This year I've spent quite a bit of time and effort on the garden. Like most other people I was working from home and not really going anywhere most of the time, so home improvements and gardening naturally got quite a bit of my attention. Prior to this year my gardening had been mostly some herbs and very little else. While some of the more recent work has been focussed on … [Read more...] about The Garden’s First Season Draws to a Close
Revisiting Old Book Reviews
When I was at college, both as an undergraduate and later while I was a postgraduate, I wrote for The Irish Examiner from time to time. A lot of what I wrote was book reviews, though I also did a few feature pieces. Unfortunately most of what I wrote has vanished into the ether. Any copies I have in digital format would be on floppy disks I either don't have anymore or if I do … [Read more...] about Revisiting Old Book Reviews
Going Back on the Road Sort of
I've been in Ireland without leaving since March of 2020. I got back from a trip to Mexico and then the world went mad... Over the past 18 months things have changed quite a bit for everyone. Personally I've now got greenhouses and barbecues, as well as a load of other bits and pieces. When you're stuck at home most of the time it's hard not to start messing about with the … [Read more...] about Going Back on the Road Sort of
Improving the Front of the House
My house sits on the corner into the housing estate. It's also a bit different in its style and shape from other houses in the area. So I'm fairly conscious about how the front of the house looks to casual observers. An unkempt front garden would make the place look almost abandoned! I've no interest in having a fussy front garden that requires constant attention. When I got … [Read more...] about Improving the Front of the House
Insurance Craziness
Insurance in Ireland is a bit of a mess and an expensive one at that. For the last couple of years I've been tracking insurance quotes for both my car insurance and my house insurance just to see how varied the prices are. My methodology is far from perfect, but it's helpful to keep track of the pricing I get as well as seeing how that pricing changes over time. … [Read more...] about Insurance Craziness