Got back on Sat. night after over 6 weeks away...have been in bed with flu over the past 36 hours and whiled away the time, that is when the coughing subsided, thinking about the highlights of the trip away... there were quite a few, plus lows too but will leave those for another day...these are the highlights that sprung to a feverish mind, probably other highlights in the back of the mind too that may come forward as I get my energy back. Looking forward to catching up ...meanwhile have got to investigate
TFEs poetry Monday - go see what he's up to as from just a quick look in, it appears as if he has been the instigation for moving poetry-mountains when it comes to inspiring people to write...fair play TFE.
Highlights (possibly Part 1)(from a feverish head, and in no particular order)
- hearing punk poet Jinx Lennon and angel-voiced Paula Flynn at the Flatlake Festival singing lyrics such as 'you can`t keep everyone happy' 'everyone's got a mental home inside their heads', 'there is a gobshite coming up your garden path' (or words to that affect)
- hanging out for 6 days with 9 nieces and nephews ranging in age from 4 to 13
- walking through sodden fields with my own wellies
- spending time with my fab sister and having a laugh about everything from sudo cream to drinking water
- sharing a fish pie and a glass of white wine with Vladi in The Lemon Tree restaurant in Letterkenny after having had a hectic time where it felt like the world might just cave in, given half a chance
- seeing my name head the Sheridan's Over the Edge readings' poster (and discovering the morning after that a friend had stolen the self-same poster and had tucked it discreetly into my bag)
- the Indian Summer that began on the day I left Donegal for my whistle stop reading tour
- being on a high the day after the Galway reading and strolling the sun-drenched Saturday market in Galway eating a freshly made donut with cinnamon
- being struck again by how beautiful Donegal is, plus seeing lots of horses and donkeys in nearby fields where horses and donkeys used not be
- sitting on the pavement at midnight in Temple Bar in Dublin listening to street music
- driving alone on a near-flooded road in the wilds of North West Donegal around mid-night and discovering poetry on BBC4
- seeing headlines about my poetry and me in three local papers
- a full Irish breakfast with my dad in early morn in a Texan bar on the outskirts of Letterkenny
- having people say nice things to me after a reading
- people wanting to actually buy my book
- finding out that neighbours and some distant family made copies of the articles written about me in the local newspapers to send to other relatives in the UK and the States
- meeting so many lovely new people - Nuala, baby Juno, Finbar, Barbara, Jaki, Kevin, Susan, Paul, Tom, Paul, Jenni, Rosie, Carolyn, Kate, Tommy, Mary, Siobhan, Ron, Art, Billy, Anne, Mari....
- being part of the Prufrocks Poets at Flatlake Festival
- looking for crabs with crab-happy nephews on a sun-blasting-the-rocks day on a beach in Spiddel
- making a video of brothers, sister, brother-in-law and nephews and niece playing football in a big grassy field on one of those long summer evenings
- finding a fantastic beach at the end of an Ards Forest Park walk
- making childhood trifle, cold custard included, and serving it up a lá full-of-pride
- putting on the hazard lights on a busy entry spot to a car park to save a one-eyed jet black kitten that had crossed my path. He fitted onto the palm of my hand
- watching previously mentioned one-eyed kitten stare at me from his box on the floor of the passenger seat as I drove him to the cats' rescue home
- making my mum laugh when she was feeling very poorly
- having an energy salad before my Galway reading in Sheridan's wherein the waiter wished me the energy I hoped for and later on at the reading, being given a signed copy of Ron Houchin's book where he wrote 'I admire your energy' (without him having any previous knowledge of my energy salad, naturally! ; ))
- meeting my very brave cousin Elizabeth after 30 years and hearing her talk about her second ongoing fight with cancer and how she keeps positive
- seeing how one woman, a laptop and a microphone can bring the whole 80s music scene to life, unexpectedly, in a hotel in Galway at midnight on a Friday night
- my father making me laugh in his quiet way with his anecdotes and supreme memory for dates and times and what people said
- being invited to the Bluestacks Literary Festival
- having great books to read:
Nuala's Nude,
Barbara's Kairos,
Rachel's More About the Song,
Vanessa's Words from a Glass Bubble, Anne Sexton's Love Poems, Roddy Lumsden's Third Wish Wasted , Obama's Dreams from my Father, Frank O' Connor's Collected Stories Volume 1, Edna O' Brien's The Light of Evening, Ron Houchin's Museum Crows,
Sian Hughes' The Missing....
- seeing two rainbows criss-cross over my dad's back fields where a favourite tree resides
- watching how my dad tickles the cat's belly with his walking stick and hearing said-cat,Tom, purr in top gear
