I have been in Wales for three and a half weeks. I have done a lot of walking in the hills around, up through forests and slate quarries, by the river and fields, making the most of the unexpectedly good weather and taking notes and photographs. Trying to be better at identifying trees, watching the…
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I have headed off again- this time back to Corris in Wales for four weeks. The last month has been full of all kinds of stuff other than creative pursuits not least being ongoing problems with the car. I have had everything fixed that could be fixed in relation to the oil and last Friday…
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It’s been a while again. I should do shorter less considered posts I suppose. I was thinking about changing the title to ramblings into the life of a middleaged/ older woman and just documenting stuff… any ideas? Maybe that could be interesting. At the moment I am in Tralee, my friend is practising instrumental pieces…
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On sunny mornings and lunchtimes I ate at this stone bench overlooking the sea, with the buzz of bees on the fuchsia bush at my back. On the grassy slope, tall fronds of purple loosestrife swayed in the breeze, the calm sea stretched out towards Scariff and the smaller Duinis island. Behind the islands the…
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I am on a residency in Cill Rialaig in Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry. It’s over ten months since I was in Wales and last updated this blog though it’s often been on my mind. Blame it on settling in to the new house, on getting my studio built and organised, on trying to plant and structure…
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The boxes are not all unpacked in the new house but I have left it again to come back to beautiful Corris in Wales. The residency was booked long before I thought of selling and moving and naively when my house sold very quickly I assumed I would be well settled by September. Roll…
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Two weeks ago I sold my house and bought another. I had been thinking about it for about six months as for the past few years I have been struggling with a large mortgage. The process is by no means over – until contracts are signed there is still the potential for either…
DetailsI am delighted to have been invited to be a featured reader at the next session of The Listeners which takes place tomorrow night at Eden house in Rathfarnham. I love reading my work to an audience- there must be a lost performer in me perhaps somewhere back in another life. I have not been…
DetailsI have finally finished my novel. Actually it was finished on the 15 November so I am very slow about posting this. 107,000 words, all done; redrafted several times, edited and edited again. It’s a great feeling to be finished- probably something like the feeling of achievement after running a marathon. It is the…
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The first person I went to see at the West Cork Literary festival was David Mitchell, one of my all time favorite writers. Most famous probably for ‘Cloud Atlas’ which was made into a film. He arrived straight from the airport for a very late appearance at 9.45 pm, having agreed last minute to join…
DetailsSaturday 28 May 16 1 pm Holyhead, Wales. I’m sitting on the ferry at Holyhead waiting for it to leave port after my months residency in Stidwio Maelor in Wales. Sad to be leaving but already looking forward to coming back next year. Ideally to respond more to the landscape and atmosphere of the area-…
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Monday 16 May Sunshine is not good when you are in a residency in a beautiful place. You need rain and wind and a bit of sleet even so that you do not feel guilty for sitting at your desk when the sun is blazing down outside. Because we Irish are rain soaked creatures we…
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