FROM NI CHILDREN’S HOSPICE CHRISTMAS CARD
Between today and next Sunday we have New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and the beginning of the year 2020. I can’t help wondering what happens after that, Boris Johnston seems to think everything is on track for a new look UK but in Europe there are hints that it’s not going to be just so easy.
Strap yourself in, in could be a bumpy ride.
Then There Are Those Who Deserve Recognition
Congratulations to all those local people who have been mentioned in the New Year Honours, what excitement. They have a real treat ahead going to to receive their gongs. It happened to me three years ago and the most exciting thing was leaving the hotel early in the morning, hailing a taxi: driver: ”Where to?’ Me “Buckingham Palace please.” There followed a most memorable day, the splendour of the palace, the wonder of the picture gallery with time to look at priceless paintings, the ceremony of the awards and chatting to Prince William who was most interested in my broadcasting and newspaper work in Northern Ireland. Then off to the Ritz for lunch with my family, another ceremony which was so special and we felt like a million dollars. I wish everyone an equally happy time and congratulations on the recognition. Outrageous about the publication of private information.
During the past week has been some time to catchup on books and magazines and the most fascinating to me was grandson Charlie’s Wild Explorer magazine, the RSPB publication for ‘young nature nuts’.
I thought I knew a thing or two about wild life but this was a revelation. For instance have you seen a cloud of starlings dip and weave across the sky recently. I remember coming home from work at teatime and people stopping to stare upwards around the Albert Clock and Queen’s Bridge to watch the spectacle known as a murmuration. Now I only see this on FaceBook and why? Because since surveys began in 1979 the starling population has declined by around 79%. These displays still happen but are less and less frequent. Why should this be? A positive effort to keep them away from buildings with nets, change in feeding habits with insect food from the soil harder to find – decking, weedkillers, and beds covered in small stones to prevent weeds? This decline apparently is effecting countries in Northern Europe as well.
Sadly there are fewer black birds, down by 22% with the annual Big Garden Birdwatch survey thinking this might be because with the milder winter last year meaning the birds are travelling to live outside the towns. I know we have blackbirds in the garden. one regular sits outside the kitchen window feasting on the red berries of the cotoneaster bushes. A great plant as when the flowers come in the summer swarms of bees sip the pollen and it’s a wondrous sight.
And then there are this seasons favourite – the robin which was voted our national bird in the 60s. How many Christmas cards did you get featuring this attractive little bird?
That came about in Victorian times when a postmen’s uniform was red and they were nicknamed robins. Delivering at Christmas gave one card company the idea of putting robin redbreasts on cards, obviously the idea took off as a symbol of chilly days and hope for a good spring.
But just how delightful is this sassy little bird? It’s a fighter as anyone with a bird feeder in the garden will know, even thought it’s basically a ground feeder, it will see off other small birds and hog the container until it is well satisfied. The red breast has quite a few explanations, sparing with a bird who packed the robins chest and drew blood which was there for all time, or more popular the story that it was a robin who fanned the flames of a small fire as the baby Jesus lay in the manger. It was cold so he collected small sticks and bits of straw to keep the fire going and then used his wings to get the flames to catch hold. But he got too close and his chest burned red with the heat and to this day we have evidence of the kindness of the little creature.
Can we encourage these birds to stay in the garden and breed? Yes by providing food, seeds, crushed peanuts, raisins and fruit. And most important, a source of water making sure it doesn’t freeze. Nesting boxes, a wild spot in the garden where nature can take its course and there’s a good chance you’ll have a happy animal population.
Here we are on the verge of New Year’s Day, all the excitement of recent weeks is over bar the shouting as they say, so, have you time to pause, make a cup of tea and have a wee sit down before the next wave of mayhem? It’s not always possible to follow the Art of Slow, a worldwide phenomenon which is growing all the time but worth a try for the sake of sanity.
Canadian journalist Carl Honoré is an award-winning writer who developed this movement where he encourages people to turn their backs on the ‘age of rage’, to slow down eating, driving, living: “When did you last see someone just gazing out of the window on a bus or a train?” he asks. “Everyone is too busy reading the paper, playing video games, listening to iPods, working on a laptop, yammering into mobile phones.” Sound familiar?
