Archives for: July 2008
PAOLA FORNARI C.V.
Writer, EFL teacher, trainer, and translator, I was born in Tanzania, have lived in a dozen countries over three continents, and describe myself as an ‘expatriate sin patria’. Wherever I go I make it my business to learn the language, get to know the local people and customs, and discover the country’s remotest corners. I became interested in writing in mid-2006, did a short Open University creative writing course and a Writers’ Bureau course, and began getting articles published in 2007.
From the Mountains of Mourne
This is proving to be a wonderful holiday. The Moya Brennan concert was superb, though I must say I am really stuck with the idea that Clannad's 'Macalla' album is unbeatable. We have enjoyed musicians that I had never heard of - Sean Donnelly, for example, who has the lightest touch on his guitar, and words that pierce straight through the toughest skin to your heart.
Where the Mountains of Mourne Sweep down to the Sea
When we booked our holiday cottage several months ago, the idea was to be a little closer to family than we were in Donegal. 'Rostrevor,' my husband said, 'County Down. 'I twisted my ankle there when I was a kid.' Seemed a good enough reason. But little did we realise that we would be arriving a day before the start of the week-long 'Fiddler's Green' music festival.
Oops! Proud Parents link
It's taken me thirty-five minutes to get this far on a rather ancient computer! Twenty years ago, who would have thought that thirty-five minutes was long for the transmission of a message worldwide? Anyway, here's the Proper Proud Parents link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59683&l=bc943&id=664241054
Moving Moments: Goodbye from Montevideo
Goodbye, friends, from Montevideo. I somehow doubt that I will be able to produce anything interesting from my next home, but I promise I shall try! Thank you all for your support and friendship during all this first stage of blogging. xx
No Trouble at Mill
‘Sorry, we have to postpone.’ I must say, I was disappointed and a little suspicious. We had travelled especially to Fray Bentos to see Botnia, the Finnish pulp mill which has received World Bank funding. Apparently, a routine maintenance stop had lasted longer than expected, and they were in full ‘start-up’. They told us they could not receive visitors for safety reasons. Bet it’s because it smells, I thought. But there was no smell in the town, and none when we drove right past the factory entrance. We couldn’t see much because there was thick fog. And it was dead quiet. Hmm, I reckon they haven’t really started up, I thought.
Moving Moments
Packers are happy people. I admire them. They are organised, tidy, and unwavering. They arrive at nine, pack till eleven, have a break, pack till one, have a break, pack till three, have a break, then pack till five.