Finally My Work

I have finally finished a few sections of work.

They have been edited and photographed and I will be putting them up in the next few days.

They will all be titled and numbered. If you are interested in any of them please leave a message for me. They are sold without frames so that you have the choice of wood and either reflective or non reflective glass. 

Watch this space 

Getting there..

I have just finished the second draft of my novel Silk Peacocks. My literary consultant is reading it for me at the moment. Then I will commence the third draft and hope to get the grammar and spelling and all that kind of thing sorted. Its a long but very enjoyable process and I am hoping for publication before the end of the year. So think Christmas and think Silk Peacocks.

one of my favourite

Just One More

Sitting up past midnight

Ears straining for breath without wheeze

Sitting up praying you wouldn’t go with the night.

The intrusion of the telephone breaks

My concentration.

I hear his voice. It is soft

Words almost silent.

I run to him searching his face

And ask for my boots.

‘I wont be long’ I say and

Kiss him softly.

I drive without recollection

A Journey to my new life.

My brother stands weeping

Slouched against the door

My mother sits in stunned silence.

Entering the bedroom I  move to him

And kiss his cold beautiful face

The walls resound grace and

We all stand around in prayer.

We never said goodbye I thought

Was there need? He just knew

Like always I never had to ask.

He left us and the breathing became deeper

The lark had flown leaving

A young child to live on.

I still long for one more minute

To see his dark brown eyes

His smile

To hear him laugh –

Just one more minute

To say goodbye…

Angela M.C. D’Alton© 

One of my efforts...I like this one...

Finally

Woke up this morning and everything was covered in snow...Not just a flutter but good crisp deep snow.

On a morning like this living high up on the side of a mountain you have the breathtaking view of the valley below and the Comeragh Mountains on the other side all covered in a white blanket. 

It was early but I threw on a warm coat, socks and boots and took the camera outside.

Everywhere was silent. I wanted to venture into the woods at the side of the house but could see deer so I stayed in the garden.

 It felt so good to be outside enjoying the change in weather. It must have snowed quite a bit as the branches were heavy with it.  Branches like this always remind me of the poem by Thomas Hardy - Snow in the Suburbs.  'Every branch big with it, bent every twig with it.  ' What marvellous consonance and alliteration.

I walked out to the gate. Looked like only one or two cars had been up or down the road this morning.

I enjoyed every flake knowing that in a few hours without more showers this would all be gone. My cat Santana had followed me on my photo shoot not for the beauty but because she wanted to be fed. She deserved it so I fed her and my friends the birds. How blessed I am.

Everyone fed..now time for a good cup of tea.

P.S.

I know we cant live in the past but yesterday was one of the best days in a while. I had lunch with my two amazing sons in my favourite eating place L'Atitude 51 served by the insatiable and beautiful Simone and Sadhbh. After lunch we strolled over to one of my favourite shops in Cork - Brown Thomas to meet friends Terri (now a Sadie - married lady) and Rachel. The treat was to be made up by none other than Lancome's very own elite Marc Sinclair. You just have to love him not only because he is a genius but hes fun and gorgeous with it. He has made up some of the most beautiful and prestigious women in the world including Angelina Jolie, Judi Dench, Julie Andrews, and Kate Middleton to name just a few...But yesterday for a whole hour I was on the red carpet.  It was such a great buzz. When Brown Thomas and Lancome put on an event they really do a proper job, top people, champagne, chocolates, love and laughter. Despite the fact I dont drink or eat chocolate it didnt matter...even the glass of water was delicious.  Hugs and kisses, our goodbyes, drove home, had a delicious curry which believe it or not I made myself and watched The Good Wife.   I did enjoy my day.

