so we add a mix). Optional, slice and fry off some Chorizo sausage on the pan and add to the mix, Chorizo oil from cooking process also.

Method.

Cook off the Sausages on a large pan, (if someone does not eat sausages then you can also cook a bit of steak to add to the casserole)

Add all ingredients to a good size Casserole dish, carrots, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes (dice, chop as you prefer), add Sausage Casserole recipe mix (made up with cold water). If the Vegetable Stock Cube mix, let it cool a bit.

Season with Sea Salt and White Pepper, into pre-heated oven 180 / 200 for 1+ hour.

Creamy mashed potato, (Potatoes peeled, and boiled / steamed slightly salted water) Mash with loads of butter, salt and pepper (Mary’s secret is to melt a Knorr Chicken or Veg Stock Pot in a mug and use to mix with the mash and butter to make the most delicious Mashed Potato.

This recipe can be tweaked every which way to make it to your tastes. (I think I’ve made it too spicy this morning (yerra, feck it,! )

A Gentle New Year to all.

So it is a really genuine ‘ Best Wishes’ to all everybody for a gentle, simple, thoughtful and healthy 2015. Make the journey as uncomplicated as you can. Material things, expensive and exotic meals and holidays all will pass and fade and yet we put so much pressure and effort in chasing these sometimes. Go easy on yourself for 2015.

My favourite Playlist in my Spotify Account

Just on the last few pages of Jim Stynes book, My Journey. A great read, next on the list is ‘The Guest Cat’ by Takashi Hiraide.

Happy New Year, and I hope more than anything to get to see everybody in 2015.

G xx

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever the time is when you are reading this, it is a genuine ‘Good Day’ to you. This morning at 0840 I dropped the youngest one at work. The roads were deserted, the shopping centre where she works was just starting to wake up as some bleary eyed employees made their way back to an eight hour day on their feet after the celebrations (excesses) of Christmas and excitement (utter madness) of St.Stephens Day (Boxing Day, or whatever name you have for it). If you have managed to survive it relatively unscathed then I applaud you. If you are suffering then I genuinely have sympathy for you. The peer pressure of this season has no equal and you are a ‘Bah Humbug’ if you don’t conform to the mad party and games pressure. Whichever of these camps you fall into you are, welcome back to the routine world.
On Christmas eve we had the preverbial ‘pre-christmas’ meal of Stuffing, Smoked Ham, Marrowfat peas, pickles and even some of the best home-made coleslaw you have ever tasted. This is the best meal of the whole Christmas for me. It is the strongest memory of returning home as a young teenager to the first ‘Has-to-be-continued’ traditions of Christmas.

The brined turkey (i.e.soaked for 24 hours in a very lightly salted water) on the Christmas feast was a just unimaginably juicy and succulent, went down a treat and to-day we have the traditional ‘goujons’ of turkey in tempura batter and French fries (thin-cut chips). The last blow out before we start preparing for the NYR’s.
And to top it all our famous rugby team, the might Munster put Leinster to the sword in fine fashion in the traditional Christmas derby on front of a packed home crowd in Thomond Park. I thankfully donated my ticket to a very deserving fan and watched it from the comfort of my armchair as the weather was shocking and a three-hour round trip was not conducive to helping a sneaking ‘sore throat’.
Cornflakes and Cold Milk.
Can I remind you of something that is always there, so simple to prepare, relatively cheap these days (I do remember when it was a very rare luxury) and we easily forget to indulge and yet it (if you give it a bit of thought) evokes so many incredible memories for a great deal of us.

In my memories it was the start of Christmas when a box of Cornflakes appeared (it had been porridge up to that) and the celebrations had begun.
• Breakfast at home after a long night out on the town (lining the stomach if you will)
• St.Stephen’s mornings when you wanted to start the day a little less guilt free. (or to hell with the guilt and add a little of the fresh cream that is left over and have a decedant breakfast (again, lining the stomach if you will for the St. Stephens day festivities ahead)
• Kilworth army camp breakfast when you were away from home for the first time
• Outside the tent in Kilkee behind the Atlantic Hotel (both the sunny and wet mornings) with plastic ware and the ‘Nana’
• Breakfast in St. Judes, main street Kilkee
• Breakfast in Marinan’s Farmhouse outside kilkee with not so cold milk (Alfie’s first delivery of milk was a pail to the visitors, not everybodies cup of tea!)
• Grabbing a bowl of life sustaining Cornflakes and milk in the kitchen while the Dad stands, eating his toast and boiled egg (and contemplates the day ahead of him) and whoosh we were out the door to school.

Cracking memories (tons more). If yo have one, or correct mine, don’t be afraid to add them to the comments, below.

Go on, do it this Christmas and close your eyes and see the memories flood back.
The New Year is nearly upon us (Chinese, Year of the Sheep) but before that is a small matter of a trip to the little village of Barna beyond Galway for the gathering of a clan and the union of Niall and Gillian. Here goes and watch this space for the closing installments of this 2014 Christmas Diary.

I’m on page 140 of Jim Stynes, My Journey. I’ll fill you in later. Fantastic read