Hi, Last week I was invited to partake of luncheon with a local entrepreneur, who rose from poor Irish labourer to landowner-millionaire during his 90 years, and who is seeking a ghost-writer for his memoir. My husband and I were royally entertained....

Hi, The weather has become a little chilly, wet and windy in Ireland, making up for the unusually warm, dry summer. We have had some massive thunder and lightning storms and leaves are flying from the trees. One of our dogs ran off in the thunder, an...

Hi, Another busy month has hit the dust, and yet another trip to visit family in UK, including another new grandchild. At eighteen months she is an absolutely delightful addition to the family, and has learned many words including 'no'. Her most ende...

Hi, The summer hit the dust - literally. In the unseasonably dry weather the garden has been an unproductive dustbowl, with vegetables going to seed or not even setting. Our neighbour's well has gone dry, so we feel lucky that ours seems to be holdin...

Hi, After weeks of of frenzied house renovation activity, the builders have finished and gone, leaving us to tip away at the remaining work (see the story below). We acquired two extra dogs to look after for a while: respectively, our son's half-bree...

Hi, This month has been manic. First, my brother brought my 90-year-old Mum from England for a visit; the first time she's been able to visit us in several years. We had a great time delving in charity shops for bargains, taking short walks and long...

Hi, The daughter of a friend (fourteen, vegetarian by choice), while eating avocado on toast for breakfast, recently accused her mother's generation of not caring about the environment. Her mother told her: you are living in a centrally heated house,...

Hi, So, all was well in UK, but it's always nice to be back home in Ireland. The drive was tiring, as usual, but without incidents. Robin must have contracted Covid in the last few days in UK, but recovered quickly enough. I avoided it, but I have a...

Hi, March, a month of early frost and daily sunshine, has fast slipped into May, and this week has been as mild as midsummer, until evening falls and the temperature plummets. Veg seeds have been planted in the polytunnel, but we are still harvesting...

Hi, March 1st started off with a hard frost followed by bright sunshine. It's cold, but at least the storms have moved on. Clambering around on a crumbling roof in adverse conditions, trying to replace slates that bear a surprising resemblance to blo...