Welcome to Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Welcome to Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland

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A SOJOURN IN PURGATORY

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A SOJOURN IN PURGATORY This is not a story for the faint of heart, it is a story of what it can be like in hospital. Last week I completed 16 days, or more specifically, 23,040 minutes of pure purgatory, in Harptree Ward of Weston General Hospital. I say “minutes” because that is the reality of an hospital bed, you become aware of each minute, if you are lucky and get a visitor, they stay for a precious few minutes. It all started on the morning of 24th May just twenty-two days following the death of my beloved wife. I had checked with my GP at the crack of dawn that morning with my right leg in massive throbbing pain following a completely sleepless agonising night. She sent me post haste to the hospital, “do not even go home - go!” and I left the car in the carpark. She feared DVT and already my toes were turning black. Ultrasound ruled out DVT so A&E immediately put me into the Medical Assessment Unit worried that it might be Necrotizing fasciitis (NF), that’s commonly ...
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George Clayton - Woodside Farm, South Ferriby.

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Often when I take Bryn for his morning walk on the bank of the Humber I meet George who is a yeoman farmer of Lincolnshire. He talks of the land, farming, the seasons of the year, and other things of nature. I talk of ships, the sea, and far away places. George was born in 1920 and went to work when he was 14 as a wagoner caring for 5 horses and all their gear. he was paid 12 shillings and 6 pence per week - it was a man's job! he worked for this landowner all his life and that man left him a farm and some land out of his estate when he died. George's son now works for that estate farming and the like - a great story. George didn't go to war for two reasons - he had a weak heart and he was in agriculture. As he said the heart never did bother him and working from 6 am to 6pm daily is good for you! he retired when he was 75 years old but still works his garden etc. Interestingly he is as bright as a button, really switched on, and very fit for a man 85 years old. He eats e...
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Copy of Draft for Chapter 5

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Chapter 5 1949 - 1954. St.Brendan’s, Bristol, Rugby, Violent Education, But above all the Sad Death of my Mum. The picture above is the School Badge for St.Brendan’s College, Clifton, that was worn on black school blazers and caps by boys attending that grammar school in Bristol. It was a school founded and operated by the Irish Christian Brothers. The Brothers in Bristol were a branch of a lay teaching order set up by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice in Waterford in 1806. The work by him was counter to the Penal Laws that existed until the 1820’s that denied an education and franchise to Irish Catholics. Many people were inspired by his dedication, piety, and his success in providing education where only “hedge schools” had previously existed. The lay order of Brothers gained approval and support from the hierarchy and expanded then with the passage of time the order extended to England, the Dominions, and the USA. For the next hundred years the Christian Brothers' S...
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