A braw bottle of whiskey (with an ‘e’ for it is Irish) crowns our kitchen pelmet ; we’ve solemnly sworn not to hear that ‘brrrp’ of it being uncorked until either Ireland is united or Scotland is independent. (It’s whiskey, not whisky, as the latter evaporates
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Maurice Dobson was a towering figure, literally and metaphorically, in the annals of Stirling and District Camera Club. At various points, during his thirty something years of membership, he held each of the major offices and was noted for his commitment and efficiency in each of them.
Read more →Candles mean different things to different folk; women like smelly ones, or those in fancy colours with sparkles, glitter and wee mysterious speckles on the surface. Some of us light candles in churches, perhaps particularly abroad on holidays or pilgrimage, in special or hallowed places when we
Read more →It was established Unionist policy to deprive Derry and the North West of economic development since it might possibly provide employment for people opposed to their rule and population growth would imperil the gerrymander operating with impunity in Derry. Unfortunately, and the denial of expansion of Magee University is a notable case, there are still clear signs that the old, Unionist protocols are intact and embedded in the thinking of those with power.
Read more →‘The ancient Irish bodhran was invented sometime in the fifties’. Well, so Francesco Turrisi , onstage with Rhiannon Giddens, told a capacity Usher Hall audience in a bitterly cold, Edinburgh last night. It was only one line from the humorous badinage between the pair on carbon dating
Read more →The intent of BBC Scotland’s programme to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the recent ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland was embedded in the title, ‘The War Next Door’. At a superficial level, there was an attempt to provide a semblance of balance with the early inclusion of an
Read more →Thanks to Jude Collins for permission to copy this homily from http://www.judecollins.com A phobal Dé agus a chairde go léir, Tá muid bronach inniú. Tá ár gcara Des imithe ar shlí na Fírinne. It’s a fitting way to describe the death of our friend – a man
Read more →A Shared Home Place – Seamus Mallon Bond Street was a Protestant and Loyalist heartland which celebrated its historical totems with vigour. Growing up in the Waterside area of Derry, I can share and empathise with Seamus Mallon’s memories of his childhood. Our neighbours and the majority
Read more →GENTLE ON MY MIND Ever since I became bionic there’s been a constant need to stare at my feet as I walk; I’ve tripped over invisible cigarette packets, skited inexorably down the shiny paving stones of Alloa High Street praying for a wall to bring me to
Read more →I wrote this a year ago after Sorcha arrived on the fifteenth of June, a few days after her mother, Jen’s birthday. June is a busy month as my elder brother, James, as well as grandchildren, Leo and Lilly Ann were all born in that month. Neill,
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