An Irish friend of ours lives in the Netherlands, is married to a Dutch man, has four Dutch children, speaks fluent Dutch and works in the Dutch public service. Perhaps bowing to the inevitable , she has recently become a Dutch citizen but, like all Cork people in exile, she remains very much a Cork person also.
I thought of her during the week as on pancake Tuesday, I always recall her absolute outrage at having seen in a shop a packet of pancake mix emblazoned with the words “Just add an egg and milk.” “It’s just flour,” she said, “how can people not know they’re just being sold overpriced flour?” How indeed? Her reaction is the perfect combination of Cork/Dutch; a worthy daughter of both speaks.