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Archives for February 2015

St Blaise


Posted in: Boys, Michael

About this time last year I took Michael to Cork. It was the feast of St. Blaise. When I was a child, I was always taken to get my throat blessed. I liked the drama of it. The priest takes two candles, crosses them and puts them on either side of your throat while praying to St. Blaise that he will protect you from throat illnesses (this is his thing). After mass that Sunday when Michael and I were in Cork together, they were blessing throats. I described the process to Michael and asked whether he would like to give it a try. No. It was only on the way home I realised that I should have explained that the candles were not lit and that it was fear of being set aflame that was putting him off rather than his normal antipathy to religion.

Maybe this year.

My Talents


Posted in: Boys, Daniel, Michael

Daniel: You’re no good at directions.
Me: That’s true, I often get lost.
Michael: You are no good at remembering. You often forget things.
Me: That is true also. Can we talk about what I’m good at?
Long pause.
Daniel [hesitantly]: You seem to go to a lot of meetings. Maybe you’re good at meetings?

Is There Snow in the Mountains?


Posted in: Cork, Dublin, Family, Ireland

You can see the Dublin mountains from our front garden. Every morning for the past couple of weeks, I have asked the (keener sighted than me) children, “Is there snow in the mountains?” Often there is and I would so love to get up there and look at the snow but the rest of the family are less keen.

When I was growing up, my mother would often say, “I love natural phenomena.” I can remember, as a small child standing by the window in the dark after the electricity had been cut in a storm. We had lit candles and I was watching the lightening with my parents and my mother was delighted. It’s funny how you turn into your parents, isn’t it?

Last weekend I was in Cork and when I came back, herself said to me, rather heartlessly, “You should have seen the mountains, it was like the Alps up there.”

In related news, the children and I walked in to school in the snow last week. It was horrible, cold, sleety snow that didn’t stick but they twirled around in it, crowing in delight.

And it was definitely very cold:

2015-02-04 08.57.00

A New Take on the Nicene Creed


Posted in: Boys, Michael

At mass on Sunday for the first time ever, apparently, Michael listened to the words of the creed.

“I look forward to the resurrection of the dead/and the life of the world to come” the congregation intoned.

“WHAT?” said Michael, “We’re looking foward to the zombie apocalypse?”

Civic Minded


Posted in: Mr. Waffle

The other night, Mr. Waffle was due to go to the Residents’ Committee AGM. “Just try not to be elected chair,” I begged him. Half an hour before the meeting was scheduled to start, the current chair sidled into our hall and begged him to take over. She had been chairing for years, her parents were old and ill and no one else was likely to step forward. I sidled off to the kitchen, head in my hands. Later that evening, Mr. Waffle was made chair of the Residents’ Committee by popular acclaim.

Oh woe.

Tallow Candles or Problems Which Are Likely to Remain Theoretical


Posted in: Princess

The Princess recently finished this excellent book. In the course of reading it, I found her looking at the IKEA candles on the mantelpiece speculatively. “Do you think,” she asked me “that they are tallow?” “I’m not sure, why?” I said. “Well,” she said, “I was just sympathising with Emily who is trying to decide whether to give the tutor wax or tallow candles; you can imagine the difficulty.” Indeed. She added, “If you are ever going on a long trip into the wilderness and you are bringing candles, you should always bring tallow rather than wax because then, if you are starving, you can eat the tallow.”

Truly, she is a mine of 19th and 21st century information.