Thursday, November 26, 2009

In the face of gathering clouds

Panasonic LX1, f4, 1/500 sec, ISO 80, 60mm equivalent, (click to enlarge)

We always expect rain, especially in the winter, but the amount of rain we've had in recent weeks is more than anyone can remember. The floods that have resulted are also worse than any living memory can recall. We were driving through Bandon on Sunday evening and the mop-up was well underway. We passed a newsagents where row upon row of soggy magazines were draped on ruined shelving propped up against the window. As we passed the entrance to the shop we could see there were people inside. I expected downcast faces, but no, there were perhaps three or four men of good cheer sat on plastic crates drinking pints of the black stuff - good ol' Irish stoicism!

I took the above picture last Saturday near Sandycove, which itself is near Kinsale. It was cold and windy, though the rain was (temporarily) holding off. The menacing swirl of cloud above the hovering seagull captures the mood of these times for many. (If you can't see it, turn up the contrast on your monitor!)

Of course we are now on the cusp of the Advent Season; we celebrate Christ's coming and there are all sorts of symbols about Light coming into the darkness. Just this morning I was reading these wonderful and encouraging words from chapter 1 of John's Gospel:

3-5Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Addicted to Broadband

"Towards Fastnet Rock" (a tiny speck in the distance)
Panasonic LX1, f4.5, 1/250 sec, ISO 80, 85mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

OK, for nearly the past month we have been without an internet connection, our only access to the www was with a mobile phone, which was rather frustrating and slow to use. Yesterday the broadband connection was connected at last. On one level this has been a pain in the ****, on another it has been a useful exercise in remembering life before the internet - it's hard to imagine that at one time we were perfectly happy going about our lives without any knowledge of or need to check emails or our favourite web sites and blogs. Webs were only for Spiders and Bloggs was the surname for someone called 'Joe'. Oh yes and we were perfectly happy without mobile phones too.

And now I'm addicted to both, but I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to 8-0

Oh there's probably too much to write about our settling in to life in West Cork, except to say that everything is good, very busy and we're all well.

Managed to take a day off last Saturday and we headed down to Barley Cove and Mizen Head. It was a beautiful clear day and prayer was easy in the midst of such sublime surroundings.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Still Alive

In case any of you were wondering if I'd disappeared without trace I'm still here, though my only Internet connection so far is through my mobile phone. I have lots to write about our move to this wonderful place in west Cork but not using a phone keypad!

In the meantime here's a photo I took on the way into church in Timoleague yesterday morning...