Jim O'BrienSep 10, 20214 minMr Google and the extinction of tall talesOne night, a few years ago, I went to meet a friend in a quiet country pub I had never been to. As soon as I opened the door the barman...
Jim O'BrienSep 10, 20214 min"Well done everyone, well done"I had a strange dream last week. I dreamed I was at an open-air concert in the carpark of one of the local churches. There are two houses...
Jim O'BrienSep 9, 20213 minThe fleeting feet of timeAs I sat down to write this the news broke that veteran Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts, had died at 80. He had been drumming with...
Jim O'BrienJun 20, 20213 minTime to catch our breathThere are times when every gathering of human beings needs to pause in order to establish or re-establish, articulate or clarify the...
Jim O'BrienJun 20, 20213 minIrish weather needs eternal optimismIt’s summer, or so I’m told. Up to recently, it was hard to believe we would ever see the season again, such was the cut of the wind and...
Jim O'BrienJun 20, 20213 minAge is but a number on a pageWhen acquaintances of my own vintage unexpectedly appear out of the dim and distant, I’m generally surprised at how much they have aged....
Jim O'BrienJun 20, 20214 minRebuilding Pompeii as Vesuvius rumblesThere are times when even the Good Book despairs of the world and the capacity of humans to change. “All things are wearisome, more than...
Jim O'BrienJun 20, 20213 minVaccination DayGetting vaccinated was a profound experience. I was surprisingly moved by it. Maybe I’m getting soft in my dotage, but there is something...
Jim O'BrienJun 20, 20214 minA very Irish JourneyThese days everyone is on a ‘journey’. Whether it’s writing a book, converting the farm to organics, letting the hair go white or...
Jim O'BrienMay 6, 20213 minStill stranded without landlineWe have reached the end of our tether with Vodafone and ComReg. In early February I wrote a piece about difficulties we are having with...
Jim O'BrienApr 28, 20213 minA legacy with stringsThere was a time when the only legacy that mattered was one that could be calculated in acres of land or bundles of cash. Mercifully, we...
Jim O'BrienApr 19, 20213 minWhen tomorrow comes nowFor the procrastinator tomorrow is a great day, but sometimes it comes too soon. I have been talking about getting the exterior of the...
Jim O'BrienApr 13, 20213 minPunctuality - nature or nurture?Punctuality is much regarded in highly organised societies. There is great admiration for the man or the woman ‘you could set your clock...
Jim O'BrienApr 13, 20213 minOur rural futureThere is always a lift to the spirits after Easter - daffodils, primroses and buttercups bring a badly needed splash of colour to field,...
Jim O'BrienApr 13, 20213 minPull over, lads!I’m reading the first instalment of Barack Obama’s memoirs at the moment. Entitled ‘A Promised Land’ the book is over 700 pages long, not...
Jim O'BrienMar 28, 20213 minWaiting my turnI remember being out for a pint with a friend, in the days when such things were possible. We sat at the counter in a local hostelry...
Jim O'BrienMar 28, 20214 minVaccine envyI am told by those who are or were teachers that the optimum time to get consensus in the staffroom is September. Over the years, many...
Jim O'BrienMar 10, 20214 minRumblings in the gastronomic memoryEvery now and again a cry goes up urging us to go back to basics, a move trumpeted as the antidote to everything that ails us. I must...
Jim O'BrienMar 10, 20214 minThe Human TouchThe current consort and I have become so accustomed to our nightly commute from the dinner table to the television, I’m wondering if we...
Jim O'BrienMar 10, 20213 minThe winds of changeAfter the pub, the forge was probably the most popular gathering spot for men in rural Ireland. At the forge you could laze around with...