General Chat

Evening all, just testing to see if you WERE listening to what I was saying. lol

Nah, got some TATERS and PARSNIPS.

I dont need any more piercings. I have had me ears pierced 4 times. Although I now only wear 3 in one ear, and 2 in the other. Dont want to appear common do I. My little bit of rebellion. Really, HATE tattoos.

Marilyn, short of surgery, NOTHING, would make me look younger, certainly NOT piercings. lol

See ya later.

Maddie
x

Rita,

Many years ago my wife and I walked all the Hebridean Islands.

The people were so kind

All worked at various things not just one job.

They kept cattle, sheep, hens, geese, ducks etc.

Many had hand looms in their homes and made Harris Tweed.That was good to see.

Burials.....because some of the Islands have little soil on them it is a common practice to take out the last coffin, remove the bones and place them in the new coffin going into the grave.

hi everyone

we had a chinese takeaway tonight too, it was very nice,

had nice weather today, sunny but tomorrow looks a bit grim. Been a good girl today, cleaned all my horse's tack, it needed it.

x

Yvonne,

I have had contact with Oatridge College Equestrian Centre near Edinburgh.

It's generally known as SNEC........Scottish National Equestrian Centre.

Some lovely horses on the Campus.

Have you heard of it ?

School Days - as I remember them, warts & all.

Our junior school - or as it was known in 1950s Ireland - National School - was a less than impressive-looking building. But, this is my opinion of the building when I last set eyes on it in 2006 when the building was being used by an Antiques Dealer. Teaching there ceased in 1970 through lack of students. My sister was a member of that final year.

The school was built in c.1870 in a place called Doogarry on a sparse patch of land donated to the Church. At that time & for many generations thereafter, the running of the Irish junior education was ‘out-sourced’ to the Catholic clergy who, in many respects, acted as local school managers. School committees did not exist - so, the Priest was the boss & the teachers knew that very well particularly when teaching appointments would be made.

Our teacher was Miss Fox - known generally as Mary Fox. She was a spinster lady who I found out many years later that she once went on a date with my dad before he married. Goodness me - that snippet of information might have been of some use to me - if only I had known about it then.

Miss Fox was assisted by Miss Claire Fraine, a youngish lady who lived locally with her parents. She was a lovely singer & she used to be responsible for music & song teaching for the whole school - consisting of about sixty boys & girls.

The building consisted of two classrooms with side-halls for hanging up our overcoats & lunchtime if the weather was poor. Lunch consisted of a home-made sandwich with, perhaps, a bottle of fresh milk from our own cows. The little play area was divided into boys & girls just in case any hanky-panky took place - as if. Indeed, the playground was of poor quality & in no time at all, it was not much better than being in a mud bath.

We had the occasional ‘mud fight’ using the damp earth like you would snowballs. One such afternoon had some unforeseen consequences.

One particular young chap seemed to have come out of the commotion very badly. His clothes were covered in an unmerciful coat of soft mud. Within minutes of lunchtime coming to an end, Miss Fraine marched him into our class room & accused one of us as being the main culprit. Surprisingly, our teacher Miss Fox stood up for us & a falling-out took place between the two teachers.

The result of this was that Miss Fraine refused to help our class anymore on the music/singing front. Poor Miss Fox was a really good teacher but, as far as singing was concerned, she hadn’t a musical note in her head. But, she was not for giving-up or, like Mrs Thatcher, she was not for turning or running away in a fight.

She did her best, nevertheless, to teach us a few songs. Most of them I have long forgotten & the only one I remember & can sing it poorly to this day is called ‘The Last Rose of Summer’. It’s a short song with words by Irish poet Thomas Moor composed in 1805 & was subsequently set to music by Sir John Stevenson. You can listen to it on YouTube by various singers.

It was an honour to our family that a past pupil of the old school sung ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ at my mum’s funeral service in 2004. Both Miss Fox & Miss Fraine have also passed on to their eternal reward & I doubt that the mud throwing episode all those years ago has any significance to them now.

Long may both teachers be fondly remembered by past pupils like my sister & myself.

