capel street

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (1962)

On the evening of September 11th, 2001, as the initial shock of what had happened that day began to abate, my thoughts turned to what would happen next. Events were still very much in flux, but it was already clear that whatever happened after the dust settled in New York, it wasn’t going be pretty.

That evening I went to the pub for a drink with my friend. It was Slattery’s on Capel Street. On the television in the corner, Sky News was showing night vision pictures of the skyline over Kabul. I assume now that the Northern Alliance were shelling Taliban positions. But at the time no one, not even the Sky News people, was quite sure who was firing, or who was being fired upon. I just remember people – punters, barstaff, everyone – staring at the television screen in grim silence. And this ominous refrain playing over and over in my head… Read the rest of this entry »

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMMY!

Today is my mother’s birthday. It’s a special birthday (with a zero on the end) so I decided to buy her a special present. And with the appropriate-present-buying accumen for which I am rightly renowned, it wasn’t long before those ideal gift ideas were just piling up. Read the rest of this entry »