From Bath to Cork with Baby Grace

Many people have personal blogs - where they share personal stuff.  This is my place where I post an eclectic variety of content.  I also have a business blog - that’s my professional space - where you find my best shot at helping people to do business well.

But I’m like most people - a person with a wide collection of interests & curiosities.  I find it difficult - impossible to confine my communication to a single topic.  

The theme that ties everything here is my daughter Grace ("omanidot" on Twitter).  I began writing for her in 2005, imagining she’d be interested (some day) in my experience of moving back to Ireland from UK.  That focus on one audience has been the most important support - it’s kept me at it, so I never feel any wish to give up this blog.  It’s a special place.

Yesterday… 
after a tweet from Diane Brogan (@dianebrogan on Twitter), I had a rethink about this blog.  I came to this conclusion: here is where you find my "Eclectic Passions".  I don’t try to confine content to any topic. The theme that binds it all together is "Passion".

For example:

• Irish mental health, including my own… 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Developing new habits - with deliberate intention… 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Family storytelling (including stories Grace & I make up) 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Poetry - including poems I write myself… 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Golf - particularly "The Dan Plan" - & other exercises… 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Creativity - whatever that means… 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Walking the dog - usually late at night…

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

• Being a dad - the third time round… 

(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

I realise I’ve left out my passion for gender equality in Irish politics & the topic of improving Irish political life.  But I must be careful I don’t let my passion for changing the status quo run away with me.

As you can see, I love Audioboo. 

Thank you for calling in here.  I hope you find something that hooks your passion.

(Thanks again to Diane Brogan.) 

Listen to the audio version of this blogpost here :

Listen to audio version of blogpost "Meditative Walking The Dog" with Documentally, Ironfinger, bccowie, gillibobs & me (mp3) 

_________________________________ 

Like many others, I take my dog for a walk every night. It’s more for my good than his. The short walk outside - around the estate where I live - is an opportunity for me to empty my mind & prepare for sleep. The dog loves it.

Almost 3 years ago, in Norfolk, Christian Payne - an Englishman known as "Documentally" - got ready to take his dog out for a walk. For some reason, he recorded what he was doing & shared it with others via Audioboo. This is that (103 seconds) recording : Don"t Eat The Iphone. (mp3)

Over 2 years ago, in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany - in a forest close to his house, "Ironfinger" walked his dog & recorded this 59 seconds  Walking The Dog… (mp3)

Shortly afterwards, in Communauté-Urbaine-de-Montréal, QC, Canada, "bwcowie" recorded & shared 23 seconds  Walking the dog (mp3)

These were the first three dog walking Audioboos ever recorded & shared. Thus began a new genre. I suspect none of the three ever listened to recordings made by the others. It was as if the time had arrived for sharing what it’s like to be "walking the dog".

The first woman to make an Audioboo while walking her dog was "gillibobs". She shared 43 seconds - including a very faint "cacophony of birdsong"   Walking the dog boo (mp3)

The first American was from Midvale, Utah, Don Livingston.  He recorded 156 seconds on 22 March 2010 Walking the dog (mp3)

During those early years, 10 "walking the dog" Boos were made by 9 people (Documentally made 2) from 4 countries. 

The following year 31 were made by Booers from 6 countries: England (3), Denmark (1), Scotland (1) Canada (1), Netherlands (1), Ireland (24).

Since February 2011, 46 Boos have been made from 4 countries: England (5), Netherlands (1), Germany (1), Ireland (39).

My first "Walking the dog" Audioboo was "Walking the dog on a Sunday afternoon in Glanmire Cork #omanipup" - 475 seconds. It’s been listened to 690 times. Walking the Dog on a Sunday afternoon in Glanmire Cork #omanipup (mp3)

My personality is prone to excess.  
I have passions, obsessions, grand (even grandiose) projects. This is me.  My work on myself is the job of curbing a tendency to generate too many attractive ideas & ambitions.  

I use the evening walks with "Rocky" - a Coton de Tulear -to relax, to empty my mind as best I can. For me, these walks are a form of meditation - a peculiar meditation I sometimes share on audio. The walk helps me get off to sleep without dwelling on the events of the day which has been.