He travels the world teaching people and organisations how to survive in a fast world simply by slowing down. So often we’re multi-tasking, racing against the clock, cooking ‘ding’ dinners eaten in front of the TV, downing drinks and chasing our tails. An unhealthy habit so many of us have slipped into.
www.carlhonore.com
It’s amazing how you can slow the pace of life when you think about it – literally take your foot off the pedal. Planning is the key. Don’t rush out to the shops, make do until tomorrow and spend the time listening to the wireless or just silence. BBC Radio Sounds now have a series of Slow Radio broadcasts relaxed and easy, bird song, some gentle music, some walks in foreign lands, sounds of mud pools plopping, all sorts of really restful 30 minute listening. Another Canadian journalist, Horatio Clare, completed a two day walk on the west coast of Greenland recording the sound of the Arctic; each walk is more than an hour long with no news or arguments just a gentle story of the journey, some music but mostly the sound of footsteps, breath, wind and the beat of a bird’s wing. This too is slow radio.
Retreating into a book or listening to music calms the soul and Alf McCreary has combined the two in his latest publication Unfinished Symphony, the story of the Ulster Orchestra, a book lifted to an new level by book designer and picture editor Wendy Dunbar from Holywood.
Established 60 years ago
This is an orchestra with attitude, proud and professional and a group of musicians who have given us music throughout the most difficult of years. McCreary takes us on a fascinating journey charting the highs and lows of this band of musicians, playing in the Golden Hall in Vienna, in New York only days after the Twin Tower atrocity, the Royal Albert Hall, Hong Kong, these musicians have brought music to audiences all round the world and attracted top names to come to Northern Ireland to sing or conduct. The book is fascinating not only for the detailed history of the orchestra but also of the wider picture of events surrounding them.
Also Individuals, principal flautist Colin Fleming who started playing the flute at four years of age and a member of the Ballyclare Flute band when he was 11, Kenneth Montgomery the first Ulsterman to hold the position of conductor. He wasn’t much interested in sports when attending Inst. and was permitted by his headmaster to follow music instead; violinist Michael Alexander came from Nottingham in 1954 for one week’s work with the orchestra and stayed! The late Heather Harper was one of the greatest world-class sopranos of her generation, Belfast was her home but the world was her stage as it is today for Barry Douglas and James Galway. Although this is a Who’s Who in musical terms it’s the side stories that make this such an interesting book as the author follows the fortunes, and misfortunes, of the orchestra.
The book is available at Waterstones Bookshop
Of course this new year might be a good time to do some writing yourself.
I reckon if you can talk you can write
Just take the plunge and do it. Research is necessary even if it’s telling the family history but if you’re to write a novel then sorting out dates, times and places is vital. I’m delighted to say Betty Hueston from Portglenone is at it again! She writes short stories, poems and articles, plays and lyrics and Now And Again is her second novel, the sequel to Once In A While. It takes forward the story Martha and her childhood friend Sammy into an adult world of secrets and lies. Set in the Mid-Ulster countryside they live in neighbouring farms, still close and the question is will they marry? Their relationship causes jealousy and arguments with her suitor Dr. Willie Rossborough.
Life becomes complex when one day Martha discovers a shoe box under the stairs and uncovers a family secret which has painful repercussions for her and for Sammy. It’s a story that has many threads to it which all come together towards the end of the book with surprising answers to difficult questions. This is a book which is not only a real mystery but a satisfying book to hold, high quality beautifully published in Portglenone. Betty certainly has the ability to spin a good story and her dialogue holds the reader’s attention. She thoughtfully includes a glossary, blethering – talking nonsense, Middlin Yock – a useless person and wheeze – a dry cough! A dollop and a dander and a sheugh and the frying pan which will now be referred to in our house as the old banjo. Profits from the sale of her books go to local charities. Copies can be ordered from Betty at 07785 924882.
So, Happy New Year dear reader, remember to seek your inner tortoise, turn yourself into a slow coach, slow the rhythms and start a movement – it’s all over the world now and here’s news from Carl – in Italy they have even established a slow sex movement! Check it out.