Wisdom of the world - Week 132

Porcupines And The Coldest Winter Ever

It was the coldest winter ever, and many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realising the situation, decided to group together. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they shared their heat with each other.
After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other to stop being wounded.
As they did this, they began to die... alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others that enabled them to survive the coldest winter ever.

Wisdom of the world - Week 131

To the point

A century ago, a young student at Oxford University in England was taking an important exam in religious studies. The examination question for this day was to write about the religious and spiritual meaning in the miracle of Christ turning water into wine. For two hours he sat in the crowded classroom while the other students filled their pages with long essays, to show their understanding. The exam time was almost over and this one student had not written a single word. The proctor came over to him and insisted that he commit something to paper before turning it in. The young Lord Byron simply picked up his hand and penned the following line. “The water met his master, and blushed.”

Wisdom of the world - Week 130

The rabbi

One day a rabbi, in a frenzy of religious passion, rushed in before the ark, fell to his knees, and started beating his breast, crying “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
The cantor of the synagogue, impressed by his example of spiritual humility, joined the rabbi on his knees “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
The “shamus” (custodian), watching from the corner, couldn’t restrain himself either. He joined the other two on his knees calling out, “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
At which point the rabbi, nudging the cantor with his elbow, pointed to the custodian and said, “Look who thinks he’s nobody!”

Wisdom of the world - Week 129

Prayer and Devotion

This is the story a wise man tells of a conversation with his father in his youth: When I was a child I was a pious boy, fervent in prayer and devotion. One night I was keeping vigil with my father, the Holy Koran was on my lap.
Everyone else in the room began to slumber and soon was sound asleep, so I said to my father, “None of these sleepers opens his eyes or raises his head to say his prayers. You would think that they were all dead.
My father replied, “My beloved son, I would rather you too were asleep like them than slandering.”
Sufi

GIY Inishowen Launch

 
Event Date/Time: 14.12.2010 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Host: Donal Doherty
Location: Harrys Restaurant Bridgend

Interested in growing your own food, but don't know how to get started or need a little bit extra help? A great solution is coming to Inishowen with GIY (Grow it Yourself) Ireland, a new not-for-profit initiative that is literally sweeping the nation.

Michael Kelly is the man behind the network that now has 80 groups around Ireland and helps almost 6,000 people grow their own food. The aim is to provide people locally with the practical skills they need to grow successfully.

GIY Inishowen will launch at Harry's Restaurant, Bridgend starting this Tuesday 14th December at 7pm. Regular meetings will take place to talk, learn from each other and exchange tips, produce and war stories. Regular expertise will be in the form of some of Harry's local experienced growers, Whiteoaks Organic Community Centre & An Grianan Organics.

"This is a perfect opportunity for people to get involved on a community basis & learn more about making the most of the space around the house & growing your own vegetables. It's great to see so many more polytunnels & enthusiasts around Inishowen, but there are so many more that would like to get started or share experiences & learn more. It is totally free to attend and it will be as practical and light hearted as possible. There will always be free tea/coffee & nibbles served at each meeting.

The timing is perfect as Harry's are just developing our own greenhouse & growing plans for 2011, so people are welcome to join while we learn too! It's great that Michael is travelling up for the launch, his expertise is second to none" says Donal Doherty, Manager, Harry's.

"I'm delighted to be coming to Inishowen and see the network of GIY expand into Donegal for the first time" says Michael Kelly, Founder GIY. "This is a great opportunity for people to become involved with talks, access seeds & seedlings, attend garden visits & meet more experienced growers in a relaxed environment. That produce from local growers are already used by Harry's makes a perfect fit and Harry's is very accessible from all over Donegal & Derry for anyone interested in coming along. I look forward to meeting everyone on Tuesday and sharing plenty of growing tips."

Privitising Coillte?

This is fascinating and I would like to forward it to some friends in the forestry sector. But who has put it together? I think that it should have an author/originator/contact at the bottom of the piece. I know that it has been forwarded by IOG – whose name should also appear on email too. Generally I don’t forward anonymous authored material.