But is it ridiculous, risky or a worthwhile thing that I’ve made 88 "walking the dog" Boos? 

You can find them all here. 

#Audioboo : why I"ve come back to social media @chrisbrogan thanks (mp3)

Dear Grace,

Chris Brogan published "Depression is an offline event" on 27 October. I was surprised because I’ve been thinking about how I could restart this blog after 9 months silence.  Because of my depression, I’ve been absent from all social media since January. Chris Brogan’s words spoke to me - gave me the lift & hook I needed.

I’m back here now - a changed person.

My bout of depression was awful.
Although I’ve had several bouts since 1992, this time was as bad as ever. The knowledge that I’d survived & pulled through before was hardly any consolation to me. It didn’t shorten or reduce the dominance of anxiety & low low mood every day. I felt as dreadful as I’d ever done, as hopeless, as cut off, as lost…

I gave up writing. I found the thought of social media & networking made me nauseous.  All the connecting I’d done so furiously & enjoyably seemed pointless & a waste of time. I spent huge chunks of the days alone in the house - avoided going out to meet people as much as possible. My confidence & self-esteem sank. You could say I practised the art of not existing - every day from mid January until about 10 October. 

Of course I went out & did things, went places, met people during this time. But my heart wasn’t in it. It felt to me as if I was going through the motions of being a person - without any of the satisfactions you expect from  ’ordinary life’. 

The long time I spent with you in Lahinch over the summer helped - but it didn’t lift my depression. I felt fortunate others were so good to you.  Did I ever thank them properly? Did I ever help them? 

But the depression has lifted.
I have hope again - some confidence & self-esteem - a multicoloured life has returned to me - and I now want to connect with others.

That’s why I’m writing this. 

Back to what Chris Brogan wrote:

 "In the last several weeks, two people that I’ve known from online have taken their lives. In both cases, there were tweets or Facebook posts or Google+ updates that hinted that things might be falling apart. But we rarely notice such posts. We rarely hear them loudly, because they aren’t Siri jokes or cats dressed like astronauts. 

Depression is tricky. People seeking to connect and get solace online, it’s not really going to help. You can’t count on your Twitter following to pull you out of a depression. You can’t feel floored when your online friends don’t hear you loud and clear. Remember that everyone is living out their own biography, and they might not be as aware of what’s been going on with you…"

Chris Brogan is a hero of mine. I’ve looked up to him for ages, admired his viewpoint & allowed it to influence me in ways I’d find hard to spell out. He usually writes about business. To find him sharing such tough & personal news moved me - I felt supported by his words - as if I’d found someone who lived in the same world as me. It is so good when a celebrity opens up & is as real & human as this, isn’t it?

Chris continued with this advice:

"… Seek help offline. Visit a priest or a rabbi or whatever religious person makes sense. Visit a shrink. Talk to your doctor. Often times, depression is a medical problem that is exacerbated by experiences happening in your environment. 

You’re not alone, but the online world makes it really hard to see your pain. Things move too fast, are too shiny, and we are all hurrying around. The online world can make you feel more alone when you’re feeling sad.

Get help early. Don’t feel like you are a failure because you need some help. The strongest people in the world get help often, in many forms. You are worth it. Please, seek help offline and then come back and chat with us, too. Okay? "

Okay Chris,
I have sought help offline & now come back to chat with you all.  You can easily imagine how encouraging your words have been, how they have been the difference between staying silent and reaching out online again.

But I’ve changed.
I’m not the same person I was before my depression. Or I am the same person, behaving differently. (I prefer the second formulation.)

I’ve thought hard about why I crashed with depression. Why I’ve crashed before - so rapidly.  I’ve listened to others & taken their views more seriously than ever before.

I won’t be blogging & tweeting with gusto & frequency - as I did so enjoyably, frenetically & obsessively.  I’ve held back for about three weeks - resisted the urge to rush forward into the fray of online life.  I’ve been careful to limit the number of people I’ve caught up with face-to-face. Not because I haven’t wanted to, but because my priority is taking care I don’t get drawn into overdoing myself.

I need a quieter life, with much fewer projects & ambitions.  I need to be gentle & moderate.  Did anyone ever describe me as "gentle & moderate" before? I bet you didn’t..

