I met a friend earlier today who told me some very sad news about a young friend of her's -who was just 21 - who died while travelling in Asia this week. I think the death of such a young person always hits you in the guts even stronger than it usually would. In situations like this, words seem useless, but I sent this poem to my friend to read. I first came across it because it was used to extraordinary effect to mark the tragic death of a young male character in the profoundly moving 2001 movie In the Bedroom. I'm thinking of that's guy's poor family as I read it.
My Lost Youth
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1807-1882)
OFTEN I think of the beautiful town
That is seated by the sea;
Often in thought go up and down
The pleasant streets of that dear old town,
And my youth comes back to me.
And a verse of a Lapland song
Is haunting my memory still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
I can see the shadowy lines of its trees,
And catch, in sudden gleams,
The sheen of the far-surrounding seas,
And islands that were the Hesperides
Of all my boyish dreams.
And the burden of that old song,
It murmurs and whispers still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
I remember the black wharves and the slips,
And the sea-tides tossing free;
And Spanish sailors with bearded lips,
And the beauty and mystery of the ships,
And the magic of the sea.
And the voice of that wayward song
Is singing and saying still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
I remember the bulwarks by the shore,
And the fort upon the hill;
The sunrise gun, with its hollow roar,
The drum-beat repeated o’er and o’er,
And the bugle wild and shrill.
And the music of that old song
Throbs in my memory still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
I remember the sea-fight far away,
How it thundered o’er the tide!
And the dead captains, as they lay
In their graves, o’erlooking the tranquil bay
Where they in battle died.
And the sound of that mournful song
Goes through me with a thrill:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
I can see the breezy dome of groves,
The shadows of Deering’s Woods;
And the friendships old and the early loves
Come back with a Sabbath sound, as of doves
In quiet neighborhoods.
And the verse of that sweet old song,
It flutters and murmurs still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
I remember the gleams and glooms that dart
Across the school-boy’s brain;
The song and the silence in the heart,
That in part are prophecies, and in part
Are longings wild and vain.
And the voice of that fitful song
Sings on, and is never still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
There are things of which I may not speak;
There are dreams that cannot die;
There are thoughts that make the strong heart weak,
And bring a pallor into the cheek,
And a mist before the eye.
And the words of that fatal song
Come over me like a chill:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
Strange to me now are the forms I meet
When I visit the dear old town;
But the native air is pure and sweet,
And the trees that o’ershadow each well-known street,
As they balance up and down,
Are singing the beautiful song,
Are sighing and whispering still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
And Deering’s Woods are fresh and fair,
And with joy that is almost pain
My heart goes back to wander there,
And among the dreams of the days that were,
I find my lost youth again.
And the strange and beautiful song,
The groves are repeating it still:
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
Friday, August 07, 2009
Out and out winners
Team Ireland results from the World OutGames in Copenhagen
SWIMMING
Nick Flanagan, Waterford
Gold - Breastroke 50M, Free style 200M
Silver - Freestyle 100M, Freestyle 50M (a PB at 26'82" LC)
Bronze - Butterfly 50M
TRACK & FIELD
Edwin Keville, Rathfarnham AC, Dublin
Gold - 5k road race, 5,000M track, 10,000M track,
Silver - 3,000M steeple chase
Bronze - 1,500M bronze
BADMINTON
Joe Ruddy, Mount Pleasant LTC, Dublin
Gold - B- singles
SQUASH
Jonathan MacBride, Lisburn Racquets Club
Gold - A Division
TENNIS
Roger Dowds, Taney Tennis Club, Dublin
Gold - D mixed doubles
Bronze - C Singles
ROWING
Frank Kelly, Castleconnell BC, Limerick
Gold - 6km Head Race
BRIDGE
Lindsey and partner, Mayo
Gold - Pairs Tournament
Michael Mc, Dublin
Gold - Teams Tournament
Silver - Pairs
The Last Word on what to do
My weekly summer events feature every Friday on The Last Word with Matt Cooper on Today FM has its own page here. Get in touch if there's anything you want mentioned.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
"But I know a good kid when I see one..."
John Hughes, RIPAs a tribute, here's one of my all-time favourite movie speeches (written by Hughes) and delivered by the great John Candy to his niece's gargoyle-faced school principal in Uncle Buck.
"I don't think I want to know a six-year-old who isn't a dreamer, or a sillyheart. And I sure don't want to know one who takes their student career seriously. I don't have a college degree. I don't even have a job. But I know a good kid when I see one. Because they're ALL good kids, until dried-out, brain-dead skags like you drag them down and convince them they're no good. You so much as scowl at my niece, or any other kid in this school, and I hear about it, I'm coming looking for you! Take this quarter, go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face! Good day to you, madam."
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Bent out of shape
My piece on training to be an acrobat in today's Irish Examiner
There will be even more clowning around than usual on the streets of Dublin this weekend when the Urban Circus hits town for day of stilt walking, juggling and all-round acrobatic fun.
If you think that your job requires you to be flexible, to stretch yourself, to bend over backwards, and to climb all over people to reach the top, then spare a thought for those circus performers who must literally deploy those skills for our entertainment.
I had a taste of the circus life earlier this month, when I took part in a special two hour acrobatic skills workshop during the Temple Bar Circus Festival.
“Don’t worry, it will be easy,” said the marvellously malleable teacher Ali Mswabi, as I nervously changed into loose-fitting clothing in the Ss Michael&Johns above the Cultivate centre in Temple Bar on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
There were four girls and two other guys taking part in the workshop too, and, at that moment, we all shared a look that united us in one thought: Easy for you to say dude.
“Time for the warm up,” Ali exclaimed. A cold dread gripped my stomach. Oh no, I thought. This is beginning to sound a lot like exercise. The huge difference, though, was that this was actually fun as opposed to flapping away on a treadmill staring though dead eyes at the calorie counter on the screen.
We started by jogging laps in the hall, and after that Ali put us through all sorts of muscle-stretching and balancing contortions. I was very chuffed with myself for being able to bend the whole way back while crouched on my hunkers (though that’s sure to hurt come winter time!).