Regards


Stan McWilliams

Report by fisnua

Bertie Ahern in corporate takeover of Ireland’s Woodlands
Reclaim our natural Resources
Time for a new Land League


This is a short briefing to the ongoing privatisation of Coillte. It needs to be considered along with the takeover of our other resources, including but not limited to oil and gas, water, minerals, fish, seeds and various utilities. I have done as much research into it as I am able for the next few days. I hope others will be able to take up the baton and go deeper with a view to developing strategies to counter this.


Please pass this on in your networks.


The situation
According to information received from the Woodland League, from a trawl of Politics.ie as well as from private conversations over the last few weeks, a company by the name of International Forestry Fund 2010, in a joint venture with Helvetia Wealth AG of Switzerland and IFS asset managers Ltd have put in a bid to purchase Coillte the Irish forestry body that currently holds a land area in this country approaching 1.5million acres.



For further research and sources
http://www.woodlandleague.org/ - restoring the relationship between people and their native woodlands.

Big respect to them for all the work they have done on this topic


http://www.coillte.ie

http://www.forestry-fund.com/ - A British Virgin Islands registered company established in March 2009 as a joint venture between IFS asset managers Ltd of Ireland and Helvetia Wealth AG of Switzerland. () In Jan 2010 one Bertie Ahern was appointed chair of IFF

Dublin address; 43 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2


IFS assets; http://www.ifsam.ie

Helvetia Wealth AG; http://www.helvetia-wealth.com


http://www.politics.ie/current-affairs/119772-bertie-become-chairman-international-forestry-fund-13.htm



I have not seen direct proof of this bid but anyone who knows anything of the giveaway of our oil and gas resources during Bertie’s tenure will not need this spelled out to them.


It should be noted that when Bertie was minister of Finance in 1993 with 99 shares in Coillte he oversaw the establishment of Irish Forest Unit Trusts, a pension scheme set up jointly with Allied Irish Banks and Irish Life. Minimum investment in this fund was e100’000 and it was set up using £33million worth of state land. A community in South Galway were recently shocked to discover their local woodland of Chevy Chase being clear felled as part of this enterprise.

Attention should also be paid to the recommendations of the McCarthy Report last year that Coillte should be privatised.


“Consistent with the reduction in available Exchequer resources, the Group puts forward a range of
reductions in administrative costs and increased flexibility and recommends that D/AF&F should
conduct a review with a view to reducing administrative costs. In particular, we see significant
scope for the outsourcing of payment processing activities.
In addition, the Group has suggested exploring the following avenues which could provide once off
receipts for the Exchequer:
• dispose of non-essential land/property holdings owned by the State Agencies;
• sell surplus Teagasc assets; and
• review the operations of Coillte with a view to realising optimal return through
rationalisation, asset disposal and, possibly, privatisation.”



Coillte has form when it comes to disposing of this country’s forest assets.



Implications

If Coillte falls into private hands we will have even less control over a large chunk (an area approximately equivalent to 2 county Meaths) of this country’s land mass than we do already. The lofty sounding vision statement of IFF notwithstanding we may see the planting of GM trees, we may lose access to this land for walking, camping, firewood collection, fishing, water supply and other purposes.

This has huge implications for our access to water. If we lose access to that land we also lose access to a large part of our water catchment, purification and supply system which leaves us in a very vulnerable position.

The arrival of the IMF to these shores means that the stripping of this country’s assets and resources is being accelerated. We need these resources to continue living here. We also have a duty of care towards them and towards future generations that will have need of them.



Responses

People need to know about this. Please forward this info. Leaflets?

The scale of the problem demands a collective response.

The effective husbanding of resources is best left in the hands of those who use them and live locally.

This becomes a survival issue if factors like climate change and fossil fuel depletion come into play.

In the event of transport and supply interruptions we will be dependent on these local resources so we have a huge vested interest in ensuring our continued access to them.

If they are in the possession of vast corporations who are making us pay for what we have a right to, we have a problem. This threat needs to be removed.



Communities and individuals need to begin assessing the resources in their areas, examine their levels of dependence on them and be vigilant for any threats to them. This could be a key step in reversing the process of dispossession that history has wrought on us.

