Before anything else, know this: Sara is a patient, generous, wonderful host.
Okay, I was a smidge exhausted for a few days: 'normal' until an attack of the Flumps would have me napping on the sofa quicker than you could say 'beer o'clock'. But mojo was gradually restored. Treaty food; beers out (peroni and staropramen on tap - luxury!); much catch-up. On Saturday, after lunch and a farmer's-in-bunny-ears [= "farmer's"] market, where we finished with a rum punch [note to the folk at Casey's :-)] we meandered on to the V&A to visit Grace Kelly's purdy dresses and unfurl some stories of the quilted kind. And there were fairies, yes indeedey. Even a West Cork varietal.Flash back to Ferry Night: I had bought a book for the crossing - The Sun-Fish by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin. (In college, Eiléan was my lecturer, then colleague and internal examiner for my PhD.) I was curled up, shattered; feeling... at sea, quite frankly. And I read the first poem in her collection, which was about setting out: 'Leave behind the places that you knew: All that you leave behind you will find once more...'
There's a storytelling cat in the poem (naturally). The final stanza is:
The story the cat does not know is the Book of Ruth
And I have no time to tell you how she fared
When she went out at night and was afraid,
In the beginning of the barley harvest,
Or how she trusted to strangers and stood by her word:
You will have to trust me, she lived happily ever after.
Obviously, I read the words like they were written just for me. If Eiléan had appeared and repeated these words in person - direct, half-smiling - they couldn't have felt more personal.
It was always going to be a leap of faith :-)
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