I was already sweating buckets as Ali lined us up for the first stunt: the handstand. Ali, who is originally from Somalia but resident in Cork for seven years now, has been at this since he was 8 years old. Therefore, he was more than qualified to deal with someone like me, a klutz with the apparent agility of Jabba the Hut and about as much co-ordination as the Red Cow roundabout.
He partnered me with a girl named Roisin, who had to lightly hold my legs as I stood on my hands for a full minute. I was scared of doing it too quickly and kicking her in the face so it took three attempts until I get it right. Once up, I straightened my body totally, as instructed, and ignored the quivering in my arms and the rush of blood to my head to hold out for the 60 seconds. Success!
Next, Ali got us to do a cartwheel, something I haven’t attempted since I was a slightly-more dextrous eight-year-old. He partnered this with a tumble, done the proper way by bending and touching your toes, arching your body into a triangle shape, then turning yourself head over heels using the back of your neck, as opposed to the top of your head, as the fulcrum.
So far, so good, but just as I was about to lay back for a lengthy rest on my laurels, I realised that all that had come up until now was just the baby moves. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, for my next trick: the amaaaaazing flyspring! This involved using your hands to jump head over heels and land on your back - or, if you can manage it, your feet - on a mat.
I was in the zone at this stage, so I tried both. On the first go, I lost my nerve just as I was about to delve into the propelling handstand and so ended up crashing sideways. Next time, however, I made it over onto my back, and quite fluidly too if I do say so myself. Feeling cocky, I attempted it again and this time I finished it in a half-upright position. Ali cheered and I wished I had a copybook to present to get a gold star.
Ali then produced a long red skipping rope. My heart sank because I realised we were entering the logical/co-ordination-heavy segment of the class. I’m ashamed to admit that I conform to the stereotype of the man who can’t multitask: I can’t walk and type a text message at the same time, so how will I fare trying to count myself into jumps over a rope?
We started off by practicing to run through the moving rope without getting hit, followed by performing one skip and then jumping out of the way. Once I’d gotten the hang of that, Ali encouraged me to get down into the press-up position, and try to jump the rope that way. Needless to say I spent the next five minutes getting tangled up and cursing like a sailor out of frustration, but on my last attempt I managed to nail down three consecutive push-up jumps.
Confirmation of my utter clumsiness and illogicality was achieved with the next trick: juggling three hats. It looked (though doesn’t sound) simple enough: wear one on your head and hold one each in your out-stretched arms. Then lightly toss the right one to the left, using the right hand to move the hat off your head, replacing it with the hat from your left hand, leaving that one free to catch the hat thrown from the right (my head hurts just trying to explain it).
This was a complete disaster. At one point I think I’d mastered it, until one of the girls pointed out that I’d actually dropped one of the hats and I was just doing it with two. To bolster my plummeting self-esteem, Ali stood next to me and put an arm around my shoulder, halving the complicated manoeuvres. All these feats are so much easier with a trained acrobat doing most of the work.
Finally, it was time to start forming some shapes from the bodies of all eight of us. I started with the flag: standing on Ali’s crouched thighs, holding onto his lower arms, and leaning back to billow in the wind like the move’s namesake. We then tried the same trick with Ali resting against the up-stretched legs of a third person, while I hooked my foot around his neck so I could lean back even further. It worked too.
Of course, what would any acrobat workshop be without building a human pyramid? My group actually managed to build three separate ones, all with me on top, but of course. The first few times I tried to be as dainty as I could, profusely apologising to the others as I clamoured all over them, the vertebrae of their spines tickling my feet.
Somehow we managed to hold steady each time, at least long enough to get a picture anyway, before I ended up tumbling backwards onto the mat and the whole structure collapsed into a fit of giggles. Afterwards, I was flushed and sweaty, but as I strutted home, I couldn’t help but pat myself on the back - for I can reach back there now - and think: I’m flipping great.
A kinda magic
My interview with Keith Barry from last Saturday's Irish ExaminerKeith Barry has conjured some amazing feats in his time: stopping his own heart, catching a bullet in his teeth, driving (and surviving) blind-folded on a public road. Yet there’s one stunt that not even he can pull off: making a builder appear on time.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he says as he rushes into Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Hotel some 15 minutes after our arranged meeting time. “I was on the phone arguing with the builder who is due to come and do my skirting boards.”
It’s a busy time for the magician, illusionist and all-round mentalist. He’s in the midst of moving house - his escalating career and the birth of he and wife Mairead’s daughter Breana 10 months ago has necessitated the move to a bigger place - and he’s also putting the finishing touches to his new live tour, ‘Direct From Vegas’, which kicks off next Saturday (July 18) in Castlebar.
Then again, this 32-year-old wouldn’t know life to be any other way. He’s back home for the past few months, having completed an extraordinarily successful six week stint headlining at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
During his stay in Sin City, his star rose so high and so fast that Barry is seriously in danger of developing the bends. Celebs like Paris Hilton and Bette Midler were queuing to attend, and then the Las Vegas Review Journal voted him the best magician in Vegas after just six weeks. To top it all of, the boy from Williamstown, Co Waterford, who started teaching himself magic from a book at age 14, picked up a Merlin Award - the magicians’ Oscar - for ‘Mentalist of the Year’.
“That was a big deal because there is a lot of competition out there from the likes of David Copperfield, Penn and Teller, The Amazing Jonathan and Lance Burton,” he says. “To get it from the critics is extra special because they’re ruthless in Vegas.”
“I had to pinch myself during the Vegas thing in general. It’s what I’ve been striving to do pretty much all my life. It was surreal getting off the plane in Vegas and the first thing I saw was a whole wall with my face on it. In the hotel my face was on the room keycards advertising the show. It never stopped being weird.”
He adjusted pretty quickly however, and went down so well that it looks as if he’ll be back over there early next year for another run. “I’m definitely going back, but whether I move out there is another matter entirely,” he says.
It’s a given that his success rubbed a few competitors up the wrong way. “There’s a lot of rivalry and bitchiness in magic which is why I don’t really associate with a lot of other magicians or societies,” he reveals. “A perfect example: a friend introduced me to [illusionist] Criss Angel, but he didn’t want to talk to me. There’s no need for that. There’s room for us all.”