Thanks a million
A huge "Thank you" to all who contacted me online & asked how I was. Your words helped me feel unforgotten - even helped me feel I meant something valuable to others. Even though I never replied to you - and often wished I didn’t exist at all - you did me good. My feeble memory recorded your kind concern. I appreciated every word & wish.

I apologise for vanishing without explanation. If I could, I would have written a short note - as Marian Keyes did in January 2010. That would have been considerate but I didn’t have the strength for that. (Marian also wrote these moving & informed pieces in May & June 2010.)

Afterlife is now for me…
I feel more meaning in the phrase "today is the first day of the rest of your life". I’ll do my best to strike a satisfying & sustainable balance (you know what this means.).  Yes, I’ll feel again the urge to spend massive energy on attractive ideas & projects.  I’ll need help from others to keep me on track.  I can’t do it alone.

Grace, 
You are such a support to me - my job of being a good-enough father to you matters so much to me. Thank you for being here, for giving me the opportunity to live & keep well.

With love to you all, and a special thanks to Chris Brogan.

 

 

I’m going on a holiday - a virtual holiday. 

Yes - I’ve decided this is a great time to leave the internet - apply all my attention to face-to-face contact with people & places. 

When I return from the desert - the hermit’s cave - the abstainence - I’ll have done without Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, AudioBoo - and I’ll have proved I can do it.

I’ll be refreshed, re-vitalised, changed in some way.

But it won’t be easy.  It’s one thing to make a resolution - another to stick to it.

There will be temptations - just as that famous guy who went out into the desert experienced.

I hope it will be tough - that way lies satisfaction.

Until I come back here in the New Year - may you & all your family, friends & circle have a time full of love, tolerance, understanding, development & fun.

Bye…

I’m about to write my best defence of Twitter.  Why? Because Terry Prone attacked Twitter in the Irish Examiner newspaper on Monday.

It would be easier to ignore Terry Prone’s point of view - she was filling her column. She has a strong view on Twitter. She writes well - with energy and attack.  But none of the Irish people on Twitter have bothered to respond to her.  I think she is considered a "has-been" by Irish users of Twitter.  Her view is being ignored…

She hung her newspaper column on a Twitter-Quitter radio guy - Ray Foley. [This is his Twitter account @rayfoleyshow.]  Ray wrote a blogpost on www.joe.ie  about why he’d stopped tweeting.  Terry Prone used that blogpost as her jumping-off ground.  It’s an example of journalists feeding off each other. 

Who is Ray Foley on Twitter? 

[11,116 followers, follows 7, sent 5,221 tweets, included on 148 Twitter lists]

How was he using Twitter?  What’s been his style & purpose?  How well does he know Twitter? How much attention does his view deserve?

Terry Prone is a seasoned professional media manager - a PR guru in Ireland.  She’s been at the top of the PR game for a long time.  She has an established reputation.  You could say she’s a heavy hitter.  I’ve met her once - in a shop in Listowel during Listowel Writers’ Week in June 2010.  That was a few seconds during which I may have wished her well. So I write this without any detailed knowledge of her practice.

There is a custom & practice in Ireland
- a trait - a skill - that much exercised: the art of cutting others down to size. Terry Prone tried to cut Jack Dorsey, Twitter founder, down to size.  She tried to do it by being smart - playing on the prejudices of others.  She attacked Twitter without understanding much about Twitter.  But she wrote well.  She used her writing skills to show off her cleverness.

However, she damaged her reputation.  She revealed to others that she doesn’t know much about Twitter.  As a media professional she came across as someone who failed to understand her subject.  She made herself look less than intelligent or skilled.

Terry Prone’s attack on Twitter showed  so little awareness of how Twitter works that it would be risky for anyone to place their business or cause in her PR hands.  

To me it looks as if Terry Prone bats with one hand behind her back. She is "blind" to the value of Twitter - and she’s rushed to judgement before gaining experience.  She looks superficial.  And that’s how people look just before they’re pushed aside by the next generation.

It’s a shame. 

This is the morning after HelpPortraitCork.  I’m slowly recovering energy.  When I woke I wanted to cancel the day & stay in bed. The adrenaline was gone - the body felt as if it was fit for nothing.

