Ten reasons why my children will be country bumpkins
Since I’ve grown up (hmmm) and become an adult, I’ve come to realise just how lucky we were as kids and what a lovely place we grew up in. We didn’t realise it at the […]
Life
We failed the drowned boy, now who else can we save?
I knew I shouldn’t have looked at it. I knew before I clicked on it that what I saw would stay with me forever. Make me sad. Make me cry. And it did. I thought […]
Why you really need to bring WaterWipes to a festival
The good people at WaterWipes issued a press release today to remind all those festival goers to pack a pack of wipes to ensure full beauty regime is kept up this summer. “Festival season can […]
I hate cats! Yes, but would you consider taking ours?
Right, we’ve come across a bit of a problem. A domestic problem. A cat problem. It’s nothing to do with the copious black hairs he leaves on our laundry or bedclothes, or constant mewing when […]
Five reasons all teachers deserve their summer holidays
My mother always told me I should be a teacher. ‘Great holidays,’ she said. ‘Off for the summer AND you get paid.’ No, I said. No bloody way. Luckily for the children of this world, […]
Giving off positive vibes – can you feel them?
Do you ever look at your life and think; that was a great year? I bet everyone can pick out some parts of their life and associate shivery good time feelings with that y-era. 16 […]
In the doghouse. Again.
I have a confession to make. And you’re probably going to hate me when I tell you. I’ve fallen out of love with my dog. I feel terrible. It’s like I’ve been cheating on her […]
100 things that make Irish people happy
Today is International Day of Happiness. I know this, because I googled ‘happiness day’ about six months ago. I had started working on a piece about the small things that made us happy and I […]
Becoming Dot Cotton: the trouble with laundry
I have to talk about laundry. No really, I do. I’ve been having a good hard long think about it recently. I’ve been thinking about it while I sort clothes, wash clothes, hang clothes out […]
The wheels of life: a short car history
What was your first car and how did you come to be the proud owner of said vehicle? Did you form an attachment rather like a first pet; it caused some problems in the end, […]
The trauma of travel – Happy Honeymoon
The honeymoon didn’t start off great. We got to the airport on time, bags bulging, a faint whiff of ‘are we overweight,’ about us. We were. The blonde cheeky chappy checking us in said nothing […]
I can’t get no sleep
Every morning I wake up at 5.44am. No matter what time I go to bed; 11pm, 12am, 1am; my mind and body begin a wakening dance in the black of night. One half of the […]
Loneliness in the making
There is a man who stands at the side of the road every morning on my way to work. Sometimes he has a cup in both hands. He works in a car wash located in […]
The truth about Santa Claus and some Christmas’ past
It’s funny how Christmas springs up on you. There you are wiping the dust off the Halloween cobwebs and surveying the damage done by trick or treaters to your sweets press, when you turn around […]