The content of Barry’s Direct from Vegas tour will reflect his growing passion for and research on hypnosis. “It’s called instant induction hypnosis, where I put people under really quickly, and within seconds they won’t be able to lift a pen off the table, won’t remember their names, or even how to tie their shoelaces.”
In addition he’ll have e10,000 on stage with him every night to reward any observer who can best him in a complex game of what he calls “psychological warfare” (someone has yet to achieve this). “It’s me playing with their minds,” he says with a sly smile. “Am I f*cking with them or not? Are any of the clues I’ve told them true?”
On a similar note, Barry will also be tackling a specific group that have long rankled him: psychics. “I don’t believe in them,” he says bluntly. “I’ll be showing people that I can do the job of a psychic, maybe even better than them.
“I believe people are being duped. I don’t judge them by the way; I judge the psychics. I’m duping you as entertainment, and I’ll tell you that. A psychic will claim they’re talking to your dead brother or something.”
Does a magician need to be that sceptical in order to flourish? “No not at all, but I’m a scientist too,” he replies. “I graduated with an honours chemistry degree and worked in labs for two years. I always advise people who go to psychics to read a book called The Full Facts of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland. He takes apart and explains their entire process.”
The depths and potential of the human mind is what fascinates Barry the most lately: one of the things he’s been researching is brainwashing techniques used by the CIA. “I got my hands on these internal CIA documents used on prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, totally crazy stuff,” he says. “I can’t really het into it, but they gave me some great ideas for routines.”
Barry admits that he’s a workaholic, averaging about fours sleep a night. That must have come in handy when someone had to get up to attend to daughter Breana? “She’s actually just started sleeping in the last four nights after 10 months,” he laughs.
He admits that it’s hard to be away from his family so much, but they’ve learned to make it work. “We’ve made a rule where I won’t go without seeing them both for four weeks at a time no matter what I’m doing,” he explains. “I’ll either commute or they’ll fly out to me.”
In case anyone is wondering, Barry says he never used any of his mind tricks to hoodwink wife Mairead into falling in love with him.”She’s far too savvy for that unfortunately,” he laughs. “We’ve been with each other since school, so she’s known me from my very humble beginnings up until now. She’s well onto all my tricks.”
After his Irish tour, he’ll be heading back to America to film a new TV show for the Discovery Channel, which will air next year.
“I have a couple of ideas for it, but one of them is that I want to fool the most intelligent people in the world,” he reveals. “For instance, I found this guy named called Chris Langan, who has a proven IQ of 190. That’s higher than Einstein’s.
“He’s almost certainly the most intelligent person in the US, if not the world. We’re also looking into getting Stephen Hawking and Garry Kasparov. They will be a big challenge for me.”
He also warns fans to expect something entirely different from his next live shows after that. “I want it to be called Keith Barry XXX: Leave the Kids At Home,” he says. “It will be a full-blown hypnosis show. With that title, you can imagine what it’s going to be like.”
Should we imagine people simulating sex acts, for example? Barry just smiles mischievously as he gets up to leave and replies. “It’s going to get people talking, that’s for sure.”
*Keith Barry plays the Olympia Theatre Dublin (July 30-31; August 1-2). See www.keithbarry.com to book tickets.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Out to win
My feature on the OutGames from Saturday's Weekend mag in the Independent.
Gay people don’t “do” sports: it’s a long-held stereotype that has proven frustratingly difficult to shake off. However, the emergence of a number of international sporting events for gay athletes over the past decade is helping to consign that misconception to the sin bin of history where it belongs.
One such event is the 2nd International World OutGames, which kicks off in the Danish city of Copenhagen today (July 25) and runs until August 2. Up to 8,000 gay people from all over the world will compete in 38 disciplines in a contest that was originally founded in Montreal, Canada in 2006.
There are 35 registered Irish athletes (all men) taking part in the OutGames over the next week, so Weekend caught up with five of them in between training sessions to talk about their involvement and their own personal experiences as gay men in a wider sporting culture that - when it comes to homosexuality - has proven stubbornly resistant to ideas of tolerance and diversity.
*Nick Flanagan
Like other 18-year-olds who have just completed their Leaving Cert, Nick Flanagan went on holiday straight after his last exam earlier this month. The big difference, however, is that Nick’s overseas hijinx involved hours of gruelling sports training, rather than boozing and clubbing, every day for two weeks.
“My cousin is a personal trainer in France, so I visited her and we made it a kind of sporting holiday,” explains Nick, who is from Tramore, Co Waterford. “We were up at 4.30 most mornings, and spent six or seven hours training every day. It was pretty intense.”
Nick is the youngest athlete in the Irish contingent taking part in the Games, where he will compete in five events: the 50m butterfly; 100m butterfly; 50m freestyle; 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle.
“I’ve been swimming competitively for six years, but this is my first international event,” he explains. “The highest I’ve reached before now is the Irish Division One.”
Nick has always played several sports, and he says his sexuality was never an issue. Then again, he did have one particular skill set that probably helped him in that regard. “I have a few black-belts in martial arts so I guess nobody was going to start on me,” he laughs.
“I came out at age 16. I was still in school, but there wasn’t any hassle. There were probably a few comments made on the sly, but nothing was said to me. I didn’t lose any friends over it. If anything, I’ve just made more friends since. My family took some getting used to it, but now they’re fine.
“Coming out to the guys in my kickboxing club was the one I was most worried about, because it has a perception of being a real macho, ‘straight’ sport. But the lads were great about it. The teacher told me once that the only thing the other guys said was, ‘Fair play to him for coming out and being honest’.
“I wouldn’t be shy about it. I just said to everyone that if they have any questions or problems to just talk to me about it and we’ll clear it up. I’m still the same person.”
Be that as it may, Nick acknowledges that his positive experiences might not be the same for other gay sportsmen and women. “I know plenty of people in swimming and kickboxing who are gay but haven’t come out,” says Nick, who plans to start studying Freshwater and Marine Biology in Galway this autumn.
“They’ve told me, and asked me what to do, but they just don’t feel ready to tell their families or friends. If it’s hard for them, then imagine what it’s like for a high profile sportsperson who is gay. They will have much more attention put on them. It’s not an easy decision.”
