Thought for Today

 

Thought for Today

 

Libraries

I love libraries.

Ever since I was small, I have had a library membership. Whenever I moved house (which has been often) one of the first things I have done in my new town or city is to join the local library.

Here in Waterford city I am actually a member of Kilkenny County Library, the branch in Ferrybank. I live over the river and just over the border in Kilkenny, and in Leinster rather than Munster which is wher Waterford is.

But the library is lovely. It's in an empty shopping centre, a relic of the Celtic Tiger that has sat empty for well over a decade, with just the library and council offices in use, along with part of the car park.

I try and go every week. And I will go this afternoon.

I love libraries.

Thought for Today

Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

        Lao Tzu

Thought for the Day

 

Thought for the day

Witchy stuff

We're in Nice

Of course there's a marathon involved. The Côte d'Azur marathon on Sunday which links Nice and Cannes.

We were in Nice in January this year. I was here for three weeks and Gerard was here for one.

Lovely place and it's good to be back 😃

Full Moon in Taurus

Today’s Full Moon arrived at 13:19, in the earth sign of Taurus. Taurus Moons tend to be grounding, sensual and stubborn in the very best ways, helping us be grounded into what is real, what is ours, and what can be built. 

Keywords for this particular Full Moon: positive changes, recognising that we create our own reality, the possibility of financial bonuses or material improvements, and a healthy dose of feistiness. 

But Full Moons are not just about manifestation. They are the peak point of the lunar cycle, the  culmination, and release. Full Moons are the time to forgive and move on. What resentment are you carrying that is clogging up your energetic field? What story are you repeating that you are ready to retire Let the light clarify. Then let it go. 

Guardian of the Night Tarot

 I have quite a lot of Tarot decks.... some I don't use very often and some of them are regulars. If I read for others, I like to use the Light Seer's Tarot deck.

But I also like to use a different deck every week for my daily readings for myself.

This week I'm using the Guardian of the Night Tarot by M J Cullinane. A lovely deck, animal themed. Quite large cards that feel nice to shuffle with.

Affirmation for Writers

 

Marianne: A Sense and Sensibility Sequel, by Alice McVeigh

This book was really fun to read. I'm a big fan of Jane Austen and have read a couple of completions or sequels by other authors before.

But this one is definitely a cut above.

Marianne Dashwood, who married Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, is now widowed and rich, with a house in Mayfair and an estate in Dorset. And she finds herself once again pursued by the irresponsible Mr Willoughby and Henry Crawford (from Mansfield Park). Characters from other novels are mentioned too, and it's all a real tour de force. 

Lots of shenanigans ensue including Marianne's sister Margaret being apprehended for shoplifting and threatened with deportation to Australia.

But of course all ends well, Marianne ends up attached to someone else and redemption is the order of the day.

A great read for Austen fans.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242937310-marianne

My presence on Medium

I started using Medium yesterday, thanks to a recommendation from a friend.

https://medium.com/@tarotwordsmith

There will be some duplication of the stuff on here but I will also be adding my poetry and other writings on there in due course.

Bán - Abbey Theatre Peacock Stage, Saturday 1st November 2025

My husband Gerard and I went up to the theatre in Dublin again on Saturday, to see Bán at the Abbey Theatre, downstairs in the Peacock. We hadn't been to the Peacock for a while, last time being to see Flann O'Brien's Thirst which was great fun. 

Bán is a new play by Irish playwright Carys D. Coburn. It's a reworking of Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba (which I saw once many years ago in Edinburgh at the Lyceum Theatre. It's very claustrophobic, set in the kitchen of a house. There are mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins who have lost the patriarch of the family (only referred to as Daddy). 

Secrets abound and are revealed one by one. But the secrets are mostly known in the family and not talked about. Everyone knows everything and never says. 

Two of the characters are mixed race, and their skin colour plays a part in the unravelling of the secrets in the house. Frances and Bernadette are sisters though with a different skin colour. But how does Annie, who is meant to be Bernadette's daughter, have a darker skin tone than the other sisters? Maybe there is Spanish ancestry from the Armada...? But no, it's much simpler and more elemental. Daddy is not a good man. 

Death strikes down two of the characters and they reappear as ghosts. And there are some cruel and spiteful interactions among the living. No-one is really who they appear to be. And bullies like to gaslight their victims. A really worthwhile visit to the theatre, and something that will stay with me for a while. 

Five Stars from me.

Welcome!

Welcome. 

Pull up a chair and join me. 

 I'll be adding things like theatre reviews, cinema reviews, book reviews, general musings, travel reports and other things that interest me. 

 Let's see where this takes us!