So, the countdown starts. St Patrick's Day here we come!

Well, the last planning meeting of our parade group has just ended. It's taken us a long time to get here, but now we have almost no more time!

Image credit: Lily Lawlor Mottram

Medway's first St Patrick's day parade will stride out on Sunday, 16th March at midday. Our parade will will leave Smith's square in Gillingham and walk in a circle around the high street. After the parade, we will have a cultural showcase at the St Mary's social club in Belmont Road.

For more information, visit the website: Medway St Patrick Parade
Event listing on VisitMedway
Or find us on Facebook and Twitter

If you missed the interview on Fizzer's radio show, you can listen again here. Our interview starts at around 29 minutes in. Enjoy!

Forgotten Irish, forgotten stories

I recently attended the launch of Maria McCarthy's latest book, a collection of stories called As Long as it Takes. The stories are told from the perspective of the lost generation of Irish women who sailed to England in the middle of the 20th century to find work. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but Maria's work is usually of an excellent standard and while Maria can write beautifully she doesn't pull her punches.

My family don't speak much of their time in England when they first came over. There is a lot that they won't say, don't want to rake up the past. I feel so ignorant, and that ignorance shames me. There is a whole generation of stories and experiences that have been missed, and will be lost forever if they are not recorded.

Image credit: Chelle

Take my mother, for example, she emigrated to England in the 1950s and then trained as a nurse. In the 1960s she worked in Northern Rhodesia as it was called then, just after independence. She was part of a wave of nurses called "The Sunshine Girls" who went out. But I have not been able to find much in the way of information or stories, or any recording of the experiences of other Sunshine girls. Do you know of anyone who was a sunshine girl? (I think I feel a project coming on)

The one mention I've found online about Sunshine girls is on the Great North Road messageboard
The Forgotten Irish Campaign details are online here

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Image source: http://www.morguefile.com

My favourite things - The Prisoner

Creatabot runs an evening called My Favourite Things - a chance for people to share their passion about something that excites or inspires them. It's a chance to practice public speaking, but also a chance to meet new people and to expand your boundaries.

It was a brilliant, fun and informative evening full of talks about new subjects (geocaching) and heartfelt (clothes making going back generations). And then there was me. So, what is my favourite thing? What inspires me? The answer is a peculiar but intriguing series made back in the 1960s called the Prisoner. It was created by a team of strong minded individuals, all pulling in different directions.That creative tension led to the blend of elements that it one of the most individual series I've seen.

Picture credit: Alvimann

What's unique about it? OK, the basic story is that an unnamed man resigns from his job and escapes. He's taken to a place to be debriefed, given a number. We never learn his name. So far, so sixties spy series you might think. But wait - there is more to it than that. Using this framework, the series managed to pose some intriguing questions about politics and the political system,  but it also addresses questions about identity, freedom, democracy, education and the nature of power. But more than that, it wrapped it all up in a fast paced series. It also has a biting wit, delivered with panache by Mr McGoohan and the other actors throughout the series.

The series has been called by some an allegorical conundrum. But you can enjoy it just as well if you don't want to look any deeper - it's a cracking show.


Would you like to know more? The opening sequence on youtube sets the scene nicely. Here is an example of wit and satire from the election on youtube Here is a menacing yet beautiful scene from Dance of the Dead (Inspired by Jean Cocteau and a film called the Devil and Daniel Webster (details on IMDB here)

The official appreciation society: Six of One. They host an annual convention at Portmeirion where the external shots of the series were filmed

And for fun, here's a little description of the press launch on youtube. It fits in perfectly with the series.

Mindful Writing 33 - Near Wouldham

The low hum fills the air, drowning out the reeds rattling in the gusts skimming across the swollen new banks of the Medway. It's the eerie sound of someone blowing across the top of an empty bottle. But the cloud-sodden sky, grey against grey waves, is empty. The river laps against empty mud trails. The power relay buzzing into view; mystery solved. 

Picture credit: Wally ir

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Mindful writing is the art of paying attention - being fully present in a moment and then describing it

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com

Mindful Writing 32 - 23rd February

yellows and purple
heads peeking
slyly out;
from beneath the shade of the
hill, below the college.
Is it safe to
come out,
yet?

Picture credit: Charmaine 725

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Mindful writing is the art of paying attention - being fully present in a moment and then describing it

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com

Drumroll, please! Leading our parade...

The Pentacle Drummers in action

 Excellent news!  We have secured the services of the wonderful Pentacle Drummers. They will lead our St Patrick's day parade, leaving from Smiths Square in Gillingham high street on Sunday, 16th March at 12 noon.

Will you join in our parade?
Come and enjoy the feel-good factor as Medway celebrates its first St Patrick's Day Parade! There will be music, dancing, hurlers, leaping leprechauns and more...

When the parade finishes, we will be addressed by the Mayor, Councillor Josie Iles. And after the speech, there will be a showcase of Irish culture at the St Marys social club, Belmont Road, Gillingham. Entry to the showcase will be by ticket only, tickets to be purchased direct from the club.

For more information about the parade see http://www.stpatricksdaymedway.org.uk/
Twitter birds follow us @paradeagogo
Or find us lurking on facebook

Why the parade? (St Patrick's day parade)

So we are coming up to 4 weeks before the St Patrick's parade in Medway, and I have started to think more closely about why I am doing this. What exactly, do I hope to achieve? A part of this is finding and celebrating an Irish identity beyond the stereotype. There are smart Irish people (Louis Brennan), no we are not all drunks, there is a beautiful and ancient language and a culture to celebrate too. 

