My first time.. at Boyne Writers' Group!

Last night I went to my first writers' meeting with the lovey group that produces Boyne Berries.

They very kindly published two pieces of mine in the past;  one poem and one short story.

Must admit, I was a little bit nervous going to the group and wasn't sure what to expect.  Everyone brings something  that they have been working on, either poetry or prose, they read it out themselves and then everyone comments.

Sounds terrifying, doesn't it? 

But it wasn't, I had nothing to be worried about at all, it was lovely to be with a group of lovely people who love to write and I look forward to many more lovely evenings with them.

If you are interested in writing and would welcome some friendly support, Boyne Writers meet every second Thursday in Trim.

Far Away from Me - A Modern fairytale

Yesterday, Ruby and I went to Draiocht in Blanchardstown to see Far Away from Me.
It was absolutely fantastic, a real treat of athletics, dance and drama, True performance art.  A theatre full of young children and their parents were transfixed for the full hour of the show.

The set and costume design were by the wonderful and talented Trim native, Maree Kearns.

Here's the description from The Ark website:

'World premiere of a brand new theatre show by Amy Conroy, inspired by The Princess and the Pea and infused with the excitement of aerial performance, dance music and great storytelling.

Kevin is a little prince…at least that’s what his mum tells him.

Kevin likes the idea of this, of being a prince on a horse, a beautiful brown horse with a white splotch down his nose, and galloping across the kingdom. His kingdom.

From his bedroom behind the eighth door, on the eighth floor of a tall building (one of eight in a row), Kevin can go. And he wants to go. Far away from here.  So his towering imagination takes him on some high-flying adventures. But there’s a storm coming and he needs to decide what’s real and what’s not real as his fast paced fantasies land with a spectacular bump right there on his bed.

Far Away From Me is written by award-winning writer Amy Conroy and is inspired by the classic story of The Princess and The Pea. And when we say 'inspired by', we mean that the show takes the story as you think you know it, turns it on its head and flying through the air until it becomes a very modern, exciting retelling of the fairy tale world and characters of the original. Bringing your children to see the show is sure to give you a fun family arts experience that will be long lasting and will provoke lively family discussions!'

It really is a great show, if you get a chance to catch any of the remaining performances, do go!

Hot cross buns, vegan style!

I bought Hot Cross Buns this year from Lidl. They looked vegan to me and tasted good but the ingredient list looked complicated. My mum and dad didn't buy any and dad tweeted at me at how yummy they looked so I decided to make him some!

Here's the recipe
450 gr plain flour
1.5 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons dried yeast (Doves is great and available in Super Valu)
3 teaspoons mixed spice
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
75ml warm water
150ml warm soya milk
50 ml vegetable oil
160 gr mixed fruit
2 teaspoons milled linseeds mixed with 2 teaspoons warm water.

To make a glaze
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of water




Put the flour, salt, dried yeast, spice and cinnamon into a large bowl. Mix well with a spoon.
Add the mixed fruit.
Make a well in the centre of the dried ingredients and add the water milk and oil and the linseed mixture.
Mix well, mixture shouldn't be sticky. If it is add a little more flour. If it is too dry add a drop more milk.
Turn out and lightly knead.

Return to the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and place it somewhere warming for half an hour or so.

Turn the oven on to 220C.

It should have risen well in that time, knock it back, knead lightly and divide into twelve buns.

Mark a deep cross on the top of each bun.  I used two baking sheets, putting six buns on each sheet.

Bake for about 15 mins until lightly browned.

While they are baking make the glaze by heating a tablespoon of sugar in a sucepan with two tablespoons of water, heat on a medium heat until you have a clear syrup.

Brush the syrup on the warm buns.

Boyne Berries
Spring 2015

Thank you to Orla Fay for including my short story 'autoreply' in Boyne Berries 15.
It was an absolute pleasure to read and to hear pages turning with me in time.

It was also a great pleasure to hear other writers reading their work.  There's nothing quite like hearing the depth and meaning of a writer's voice as they read their written words.