Help-Portrait was that good.  Later I’ll say more about what HelpPortraitCork was like yesterday.  Until then, this is the complete set of audios I made on the day:

On the day: 

(1)  Start of day diary recorded very early here 

(2)  Another personal diary about why I’m doing Help-Portrait - recorded as I left home   here  

(3)  Just as HelpPortraitCork was ready to welcome people for their portraits - voices of our team here  

(4)  1310 What it all looked like and sounded - music & interview with magician Ger Kearney here

(5)  Lunchtime: More sounds from the lobby of HelpPortraitCork - two make-up artists (Lisa & Andrea) speak here  

(6)  Towards the end I interviewed Michael Lynch & Darran Kelleher of AV3 Productions  here 

(7)  The end of HelpPortraitCork - a description & "in a word" comments for many people here  

 

 

 

Yesterday I suggested to someone their tweet on Twitter was valuable.  I said I’d like to see more of the thinking that lay behind those few words.

I gave the other person my words in a tweet - I then forgot about it.   I got on with the rest of my life…

I had no idea what would happen next.  Never anticipated.  Didn’t think of the consequences.

You know what the person did?  They went & wrote a whole blogpost.  They sat down & elaborated, opened up their original thought & communicated in a whole new way.

My few careless words were like a feather that tipped the scales - thrust the other person over the parapet - and they flew into valuable reflection.

Why is this worth remarking on?

Because it happens all the time.  People we meet are balanced - they are ready to move in one of two directions - forwards or backwards.  Your words, your glance, your tone, your little gesture could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back - that tips the other person over the edge.

Meaning? 

I’m not saying you’re responsible for the influence you have on another person.  This is a lot more complex than simple causation.  The impact of you doesn’t occur in a vacuum - the other person is ready for something.  You simply are the light touch that makes the difference to all that happens next.

This is the butterfly in action - the one that’s at the heart of chaos theory.

I was thrilled the other person wrote their blogpost.  Delighted they delved into the challenge of spelling out their meaning.  I felt good to be associated with the result.  

But it was an accident that was waiting to happen.

Isn’t life funny? 

An audio version of this blogpost is here (10 minutes) 

Last Friday night I got an idea.  Just as I was hoping to slip off to sleep without excitement, I thought about Twitter.  I thought about how good it was to be connected to people all over the globe via such a brilliant tool.

This pleasant thought led to another - more questioning - thought : how well connected am I really?  How many counties in Ireland do I have contact with via Twitter?  Where are my contacts based?

I went to sleep with a new project forming

- I would like to have at least one engaging Twitter contact in each county of Ireland…

Usually those sort of ideas fade in the sleep.  So often I wake & move on to something else -  the idea goes off to haunt somebody else…

On Saturday morning, it was different - the idea rose with me.  Within a couple of hours I found myself formulating a plan to seek out someone from each of the 26 counties of RoI.  The idea had taken root.  And I’d begun to say to myself - "if the idea has survived the night, there must be legs in it…"

I’d like to tell you what happened next.

The first thing I did was tweet my intention to find at least one engaging tweeter in each county.

"Last night’s big idea: get at least one engaging Twitter contact in all 26 counties of RoI #project26"

I simply announced that via Twitter - I didn’t poke the plan at anyone, at first.  (I soon sent a few tweets like "@Paraic @dogfoodlady You are fine engaging people#omaniCork #project26 - Co Limerick next".

You can imagine how thrilled I was when @SundayTwist responded with enthusiasm for the idea.

That’s how our collaboration began.  We exchanged a few tweets about it,  agreed to spend 48 hours seeing what we could come up with.  

I live in Cork & know plenty of engaging tweeters there.  She lives in Dublin - and I was sure she would know many engaging tweeters there.  But I didn’t know much about the network of @SundayTwist.  This felt like a great advantage  - because together we might dovetail well. 

By the end of Sunday, we’d cracked the job of finding two per county.  We had a few blank counties - Offaly, Roscommon & Monaghan proved to be the toughest for us.  But we got great help.

