Annecy, France

I love France. I say this having only set foot in the lovely country once but rather than call my love naive, hear me out.

I love France for:

• Cheese – the stinkier the better and boy do they make it good and stinky
• Wine & champagne – enough said
• Food and cooking – their love for it, their enjoyment of it and what they’ve given to the world as a result
• The language
• Style and elegance
• My favourite perfume
• The countryside
• The charming old cities
• Artists, Monet’s work in particular has always made me smile
• Giving Jacques Brel a career in music
• Amélie
• A healthy sense of national pride

Most of all I love France for the fabulous image it has portrayed of itself for me. Maybe that will shatter some day and my dream of running a cutesy little restaurant in a small village in my retirement there will shatter into a million pieces.

For now, I salute you France. Hopefully see you again soon et bon anniversaire!

The 21st of June – the longest day of the year – holds some bad memories for me. In short, while en route to a family funeral on June 21st 2007 I answered a call from my dad where he told me that his cousin whom I was very close to has passed away. A bad day, thankfully I haven’t seen the like of since and hopefully will never see again.

I’m not sure if it was the unexpectedness of her passing or the fact that there were two hugely emotional losses so close together that I feel I haven’t yet gotten over her death.

Sitting in the National Library on Monday night as Cerys sang the opening bars of Spancil Hill with her acoustic guitar I was transported directly back to sitting in her beautiful cottage in Clare around Christmas. She would organise a gathering of the family circles to sing songs, read poems and tell stories. No televisions, no phones, just people enjoying each other’s company and talents. It was magic.

The same week I find myself wishing hard she was still around for a chat, a cup of tea and a slice of her honest opinion.

Isn’t it amazing the impact people can have on you?

Wherever you are AnnaMay, I hope the sun is shining on you. Wish you were here.

It’s getting quite a lot of coverage since being released last weekend but I enjoyed it so much I think it’s worth another wee push. I was lucky enough to see a preview of it a few months back in the Lighthouse cinema in Smithfield which I think might be just the place to try see it yourself being more cosy and intimate.

His & Hers is a documentary that follows the life of an Irish woman in the midlands from toddler to pensioner but told through the eyes of over 70 different ladies. It’s a really interesting concept for a movie provoking all sorts of questions while being beautifully shot and edited. A film with so many different characters must have been a major challenge to piece together coherently but it is done so excellently and the film flows seamlessly as a complete narrative.

The movie has been receiving a fantastic reaction both nationally internationally, most notably picking up an award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It’s funny, entertaining, moving and something that most Irish people will identify with – after all, between the lot of us we’ve all surely had a grandmother, a mother, a sister or a daughter at some stage of our lives.

It’s on nationwide release since last week. You can find out more about where to catch it here and meet the cast of 70 fun and fascinating ladies here. Thanks to Element Pictures for the chance to see it. Enjoy

Happy December

Spooky – Twitter meets speed dating

Nerdy – pay-per-click and YouTube

More nerdy – AddThis adds Google Analytics integration

Sublime – Maneater from Hall & Oates

(Potentially) ridiculous – BenDunne.com is up at last

And last night I danced like mad to Spring Break at the Windows 7 launch. Oh the fun!

Yes, Rick talking to a large whoopee cushion.

The fabulous Spring Break

For someone in their early 20′s (barely!) that seems like forever. That’s at least 10,950 cups of tea between them. Yikes.

It’s wonderful, truly amazing considering the ups and downs they’ve faced along the way.

They’ll probably kill me but mam was 25 and dad 22 when they tied the knot in the 70′s. It’s really comforting for someone of a similar age to look at them and think that despite being so young and still very wet behind the ears, I shouldn’t be afraid to make big decisions and leaps of faith.

Congrats & enjoy the next 30

Thank you for bringing even more sunshine into my day than usual – you rock

Go Daddy!

He’s too good for words. Have a great one dad, love you lots.

So where was I this time last year?

Ouch

This time last year I was living in the apartment I’m now looking across the rooftops at. Luckily, this apartment was quite compact and all on a single level as I tore ligaments in my left ankle and was resigned to crutches for about 3 weeks, unable to stand or walk on it. It was horrendous for someone as independent in mind as I am. But it helped me learn a lot of things about myself and people close to me at the time that I thought I could rely on so not all bad

I had time booked off work to (finally) take a holiday for the first time in nearly a year but had to leave booking it till the last minute as I wasn’t too hot on the idea of spending a holiday abroad on sticks. Thankfully it all worked out and I got to book a trip to France sans crutches where my long-held romantic notions of the country were confirmed. The food, the wine, the landscape and cityscape of Lyon and the Rhone Valley, the lifestyle, the attitudes. I loved it. Lesson learned: holidays are really good for you.

In summary, things were pretty good – nice new place to live, job I loved, had started learning to drive and in the full of my health (well, from the knees up anyway!).

And this year?

Right now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m thankfully still in the job I love, in the full of my health, living in a lovelier (and cheaper!) new place with a great family and group of friends around me none of which I’ll ever take for granted. And I’ve found my best friend.

So, where were you this time last year?