The scenic drive into beautiful Clonakilty.

The reasons why people love South West Cork

Perchance one doesn’t live in the Emerald Isle otherwise known as Ireland the Republic of. Perchance one does. Now it is a beautiful place and never more so than in summer. However in amongst all this beauty some gems stand out. Some people know about this and others don’t. So here is a guide to beautiful Clonakilty.It starts at the very beginning with the drive down from Cork and entering the outskirts of Clonakilty, known to locals simply as Clon.

From the very first sight of this, one immediately gets the feeling. Here is something special. Why and how so? Well for a start its Ireland’s first fair trade town. Then there are the trees, so beautiful in summer and even more so in Autumn. Then there is the tidiness with next to no litter in sight and Clon won the tidy towns competition in all Ireland in 2000 and wins a Gold medal almost every year.

Last but not least the Virgin Mary has made an appearance here right at the beginning and there is a lovely grotto here in remembrance of her. Perchance is the reason everybody loves this town?

Please bear with me whilst I try to show it to you in pictures thank you.

Above coming out of the town heading towards Cork

The grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared and further down on the beach one can find a seashell which has an image of her. The only place in the world where this can be found. Ireland goes to vote today on the fiscal treaty about whether or not to stay in the euro zone or not. It’s all about Bankers and Big Business.

So sad.

Now I have lived a diverse life believe you me. Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, back to Zimbabwe and then Ireland. So many different people, so many different colours, so many different languages, so many different species of game, so many differing ideological ideas, depending who is in power at any given time. That’s just the countries I have lived in. What about those I have visited?

So just where does this leave one? It leaves one with a vast array of different perspectives on how and why people believe how they do. Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, I’ve lived through them all. English, Shona, Ndebele, Chilapalapa, Afrikaans, Gaelic. I’ve heard them all at one stage also. That might be a pretty impressive array of different cultures, might it not?

I also lost all my hearing and I mean all, at eighteen years of age. So what exactly does this leave one with? You might think a bit of experience, might you not?

So through all this the most important thing I have learnt is that. The greatest attribute any can have. Is, the ability to laugh at oneself.

Despite all the above there remain certain times and memories which hold a special place in your heart, but, they are lost forever? No they are not. There is a new phenomenon now, known as the Internet. This brings you places like Facebook, which brings you into contact once more, with long lost people and friends. The pleasure of it all. Some of these people form groups, for like minded people. One of these groups had to do with the long lost art of speaking Chilapalapa. I had so much fun there. So because I spend a lot of my time penning short stories, I decided to do one for the people there. Lo and behold the group deleted it because a handful of women decided to take umbrage with it. ‘Oh, ye of little faith’.

Which is why I’m angry and I’m a very, very, difficult man to upset. Honest. So I decided to retaliate. You cannot have your cake and eat it.

The wonderful world of Golf

Just slapping down another very quick post whilst I am thinking about it and a Happy Easter to everyone tomorrow.

So the golf majors open today with perhaps my favourite one of all, which is the Masters. I have personally seen many splendid and eye catching golf courses. A great pity then that I have never seen Augusta, except on the television,but, what I can say, of all the Majors I have seen none comes close to this for sheer beauty.

Consequently then, over the next four days I’m going (gonna) be glued to the TV screen. I’m sure as always some entertaining and riveting play is going to be seen. Let battle commence and to the victor the spoils.

In a small way it’s what I like about the game, at the professional and amateur levels. One thing stands firm, discipline, fair play and courage. For a short time in my life I was privileged to hold a position where I was responsible for this. Great times and a very high honour it was too.

When I was a lad

When I was a lad

Short story on an English teacher I once had. Full of amusing and tall stories. Just trying something different today on this blog. I wonder if it will work?

What to do?