*John Kilcullen
“One of the things that always irritated me is the assumption, made not only by straight people but also gay people, that if you’re gay you couldn’t possibly be into sport,” says John Kilcullen, from Lucan, Co Dublin, adding with a laugh: “You had to come out as gay to your straight friends, and then come out as interested in sports to your gay friends. Both were equally hard to do!”
John is part of a four-man crew who will be taking part in the rowing events during the OutGames. At 60 years of age, he’s also the oldest member competing.
“For me, it’s a question of getting fit enough, but it’s hard,” he explains. “I did rowing for a year in UCD in the late 1960s, but the training now is very different. In the last four weeks, we’ve started concentrating on speed. I do the majority of my training on the rowing machine in the gym. I feel it in the bones though; it’s pure will power that gets me through.”
As much as he enjoys it, John knows Copenhagen will be a big challenge. “I was initially told we were taking part in the leisure row, but it seems to be anything but,” he says. “It’s over 6km for one thing. We don’t have a 6km straight run when we practice on the Liffey. The maximum we can get there is 2km. It’s going to be tough.”
John’s boyfriend of three years is also a member of the rowing crew taking part. “He’s a bit younger so I don’t think he’s feeling it as much,” John laughs.
Given the nature of his sports club, homophobia obviously isn’t the problem it might be in other sporting organisations. Nevertheless, having lived through the good and bad times for gay people in this country, John can relate.
“I was involved with a soccer club for years and a couple of lads were gay, but they were very, very cagey about it,” he says. “They just felt that the other guys would be uneasy, and think they were looking at them in the dressing room.”
Does he think the sporting environment in general is ready for out and proud sportsmen, like in the GAA or the Premiership, for instance? “I think it will be, but not yet,” he replies. “Old attitudes are changing, but it’s a brave man who’ll be the first to test whether they’ve changed enough.”
*Edwin Keville
Edwin has been a member of Rathfarnham AC for 15 years, where he has honed his track and field skills for this year’s OutGames (he won four medals - one gold, two silver and a bronze - at the 2006 event).
“The atmosphere is amazing at it,” he explains. “The opening of the games is like the Olympics: every country comes into the stadium, parading their flag. It’s a magnificent feeling.”
It’s a particularly proud moment for a man old enough (he’s in his early 40s) to remember less enlightened times for gay sports people. “I’ve been involved with sport for years, but I was in the closet for a lot of it,” he says.
“I’m pretty open now, and a lot of the guys in the club know I’m gay so I don’t have a problem with that. They know all about the games and they’re very supportive. My partner often comes with me to events organised by the club, and it’s never been uncomfortable. He’s coming to Copenhagen with me.
“You still get the odd person who is a bit funny about it. A lot of gay men who are in sport want to keep it secret, and I can understand that. I don’t think sporting culture has changed a lot to be honest. High profile guys still seem to think it will ruin their reputation. That’s very sad.”
*Joe Ruddy
This year’s OutGames shouldn’t be a bother to Dubliner Joe; after all, it will be his fourth major world games event competing in badminton and squash. “I played at three events in the first OutGames in Montreal, but before that I won a silver medal in the Gay Games in Amsterdam (1998) and a bronze in the Sydney Games in 2002,” he says.
“Badminton is a peculiar one because a lot of people, guys in particular, would call it a ‘pansy’ sport or a gay sport, whereas at the top level badminton is incredibly athletic and the players need to be phenomenally fit and strong to compete.”
The 47-year-old admits that it was a long time before he came out to anyone he was playing sport with. “People had to me very careful when I was younger,” he says. “I guess I didn’t want to get picked on, and I didn’t want to make the other guys uncomfortable.
“When I went away to my first Gay Games in 1998, most of the guys in my club in Ranelagh knew about it, and they were genuinely supportive. Since then, we can have some banter and craic. But everyone is a lot more open now. Gay sports people are much more comfortable and relaxed. The world is a different place.”
Be that as it may, Joe concedes that when it comes to homosexuality and sport, in general, “there are still a number of major breakthroughs to be made”. “The first Premiership footballer to come out will be earth shattering,” he says. “We had [Justin] Fashanu, but that was kind of after the fact. The first guy to come out while he’s still playing at the top level and at the height of his earning power will be a milestone.
“[Diver] Greg Louganis’ coming out was big, as was Martina Navratilova’s, but at the same time, people always make exceptions for world class talents, and they almost turn a blind eye to it. When people see that there are gay people at every professional level in sport, then that will be huge.”
*David McCrystal
Belfast tennis player David McCrystal admits that he was guilty of thinking other gay people wouldn’t, or couldn’t, be serious athletes when he took part in his first world event, the Chicago Gay Games, in 2006. “That’s probably why I lost,” he now laughs.
“When I heard there was a gay tennis event, I thought it would be middle-aged people flouncing about thinking they were Chris Evert or something. I got a serious wake-up call. The standard is very high at these events. For instance, last year, the Euro Games singles open was won by a German player named Pavel Jakunin who was on the ITT [International Tennis Tour] a few years back.”
The 35-year-old’s participation in such a major gay sporting event is all the more notable because it comes just a month after a report by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission found that the level of anti-gay prejudice in the North has doubled in the last three years.
What’s more, DUP MP, and the region’s effective First Lady, Iris Robinson, is a vocal opponent of homosexuality, saying last year that homosexuals are more “vile” than child abusers, and can be “cured” by psychiatry.
“Nobody really takes her seriously,” David says. “If you look in every country you’re going to find some local MP making equally dodgy remarks. But from that point of view I’d be happy for people like that to see a man from Belfast winning a medal in a gay sports event.”
Friday, July 24, 2009
On the QT
Met Quentin Tarantino in London today for a chat about his new movie Inglourious Basterds. Check out Day and Night in the Irish Independent on August 14 for the interview...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Gays on Sybil and Martin
I'll be on The Morning Show with Sybil Mulcahy and Martin King this Monday (July 13) at 11am on TV3 talking about coming out and "the gay" in general. Also taking part is Michael Barron from BelongTo
Thursday, July 09, 2009
The Power of love
My question for Brenda Power is this: imagine you're alive during the suffragette movement in the early 20th century that's seeking to gain the universal right to vote for women.