Time for a new Land League

Update from the Tribune

Wisdom of the world - Week 128

The Monastery

There was a monastery which had seen better days. There were only a few elderly monks left and the place just about ticked over. The head of the monastery went to talk to a wise hermit who lived in a nearby forest for some advice. The hermit told him that he couldn’t advise him but asked him was he aware that one of the monks was Jesus, come to live amongst them. When the father returned the brothers were waiting to hear if he had any luck. The father shook his head sadly but told them about the strange thing the hermit had said. The brothers thought that was a bit strange but over the coming weeks and months the idea stuck in their minds as the pondered who it might be. They found themselves treating each other and themselves with more and more respect. Within a year visitors noticed the wonderful atmosphere of love and harmony that suffused the monastery. More and more people were drawn to visit and younger men asked to join the brothers.

Wisdom of the world - Week 127

The rabbi

One day a rabbi, in a frenzy of religious passion, rushed in before the ark, fell to his knees, and started beating his breast, crying “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
The cantor of the synagogue, impressed by his example of spiritual humility, joined the rabbi on his knees “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
The “shamus” (custodian), watching from the corner, couldn’t restrain himself either. He joined the other two on his knees calling out, “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
At which point the rabbi, nudging the cantor with his elbow, pointed to the custodian and said, “Look who thinks he’s nobody!”

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 126

Change Yourself

There was once an old man who was looking back on his life. He sat in a tea shop with his friends, telling them his story. ‘When I was a young man, I was arrogant and thought I knew it all. I felt I could do anything, and wanted to change everyone. I would pray to God to give me the strength to change the world. When I reached middle age, I awoke one morning and realised that my life was half over. I had done nothing, and I hadn’t changed anyone. So, I prayed to God to give me the strength to change those who were close to me since they needed it so much. But now I am old and my prayer is very simple: ‘God, please give me the strength to change at least myself.’ ”
Don’t try to change the world or other people before you are able to change yourself. If you try to change others without changing your own attitudes, it will not have any effect. Change yourself; the world around you will change.
Amma

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 125

The Lamb

A herd of goats were eyeing up the green pastures that grew on a high steep mountain. All of them were tempted by that grass but did not trust that they could manage climbing up that steep hill…
Amidst the crowd was a little lamb. This little one started climbing the hill on its own.. Perplexed at this, every goat in the crowd, except the mother of the lamb started bullying the little one… shouting out discouraging comments and making fun of the lamb. The mother watching silently just prayed that her little one be safe. Eventually the little lamb managed to climb the hill and eat the grass. At this, all the goats were astonished. They asked the mother of the lamb- “What was so special about your little one that it was able to achieve something that none was even ready to try?”…
At this the mother replied – “My little one is deaf”
The moral of the story is we should learn to focus on our goal in life and turn a deaf ear to all unwanted and discouraging talk that we have to face during our journey. Our biggest weakness could become our greatest strength if we could realise it and learn to look at only the positive aspects in life. In the end it is only perseverance and grace that will take us to the goal.

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 124

Schools Out

A mother repeatedly called upstairs for her son to get up, get dressed and get ready for school. It was a familiar routine, especially at exam time.
"I feel sick," said the voice from the bedroom.
"You are not sick. Get up and get ready," called the mother, walking up the stairs and hovering outside the bedroom door.
"I hate school and I'm not going," said the voice from the bedroom, "I'm always getting things wrong, making mistakes and getting told off. Nobody likes me, and I've got no friends. And we have too many tests and they are too confusing. It's all just pointless, and I'm not going to school ever again."
"I'm sorry, but you are going to school," said the mother through the door, continuing encouragingly, "Really, mistakes are how we learn and develop. And please try not to take criticism so personally. And I can't believe that nobody likes you - you have lots of friends at school. And yes, all those tests can be confusing, but we are all tested in many ways throughout our lives, so all of this experience at school is useful for life in general. Besides, you have to go, you are the headteacher."

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 123

Giving up Wine

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of euro for dinner.
I took out my wallet, got out ten euro and asked, 'If I give you this money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?''No, I had to stop drinking years ago', the homeless woman told me.
'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?' I asked.
'No, I don't waste time shopping,' the homeless woman said. 'I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.'
'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?' I asked.
'Are you NUTS!' replied the homeless woman. I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'
'Well, I said, 'I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight.'
The homeless woman was shocked. 'Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.'
I said, 'That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine.'

