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

Fabien Mcquillan

‘Cancun? The furthest Genghis has been on holiday is Coalisland’

We haven’t seen much of Genghis this last while as he has been courting an American woman who is besotted with him. I certainly don’t miss him but...

07.09.2024 2

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