Category: Family

Put Bull in Box

On the whole I had an idyllic childhood at Barmeath. I enjoyed the company of my mother, my grandparents and especially my much older siblings, though they were seldom around.

Art at the Merrion

Sated with opera and black pudding we drove up the M11 to Dublin on Monday morning. Six of us in a hire car with our bags is cosy and, sportingly, the General took the rear gunner’s seat at the back. We met the Judge and Mr and Mrs Dog Lover for lunch at the Merrion.

Rokeby’s Half Crown

Rokeby Hall is a fine Georgian house in Co Louth not far from Grangebellew. It was built for Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby and Archbishop of Armagh. My brother, also a Baron, is at present only a Diocesan Reader in Armagh but I have hopes that he may follow in Lord Rokeby’s ecclesiastical footsteps.

Upstairs, Downstairs

My memory plays tricks. I thought I watched Upstairs, Downstairs upstairs in the library at Barmeath with a TV supper on this tray and my terrier squashed beside me in an armchair. That was how I watched lots of other TV while my mother and grandparents were downstairs in the dining room.

Among the Chickens

It’s a fine thing to keep free range hens if they can be kept out of the flower beds and safe from foxes. They make soothing clucking noises, lay eggs and look decorative.

Hoof Hearted – Guest Blogger

Many readers don’t read the comments posted here. Anonymous commentator and poet, Hoof Hearted (like me, he is a postulant of William McGonagall)  was inspired by an old black and white photograph in Stella …

Stella

Stella no doubt reminds you of Jonathan Swift’s friend whose real name was Esther Johnson. Whether she was more than an old friend, he first met her when she was eight, or his mistress or wife is unclear. She was for sure born in Richmond in 1681 so it was appropriate that I went to… Continue reading Stella

My Perfect Summer

FTWeekend has lost some of its appeal, so many articles are advertisements in disguise (advertorial). So it was refreshing to read Jonathan Heaf’s piece on men’s smells.

At Flores, in the Azores

  At Flores, in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay, And a pinnace, like a flutter’d bird, came flying from far away; “Spanish ships of war at sea! we have sighted fifty-three!”