Would you think it fair or just or right, and would you tolerate it, if the powers-that-be smugly responded to your campaign by saying: "Alright, we'll give you women the vote BUT you can only vote in local and council elections, not in general or presidential elections or national referenda".
Technically, that is giving women A right to vote - just not THE full and equal vote.
It's the exact same thing that the Irish government is saying to gay people regarding civil partnership and marriage
Would you think it fair or just or right, and would you tolerate it, if the powers-that-be smugly responded to your campaign by saying: "Alright, we'll give you women the vote BUT you can only vote in local and council elections, not in general or presidential elections or national referenda".
Technically, that is giving women A right to vote - just not THE full and equal vote.
It's the exact same thing that the Irish government is saying to gay people regarding civil partnership and marriage
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
30 Rock is full of Muppets
Possibly the best blog post I've ever read. Note: must be a 30 Rock fan to fully enjoy. Note 2: If you're not a 30 Rock fan, get out of my sight. I don't want to look at you. Click here.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
The Bizness
Think Tank this Friday at 8pm. Do it. Don't make me come over there
http://www.myspace.com/vonbizmark
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Picture of the day
Michelle Obama has daggers for Carla Bruni-Sarkozy at the D-Day commemorations on Saturday.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Born Again Christian
My interview with Christian Bale in Day and Night in today's Irish Independent
Four minutes: it's not just the deadline by which Madonna and Justin Timberlake had to save the world; it's also the time it took for Christian Bale, Hollywood's most in-demand actor, to deliver what has become arguably his defining perfor-mance to date.
In February, an audio file was leaked on to the web in which the 35-year-old Welshman is heard hurling a tirade of 'f'-word-laden abuse at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, who had unwisely wandered into Bale's eyeline during the filming of a particularly intense scene with co-star Bryce Dallas Howard on the set of Terminator Salvation.
Continue hereThursday, June 04, 2009
Some queer's notions
Haven't linked this on my blog yet - I feature in a series of promo videos for the Queer Notions festival this month.
Click here to watch.
Click here to watch.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Tiananmen +20
Few images have defined an entire ideology - not to mention an entire century - as this stirring image from the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 5, 1989. Predictably, China's vile regime is implementing an information blackout during the 20th anniversary commemorations.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Camping it up
Article on summer camps for kids published in the Irish Examiner on May 26, and featured on the Tom McGurk Show on 4FM on Friday, May 29.
teen-surf-summer-camps.php or call 051 390944
School’s out for summer, and now it’s time for some fun. To that end, there are a huge range of camps and schools running over the next few months that offer something new, challenging and exciting to just about every child and teenager who takes part.
For instance, professional sporting organisations like the GAA, FAI and IRFU are running summer camps all over the country that will give boys and girls a thorough grounding in the skills and rules of the chosen sport.
Also on the active end of the spectrum, there are several adventure centres nationwide that will give kids the chance to sail, dive, surf, kayak and abseil, as well as focus on tennis, golf and athletics.
In addition, there are also a raft of schools and courses to teach kids to cook and bake, as well as to develop and hone their gifts for acting, singing, and dancing, not to mention drama, film-making and IT. Listed below are a range of options located nationally and regionally that help your kids make the most of their summer break:
NATIONWIDE:
*The FAI is running their Summer Soccer Schools in some 290 venues nationwide. They are open to boys and girls aged 7-15 of all ability. A summer school session lasts five days, from 10.30am to 3pm, with a 20-30 minute lunch break. The schools are under the direction of the FAI Technical Director Packie Bonner and the programme is delivered by FAI qualified coaches. Costs range from e99 per child (for mainstream camp), e70 for goalkeeping camp and e50 for campai as Gaeilge.
See www.summersoccerschools.ie or call 1890 653 653 for advance booking (essential).
*For young Gaelic fans, the GAA run their VHI Cul Camps in a variety of venues in all 32 counties throughout the summer months. They’re open to boys and girls aged 7-13, and last for a week (Monday to Friday) at a time. Camps operate from 10am to 2.30pm, and are structured so that a different aspect of the game is worked on each day, ending with a “blitz” on the last day so each child will get an introduction to competitive games. Prices vary from e45-e80, and booking can be made on a county-by-county basis at www.vhiculcamps.gaa.ie.
*2009 has been rugby’s year, and Leinster Rugby is holding summer camps in 21 locations throughout the province for boys and girls aged 6-12. Children will get to meet Leinster players, all while learning to develop basic rugby skills of passing, tackling, evasion and kicking. Each camp takes place over one week (Monday-Friday) between 9:30am and 1:30pm. Fees are €99 per child, with a family discount offer of €99 for the first child and €90 per sister/brother thereafter. See www.leinsterrugby.ie/domestic/
*Not to be outdone, Munster Rugby is also holding summer camps for boys and girls aged 6 - 13. The camps run from 9.30-1.30 from Monday to Friday, and the cost is e99. Camps are held throughout July and August in locations in Cork, Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Tipperary, and Waterford. See http://www.munsterrugby.ie/
*Samba Soccer School hold footie camps throughout July and August for boys and girls between ages 5 and 16. Camp venues for 2009 are located in Cork, Dublin, Clare, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. Costs e95 with special offers for family and group bookings. See www.sambasoccer.com or call 1890 Soccer/1890 762237
* Let’s Go! Multi-activity summer camps operate in 100 venues in towns nationwide during the months of July and August for children aged 5-13. The camps run from 9.30-3.30pm for five days, with two supervised breaks in between. Activities include bouncy castles, trampolines, scavenger hunts and musical games for the 5-6 year olds, and soccer, lacrosse, karting and crazy golf for the 7-13 year olds. Camps cost e90-e95 per child, and bookings can be made at www.letsgo.ie or by calling 1890 538746 (1890 Letsgo).
