“Wander, wander, wandering, meandering, the urge to roam, to dance, to fly, to be, to search for free, the need to see, to go, to find, to search, to do, my thirsts so easily quenched, so close to home, and yours so grand, so elegant, so marvellous, climbing mountaintops, and elephants, and tiger hunts, and dancing bears, and far off stars, and trips to mars, and all of it so wild, so vast, so free, as you go wandering, and then the best part of all, when satisfied, complete, and happy now , you wander, slowly, home… (In memory of Galway Joe Dolan R.I.P. Joe, my pal, had itchy feet.) http://www.iol.ie:80/~ronolan/dolan.html
LOLA MONTEZ (born Eliza Gilbert 1821, in County Sligo, IRELAND) At the age of 15 she eloped to India with a soldier whom she married… In India she transformed herself into Lola Montez, an exotic dancer and actor. She had magnetic appeal to all the men that she ever met, and bore the mantle of being ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’…She became the lover of writers, artists, the nobility, musicians like Franz Liszt, as well as King Ludwig… One lover was killed in a duel; others she horse-whipped; and was not adverse to shooting at them in moments of anger… Throughout her life men and wealth poured through her hands like sand...Her travels took her to America and Australia, as well as all over Europe, and everywhere she went sensation and scandal followed. At the age of 39 she died in New York City… She had packed more adventures and lovers into her short life than any other woman of her time…Not many women can claim to have brought down a monarchy; to being an exotic dancer; an actress; courtesan; and early feminist; and destroyed King Ludwig 1 of Bavaria, who even at the end still adored her... So do I !!! (Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_montez)
I love: The Waterboys; Bob Dylan; Endal, Tom Petty, Lá Lúgh; Sinéad O'Connor; U2; Afro Celt; The Eagles; Neil Young; Bagad Kemper; Sheryl Crow; and of course Sean the Travelling Minstral. Sean is from East Dublin = LIVERPOOL!
The most intriguing Movie that I have ever seen was Stanley Krubrick's “The Shining“ based Stephen King's novel, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall… Nichollson is an off-season caretaker who has come to work in the isolated Overlook Hotel with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son… Torrance (Nicholson) has never been there… or has he?! The answer lies in the ghostly time warp of madness and murder… His wife (Shelly Duvall) will remember this movie. She had to receive psychiatric treatment… This is allegedly attributed to the fact that Nicholson kept her in a hyper state of anxiety, even off the set, in order to get the best distressed performance from her. Other movies I liked: The Pianist; Grapes of Wrath; Silkwood; and from my childhood, Treasure Island… But don’t forget: “HEEERE’S JOHNNY!â€
Television will be the death of us… Or, at least, “The death of our immortal souls!†So sayeth our Parish Priest, “That little black box is the Devil’s own invention! And it will be the cause of all of you going to Hell for all eternity, if you don’t throw it out!†We took the risk of Hell for all eternity so that we could watch Judge Judy; Dr. Phil; and Coronation Street etc… Sometimes I wonder, IS IT ALL WORTH IT?!!!
"GRAPES OF WRATH" by JOHN STEINBECK A simple story of a family forced to leave their family farm in Oklahoma and seek a new life in California, the Grapes of Wrath is a masterpiece of American literature... John Steinbeck was of German and Irish descent… His mother was a Hamilton from Ireland..
My true heroine is my Colette, for the martyrdom that she has endured for yonks. I told her so and she said, “And you’re my hero, Tonyâ€â€¦ No! that’s not what she said - It’s what I’d like her to say. In reality I'm nobodies hero, but in fiction I'm everybodies.