Category Archives: Reactoblog

To Make You Feel My Love.

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Today’s List

Jim Wells and his ill advised comments about GAA clubs. Aside from the bigotry and lack of understanding of these outbursts by DUP figures, they forget one basic fact about bag packing. If you don’t want your bag packed, pack it yourself. And while you’re at it, pack up your troubles in your old tin trunk and feck away off.

Speaking of packing up your troubles, I had heard via my daughter there was a wee girl from Gortin in Tyrone singing on X Factor. Now, let’s be clear about this, if she is from Tyrone, she could be the biggest crow in the Gortin Glens, but she would still get my vote. Even though I greatly despise the X Factor. Tír Eoghain vincit Omnia. However, and it’s a big however, the other day whilst following a link posted by a friend I watched Janet Devlin sing. I was totally transfixed. Unbelievable voice. Just shows the talent hiding in Tyrone and from Tyrone. I’m putting her X Factor number on speed dial.

I went out the other night after our match for a typical night of acting the tin pig with our senior camogie team. Has to be said that one of the best parts of being involved are the manic nights spent in bars in Portstewart talking shite and acting the fool, even though I’m too old, too tired, and too long in the tooth. On Sunday, the night ended with a lift home in the boot of Big Riko’s car. That’s what living is.

Cyclin’. Fuckin’ hate it. Next.

Today I got the house back. Peace at last, children off to school and although I love them dearly, I also love my mornings working alone in peace. Long may it continue. Next to buy a big supply of firewood, get the stove working and move easily between the two rooms. Drinking tay, coffee. Whatever it takes.

Charles Bukowski. Never read much of him before but bought his collected poems last week. Most enjoyable thing I’ve read since I bought Norman MacCaig’s Complete poems. Very different, both formidable tomes of pomes but both excellent. Nuair a tá me in a sheasamh ar mo thoin sa leithreas, tá athas mór orm.

Losing things. I lost my wallet three times in one day last week. Drives me crazy. Angela lost her iPhone for about 36 hours. She was going ape. I found it. I’m going to get a prize.

To Make You Feel My Love. . . The penny just dropped with me that this is a cover of a Bob Dylan song – I knew I’d heard it before. Adele does a great version. But I’ll finish with yer woman from Gortin.

The Uniform Uniform.

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Reactoblog

Tomorrow the children return to school. Four of them. The youngest commences pre-school in a few weeks. That will be fun. The early morning routine starts again tomorrow.

The trouble will start tonight trying to get the moonlighters a-bed. And then to tin-open them out of bed tomorrow. Maybe the lure of new teachers will get them moving. Maybe not. I used to enjoy returning to school myself, seeing all the lads again and having the craic.

Myself, I got up at a slightly earlier time today to wean myself off my bed. It has been a short summer but a long one in other ways. And difficult too at times.

So, back to school tomorrow. The school notified us all on the last day of school that the uniform requirements were being tightened, black shoes, conservative-grey-trousery. Load of nonsense. My son’s on the school council. Were they asked for their opinion as the children affected? Not a bit of it. All very PC to have these school councils. . .

It may appeal to the school’s sense of where it thinks it should be. But in truth it is an unnecessary step, carried out with no reference to the appropriate guidelines from DENI, which were no doubt drawn up at great cost and consultation.

Nowadays you can’t do anything without consultation. So why didn’t they ask our opinion? If somethin ain’t broken, why try and fix it with a measure that will cause antagonism. There are some clothes that children will wear and others they won’t and I’m not falling out with mine over some rule brought in on a whim.

If there is a ‘breach’ I will be asking the school to speak to me, not the child. They don’t buy the clothes, so they are not responsible if they aren’t suitable in this wonderful middle class regimented 4×4 nouveau riche world we live in down by the seaside.

And here, whilst we’re at it, what about a uniform for teachers? Now there’s a thought.