Last night I finished reading H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald.....What a wonderful read. I cant recommend it highly enough. So if you havent read it go out, buy it and read it.  It wont be like anything you have ever read before which is its charm. Its quite a while since a book has touched my heart and my mind in such a glorious natural way.  I am sad I have finished it.  Today I feel lonely without it and I am thinking a lot of my father. I had the most fantastic father and the best of relationships and even though he has been dead a long time now...25 years well 26 this year I can still hear him laugh and see his handsome smiling face. And remember his love of nature and music. I can see him standing in our back garden feeding a robin from his hand.
On these kind of days while I take a break before my next read I head off with my camera. Here are some of my images. Hope you enjoy them...Dont forget to go buy H is for Hawk , read it and then tell all your friends....

Black Shadow on the Hillside

The grass is now growing

Where you lay.

The primroses I planted

To give you colour

To give me hope

Have receded with the snow

That for a while kept you warm.

This hillside will always be yours -

Your tracks and trails, your scent

Has marked the territory

Forever yours.

The woods so deep and dark

You conquered without fear

The stream you crossed or

Maybe chose the wooden bridge

To bring you home.

The joy we felt

From the love you gave

Forever faithful.

The paths are silent where you walked

The warm spots empty

Where you lay all summer long -

And the box deep inside the hay barn

Where you sheltered from the rain

An empty reminder now obsolete.

The fox stopped dropping by

But the cat stayed and the birds

Still sing.

Too long you shared your love

Sometimes we hear you in the silence

Always ready to run and play

Sometimes we see your shadow

Sometimes this, sometimes that.

But everyday we think of you

And remember –

Forever love.

.

The day dawns with dread

I feel you lurking in the shadows

A cool breeze gives respite to

My tortured mind

Too soon I am back inside-

Inside - outside

I am behind these prison walls

Another day you keep me here

Locked away from loving life

In chains I drag my feet slowly

Slower each day

I standstill now unable to move

Body and mind frozen in time.

I am on the inside

Yet I am free

Eight years is a long time

Inside or outside these prison walls

You committed the crime

Yet I am paying

For not being part

Of the plan

You wanted for me

I am  inside and free because I am light

You are  outside a prisoner

Of your own darkness

Acceptance

Angela M.C. D’Alton

I am Born

I am born; I am born of you -

You lying in this sterile faded ward -

One of many-

In a building echoing sounds

Of old hunger, suffocating air and decay.

Time passes here -

Slowly, quickly - does it matter?

She stares into shapes-

Oblivious to voices once familiar.

Gently I stroke her hand.

She smiles like a child -

I remember when I was the child

And she held mine.

Her skeletal form rests on the white linen sheets -

And as I trace each finger with my own

Tears blind my thoughts of -

Loving worlds made with her hands.

She is peaceful and smiles.

Did she say my name?

I move closer

Softly I kiss her thin white forehead.

'I love you Mam.' -

Words tumble through my tears.

An echo - 'I love you too'

Spoken with a smile but -

Without recognition.

Looking at her as I leave

Seeing her

Just lying, smiling, waiting -

I think -

I know you do Mam

You always did.

Angela M.C. D'Alton

 

New start

Today, well a few moments ago to be precise I finished my short story for the RTE competition. 
I dont really like competition in the arts but thought I would have a go anyway.
I'm not really a short story writer. ,The limit for this was 2,000 words. That normally would be very difficult for me. But my new story Milly, is only 1200. Not sure if thats going to be enough.  Will take another look at it later.  For now I am just happy to be writing again.

Its nearly Time

I read somewhere that before he sat down to write Ernest Hemingway peeled an awful lot of oranges...I know how he feels.  Its really time I sat down and wrote it down.  But the time hasnt been right.  My story has been whizzing round my head and recently I can feel my fingers twitching getting ready for picking up the pen...Any day soon...Watch this space..

What next?