Zen and the Art of CV Writing

• Zen and the Art of CV Writing
  Recently, I was lucky enough to guest on the the Gerry Kelly show on LMFM. It is always a pleasure to spend time in the studio with Gerry, usually we are talking about veggie food, mentoring Gerry on a veggie journey or rescue animals and battery hens but, this time it was all about CV writing. Having worked for Your World Healthcare for a while now, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of CVs so I put together a few CV dos and don'ts for Gerry's Late Lunch Show. We chatted for half an hour, covered a lot of ground and had some fun doing it. Here's some of what we chatted about.
  First impressions count: Your CV is likely to be the first contact a prospective employer will have with you and first impressions count!
  Getting a job offer is going to depend on a number of things, including experience, skills, personality, but, before you get close to a job offer you have got to get your CV right to make sure you get in the door to impress the recruiter at interview level.
  Save me: Save your CV as your name, don't save it as CV or Curriculum Vitae. You want the recruiter to remember your name, let them see more of it!
  Be mindful and make it easy to read: Your CV should be clear, well laid out and easy to read. Don't use less that a size 10 font. You want your reader to like you, you don't want them to have to squint to read your typing. A mindful, CV makes it clear you have thought about the job you are applying for and your fit for both the job and the company.
  Back to basics: Always start with your name and contact details, keep them centred at the top of the page. If you maintain a LinkedIn account you may want to include a link to it here but only if it is consistent with your CV. If you have a professional registration number, it should go here too.
  
  Roll up Roll up: Give yourself a headline, a short summary to catch the reader's attention so that recruiter sees key words relevant to the job as they apply to you. For example, if Gerry Kelly was applying for a other gig, he might say 'Experienced DJ who has successfully hosted a live chat show for over five years.'
  If the job requires a specific qualification, mention it here too and if you have a career objective, it should go here. But keep it clear and concise but remember, this is your chance to sell yourself, you are writing personal ad copy, don't sell yourself short!
  Back to the Future: Work backwards from your most recent post. Include as much relevant information as possible, again using keywords from the job description as they apply to your experience. Sell yourself! Use bullet points or clear, concise language, no waffle!
  Mind the Gap: If you have a large gap on your CV, do explain it. Truth is, even if you weren't in paid employment you were doing something, could that something be relevant to the job you are applying for? Perhaps you were caring for an ill relative and are applying for a job as a carer? Maybe you were backpacking around Asia and are applying for a job for a company that needs more cultural information on that area?
  References: Should always be available on request. Always check with referees that they are happy to provide a reference - it is good to let them know that they should expect a call.
  Online footprint: If a potential employer looks you up, what will they see on your linkedin, or twitter page? Is your Facebook page open? How about your YouTube account? Are you using professional sounding email address to apply for the job?
  Sounds simple, doesn't it? But, you'd be surprised to hear that almost 90% of CVs submitted have some sort of mistake or error. Errors are usually something as simple as a spelling mistake; auto-correct could be your worst enemy on this one, so, always get someone to proofread what you've written, remember, spellcheck won't correct every mistake. If you are selling yourself as someone who plays close attention to detail, spelling mistakes are not going to win you any points. Same goes for grammar and sentence structure.
  Why should we hire you? Concentrate on why you should be employed not your failures in being employed, as it could put prospective employers off. Don't mention that you have applied for 100 jobs, got one interview etc or been to 50 interviews and had no job offers.
  Applications for community jobs from candidates who cannot drive and who state on their CV that they don't like using public transport. Don't shoot yourself in the foot before you have started!
  Be positive! But not so positive that you apply for a job that your are not qualified for. For example, we had an application for a theatre scrub technician. And the applicant was actually a movie theatre cleaner. Be positive but be realistic.
  But not like this: Why should you hire me 'Not afraid if a bit of graft... Nuff said'
  Interests: Whilst your Instagram dinner account might be absolutely fascinating, it probably isn't what your recruiter wants to know about. Don't include a list of interests unless they are relevant to the job you are applying for but do include any voluntary work that you do, this shows good time management and a generosity of spirit.
  Seriously: Don't include smilies or emoticons :P
  Just ask me - or not: Don't say exam result available on request. If they are that bad just leave them out. Saying available on request makes it sound like you failed dismally!
  Always ask someone you trust to proofread what you've
  read written*
  * Hypocritically no-one has proofread this for me so all corrections are welcome.
  
