Our Written Word Weekend moved well, regardless of the million and one things that happened on the August Bank Holiday Weekend. We had a pleasant turn out and a delightful variety of very special guests.

Now the mid- month has past and here in Ireland it is autumn, the beginning of harvest.

You know, much is happening with all of us- you hardly need me to remind you, still -

All of us are rapidly changing, or not changing…. all of us have a opportunity to step up to the light and take what is rightfully ours.

Take our power. Our love. Take our feeling. Our passions. Take our bravery, take our longing. Take our creative in hand and brush away the hairs of doubt.

There is a woman who wrote to letter, a public letter, one of those facebook jobs  and in this letter Tracey G. noted that over the next two years we have at our beckoning, a time of Exquisite Aloneness.

I adore that phrase.

Exquisite Aloneness.

Its a door into the room of heart.

The imagination of the enchanted.

She advices to set time everyday for our creative selves. Just a few moments to write, sculpt, paint, draw, garden, fold, strum whatever your having that is strictly yours.

take these days for Exquisite Aloneness and savour the delight in craft of being.

when the door closes…

A new path emerges.

Peace folks

Be well

thanks for clicking on

always

eileen

And, ladies and gentleman, it is The Day before the Fair…in my books….

‘Cause tomorrow is the 2nd Written Word Weekend.

Large and juicy thanks goes to our sponsors-

South Leitrim Arts,

The Joe Mooney Summer School,

Leitrim County Council

And I must make a correction from my last entry- I spelled the word ” Fleadh”

wrong. For our non-Irish readers, a Fleadh  ( pronounced Flaw) is the Irish word for festival.

So come here , I’ll be attending the All Ireland Fleadh in Cavan Town August 21-22 nd

And with luck and hope I’;ll be seeing YOU at the

Written Word Weekend July 30-August 2 nd

Slante

P.S. The Day before the Fair is from the song Spancil Hill

ah but you knew that….

thanks for clicking in

always

eileen

Moved by the swift movement of time

just a little shook

Since the last entry the McGirls performance following the Demon festival reminded me that of a gift I had forgotten.

A gift more precious than entrance to University or high profiles.

Then there was Paris. Four days in the City of Lights gave me another gift

Reminded me of the beauty of friendship and grounded me in the dreamy sounds of wailing sirens

More work to return to.

More stars in the skies. Cardinal Cross T-Squares and the last 260 days before the next 9th Wave begins, we prayed and danced and danced and prayed and smoked and drank and laughed and danced and wondered why  and how and yes and yes and gave all of oursleves and sweat-ed like haired horned beasts and glided through ponds and sat at the beach and pushed the Wave along.

Then the music came to town. Night after night

Morning after morning

Tunes and songs and more tunes

Tunes to eat by Tunes to piss by Tunes to walk the dog buy the paper, look for a light, see a friend, call a name , there is a tune that belongs to that action.

The Joe Mooney Summer School raged like it never raged before.

Now , the weekend draws near- the 2nd written word weekend approaches.Get a book

A clean page

A good pen

A sharpened pencil

Go in

push the nerve

hold backyour hair

bite your lip

tell me something real

Friday night -Open Stage Open Mike – whatever you call it- its

The Salon des Refuses..…………………………

anyone can read

Saturday morning 11:30 -1pm at the library Writing Workshop for small people with me as workshop leader

Saturday afternoon 2pm- at Paddy Mac’s old Pub- Conor MacManus reads stories from Drumshanbo through a boy’s eye and Eamon Day  and Noel McPartland give a history about the High Street

3:30- Pig Executive Meeting.. in the pub please god or failing that and if some one has something to contribute ( Snowball- that be you) then in to Mrs Mac’s diner we go.

Saturday Night- The Cabaret of the Enchanted Reel featuring

The Poetry Chicks with Connor Kelly on piano

Sunday August 1st 7pm Historical walk around town with  Noel and Eamon

Sunday Night 9pm The Published Writers

Ananda Caffery, Belinda McKeon, Eion McNamee. Tony Curtis

Monday 2pm The Poetry and Prose Brunch at Berry’s Tavern

final wrap up for this year.

Please god nobody dies and everyone get paid.

Then what? Then I promised the local kids I organize a fun day for them-

An Ice Cream Olympics, as i like to call it. So we must set up the game course and do that.