Image credit: J Durham
(From http://www.morguefile.com/)

It has dominated my life outside of work for the last year, and I have lost count of the other activities that have by necessity had to be dropped or let slide. For next month or so, there will be nothing else.

Don't get me wrong, this has been an excellent opportunity to learn, to grow and to develop. The friends I have made along the way, the way that my relationships with my friends has shifted and changed has all been a part of it. When the parade happens, it will be an additional pleasure, and a tactile demonstration of the goodwill and raised awareness we are hoping to achieve. Both for the Irish community in Medway and for the St Mary's social club.

So what is it that we want to do? Firstly, to raise awareness about the Irish community in Medway. There has been no definitive history written about them, but they have been active in working in the area notably in construction and at the hospital. There are about 1% Irish born in the local area, but estimates for those of Irish descent leap up to 10%. Quite a big demographic, don't you think? The St Mary's social club was formed back in 1973, but still many people don't know about it. Part of what we are doing is to raise awareness about forgotten Irish people of note, including the genius Louis Brennan. My personal interest in him goes beyond his Irish identity, as he is from the same county my family are from.

The second of course is to have a good time! Of all the festivals and parades I've attended, the one that many people seem to enjoy the most is the St Patrick's day parade. It's an inclusive and friendly occasion. Unfortunately, in recent years there are a number of places where the connection to some breweries has taken over the event. I like a pint as much as the next person, but why is it that the likes of Guinness (and other breweries and companies) have been able to colonise the day? Is is because of their sponsorship, or because it ties into ideas about what it means, what other people think it means, to be Irish? How much has the stereotype of the drunken Irish played into that?

And while we're asking questions, I ask myself these while I am inviting groups to take part in our parade. By including some groups and not others, what does it say about being Irish in Medway and the Irish identity? What does it mean to be Irish, second generation Irish in England? Am I celebrating an Irish identity, or creating it? Does it have to be a choice, can't identity be shaped and change over time as well?

The year of the Horse

Happy new year!

So now we are entering the year of the horse, quite an important animal for many cultures

Enter the Dragon into Chatham high street
Image credit: SM Jenkin

The new year parade in Chatham high street was very well attended, and there was quite a lot of noise, movement and energy from the parade.

This is something that I associate with the horse. Energy, power, the need to explore and travel. This can be on an internal/mental/spiritual as well as an external/physical journey. Quite an interesting image for someone to work with, especially at the beginning of Spring.

The question is, what do you want to do with your year? Are you sure of where you are going?

For me, my direction is leading to the St Patrick's parade. It is, and has been an all consuming passion for me over the last year. The Chinese new year has provided the template for our event, so I'm very conscious of what I can learn from attending. I am also very aware that it's coming up to four weeks before our own parade. Where has the time gone?

Louis Brennan - Headstone unveiling March 11th 2014

You are cordially invited to the Unveiling of Headstone at the grave of Louis Brennan, Inventor Extraordinaire by Irish Prime Minister- An Taoiseach Mr Enda Kenny T.D & Cllr Noreen Heston, Mayor of Castlebar, County Mayo

The unveiling will take place in St Mary’s Cemetery, Harrow Road, London NW 10 5NY
On Tuesday March 11th at 11.30a.m.


This event will include unveiling of plaque commemoration the work of Louis Brennan at Church, St Mary’s Cemetery and a Memorial service conducted by Mgr. Canon Thomas Egan the Chief Administrator, St Mary’s Cemetery.


A reception will be held afterwards at Flannery’s Bar Wembley High Road at 2p.m. (nearest tube/train Wembley Central.) R.S.V.P by March 4thb 2014 to Email: brianhoban78@eircom.net

Louis Brennan was born in 1852 in Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland. He died in Switzerland in 1932. After spending some time in Australia, Louis spent a lot of his time in Gillingham, living in Woodlands while his factory was near the Strand.

Please click on the image to enlarge it

Final Mindful Writing 31 - Grandparents

In their wedding best

they stand for the photo,

before the brown brickwork

of some wall. They are quite

dwarfed by the photo frame,

pear, peach, apple

pomegranate twined and full.

I close my eyes like my grandfather

in photographs; beneath the

dust I see my grandmother's eyes

shut, too.

My grandparents
Image credit: SM Jenkin

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This is the final part of the small stones writing challenge

The art of paying attention

Mindful Writing 30 - Burned Diaries

My mother has walked in

from her garden;

the arms of the tulips on her

cardigan writhe like

black flames against a

pink sunset. Her eyes water,

but there is no more smoke,

no soot; her hands are clean.

Image credit: Emmi P

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge

The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 29 - lightbulb moment

A cough, the delicate staccato

of the best man at a wedding

tipping the side of a wineglass

with a fork.

The flash catches me unaware,

my hand on the

switch. It is still

dark.

Picture credit: M Connors

This is part of the small stones writing challenge

The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 28 - Ginger

The sunshine of your

smile has singed your

beautiful beard quite

ginger;

the sparks in the

middle of a fire.

Warming, not burning.

(I hope)

Picture credit: hotblack

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 27 - Bills

Bills and bank statements,

artfully arranged and

rearranged on

my beige floor.

Again.

Piled up, jagged edges ready to

vomit onto the soft

pile; I size them

up, and shudder.

Picture credit : M Connors

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 26 - Boxty

In the warm kitchen, below the incomplete 

bottle of red wine from last week 

(on the side), I watch my hands grating potato

onto the pine effect chopping board;

soft white slivers falling randomly onto

blue and white teacloth, crisp and fresh

from the laundry;

Boxty that my mother will

not eat

Picture Credit: Jer_Jones

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/