I must admit I for one have always thought that Ian Bailey was guilty of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. I am not alone in this thought . Who else could have killed her? We were told a woman had seen him with Sophie on that night. That was all of 16 years ago.  Then like a bolt out of the blue watching Vincent Browne again I sit in astonished silence. Can I believe what I am hearing.
The gardai had bribed this woman to say what she had and had also give drugs to a known addict in the town to further implicate Ian Bailey's partner.
This level of corruption is frightening.  Did the gardai think that because they were in the remote and beautiful west Cork that they would get away with it.. That no one would know any the better.
Now I ask myself if they were so determined to pin it on Ian Bailey what about a proper investigation. No helpful time of death was ever given as there wasnt a pathologist in Munster so her body had to lie where it had fallen for over a day until the State Pathologist could arrive.
What have the gardai got that can even  at this late stage sort this case out. Her family and indeed the French Authorities are entitled to it.
Should the facts that Ian Bailey was a blow in from Manchester who was seen by the locals as a bit wild, a bit odd; who on occasion was violent to his Welsh partner , make him a suspect in the rare event of murder in this part of Ireland. A suspect perhaps but never a signed and sealed murderer without a proper investigation.
How hard it must be for Sophie's family. How hard it must be for Ian Bailey.  Can you imagine the nightmare unfolding around you that you are actually being framed for .murder. 16 years and we are no nearer the truth.
This is a sad country let down by the Church, the Gardai and the State.

Shocked

If you dont  watch Vincent Browne on TV3 then please allow me to recommend that you do. He is always entertaining and his programme is lively and informative.
Last night they were discussing the penalty points row and the way the whistle blowers are being treated by the Garda Commissioner and Alan Shatter Minister for Justice. This is going to run and run as it would appear in this country it is more favourable to break the law and look after your mates than keep the law. It would appear that members of the Gardai have carte blanche to do as they please. As we all know if the ordinary person steps out of line well tough.
After this discussion Vincent moved on to the extraordinary story of a travelling family with two small children.  The mother went to the Gardai station to have their passports stamped only to discover that their two children's names were on the Gardai Pulse list. This is a  Gardai Intelligence Data base. Why would the name of a child of 16 days be on this list. A child from a Traveller family. There were certain reasons give when you would be on this list i.e. if you had committed a crime, if you were the victim of a crime, but no reason with any stretch of the imagination would be a reason to put young Traveller children on this list. I was disgusted and shocked but even more so when at the end of the programme Vincent read out the result of the Poll. You could vote in as to 'whether you thought young traveller children should be put on the Pulse list'
Poll result - a whopping 30% said yes while 70% said no.  A third of the viewing public voted  Yes. I cannot understand why anyone would say yes to this. Do people dislike travellers that much, do they dislike very young innocent children. It doesnt make sense. I know it made me feel very uneasy going to bed knowing I am living in a country that proports this type of thing.

Choose Amazon

Why not Paint

. Give

Its never too late to start something new. Even though we often think something isnt for us we can surprise ourselves. I would like to recommend painting with water colours. Its such a calm and enjoyable way of passing the hours and I promise you you will be surprised at what you can achieve. There is a wonderful book by water colour artist Barbara Barrett on the art of painting with water colours. This can be bought at an astonishingly reasonable price at Amazon. It is only on Kindle which you can keep near you while you paint. Give it a try.

Walking alongside the Colligan River

Today I took a stroll along the beautiful Colligan River. There was rain in the air and the cool breeze on my skin enhanced my walk.  This is somewhere I walk often , yet it is never the same and the seasonal changes are very dramatic. Today its peaceful and calm, even a little shallow. The greenery is coming into full bloom for the summer months. Its wonderful to just sit and listen to the silence and sounds of nature. I'll come back another day when maybe the weather is wild and the river is swollen and roaring down to the sea.

Where's the consistency

Its nothing unusual for managers in the premiership to be sacked on the whim of the club owners if they feel they are not getting value for money.  This can happen without given the manager a chance. But they will tell you its business. Have you noticed how on the other hand week after week referees get away with incorrect decisions, some ludicrous. Its all very well to say, well they are human and they can make mistakes. That isnt the point. What one ref would consider a foul or a sending off another would not and as for the offside rule, well thats another days talking point. Yet these guys, professional refs, who mess up week after week are treated no less than gods and beware of speaking your mind on the subject. Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger both brilliant managers are not alllowed to give their opinions without expecting a punishment. And think about how a bad decision could not only lose a team points, but it could affect their overall end of season position which equals money. And that is bad business.  No consistency..no respect..