  

Recipe for Success?  It's a piece of cake!

I wrote this as a LinkedIn update a little while ago.

As a long time vegetarian, I am frequently asked to describe meals, what food to buy, how to cook it and, yes, the very common, where do vegetarians get their protein.

Last year, I wrote a couple of articles, one for the Vegetarian Society of Ireland website, about shopping to stock your cupboards as a new vegetarian. Last week, some radio interviews ended up covering a lot of the same information. It occurred to me that stocking your cupboards with the right foods is a metaphorical recipe for success whatever your project or undertaking.

The recipe for success in any area starts with 'stocking your cupboards', and having the right 'ingredients' so, when you're starting a new project;

1)do the research and

2)acquire the knowledge so that you

3)know the 'ingredients' you need and

4)have the right tools at your disposal

5)have you checked your process/recipe?

6)don't be afraid to ask for help!

7)keep your ingredients and tools in order

8)replace if you run out and have a 'shopping list'

9)don't be afraid to try new things

10)if it doesn't work first time, look, learn, try again.

Sometimes a recipe just needs a little tweak, the first result may not be perfect but it is a result and you now have the knowledge, the tool and newly acquired experience.

Last but not least.  Don't forget to enjoy the cake!

No smoke without a zippo lighter and a packet of Camel

No smoke without...

A zippo lighter and a pack of Camels.

What to do when you catch your teen smoking?

I started smoking at age 15. I started smoking because my boyfriend smoked and I couldn't stand the smell. I started smoking because I thought he'd stop smoking for me. However, teenage love isn't as strong a pull as that sweet pull of nicotine addiction!

Years later after many battles with the weed, I don't smoke. Nor do my parents, nor anyone else in the family (as far as I know!) except now for my teenage son.

I had thought for a while that he was smoking and my allegations had been laughed off and denied, but a couple of weeks ago I discovered the unequivocal and heartbreaking evidence that took the form of a zippo lighter, some rizla filters, tobacco and a pack of B&H. 

So what to do? How do you handle it? I took the 'softly softly' approach and said that if he is smoking, he must not smoke in the house and must dispose of dog ends in an assigned bin. We had a a chat about COPD, lung cancer and heart attacks. I also decreased his allowance so he will have to make choices between treats and cigarettes. His dad took a harder approach and confiscated the cigarettes, lighter and has said he will give him no money until he has stopped smoking.  We both offered him help with nicotine replacements.

Would have been nice to be singing off the same hymn sheet but I guess that's partly why we split up all those years ago. We do try at smooth co-parenting but it very rarely seems to work out, despite our good intentions.

Anyway, neither approach worked. Neither approach worked because he is hooked on tobacco. The only difference is, it was Camel he was smoking last night instead of B&H. I remember, when I was a teenager 20 odd years ago, smoking Camel or Marlboro rather than JP BLue or B&H was a step in the direction of cool. Smoking brand awareness can only be a bad thing in terms of his psychological and physiological addiction. Smoking has become part of his image.

I get why he's started. It is totally a social thing for him. He was never sporty and didn't fit in. Bit of an outsider like him mum! I get it.  And now he fits in with the other smokers, they have their own brand of smokin' cool and he has made friends with them. He's not going to give up because I explain the health risks nor because his dad tells him to nor because his allowance is cut nor if he sees how heartbroken his parents and grandparents are.

He's all tooled up for smoking. Cool lighter, cool cigarettes, cool friends and now even has a cool and throaty smoker's cough to boot.

I don't think there's any way of making him stop, he's got to do it himself. He has to realise that cigarettes aren't his friends - despite the voice in his head telling him that they are  and nor are the fellow smokers if they don't remain friends post tobacco, he has to realise that cigarettes are a waste of money, he has to decide to quit.