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 122

Doilies

Thanks to Penny for the pic...

There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about. For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted doilies and a stack of money totalling €25,000. He asked her about the contents. "When we were to be married," she said, "My grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily." The little old man was so moved, he had to fight back tears. Only two precious doilies were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness. "Honey," he said, "that explains the doilies, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?" "Oh," she said, "That’s the money I made from selling the doilies."

the wee heritage shop buncrana

The wee heritage shop free information day 

Have you ever thought about tracing your family history or wanted to know where key archaeological sites are located in Inishowen? If you have then ‘the wee heritage shop’ conveniently situated next door to the post office on the High Street in Buncrana is just the place for you to start an exciting journey of discovery.
Information day this weekend (2nd 0ctober)

This Saturday, (2nd October) two genealogists from the Heritage Society will be getting things moving in the new shop by providing advice on starting to research family trees. “They are on hand to let you know what census records are available, where to start and how to continue your research if you have become stuck,” Adam Porter from the Local Heritage Group tells us. “Experts in the wee shop will be providing advice free of charge on a regular basis at the weekends; it’s an organic process so if anyone has ideas on how to improve the service we would love to hear them. A small donation towards the running cost is all we ask for.”


More information

 

Adam tells us a bit more about this new non profit making information centre and shop. “Inishowen has a rich cultural heritage,” he begins. “Members of the West Inishowen History and Heritage Society felt there was a need for information on Inishowen landmarks and family history and thought that the shop would be a great resource for both local families and tourists. Everything just seemed to fit into place and happen really quickly.” As well as the two qualified genealogists in the group, there is wealth of local knowledge from other group members who are only too pleased the share their knowledge. Everyone involved in staffing the shop are volunteers and giving their time and knowledge at no cost. “This is a community project, run by the community and covers the Inishowen area from Manor to Malin” Adam explains.
Other organisations around the peninsula are involved in the project. “We are working closely with the tourist offices in Inishowen. The team there are extremely helpful and if anyone visits them looking for more detailed information about families and local places of interest they will refer them to us.”

Local crafts
The wee heritage shop also has an emphasis on highlighting local craftspeople around the peninsula. The shop is also providing an outlet for local craftspeople to sell their products. There is a range of old photo’s, landscape paintings, postcard images of local places of interest, homemade cards as well as glass products and jewellery. Adam would like to see more people come forward with their local crafts. “This is a community project and we would love other artists to come on board.” Adam says. “There are so many top quality artists living locally and the shop will be able to showcase their products to a wide audience. “
Adam concludes by telling us what their motivation is for the shop. “Our goal is to promote our Inishowen heritage locally and internationally. Inishowen has the most fantastic heritage on the island of Ireland; this includes our history, our historical sites, our art, our crafts, our music, our literature and most of all our
people!

Check out the shop’s popular Facebook site ‘the wee heritage shop’

If you would like to be involved in this interesting project and volunteer to help run the shop and give help and advice to visitors or if you have an interest in local history, genealogy or arts and crafts then Adam would love to hear from you.

The shop will be open 7days a week
Contact Adam on 0863940704 for more information

Moville Handmade Workshops

 

Hand Made weekend of workshops is an Inishowen Summer Gathering Initiative. Last weekend people gathered in the beautiful outdoor setting at Gulladuff House beside Moville Hostel to learn a variety of
hand skills such as blacksmithing and green woodwork like charcoal making and rustic furniture making. Guest teacher, Joe Gowran from the Coppice Association, Muintir na Coille Co-op, said "Every
community in Ireland will need people with these skills as we face a future of more self reliance and less certainty." Brendan Farren, event organiser and basket making teacher added, "We are delighted
with the standard of the teaching and the enthusiasm and commitment of the students" The next Hand Made workshop is planned for March next year.

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 121

 

Thanks to Penny for the pic......