Then the All -Ireland Fleach  is on in Cavan Town and we must make an apperance

Then I take one week to lock myself in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre with a book I promised to finish writing

Then its the Electric Picnic where the Pigs are performing at the Word Tent.

Then then then then

Makes me sad to think that Tracey Wright has died

She was one of those strong silent actors . A big presence but in a surprisingly petite frame.

Kind, she was kind person. Very kind. One of a kind.

Today is the Demon Festival in Dromahair sir and I was invited to do a little busking. I arrive at 4 and play for an hour or so. (Might very well get a bit a coin from the passing ladies and gents-who knows???)

Then tonight at McGirls Pub in Balinamore our favorite promoters -Those Guys with the Book Store are having a Leitrim talent show. Me-self, The Shakallyhags and the Skull Folks ( I don’t think that’s their name but its’ close) are playing as well as Faerie Joe on decks and Harper Andy on the harp. Should be mad and groovy and altogether fun.

Here’s a thoughtful quotation. Tell me which do you choice?

“We either make ourselves sick or we make ourselves happy.

The amount of work is the same”

-Carlos Castaneda

Interesting isn’t it???

Where was I ?-right…..

In fairness… Our favorite promoter’s ( next to Poo Productions and Jasper, can’t forget about the number one Punk connection to the county) the other guys have a terrific shop call the The Inkspot in Carrick-on-Shannon. Please visit it when your strolling through. Its in The Craft Alley beside the Bush Hotel. There is a number of eye-catching shops, stores and a delightful gallery.

You all know about my dog Puppy Dog ( aka the Wee Bad Pig).. let me introduce our cat … DECLAN (named by a good man, a helluva banjo player, a former Drumshanbo-ite, even though I can’t understand a word of his lightning, quick Belfast accent Dominic McWilliams. He also suggested “Wee Bad Pig” for the dog, which I use for official purposes and the like. So there you go… Declan ( aka Rat Catcher) There are no rats around my place- Declan seeks them out, drags the back home, ( kicking and SCREAMING- if you never heard a rat scream, I wouldn’t go looking for it)

Thats our lad. Currently the only male in the house, but that’ll soon change. Wait till my two legged hair-less boyfriend comes in then we’ll see who’s boss.

Poor Pup , it’s “Meow- I’m hungry where’s lunch?” and, “Meow,  I want that comfy chair NOW”

So up  gets The Wee Bad Pig and fixes a sambo ( for all of us, well  you know, while she’s up …) or  the dog heaves her old self off the only soft chair in the place. I had a good look at pup’s face today-one of her eyebrows is turning green… Moldy-like. Thats age for you huh. ( Hhmmm best take a look at mine..)

Thanks for clicking in.

catchcha later  xx

always,

eileen

A great shift has occured in my soul.

I desire to express it . Let play it out . To do this . Ten years is enough time.

Now .

Ten years of observing, considering,sitting still. Its a natural thing to do.

A new culture . A new country. A birth place  .

Ten years. Now.Title

I have something to say. And I might very well leave in order to say it.

ee cummings’ play ‘HIM’ keeps popping into my mind, partularly the famous speech describing a circus act… without the text in front of me, it runs along something like this..

“Damm everything but the circus. Here I am patiently squeezing four dimensional ideas onto a two dimensional stage when everything that is me is looking from the top of a circus tent….. Imagine three chairs on upon another, on a tight rope 100 feet in the air and someone climbs upon the chairs and begins to swing The three chairs are three facts- I am an Artist, I am Man, I am a Failure….I feel I am every time I watch this trick, I am this trick,, I sway smiling selfishly high above all the millions of face, and every time I repeat a small trivial microscopy idiom, I sway , and repeat,

An Artist A Man, A Failure, Must Proceed

(ugh… thats’ not the quote.. not in its entirety.)

Its all I remember from 20 years ago..I shall reproduce this scene for those who need, but perhaps you understand the guest of it.. the critical essence )  ..perhaps.

Beautiful isn’t it. A perfect mantra. I have not thought of this quote for many many years. It was once a cornerstone of my daily Toronto grind.

Now its back. And so I am

Proceed

the children’s part of the parade.

Oohh la la. They were so good and the teachers were excellent as well!!And happy.. they were so happy….

