Ronnie
So this is a big batch of blog posts dating back a week.
feb. 16. Went to a funeral in Derry for Ronnie Brown, Julie's dad today (Saturday). He lived an amazingly healthy 93 years, seriously ill for only the last two weeks. A retired banker, he was celebrated for lending to Catholics and Protestants in the 1960s, when Protestants had closed ranks and excluded Catholics. We sang For he's a jolly good fellow at the end of the funeral, because he was.
feb. 17. I swam today–a real treat as I can't fit this in very often due to dog-walking duties. Then into town to hear a friend play guitar at St. George's Market, where I indulged in a few more Belleek pieces to go into my new book case. Also joined the Ballyhackamore Golf Society, a group of men and women who play at different courses once per month. Should be good craic.
feb. 18. I was off today (Monday) and one of my accomplishments was donating a featherweight Singer sewing maching to Tools for Solidarity, a local charity that sends shipping containers full of sewing machines to Tanzania, where it trains people how to use them. I got a tour of the warehouse, run by two eccentric brothers and staffed by maybe a dozen international volunteers. It was like the UN meets Santa's workshop. They also fix and donate tools to another partner in Uganda. It's an amazing place, hiving with activity, and incredibly well organised, which always makes my heart happy. Ironically, I also took a stack of mending to a sewing shop.
Feb. 19. I snuck away from my desk for a coffee with Eddis. I'm organizing Climate Action 100+'s 2019 work plan. Imagine a dozen people sending you a dozen bullet items each listing their priorities for the year. Then your boss asks you to filter them based on: where is there consensus? where is there conflict? what are the gaps? What is in budget/out of budget? What sequencing issues are there? My brilliant boss has mistaken me for someone with strong process and organizational skills. Eddis gave me a lot of advice, none of it useful. So I ignored my boss's blue sky demands and did what made sense to me. Sorted all the bullets into three themes and then scored them--the top ranked within each theme being those mentioned by most people. I said we could run this by the budget people once we further narrowed it. And I mentioned one big gap, regarding identifying sustainable funding. Tonight my friend Rhoda came over for dinner and then we went to swing dance--a wonderful way to re-wire the mind.
Feb. 20. Today I snuck away from my desk to see If Beale Street Could Talk. My immediate reaction was to the slow pace, the long, indulgent shots of the (admittedly gorgeous) actors. But that's not what stays with you. What stays with me was the mother's love for her daughter--OMG so strong, so generous. And the selflessness of the two lovers, one in jail, one pregnant. As they meet across the plexiglass, the prisoner tries to spare his love knowledge of his daily hell. His pregnant partner tries to spare her love knowledge of how scary it is to be pregnant and without her man to lean on. The helplessness of the two--witnessing each other's struggles and totally unable to help. All due to racism in 1970s New York City and the corruption that allows it to flourish.
Feb. 21. Today's work distraction was taking little Miss Isabelle to the vet. She was bunged up--dehydration causing her poo to get stuck. She had to stay the day at the vet and was very glad to get home.
Feb. 22. Today's work distraction was hopping on the bike to go into Belfast to pay for the book case, which was being delivered today. I made it round trip in 45 minutes. It would take that long one way on the bus. I don't think I worked a full day all week. However, I worked a few hours on each of my days off. And I produced three articles this week (an email newsletter, a portal page article introducing a new database, and an article interviewing Climate Action 100+ signatories in Taiwan and Copenhagen). And I edited and re-ordered the aforementioned work plan. And I handled a variety of tasks relating to meetings and a dinner next week. So my productivity is good, even if my hours may be short.
Feb. 16-22