*Horizon Ireland hold a number of summer camps around the country, offering a wide mix of activities for kids of all ages and abilities, ranging from acting and dance, to motor sports, water adventure and language learning. This summer, Horizon camps are located at Rockwell College in Co Tipperary, Westport Adventure Centre in Mayo, and Wilson’s School in Westmeath. See www.horizonireland.com or call 098 35844
*Starcamp hold singing, dancing and drama classes for a week at a time through June and July in venues throughout 20 counties including Cork, Kerry and Dublin. Call 021-4287490 or see http://www.starcamp.ie/
*Whizz Kids run a number of IT camps in university campuses in Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Galway. Running through June, July and August, each camp runs from 9.30-3.30 and covers a mix of activities each day, including web design, movie-making, sports, online gaming and a host of hi-tech challenges in their ‘Spy Academy’. There are day camps for boys and girls aged 9-15 (costing e159 or e295 for siblings) and residential camps (priced at e350 full board) are for 13-17 year olds. See www.whizzkids.ie/summer-camps.
CORK:
*Fota Wildlife Park will run six week-long summer camps for kids age 4-12 through July and August. Activities are themed along the lines of ecology, safari trails and sport days. Camps are 11am-4pm daily, and cost e95 per child. Call 021 481 2678 or 481 2736 or see www.fotawildlife.ie
*Ballymaloe Cookery School will hold two one-day Kids in the Kitchen courses in August where little chefs can learn from the likes of legends such as Darina Allen in the country’s most famous cook school. Courses on August 4 and August 24 (both costing e205). Call 021 4646785 or see www.cookingisfun.ie/pages/
*Thompsons Farm on the Fountainstown Road have Kids Cookery Camps running throughout July for ages 7-16. Sessions last for three hours a day for three days. Costs are e65-e80. See www.thompsonsfarmshop.com/
*The Gaiety School of Acting is offering a range of summer courses in Cork this year, mostly for teens aged 12-19. On July 18-19, there’s an intensive masterclass acting weekend for 14-19 year olds (costing e120), while wannabe performers (age 13 and over) can hone their skills and perfect their auditions with weekly studio classes through July and August (cost e180). There are also classes covering camera acting skills, and a Make-A-Play course for ages 5-9 and 10-12 year olds (July 6-10), costing e150. All classes are in the South Parish Community Centre. See www.gaietyschool.com or call 01 679 9277
*Niamh Barrett Computers is offering a series of tech-inspired summer courses for ages 5-6, 7-12 and for teenagers. Courses take place throughout June and July in Cork, Charleville, and Mallow, andlast for five days at a time. See www.nbcomputers.ie or call 022 51318
*Clonakilty Park Leisure Centre hold Water Works Kids Camps throughout the summer. It’s suitable for kids aged 4-14, and each camp lasts five days, from 11am-3pm everyday. See www.clonpool.com/kamp.htm or call 022 8834387
*Kinsale Outdoor Education Centre have a range of summer activity courses throughout June, July and August for different age groups between ages 6 and 14. Costs e190-e250. There are also sailing camps throughout the summer costing e270. See www.kinsaleoutdoors.com or call 021 477 2896
KERRY:
*Mark and Bernie Doe’s Just Cooking school in Killarney offer several four day cooking schools for kids aged 6-10, 11-14 and for teenagers. Classes take place in July and August and cost e40 (for 6-10 years) and e95. See http://www.justcooking.ie/
*Star Outdoors Adventure Centre in Kenmare have summer camps lasting a week throughout July and August for 6-15 year olds. Daily camps run from 10am-4pm. Rates are e190 per week or e45 per day, including lunch. See www.staroutdoors.ie/news/tag/
DUBLIN:
*Imaginosity, the children’s museum, are offering half day summer camps for the first time this year. Throughout June, there will be camps based around science, arts and crafts, and learning and playing for ages 4-6 and 7-9 years. For more details and to book see www.imaginosity.ie or call 01 2176134.
*The National Gallery has a series of free summer art workshops for ages 4-10 years running every Sunday at 3pm throughout June, July and August (call 01 661 5133)
There are also a host of art classes in July, including the Children’s Art Club for ages 7-12 (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2.15-3.30pm, €28 per week), and Little Master’s Class for ages 4-6 years (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 11am-12pm, €20 per week). Tickets can be bought in advance from the Gallery Shop (or call 01 663 3518)
Teenagers are also catered for with a series of workshops inspired by Harry Clarke’s book illustrations, and a portfolio preparation course (see www.nationalgallery.ie).
*Dublin Zoo hold four weeks of Zoo Camp Adventures throughout July and August, aimed at kids age 6-12. Each camp lasts for one week, and run from 11am-3.30pm. Campers will have the chance to make new friends and explore the zoo while participating in games, crafts, behind the scenes tours, and animal encounters. Booking for camps starts on June 12 at 9am, and can be made through the Department of Education on 01 4748932. Costs are €110 for members, and €120 for non-members.
*The Irish Academy of Dramatic Arts have acting, singing and dancing classes running from July 13-24, catering for intermediate level (7-12 years) and senior (13-18 years). The camps are held every day for two weeks in the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire. The cost is e300 for two weeks. For more information call the IADA on 01 230 2691 or see www.irishacad.com
*The Ark Children’s Culural Centre in Temple Bar has a series of four day summer schools running throughout July and August, focusing on photography, animation and design, as part of its Earth Explorers Visual Arts Programme for the summer. Call 01 6707788 or see www.ark.ie.
*Kids in the Kitchen summer camps (for ages 8-12 years) will be held in Loreto Abbey, Dalkey from June 22 to July 31. The cost is €200 per week, or €360 for two weeks. Wannabe chefs can learn new recipes and valuable cooking skills as well as building an understanding of healthy eating.. See www.kidsinthekitchen.ie, or call 01-6678831.
*FoodActive summer camps combine cooking with exercise and nutrition, and offer after-camp care up until 5.15pm, will be run at the Teresian School in Donnybrook from June 22 to July 31. Booking is now open for this summer at www.foodactive.ie, or call 086-8066111.
*The Gaiety School of Acting host a variety of summer workshops and courses this summer for 7-16-year-olds, such as Musical Theatre, Footloose Dance Workshops, and Make-a-Movie (in English and ás Gaeilge). Youth Theatre students who are interested in pursuing a career in acting can take the ‘Seriously Serious Masterclass’, designed to reflect two days in a professional acting environment. See www.gaietyschool.com or call 01 679 9277
*Artzone offer a series of drawing, animation and design camps for children and teens throughout the greater Dublin area in July and August. Camps last for a week at a time, 10am-2pm. Five day camps cost e120 (first child), e100 for second and e80 for the third child or more. Four day camps are e110 for the first child, e90 for the second and e75 for the third child or more. See www.artzone.ie/camps/summer.
