Irish Eyes

By Mattie Lennon

I was told this story at a wake in Dunlavin many years ago. I don’t remember where I put my keys or if I turned off the immersion but here is that story verbatim:

       “When I was about 7 years old, I accompanied my father to the funeral of a co-worker of his, someone I didn't even know. When we got there, I stood in a corner waiting for the time to pass. A bitter looking man approached me and said, "Enjoy life kid, enjoy it because time flies. Look at me now, I didn't enjoy it." Then he passed his hand over my head and left. My father, before leaving took me with him to pay respects to his friend. When I looked in the coffin, I was horrified to see that the man in the coffin was the same man who had spoken to me! I was so traumatized I couldn't sleep properly. I had terrible nightmares. I was terrified of being alone. I saw many psychologists, endured much turmoil throughout my adolescent years. It got better as I aged, but I would still occasionally wake up screaming in fear. It was many years later when I discovered something remarkable that completely changed my life. That bastard had a twin.”

There's a new conspiracy documentary on Netflix about Covid 19. Two guys from the Wuhan Research Institute, where Trump suspects it was engineered, were due to get on flight MH370 which miraculously disappeared. Seems they were the guys behind the development of the new strain and intending to use it as a weapon, someone caught wind of their plans and purposefully downed the plane. Neither of them got on the flight though. Have a look it's really interesting, it's called two Wongs don't make a flight.

Lockdown and long winter nights ahead. I can’t suggest anything more appropriate than the works of Polly Hughes. I’ll let her explain it herself. (The only thing about her missive is that she is far too kind to me in it.)

      “I always loved Ireland, from stories at my Grandma’s knee to the time I first set foot on dear Erin’s soil. As a child I was one of those dreamers, reprimanded at school for wasting my time writing silly stories and making a nuisance of myself with school newsletters, but of course writers will write and it stayed with me.

      I found myself freelancing, contributing articles for magazines and newspapers on subjects that interested me, as by now I was married with a family. Later after visiting with friends in Ireland, I set up a web magazine for Irish poets and writers, IrishpoetsWorldwide, something that was in those days ahead of its time, and indeed it did have a worldwide following. This is how I met Mattie; he wrote a very popular monthly column for us and was part of the team.

      Of course, life moved on, my family grew and my husband and I travelled, enjoying a kind of retirement, until eventually we settled just across the sea, where on a clear day I can see Ireland from my home. Then came 2020 with Lockdown, and for me this was time to write those novels that had been for so long in my mind, and so Paws for a Tail, a book of short stories to read with your coffee and keep in your heart, and the Trilogy, The Reincarnation Series, dealing with repercussions through time, romance with a twist of horror, set in UK, USA and culminating in Ireland, were published in August.

      Was that the end? As I said writers write, so a website was created but it quickly changed from a project about me to market my books, to a platform of entertainment for everyone who has shown such interest, as suddenly I find myself surrounded by friends. Mattie is helping again as I reach out to my Irish readers, beginning with his feel- good ballad, sung and put to music by John Hoban as part of the November issue, and with something special planned for December.

      Over the past few weeks, I have been contacted by people, who probably thanks to our social media campaign, remember me from IrishpoetsWorldwide, they are wishing to submit poetry. A friend in Canada suggested that I might put together and publish a book of inspirational Irish poetry reflecting us all as we step into the uncertain world of the new normal in 2021. If anyone would be interested in submitting for this, please let me know, it could be a project in the making.

      If you would like to contact me you can reach me through the website pollyLhughes.com

      Don’t miss Mattie’s ‘There is a Brightness’ ballad this month, and if you are interested, all my books are featured with a ‘Look inside’ feature and a link to Amazon. "With Love and Intrigue.”, Polly L Hughes writing romance with a twist of horror pollyLhughes,com

      Polly Hughes's YouTube channel is now up and running . It includes a Ballad There's a Brightness at the But of the Wind, which I wrote about twenty years ago. It didn't mean much at the time but now in the middle of a global pandemic perhaps it maes more sense. It was put to music by John Hoban and he can be heard singing it here. Polly Hughes Celtic Inspirations

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      Whether you saw Hawkins House as a Dublin landmark or an eyesore it is about to be demolished. The attached "In the Hut" is a short radio play which I wrote some years ago. It is set in the security hut of Hawkins House. It probably won't mean much to anyone who didn't ever work in road passenger transport.

In The Hut.wav

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Click on author's byline for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

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