Dermot,

Magic reading your script.

lovely story Dermot, keep them coming

Stephen, no haven't heard of the centre but just had a look at their website, it looks a fantastic place

Yvonne,

Think I mentioned before. I have been a Fence Marshall at their Cross Country Events.
What a skill to control those big horses over the fences.
I'd be sh** scared.

Hi everyone

Stephen this women who does the husework for the priest moved there when she lost her husband she came over from America I think it was ? she has started out a Genes thing for people from Brarra who emigrated or their ancestors wants information about the graves so she is setting up a book on the names dates etc of the people buried in that cemetery and as many of the graves have relation also buried in the grave she is doing a test to find out how many coffins are in each grave so they prod to find out. as they cannot dig to find out, then she catalogues them so when someone abroad inquires she has the details and goes and takes a photo of the grave with the inscriptions clear and sends them off to that person who asked. It is a great thing she is doing.

Dermot brilliant once again reading your life story.
you really should make a book of it. I am sure people will buy because of the interesting things you have in it.you make it all come to life.

Rita

night everyone,
I liked the story about school Dermot.
I've got altar serving duties tomorrow so no lie-in!

Goodnight everyone
sleep well
God Bless,/

Rita

Night All !

maddie what tatoo did you have done and were

i have got one of a butterfly at the top of my arm
and a flower change round my ankell

ooops evening all or should i day nite nite all LOL

Good Morning all,
just popping in to say hello before tackling the dreaded housework.
Dermot, priceless memories, you make it all come to life.
Rita I hope Mike is recovering well.
Shelly I think Maddie was joking about tattoo. I have 2, a celtic cross on my upper arm and a celtic knot on my shoulder.
Hope everyone is well and warm, cold and drizzly here at the moment.

Cath xx

Morning Catherine,

You are the only one alive just now......it's Sunday they will all be lying in.

Tattoos, In the early 60s I knew a lass who was Britains most tattooed person. She was covered in them. Sadly everyone shunned this lass.

What the didn't know was her background. She had been the World's Highland Dance Champion, twice, then had witnessed the vicious murder of her mother. That sent her off the rails.

The last I spoke with her she was just like the person I had known in our youth. Kind and caring but with the deep mental scar of what she had witnessed. I suspect she is probably dead now as I have not seen or heard anything of her in the last 45 years.

Yep ! You can't judge a book by it's cover.

Gonna continue with the makeover of my Library. Why the 'H' are books so heavy ???????

Catch you later.

Hi Stephen,
if I've learned one lesson in life its: never judge a book by its cover!
I prefer to take people as I find them. My tattoos and ear piercings have never caused me any problems although I understand they are not everyones cup of tea.
Wish I had space for a library, absolutely love books and reading. Maybe when my daughters move out I will be able to use one of their rooms.
Have a great day

Cath xx

I dont have a tattoo never wanted one. we didnt think of it in our younger days which was a long time ago.
My husband had a tattoo on his arm not too big with a pattern and his mothers name on. years afterwards he wished he hadnt had it done.he had it done while in the army.
some people go well over the top with tattoo's.covering there body.
most males in my family never had them either being as so many were in the RN you would have thought they would.

I had a room in my bungalow which was wall lined with books. but when I moved here I didnt have the room . so most of my books go to the charity shop when I have finished..
I have one bookcase full of books I wont part with.

Have a good day.

Rita
xx

Just realised I'll need to go about the house like a Church Mouse, Mrs Stephen is sleeping. She came home at about 5.30am.

Tattoos Again.

How the memory stirs.

A young lad in my Youth Club I was training with weights was lying on the bench. I was lifting a rather heavy weight onto him to Bench Press when his Tracksuit bottoms slipped down a bit exposing a Tattoo just below his Belly button.

The inscription read.......

'FOR GOOD GIRLS ONLY' and had an arrow pointing down to his private parts.

I near dropped the weight on him as I burst out laughing.

He said... 'There's more'......I didn't risk having a look any further.

Wonder what his wife thinks of that one.

Tattoos Once More.

Gonna get Rabbit tattoos all over my head.........from a distance they will look like Hares. (hairs)

Stephen2009 - I'm sticking with the Homer Simpson hair style.