Category Archives: Travel

From City to Coast 3

This is the third and final “Letter from France” written after a recent short stay. Writing about Paris is in some ways like writing a love song: it has been done so many times that the temptation is to ask: why bother? The answer to both, of course, is that every relationship is unique, and,Continue reading “From City to Coast 3”

From city to coast 1

This is the first of three “Letters from France”, based on a short stay in June 2017. We fly into Paris across the  flat green  fields of northern France. Under a blue sky, with wisps of  cloud, they stretch on and on for miles. Ten minutes has us across them, it took armies fatal months  to cover theContinue reading “From city to coast 1”

A bar or two of the Hallelujah Chorus.

Just to the west of Dublin’s city centre, between Stoneybatter, Smithfield, and the green expanses of the Phoenix Park, is an area known as Arbour Hill. It is composed largely of narrow streets of terraced houses, and is separated from the Liffey quays to the south by the former Collins military Barracks, which is nowContinue reading “A bar or two of the Hallelujah Chorus.”

Saving Ryan’s Daughter

Image copyright MGM Films/Faraway Productions The world of film has come a long way in little more than a century. At the start, viewers were amazed to see scratchy depictions of moving monochrome figures, then talkies led a move towards more realism, and now we watch films in which Computer Generated Imagery makes anything appearContinue reading “Saving Ryan’s Daughter”

From a table in the corner

For most people, aside from seasoned business travellers, I expect hotels are pretty personal things. They are, or should be, home from home, stress busting venues, and repositories of family holiday history. They offer shelter and, hopefully, hospitality, but they also build dreams and memories. It’s a tall order for fulfillment – and different hotelsContinue reading “From a table in the corner”

Echoes in Grafton Street

There are many echoes in Dublin’s Grafton Street, particularly at night, when the footfall is lower, and the wind makes its way from St Stephen’s Green down to Trinity, picking up the day’s detritus and rearranging its importance. Of course, this is partly a consequence of the street’s architecture and geography – it is long,Continue reading “Echoes in Grafton Street”

The Loneliest Boy in the World – Review

The Loneliest Boy in the World – The last child of the Great Blasket By Gearóid Cheaist Ó Catháin with Patricia Ahern. Collins Press. The Blasket Islands, off the coast of Kerry in the extreme west of Ireland, have a habit of getting under your skin. Once discovered, they are not easily forgotten. This isContinue reading “The Loneliest Boy in the World – Review”