What to do when it’s a big no from the little one to the first day at big school

The leaves are nearly all off the trees; now on the ground, in the garden and the yard, swirling round the bins, starting to rot. I have brushed up...

10.11.2024 3

Fabien Mcquillan

There’s nothing as scary on Halloween night as an angry Genghis McCann

Eric, our mutt, hates Halloween. The fireworks have him demented: his face, normally so dull, is now erupting with sad and frightened expressions,...

03.11.2024 4

Fabien Mcquillan

There’s no need to ‘hunt the chicken’ at a Tyrone children’s party

Having to go to a child’s party and hang around a stranger’s house for half a day small-talking is right up there. It’s tricky enough spending a...

26.10.2024 2

Fabien Mcquillan

As they say in Tyrone, losing your phone is nathin’ but a pure hanlin’

In Tyrone, when something goes wrong, they call it a hanlin’, as in a ‘handling’, or a dramatic episode. You could be embroiled in a bit of a...

20.10.2024 2

Fabien Mcquillan

The joys of being an Irish dancing daddy

I found myself alone in Dublin last weekend drinking a pricey coffee. Sitting outside on a crisp bright morning, I watched the world and his wife...

12.10.2024 2

Fabien Mcquillan

Give me a bottle of Baileys and I’ll tell you the meaning of life

Fionnuala, my wife, loves reading. I sometimes think she’s pretending because she reads so quickly, but every now and then she will leave a book at...

06.10.2024 2

Fabien Mcquillan

Life moves pretty fast when you have an electric jeep

I’m a blow-in to Tyrone, and always will be, but a new blow-in has appeared and I have climbed the ladder an inch. He’s a bit of a hot-shot,...

28.09.2024 2

Fabien Mcquillan

Yeah, you wheelie got me this time, guys

There’s a blue bin stand-off at the refuse department. I don’t know why, but they have reduced their service and I end up running to the dump...

22.09.2024 2

Fabien Mcquillan

Would you Adam and Eve it – it’s the holiest family in Co Tyrone

There is a couple here who are holier than thou, attending more Masses than a politician at election time. Their nicknames are Adam and Eve. I...

14.09.2024 3

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