Moral Endings

A teacher told her young class to ask their parents for a family story with a moral at the end of it, and to return the next day to tell their stories.
In the classroom the next day, Joe gave his example first, "My dad is a farmer and we have chickens. One day we were taking lots of eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the truck when we hit a big bump in the road; the basket fell off the seat and all the eggs broke. The moral of the story is not to put all your eggs in one basket.."
"Very good," said the teacher.
Next, Mary said, "We are farmers too. We had twenty eggs waiting to hatch, but when they did we only got ten chicks. The moral of this story is not to count your chickens before they're hatched.."
"Very good," said the teacher again, very pleased with the response so far.
Next it was Barney's turn to tell his story: "My dad told me this story about my Aunt Karen.... Aunt Karen was a flight engineer in the war and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of whisky, a machine gun and a machete."
"Go on," said the teacher, intrigued.
"Aunt Karen drank the whisky on the way down to prepare herself; then she landed right in the middle of a hundred enemy soldiers. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of bullets. Then she killed twenty more with the machete till the blade broke. And then she killed the last ten with her bare hands."
"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "What did your father say was the moral of that frightening story?"
"Stay away from Aunt Karen when she's been drinking..."

Hand Made Workshops in Moville

Basket-making teacher, Brendan Farren

sharing his skills earlier in the summer at Paddy McCartney's Open

Garden event.

Basket-making teacher, Brendan Farren

helping Liam Moyne to make a creel. This weekend Brendan is being

joined in Moville Hostel, by a team of top craftsmen each offering us

opportunities for 'hands on' experience. Info call 9381000

A new and innovative training opportunity is happening this weekend in
Moville called "Hand Made - Work with your Hands". If woodland crafts
and blacksmithing interests you, then you
might consider attending this 'first of it's type' in Inishowen. Top
craftsmen are coming to join local basketmaker Brendan Farren to offer
(beginners and experienced) workshops in black-smithing, charcoal
making, green woodland crafts like besom broom making and hand made
pole-lathe wood turning. The classes take place under canvas cover,
in the woodlands of Gulladuff House (Moville Hostel). If you attend
you bring home a finished
piece or two.

"We are now offering a 'one day option' at half the
advertised cost" explains Brendan Farren, workshop organiser. He
continues, "Do phone if you have any questions.
Also booking is necessary, in particular to help us
prepare the lunches." This is an Inishowen Summer
Gathering Initiative supported by IDP. "The visiting craftsmen were a
big attraction at the Inishowen Summer Gatherings over the years. I am happy to
welcome them back and am delighted that they are sharing their skills
with us here in Inishowen" said Brendan. Call 074 9381000.

Full details:
HAND MADE
Work with your Hands
on a weekend of workshops
Learn from professional craftsmen the arts of basketmaking,
blacksmithing, and traditional woodland skills like greenwood work,
charcoal making, besom making and much more.
Take home your finished piece
in wood or metal.

These workshops will take place on the weekend of
25th & 26th September, 2010
They will be held in a covered outdoor woodland setting at
Gulladuff House (Moville Hostel),
Moville, Inishowen, Co. Donegal
The costs for each weekend workshop will be:-
€100 for the weekend (€60 concession)
All workshops will be from 10am-5pm both days, with lunch included in
the price, and tea/ coffee available all day. Hostel beds available.
Dress for outdoors, with steel-toed boots and gloves.
Places are limited, especially for Blacksmithing, so early booking is
advisable. Beginners welcome. For further information & bookings:-
Brendan Farren Tel: (00353) +74 93 81000 or
brendan@biggreenart.com
This is a new initiative of the Inishowen Summer Gathering, supported by IDP

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 120

 Thanks to Penny for use of the image

The Two Merchants

One day, two flower merchants set up shop next to one another. They opened for business on the same day, had the same beautiful flowers at similar price. Both took great care raising their plants and both were kind and courteous to their customers. In fact, their shops appeared to be equal in every way.

At first, the merchants even received equal traffic through their shops, but–as time went on–the first merchant’s shop became more popular among the people. The second merchant noticed this and became concerned. One particularly slow day, he decided to look into the matter. As he stepped out his door to visit his neighbour, he passed one of his regular customers leaving the first merchant’s shop carrying their weekly purchase of flowers. In disbelief, the second merchant hurried next door.