Boy did we get great help from the following people :

(1) @eirepreneur introduced me to @giftedkidsie & @harrypig in Co Clare 

(2) @bobgreenmonster introduced @lawlorchiro @golfchiro @DIBayliss @Laois_offaly @unlaoised @cebyrne in Co Laois

(3) @susankilkenny helped with Co Kilkenny

(4) @aoifep helped with Co Sligo

(5) @elaineLarkin with Co Wexford & "sunnysoutheast list"

(6) @topgold helped with intro to @manaboutcouch in Co Donegal

(7)  @CliffHouseHotel introduced @tanneryDungarva in Co Waterford

(8) @sineadniriain helped with Co Tipperary

(9) @IvanSantry introduced @PaulaCoMayo from Co Mayo

(10) @dannifromdublin helped by RT - as did @NaughtyNikKit

(11) @jonathangrimes introduced @adam_melvin from Co Donegal

(12) @cotisgal helped with RT  - as did @siobhancoyle & @susanalustiza

(13) @scottyccfc helped by asking why this wasn’t a 32 county project

(14) @mimistores appeared and helped with Co Meath

(15) @primaryposition helped with RT of our quest re Co Galway & introduced @antonmannering

(16) @domybooks popped up from Co Galway

(17) @celav from Co Cork recommended @allancavanagh from Co Galway

(18) @danmorris63 disqualified himself from Co Kerry

(19) @diarmuidcogan Co Cork offered to help & introduced @paddyjkelly from Co Kerry + @debz from Co Offaly

(20) @Ritchhh helped by RT re Co Offaly 

(21) @cotisgal recommended @donegalabu from Co Donegal

(22) Roddy Jenkins helped, recommended @oconnellbrian in Co Cork + @alisonwells from Co Wicklow + @janetravers Co Kildare

(23) I can’t remember who recommended @kieranmurphy & @dinglesurf from Co Kerry

(24) @johnpeavoy helped by clarifying that he was no longer living in Co Offaly

(25) @suzybie  & @conor_pope helped by RT of search for Co Offaly tweeter

(26) @trevorvaugh & @siobhancoyle  helped us on the Co Offaly search 

(27) @CJohnson103 helped on Co Roscommon 

(28) @burbage1 recommended @mduffywriter from Co Dublin

(29) @sandrahennessy RT’ed our search for particularly engaging tweeters

(30) @misIJenkins helped us with Co Offaly

(31) @donegalabu helped us with thanks in an RT

(32) @allisonwells helped us with encouraging comments

(33) @berniequinn helped us use the correct #project26 hashtag

(34) @adrianBarry98FM helped by asking what this was all about + suggested we hold a vote on Twitter

(35) @scarie recommended @mammyskitchen from Co Westmeath

(36) @angevf helped by recommending @john_mcguirk from Co Monaghan

(37) @berniequinn recommended @monaghanpenguin from Co Monaghan

(38) @dinglesurf helped by chipping in a bit of humour from Co Kerry

(39) @doogarry helped us from Co Monaghan 

(40) @ladydotty from Co Sligo helped by asking what #project26 was all about

(41) @reddav14 & @angevf helped by questioning why we kept to 26 counties 

(42) @monaghanpenguin helped by asking what #project26 was 

(43) @reddave14 helped by questioning the decision-making process to pick engaging tweeters

(44) @aloliver + @martineCork + @FinbarrWilson @thickeytom also helped.

If I’ve left anyone out of this list, I’d be happy to edit them in - so that the historical record will be accurate. I suspect there are contacts of @sundaytwist who’ve helped without me being aware of their role.

Audio helped on the way: 

I made two audios on the way.  One was early on and the second was later - those links on AudioBoo were useful & enriching  - they gave us an easy way to fill people in on what this was all about.  [I must remember to make an audio version of this blogpost.]

This began with a simple idea - one person per county.  But it spawned more complex ideas - and a new collaborative team.  @SundayTwist & I stumbled into the idea of going the same for the counties of UK and the States of USA.

It’s been a wonderful way to realise the value of location-specific connections.  It’s opened up fresh prospects.  It’s enabled us to offer a suggestion to others - that they do the same for themselves…

Our list is now a Twitter List - it’s available to anyone who’s interested.  It may even become useful to someone else.

