Author Archives: Ian

Frightened by exams

Posted on 31st January 2023 by Ian

Can one have a vicarious sinking feeling? Is it possible that the apprehension felt by others is something that might be fully sensed by oneself? The Leaving Certificate mock examinations have begun. A room filled with people of seventeen and … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | 6 Comments

A man sitting in the pub

Posted on 29th January 2023 by Ian

The ‘English’ pub outside of England never has the atmosphere of the ‘Irish’ pub outside of England, perhaps the Irish are more homogenous. Perhaps it is the case that an Irish person can walk into a pub and almost be … Continue reading →

Posted in Out and about | 2 Comments

Cider days

Posted on 27th January 2023 by Ian

The last bottle is being drunk. Four half-litre bottles came as part of a Christmas hamper that also included an assortment of cheeses and crackers. Harry’s Cider comes from the orchards of Harry Fry in the village of Long Sutton in … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | 9 Comments

So near, and yet so far away

Posted on 24th January 2023 by Ian

In 1981, the 1960s seemed a different world. Going to the Monsters of Rock Festival in Castle Donington in August of that year, AC/DC, the band at the top of the bill, seemed as far removed from the bands that … Continue reading →

Posted in This sceptred isle | 2 Comments

A disused station

Posted on 16th January 2023 by Ian

Joining the Facebook group, ‘Disused Stations,’ I wondered what it was that prompted a fascination with former railway stations, some of which closed sixty years ago. Among my railway books, there is one with a particular capacity to revive vivid … Continue reading →

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