belgianwaffle

Fair and balanced?


Posted in: Reading etc.

Driving home from my sister’s flat late one night I heard a programme on FM104. The idiot presenter had found two poor people (Liz and John) who were going to be spending a fortune (and I do mean a fortune) on their daughters’ first communions: stretch limos, 1,000 euro dresses, the lot.

He then found a number of middle class people to criticise Liz and John and how they chose to spend their money. [“I am from a very good family and I would never spend money in that way. Pictures of those communions circulate on the internet afterwards and people laugh at your children”] I thought that these people were patronising and deeply, deeply unpleasant. What I found disturbing was that the presenter did nothing to try to balance the coverage. John and Liz were a bit on the inarticulate side and the presenter joined right in, criticising their choices and mocking their spending. It was very nasty listening.

I suppose I’m not quite FM104’s target demographic but I won’t be going back there any time soon.

Very gratifying


Posted in: Family

Regular readers may remember that last summer when we were burgled, the thieves took my grandmother’s engagement ring. I was very sad as I remembered her wearing it and I was very close to her.

When I was in Cork a couple of weeks ago, my mother gave me one of her sets of china tea cups which used to be my grandmother’s. Yesterday evening, I had some people round and we used them; quite probably for the first time since my grandmother died 25 years ago. They were much admired and it was lovely to see her cups getting a new lease of life. They have to be hand washed though. Alas.

Parents’ revenge


Posted in: Reading etc.

For reasons I will not bore you with, I have discovered what is on the leaving certificate English syllabus (yes, yes, it’s all true, we’re familiarising the children with some of the easier poets to make them a shoo in for high grades in 12 years time). Roger McGough who was unknown to me is on the list, I looked him up. You may like his work. A sample is reproduced below. Whether it is suitable for cranky adolescents is a moot point.

PAY-BACK TIME

O Lord, let me be a burden on my children
For long they’ve been a burden upon me.
May they fetch and carry, clean and scrub
And do so cheerfully.

Let them take it in turns at putting me up
Nice sunny rooms at the top of the stairs
With a walk-in bath and lift installed
At great expense…..Theirs.

Insurance against the body-blows of time
Isn’t that what having children’s all about?
To bring them up knowing that they owe you
And can’t contract out?

What is money for but to spend on their schooling?
Designer clothes, mindless hobbies, usual stuff.
Then as soon as they’re earning, off they go
Well, enough’s enough.

It’s been a blessing watching them develop
The parental pride we felt as each one grew.
But Lord, let me be a burden on my children
And on my children’s children too.

The English


Posted in: Ireland, Work

The English are class obsessed. I went to hear an “inspirational” Englishman speak about his experiences. He announced to the audience that he was “working class” that his grandfather had been a barman and that it was through the transformational power of education that he was able to enter the venue as a speaker rather than “a servant”.

While Ireland may not be a classless society, it’s a lot closer to that than England is. I think I can confidently say that no Irish person considers that it is embarassing to have relatives engaged in pretty much any job (ok, nobody wants a cat burglar in the family, but you know what I mean). It doesn’t matter what your grandfather did for a living. It doesn’t matter what anyone’s grandfather did for a living.

I thought his use of the word “servant” was interesting too. I wouldn’t consider the waiters or those doing the cloakrooms to be servants. I wouldn’t regard it as their destiny to stay in the same position for ever either. Servants has the whiff of indentured and servility about it. I don’t like it. Maybe it’s just the difference between the colonising and the colonised. All that said, education can be transformative; for everyone.

The Economy


Posted in: Ireland, Middle Child, Princess, Twins

The Princess came down to watch the news last night. “Oh no, not more about the money we all owe, they’ve said it already, we know it.” How true.

Meanwhile, Daniel announced to me that “Parnell Square is where we march”. It is indeed. This will be a useful piece of information for you, should you wish to avoid traffic restrictions when in Dublin.

Dressing up


Posted in: Ireland, Middle Child, Princess, Twins, Youngest Child

Me (to the boys): This is your sister’s school and you two will be starting there in a while.
Daniel: Will we wear a uniform?
Me: Yes, you will.
Daniel: Like our sister’s uniform?
Me: Yes indeed.
Michael: Hurrah, I will wear a skirt!

When we got home, I changed into jeans, runners and a fleece, and trotted out to cut the grass. “You look cool”, said my daughter. I fear that prolonged exposure to Irish fashions has not improved anyone’s dress sense. And we were already coming from a low base. Sigh.

Finally, I have got all my hair cut off. A nice Lithuanian lady gave Daniel and me the same style. It cost us 28 euros in total. Pleasingly economical. I am quite happy but the complete absence of comment other than from my children and that, frankly negative, is a little disturbing. Kissing Michael goodnight he said, “I don’t want you to kiss me, you look like a boy, you’re not like my Mummy”. When I went to collect them from Montessori school, the teacher took one look at me and said, “Ah, that is why the boys came into school and told me that their Mummy is a boy, now.” Sigh.