KILDARE:
*The Golfing Union of Ireland is holding junior summer camps throughout July at Carton House in Maynooth, with coaching from PGA professional Louise D’Arcy. Fresh fruit and water will be given to each child every day and there will be a competition at the end of the week with equipment to be won. Dates for the camps are: July 6-10; July 13-17; July 20-24, with juniors (7-10) from 9.30am-12.30pm and 10 to 15-year-olds from 2-5pm each day. Cost is € 125 per child, and siblings will receive a discount. To register, call 01 5054040.
GALWAY:
*Delphi Mountain Resort are holding five and seven day summer camps in July and August for kids age 8-17, with activities ranging from surfing and kayaking to archery, rock climbing, abseiling and orienteering. There will also be discos, talent shows and movie nights in the evenings. The five day camp is €429.00 per child, while the seven day camp is €499.00pp. Booking forms can be downloaded from www.delphimountainresort.com/
WATERFORD:
*A variety of summer camp programmes are running at the Dunmore East Adventure Centre through July and August, for ages 5-17. Activities include a wide range of land and sea-based fun, and each week concludes with a watersports day followed by a presentation of t-shirts and certificates to all participants. For booking, see www.dunmoreadventure.com or call 051 383 783
Round up
Some recent articles of mine:
Interview with Paolo Nutini in today's Day and Night in the Independent
Movie review (wrongly credited on the site) of 12 Rounds
Feature from during the week on foodies' guilty pleasures
Finally, feature on the Cork Marathon in today's Irish Examiner pasted in below (come one Examiner, get that website up to speed!).
On Monday next, Catherine O’Regan will be one of the 8000 people that will tear through the streets of Cork for the Bord Gais Energy Cork City marathon and relay race. However, the mammoth 26 mile course isn’t likely to faze Catherine: it will be her fifth marathon this year, having completed the Newry Marathon two weeks ago in four hours 27 minutes. The twist is that Catherine, at aged 73, will be one of, if not the, oldest participant in the run on Monday.
“You’re never too old,” laughs Catherine. “I believe that in the last few years I was the only runner in the 70s age group, There weren’t enough of us to make a full category - you need three for that - so I usually compete in the 60s category, which I won in Cork last year.”
It’s a busy Bank Holiday Monday for running aficionados. In addition to the Cork Marathon, the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon will take over Dublin city, as some 40,000 ladies from all over the country pound the pavements all in aid of chosen charities. The annual 10k trek continues to flourish every year: in 2008 alone, the amount raised for Irish charities topped some e10m.
Both Wexford-born Catherine and her husband Joe, who is also aged 73 and originally from Galway, are late bloomers when it comes to marathons. They lived in the UK for 41 years before moving back to Ireland, and only started running when they were 49.
“We found we enjoyed it, so we did a half marathon, and then got a bit ambitious and decided to put in for the London Marathon in 1986,” Catherine explains. “We didn’t expect to get in, but we did, so we ran our first one together, hand-in-hand.
“We both love doing them. I find them very therapeutic. I’m better at long distance as I don’t seem to have to work as hard at that. I had my personal best aged 57 in Melbourne and that was three hours and 35 minutes. Joe mainly does half-marathons, but he’s going to be a marshall in Cork on Monday handing out water, bananas and oranges on the route.”
After Cork, Catherine plans on fitting in two more marathons this year. “I plan on running my 100th marathon in 2010, so I’d need to do five next year,” she says.
“In terms of training, I run three to four times a week normally. I train with quite a few other local women in our club, the Slaney Olympics, in Enniscorthy. We put on races and we organise road runners, and summer and winter handicaps. They’re all women in their 40s, so young ones compared to me!”
Catherine says that the team spirit and the camaraderie generated by a marathon is one of its key attractions. “Everyone is so supportive of one another,” she says. “There’s a real sense that we’re all in this together.”
According to Gina Johnson, the organiser of this year’s marathon, that’s exactly the ethos of the event. “It’s all about inclusion,” she says. “Very few people can actually complete a marathon, but the relay race element is what really gets people involved because it’s so accessible. We had 900 teams registered for the relay last year; this year it’s 1,200. People love the team aspect of it; it gives them a sense of being a part of something big and exceptional.”
Gina adds that the marathon is also great for giving a boost to both the participants and the city itself, something that is surely to be welcomed in these most trying of times. “A lot of people will be out running for the first time, so they might only do the three mile stretch, but it’s still a big achievement to them,” she explains.
“You can see it on their faces. It might even take 6-7 hours to complete, but it gives them such a lift. In fact it gives the whole city a lift because it gets everyone involved. Everyone, from the volunteers to the Council to the gardai, has been so supportive and helpful. It’s what the day is all about.”
PANEL: The weird and wonderful marathon
*The relay race in the Cork marathon allows those taking part to cut loose and have some fun as a team. There certainly seem to be willing contenders in that regard: some of the 1,200 team names registered for this year include Handbags and Ham Sandwiches, For the Love of God Which Way?, The Coastal Cowboys, Abandoned Chocolate Endorsers, Legends in Our Own Minds, Scotch Road Scooters, Slow Cheetahs, The Blister Sisters, Birds on the Run, Relaying Relics, Puffing and Panting, Last Legs, and Blood, Sweat N Beers.
*Elsewhere, the some 8000 runners are expected to consume 10,000 litres of water along the route on Monday.
* All runners will have a timing chip attached to their shoe which will be detected by antennae at the beginning and end of the race to give accurate start and finish times.
* Some of the more unusual marathons held around the world include the Great Wall Marathon on the Great Wall of China, the Great Tibetan Marathon held in an atmosphere of Tibetan Buddhism and the Polar Circle Marathon held on the permanent ice cap of Greenland in -15 degrees Celsius temperatures.
For details and route plan, see www. corkcitymarathon.ie. Details on the Dublin mini-marathon are at www.womensminimarathon.ie
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Pride and Prejudice?