So here we go again, haven’t done anything or made a post for a long, long, time. Why? As always because I feel just what is the point? One starts somewhere, anywhere, so keen and enthusiastic, and gradually, bit by bit, the whole process wears one down. There is something about all this Internet stuff which still eludes me, and I have been at it for nigh on four years now, and have never made a blind cent. No, I lie, a few dollars here and there which basically account for nothing. In fact the grand total wouldn’t even buy me a packet of cigarettes leave alone anything else. So why bother? Because it’s free? Because it gives you a chance to express yourself and an audience. Express yourself, OK I will agree with that, but an audience, don’t make me laugh. So what to do?

As far as I am concerned one has to make money from whatever one is trying to do. But, everything is free so the two concepts do not go hand in hand? The other thing is that I know people who do make some money. Apparently it all has to do with making sales? Now on the sites I have been on, members, as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow morning are not going to buy anything from you. Most, if not all, are in the same situation you are in. In other words they have no money, yet somehow, they are able to make sales on whatever they write, while you cannot. Which begs the question just where are they making sales from and from whom? I’m not going to go into the details of how they do this because if you listen to them it all has to do with some form of superior knowledge on keywords, back links, and every other nuance known to man. You however, are not capable of doing this, even though you are, but, not quite as well as them, ha, ha, and wink, wink. Now believe you me I have led a long and varied life for the most part of it being my own man and running my own business. Farming is a business, is it not? Yet again despite all this I’m missing something. My conclusion is, something smells here and something is definitely fishy, like there is some system of graft at play which eludes me, but others know how to play this game? Correct me if I’m wrong?  

What to do?

So, I’m not a salesman and judging by what I have done so far all the evidence supports this. I am however a story teller, or I like to believe I am. So here goes.

Basically, one starts keen and because one has a degree of per suaveness one convinces the wife to buy one a camera. And so it begins in taking your own photos and using them to tell stories at the same time perhaps trying to make a sale of said camera. You are wasting your breath and time. The other thing to understand is, as far as I learnt over the past few years. Is that people or shoppers couldn’t be bothered to read, they haven’t got the time or inclination for it in today’s world of instant gratification. So whichever way you look it you are on the losing side. Put very simply then, no one is going to be bothered to read this post. For a start it’s too long and winding, but, it is of course FREE. So I am going to end off by sending one to a couple of examples of what I mean.

Then again a story of my camera and my photos and enjoy, if you can.

Nostalgia and reminiscence

Just going through a phase at the moment to do with nostalgia and reminiscence. Partly brought about because I’m just so sick of political correctness. Seems like you cannot do or say a thing these days without being ground to death by this?

It’s everywhere even on the Internet and your own blog, whatever that may be. Be nice to everyone. I’m sorry, I’m a nice guy believe it or not. Sometimes, seems like the nicer you are, the more you come up against people who are pretending to be nice, yet are nothing of the sort. They’d slit your throat without batting an eyelid, whilst at the same time being nice about it?

I’d prefer it if you could just be who you are, warts and all. There used to be a time when someone who called a spade, a spade, was considered a strong character? I like what I call ‘straight up people’, whatever your colour, creed or religion. Sometimes I wonder about some of the authors who never had to worry about this and I wonder what they would do today? As if you could brush different times and different ways under the carpet? I miss them.

I also sure could do with a laugh at the moment. Someone who could make me laugh almost at a whim, especially in his books is also so sadly no longer with us. So I decided to make a small post about it elsewhere. Getting anyone to visit does as usual present a ‘small

problem’, so thought I’d give it a go here. However I sincerely doubt it will make any difference?

I rest my case and hope you enjoy.

What’s the point?

The more and more I look around, the more and more flummoxed I become. I’ve often wondered if there is any point in having a blog? I had one ages ago and two men and a dog visited it. Not even the dog stayed, which about sums it up. This after I had spent some time in snazzing it up so lost heart and stopped doing it.

Just lately however, some people have talked me into it again, so here I am. But I still insist that unless you are famous, or prepared to talk about celebrities and television shows you are never going to achieve an audience? The more I see of this the more convinced I become?

Still, I guess all one can do is keep on trying and then trying again. My bugbear at the moment is  free. Is there any such thing or is it just another scam?