Right so.. there’s more pictures to come stay tunes!

thanks again to Mary  and thanks for clicking on

All the best

always eileen

We had 80 students marching and 100 children in total had a hand painting, colouring or lugging the parade floats to and fro  from the empty storefront I used as my studio up to the school and back. They are terrific bunch of children. I’m amazed at this wee manifestation.

More than this, I was amazed at some of the responses I got from the children and parents when things started to tangle  as they sometimes do  before and event.  Teachers and parents alike were so generous with their patience as I assembled they’re little ones into rows  with brightly coloured clothes, fish on stick, bats on poles, and butterflies everywhere. But,here’s one story that happened and I like it the best.

We had a large peacock that we used in the parade. It took a strong child to carry the structure and I gave that responsibility to a young boy named Evan. He’s in the Fourth Class ( grade four for those readers outside Ireland- about 9 or 10 years of age) He practiced carrying it and puffing out his chest like the bird and he was doing a wonderful job. We also had a colourful parachute that the school uses for games. The centre of the parachute had an opening and I thought that it would be perfect to place the peacock in the middle. That way the smaller children could hold the edges and walk in formation down the street. We also rehearsed this in the school yard with Evan in the middle . He did a great job. So on the Sunday, the day of the parade we were gathered outside and getting everyone in place. It was time to put the peacok in the middle but suddenly Evan could not be found. I waited and waited and finally I had to choice another child  to be the peacock and get him strapped and safety pinned into place. A younger boy named Casper stood up and said that he thought he could handle the big bird. He tried it on and sure enough he had the strenght to carry it. So I pinned him into place. A few minutes later, Evan appeared. I explained to him that it was nearly time for us to march  and how I waited and waited but couldn’t wait any longer for him.

Do you know what he did? He looked at me and said,

” Yeah I know, I’m late, oh well, what can I do to help?”

That boy was so honorable. And I really needed another big child to help the little children with the parachute. I put Evan along the Senior Infants and the they marched gloriously down the the road.

‘What can I do to help?’

Such a good boy

Such fine people.

What can I do help?

Thanks for clicking in

always

eileen

P.S. for more photos of the weekend in Drumshanbo log on to www.facebook.com/antostal

http://thepigexecutives.wordpress.com/

For those not in the know, An Tostal is an Irish phrase meaning

“Parade , Pageant and Display.”

The event was dreamed up in the 60 or 70′s by the then goverment at the time to bring a bit of life into rural Ireland- anything to get the tourist dollar. The hills and valleys each had their own celebration for whatever passing trade there was.

There was very little passing trade. Eventually the whole country forgot about An Tostal

EXCEPT -DRUMSHANBO up here in County Leitrim.

Every year, we have a parade, sing a few songs, have a masquerade ball and a Culchie Olympics ( culchie is the rural equal of a red neck but much funnier and sweeter)

Well I can tell you that we’re working up a fine sweat so we are, getting our parade finished. This year our theme is

“The Magical Moving Zoo”

And we have hundreds of magical butterflies and hundreds of magical fish  (of all shapes and sizes) and we have big bats and little bats, and a dragon, and an elephant, a lion, a rhino , giraffe and a flying pig and Sea horses and other stuff  i can’t tell you about.

It’l be lovely. Say you’ll come.

Thanks for clicking in.

Always

eileen

The  symmetry is perfect.

The glorious energetics of the male and the solid pulsating of the female, both meet in the heart and produces a flower of life.

Towards this end, which is a beginning, the past of the billions of years of this planet’s existence is shown and made simple. The journey returns us to the point of creation, to the void and then the clap, the big bang , the contraction of all into one and it’s force launches a particular thread of energy as this galaxy.

Our planet.This time. Now.

The line from whence it came is still attached- it knows its way back to the point of creation.

So do we all .

Thats a real good thing.

Special thanks to John Graham for the Sacred Play

“Living from the Heart”

thank you to the fellow workshop participants.

on this  11th day- A Day of Reflection and Introspection.

I can do little else but ..

say, rock and swing

“I will the Divine Will be done through me” (3x)

Thank you for clinking in

Always, eileen

Wait… let me find a geometric shape to show this beauty……..

May the Heart of Earth sustain me

Water of Love flow through me

Fires of Life empower me

And the Winds of Heaven bear me Home