Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

In 2007, photographer David Hulme came across a baby black rhino near the body of his poached mother. He took the little orphan to family friends, Anne and Roger Whittall, in Zimbabwe.

They named him Jimmy. Incredibly, they successfully raised him, and he quickly became a part of the family, bonding with Anne and befriending the family dogs. Even years after he was released, he still came to visit them regularly.

I’ve always been a puddle person ~ drawn to them as a small child and drawn to them even more as a big child.

Interestingly, the Irish word for puddle is locháinín which certainly hints at ‘small lake.’

As a child, I loved the ‘boldness’ involved in getting my shoes wet. This was a source of ENORMOUS tension between my parents. Mother didn’t give a damn and always seemed to be able to produce spare pairs out of nowhere or advocate the tearing off of shoes and socks in all weathers so that we could feel the ground beneath our feet. Father, on, the other hand, had a thing about both bare feet and wet feet and I mean a major thing!

I think I truly came to puddles and wetness on bare soles as a result of interviewing a man who had been completely paralysed in an accident. He spoke…

tell me again

about how we met

one more time

before I forget

I’ve lingered in your pause

in your held breath

I’ve waited in your palm

in your collecting sweat

I have been pledged

to your knees

for a lifetime

it seems

darling,

please

tell me again

about how we met-

just one more time

before I leave

and forget.

– sheila c

I don’t expect this post to mean much to many people ~ unless, of course, they are Waterford (Deise) people with a passion for hurling.

Hurling is a Gaelic game that’s arguably the fastest, most skilful game in the whole wide world. It’s played with a hurl made from ash and a small leather ball called a sliotar. There’s fifteen on each team and the games last for 70 minutes and are not for the faint-hearted either on or off the pitch.

The highlight of the hurling year is the All-Ireland Championship which is in full swing at the moment. Today, we had two quarter-finals: Waterford v Wexford and Galway v Clare.

Waterford were victorious and will take on the might of Co. Kilkenny in two weeks time. Kilkenny are recognised as the kings of hurling in Ireland but we live in hope that we will find a way to weave ourselves…