My article from this year's official programme for Dublin Pride, which was launched last night in Glitz
If the dramatic events that have rocked the globe since we last met for Pride have taught us anything, it’s that the global is the local. The US economy sneezed and the rest of the world caught a cold. Similarly, last November’s presidential election in the US fascinated and engaged the international community like few exercises in modern western democracy ever have, and the resultant election of Barack Obama soon prompted just about every other world leader to start speaking in the language of hope and renewal in the face of worry and despair, even, Lord help us, our own calamitous government here in Ireland.
In the same vein, the age-old chestnuts of gay marriage and homophobia have also weighed heavily on the minds of LGBT communities all over the world this past year. When Californian voters passed the despicable Proposition 8 to revoke gay marriage laws, on the same day as the state and the country elected its first African-American president, it wasn’t difficult for gay people in Dublin to sense what way the wind was blowing. Such a huge setback in terms of gay rights anywhere is bound to have a ripple effect.
Progress in terms of gay marriage here in Ireland has proved to be dependably, frustratingly slow. We’ve been kept waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Is our legislature the ultimate call centre or what? It can be hard to keep up the fight in the face of such legal foot-dragging, but several campaigning groups here in Ireland have refused to stay silent on the matter, and they deserve to be duly applauded for that.
Complacency is a dangerous thing. We have been all guilty of it and I incriminate myself in that charge as much as anyone. So wasn’t it inspiring to see some 700 people turn up at the LGBT Noise protest in favour of gay marriage at the Central Bank in Dame Street in April? There was a real sense of unity and purpose to the march, and it was a fantastic reminder to us all that complaining isn’t enough. Moaning to one another isn’t enough. That anger needs to be translated into (wo)manpower, boots pounding the streets, and a campaign of noisy, inconvenient protest to keep the pressure on our elected representatives to do the right thing.
After all, as quite a few gay people pointed out in recent months, if it’s okay for two total strangers to get married as part of a Waterford radio station’s latest publicity campaign, and all to not a peep of protest from the anti-gay marriage brigade who have charged themselves with “saving” marriage from the apparent degradation we would bring to it, then what’s the hold up allowing gay marriage in this country? Such inconsistencies in our opponents’ arguments need to be pointed out and aired as publicly as possible.
Like many other gay people this year, I was profoundly moved by Gus Van Sant’s movie Milk, which told the story of America’s first openly gay public official Harvey Milk. Every gay person, without exception, that I spoke to after that movie left the cinema feeling fired up and ready to fight.
Even more said they couldn’t help but get misty-eyed listening to that movie’s young screenwriter Dustin Lance Black speak so poignantly about growing up gay during his speech collecting his much deserved Oscar. I think it would be worth remembering those feelings anytime you feel momentum slipping. Get the movie on DVD or watch Lance Black and Sean Penn’s Oscar acceptance speeches on YouTube if you must!
Because we need that momentum. There are still many fights we have to wage. A startling documentary made for Newstalk last summer entitled Faggot, Freak, Dyke, Whatever laid bare the facts of homophobic bullying in some of our schools.
This was backed up by a comprehensive survey of LGBT mental health issues produced by BelongTo, GLEN and the National Office for Suicide Prevention that reported shockingly high percentages of homophobic bullying and abuse. On the other hand, that research also credited gay people for their amazing resilience in overcoming such setbacks, and it’s that resilience that we need to draw on now and in the years ahead.
We need to be resilient when confronted with people like Pope Benedictator, who, true to form, used his Christmas message to label gay people a greater threat to humanity than global warming. Or when Northern Ireland MP, and the region’s effective First Lady, Iris ‘The Virus’ Robinson - this island’s answer to Fred Phelps - unapologetically spewed forth her hateful bilge about gay people being more vile than child abusers.
What’s more, it’s equally important that we challenge the quieter and seemingly harmless, but ultimately no-less insidious forms of homophobia in our midst. For instance, last August singer Brian McFadden casually joked during an interview that only gay men should wear pink, before adding that “saying pink is a form of red is the same as saying homosexual is a form of male”.
There were howls of protest, and he grumpily, reluctantly apologised, if that’s the right word. “I’m sorry if I upset anybody,” McFadden said, though he never atoned for suggesting that gay men aren’t “real men”. He genuinely didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that statement.
He shouldn’t be let get away with remarks like that. Nor should BBC DJ Chris Moyles for mocking gay singer Will Young by parodying his song Leave Right Now in a high pitched, effeminate voice (sample of Moyle’s lyrics: ‘It's my birthday today, gonna wear my new dress tonight’). Regarding that incident, the UK’s broadcasting regulator warned that “such material runs the risk of being imitated by children, for instance in the playground, causing unnecessary distress”.
That’s an important point, and one I will throw back at anyone who accuses me of having no sense of humour. I’m quite good at laughing at myself, but I don’t think it’s funny that the word ‘gay’ is bandied about playgrounds as the worst kind of insult. The kind of statements by Iris Robinson and Pope Benedict and the “joking around” of McFadden and Moyles has a very serious trickle-down effect.
If kids as young as four or five are learning that homosexuality is something to mock and be afraid of, what hope do we have for a future of tolerance and respect? Like their language, kids learn their beliefs and attitudes by osmosis from a very early age. If we lose them to ignorance and prejudice that young, then it’s truly an uphill struggle to ever get them back.
We have a vibrant, eclectic, intelligent, brave gay community here in Ireland, brimming with confidence and good ideas. Can you imagine, even 10 years ago, a gay prom being held in the Mansion House and all to extremely positive coverage in the mainstream press?
That shows that things are changing, that equality can be achieved. But it’s also worth remembering the lesson that history has gleamed from such prominent agents of change as Harvey Milk and Barack Obama: equality, and freedom, can only be claimed and re-invented by those with the courage and tenacity to reach out and grab it.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Dinner and a movie
Some of my stuff from 'Day and Night' in today's Independent..
Restaurant review of Koh in the Millenium Walkway
Movie reviews:
Tormented
Mark of an Angel
Everlasting Moments
Restaurant review of Koh in the Millenium Walkway
Movie reviews:
Tormented
Mark of an Angel
Everlasting Moments
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