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..

What Is the Difference?

Last week a 57 year old woman was jailed for 9 years for the attempted murder and for the murder of her severely brain damaged son. Yesterday another woman walked free from her trial. She had helped her 31 year old daughter who had been suffering for a long time from M.E., to die. Both women thought and indeed felt deep within their hearts and as mothers that they were doing the only thing they could do for their child. Both took the lives of their child yet one gets jail and one walks free.  Maybe I have missed something so if anyone reading this can tell me the difference please do.