It was particularly satisfying to get the idea & complete the project as a collaboration in a few days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Grace,

It’s just after 5am on the day after my 60th birthday. I’m thinking of your experience of five years & a bit. I’m in my office, finished with sleep - ready to move on with the first day of the rest of my life.

I have no idea when you’ll read this - but maybe your grandchildren will find it long after we’re both gone.  Maybe they’ll be amused to discover what it was like for me to achieve the experience of 60 years?

It’s taken me a lot of effort to get here.  It took my mother a mighty effort to give birth to me, all those years ago. She was 24.  I was the first of her six children, two weeks overdue.

It would take too long to summarise the last 60 years.  It would chew up a lot of time to write that story now - so I’ll tell you a bit about the day I joined the club.  I became a member of an expanding number of people who live to greet this particular age - in other words, a lot more people are becoming 60 now.

Let me begin with the people I met on the internet on my birthday…  

I sorta cheated.  I began pubilicly engaging with others about my birthday the day before - on 11 October, I used Twitter to let people know I was about to have a 60th birthday. (Facebook already knew.) I said I was happy to receive birthday greetings - in other words, I decided I was going to make a fuss about it - rather than reach 60 under the radar.  

I thought "it’s been hard enough to reach this point in my life, I might as well celebrate it - might as well make a virtue of a necessity."

The truth is I was really pleased to have reached 60
- it gave me an opportunity to notice what a wonderful life it’s been. I’ve been so fortunate, even if I haven’t always felt fortunate or grateful for it.  I might as well admit I was an ungrateful child. Uncomfortable in my own skin a lot of the time.  I still don’t think I’ve said enough thank you’s to my parents, brothers, sisters, schoolmates, friends, work colleagues & wives.  Yesterday I set out to honour & enjoy the experience I’ve gained in the company of others. I decided "this is our day".

Would you be interested to know what it was like on the internet? What happened via Twitter & Facebook? The messages I received? They reveal a lot about how people are today  - not just how I am - how modern networking works…

So, for you & me - and the generations to come - here’s a record of who was in touch with me on my 60th birthday - on 12 October 2010 (in chronological order - Twitter first)