The shop was teeming with customers. The second merchant noticed his competitor wasn’t taking the money himself, as he always did. No, he was out among the aisles, talking with his customers. He would chat at great length with the customers and even would occasionally talk to the flowers themselves! The second merchant prided himself on being a serious store owner and could not understand this leisurely approach to running a shop.

He could stand it no longer. He approached his rival and politely asked to interrupt the conversation. The first merchant smiled, handed his customers to one of his clerks, and turned his attention to his exasperated neighbour.

The second merchant asked, “Brother, I am your humble student. Our stores are nearly the same in all ways, yet your results are doubling while mine are halving. I do not understand.”

“Brother,” the first merchant said, “We are the same in most ways, this is true. The difference lies in what we see with our hearts. You see your shop as a shop, your plants as plants, and your customers as customers. I see my store as a beloved home and my cherished friends are my customers, clerks and plants, all present to be adored. In that we are very different.

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 119

What if there isn't "anymore"?

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore".
No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."
Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."
So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.
This is true for marriage.....And old cars... And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special.. And so, we keep them close!
Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?
Live today because tomorrow is not promised.

Wisdom of the World - week 118

A grandfather and granddaughter travelled and made their living performing balancing acts. They asked a wise man what was the best way to safeguard and care for each other. The grandfather suggested that each should care for the other, that he should care for his granddaughter in the balancing and she should take care of him. That way they would protect each other. The granddaughter asked the wise man if this was not backward. “Would it not be better for each of us to care for ourselves, and in that way we best safeguard each other, and our acrobatics will prosper?” After listening to the little girl, the wise man replied, “Though she is young, she is wise. If you as a grandfather guard yourself with care and pay attention to what you do, you will also guard the safety of your grandchild; and if you as a child guard yourself with awareness, with care, with respect, then you both guard both yourself and those around you.

Wisdom of the World - week 117

Normal Day

Let me be aware of the treasure you are.
Let me learn from you,
Love you, savour you, bless you,
Before you depart.

Let me not pass you by
In a quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may,
For it will not always be so.

One day I shall dig my fingers
Into the earth,
Or bury my face in the pillow,
Or stretch myself taut.
Or raise my hands to the sky,
And want more than all the world:
Your return.

Mary Jean Irion

Harvest feast

Wisdom of the World - Week 116

Be Yourself

The world would like to change you,
There are pressures all around,
You must decide just who you are,
Then firmly stand your ground.

You have an image of yourself,
An ideal sense of you;
And to this vision you must always
Struggle to be true.

You know what you are good at,
And you know where your talents lie;
But it you’re ruled by others,
Your uniqueness could pass by.

Remember, there’s much to learn;
But all new things aren’t good.
Wisdom lies in what you’ve learned
And what you have withstood.

Armagh Planatarium

Wisdom of the World - Week 115

Thank You

To those of you who laughed at me, thank you.

Without you I wouldn’t have cried.

To those of you who just couldn’t love me, thank you.

Without you I wouldn’t have known real love.

To those of you who hurt my feelings, thank you.

Without you I wouldn’t have felt them.

To those of you that left me lonely, thank you.

Without you I wouldn’t have discovered myself.

But it is those of you that thought I couldn’t do it;

It is you I thank the most,

Because without you I wouldn’t have tried.

Share Centre Enniskillen

A few Classics from Biff 1980's style

Wisdom of the World - week 114

Pause for a smile

Lost on a rainy night, a nun stumbles across a monastery and requests shelter. Fortunately she is just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips she’s ever had.

After dinner she goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs. She is met by two brothers. ‘Hello, I’m Brother Michael and this is Brother Charles’.
‘I’m very pleased to meet you,’ said the nun. ‘I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I’ve ever tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?’

Brother Charles replied, ‘Well I’m the fish friar’.
She turned to the other Brother and says, ‘Then you must be - ?’
‘Yes, I’m the chip monk’.

Aoíbhinn Inis-eoin. Photographic Exhibition

Just one great photo of Dunree Fort taken by Adam Porter

Date:
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Time:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:
The Plaza Main St Buncrana

For the duration of The Buncrana Music & Arts Festival a host of local photographers will exhibit there work of picturesque landscape & more from in and around Inishowen.