Not so grumpy anymore
I’d love to be in Twickenham this weekend. Sadly two things prevent me from being there. My health. And my lack of a ticket. It’s a great occasion and I’ve been lucky enough to be there a few times for the clash between those two great rugby friends and rivals, Ireland and England, I’ve loved … Continue reading The Six Nations: My Twickenham shame in 1988
I’d love to be in Twickenham this weekend. Sadly two things prevent me from being there. My health. And my lack of a ticket. It’s a great occasion and I’ve been lucky enough to be there a few times for the clash between those two great rugby friends and rivals, Ireland and England, I’ve loved … Continue reading The Six Nations: My Twickenham shame in 1988.
Are you keeping up with EastEnders? A couple of weeks ago I told you about how miserable the whole of Walford – that’s the fictional London suburb in which the soap opera is based – was. Compared to right now, it was a happy place. So what’s going on? Well, many of the residents are … Continue reading Miserable EastEnders. Is it all to do with the name “Walford?”
Sometimes, I just don’t understand us. I mean, us – the people who live on this island. Yes, though I am (a poor) Catholic, I get why so many turned against the Church when the clerical sex abuse scandals were uncovered. I get why numbers attending Mass have declined sharply. I get why vocations have … Continue reading I don’t understand how people can hate sex abusers and then support apologists for terrorism
I was listening to RTE Gold the other day when one of my favourite songs ever came on. It was John Lennon’s #9 Dream. Great piece of music. Only… Well, it’s the chorus. These are the words: Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Of course, John never intended for … Continue reading How come so many of the songs we love have really, really weird (and sometimes dodgy) lyrics?
I like Ireland. I like living here. I like being Irish. It’s a great country. But there are many, many people living here who seem to despise the place. Some are politicians doing so in the hope of getting elected to a very well paid job. Others are commentators who peddle the populist line and … Continue reading From saints and scholars to moaners and whingers. But Ireland is still a great place
(I am grateful to a friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, for putting this my way. It’s genius and comes from the pen of a brilliant economist.) Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100… If they paid their bill the way we … Continue reading Economics for people who don’t understand economics but DO understand the round system!