@financial_al (Allan Cuthbert)
@audioMysteryTym (Stefania Lintonbon)
@paraic  (Padraig Hegarty)
@DoMyBooks (Ralph Smith)
@eoinpmphoto (Eoin Mulligan)
@_sians (Sian Phillips)
@paulbrugger
@cliffhousehotel
@tnTeacherTim (Tim Nelligan)
@CorkGourmetGuy (Dave Ahern)
@queenofpots (Susan C)
@despod
@thinktank_ (Think-Tank Consulting))
@susan_lanigan
@CACMAaccountants (Carla Manning)
@umnumnum_cork (Margaret Smith)
@jonathanGrimes
@climatech (Alex Smith)
@BusinessTori (Tori Hawthorne)
@kencurtin
@wagonandtrail (Dina Jones)
@Nelligirl01 (Lisa Nelligan)
@OrlaLinihan
@BigAlphy (Alan Brophy)
@BarryDesignWeb
@eoghanol (Eoghan O’Leary)
@Primary Position (David)
@WildOrchard
@KJMurrayCEng (Kevin Murray)
@theBrandBuilder (Olivier Blanchard)
@maevemirza (Maeve Quill)
@Liamooo (Wills D - Dublin)
@H2Oconsult (Tony Cain)
@Donal_Cahalane
@gamgob (gammagoblin)
@raptureponies (Cait)
@esusWeb
@RogerOverall
@MarketingInCork
@renateMurphy
@profileIE
@MarkGHegarty
@Sundaytwist (Emma)
@CuriousMike (Michael Kane)
@doogarry (Mairead Quinn)
@dogfoodlady (Margaret Maguire)
@ConnorHughes
@Ali_Davies
@angelacork (Angela Buckley)
@ElaineRogers
@RedDave14 (Dave F O’Connell)
@MMaryMcKenna (Mary McKenna)
@IvanSantry
@SmarterEgg (Aodan Enright)
@Alan_Connolly
@onemustwork (John Carmody)
@wineAllianceMoz
@rhubarbsticks
@DanMorris63
@Cian_W
@Mdecogan (Micheál Cogan)
@AddsOS (Ann-Marie O’Sullivan)
@FreckledPast (Evin)
@DiarmuidCogan
@ItalianFoodie
@whhoganQuintas (William Hogan Cork)
@cotisgal (Carrie Stiers)
@CafeGusto
@emeraldquillnet (Emerald Quill)
@jwhelton (James Whelton)
@C103Colum (Colum McGrath)
@BlackrockCastle
@ChiroBen1 (Benjamin Martin)
@WriterCJ (Calvin Jones)
@sweetdreamsire (Darren Gale)
@UniSlimCork (Shirley)
@JL_Pagano 
@Colm_Ryan
@Grayzie (Grace)
@LiamGarvey
@SusanKilkenny (Susan Cullen)
@SiobhanCoyle
@onevision_ian (Ian Armstrong)
@destaic (Patrick Stack)
@fluffanella (Geraldine Daly)
@JohnAllanImages (John Allen)
@obrienbarry (Barry O’Brien)
@WestCorkHotel
@KeithMalone
@Whistlinpaddy (Steve Kelly)
@BetsyDraperFl (Betsy Draper)
@StevieGranger
@celav (Marcela Whelan)
@AlOliver (Alice-Anne Oliver)
@NoReinsGirl (Shazz)
@IvanODonoghue 
@Richard_illy (Richard Iveson)
@aquaasho (Aisling Coppinger)
@_SecretGarden_ (Brian Patterson)
@jimxcomet (Jim O’Mahony)
@PeterCoxPhoto (Peter Cox)
@fcollinsie (Fiona Collins)
@BernieQuinn
@GavinLyons
@SigmaWritings (Mihai Ionescu)
@bngr
@walkCork
@damianB (Damian Bannion)
@JeromeAoustin
@froodie
@micfitzgerald (Michael FitzGerald)
@Gwensonic (Henry Gwensonic)
@Eireball
@PatMcA (Pat McAuliffe)
@KathLeary (Kathleen Leary)
@MarkRock
@derryo (Derry O’Donnell)
@carreDenis (Denis Carre)

I’ll gather the list of Facebook Friends later… then those I met face2face on the day… 

 

 

 

Would it be useful to gather my recent audio broadcasts together in one place on this blog?  Would that be handy & attractive for others - especially those who don’t use AudioBoo themselves?

Let’s see…

Here are sounds of my last couple of weeks: [after each I’ve put the number of times each has been listened to - so far]

 I went to London

(1) My son Benjamin O’Mahony played Ibsen at Arcola Theatre Hackney, London by Mahdi Yahya [67]

(2) I felt encouraged by others  [35]

(3) I reviewed "The Emperor Self" and wished I’d seen it twice [158]

(4) I walked towards AudioBoo HQ [26]

(5) I interviewed Mark Rock, CEO  - and met team AudioBoo on Tower Bridge Road, London [125]

(6) I wrote a poem "AudioBoo" after the style of Rudyard Kipling’s Mandalay  [15]

I returned to work in Cork  

(7) I worked for a start-up "On-Line Senior Citizen" [25]

(8) I read my own Epic Poem: Irish Epic Poem in 33 Cantos - canto 7  [11]

(9) I listened to views of others who’ve given up Twitter  [708]

(10) I walked in the city of Cork on a Saturday morning, hear music  [24]

(11) I read Grace a bedtime story : Pinocchio (but audio ran out) [12]

(12) I vowed to take up golf again - after the Ryder Cup team was selected by a Scot [21]

(13) I celebrated Grace’s 5th birthday  [24]

(14) I started the school run from Glanmire thru the Jack Lynch tunnel  [22]

(15) I complained about traffic congestion in Douglas Cork - while I added to it [21]

(16) I experienced chaos on first school day - relived my childhood [27]

(17) I read out a blogpost letter to Grace : her birthday & first day at "big" school  [19]

(18) I worked for another start-up : In Hand Guides & discovered Innovation Vouchers  [25]

(19) I got my car repaired by AutoMotif in Cork, a team led by Paul Allen [35]

(20 I interviewed a policeman, Garda, about cancer - what Boston cops do with Cork Gardai [32]