Influence and Influenza

Landlady Dispensary

I'm making a big effort with this post, as I sit in bed shivering with flu, and apologise for the temporary lack of paragraphs, it's a pesky iPad thing. I rarely get sick, I can't afford to, no sick pay, no staff. Although Tristan Davenport, gentleman lodger #2 gamely brought up breakfast yesterday morning, indeed he rustled up a cracking Silver Hill Duckling the night before.

The word influenza comes from the Italian to influence, heavenly bodies were once thought to affect our own. According to my Twitter class on Monday at Athena Media, twitter can be a very powerful influencer. You twitterati probably know that already. But do you know why there are only 140 characters permitted - it's a bonus really, can you imagine the diatribes? It is because there was only capacity for 140 characters on the first SMS, which was a Nokia invention that was suggested would never take off - 'people prefer to talk' they said to the inventor. So Twitter now lets you broadcast your text to all and sundry rather than simply text your friends, for free, this might be obvious, but I know plenty of technophobes who just don't get it.

There are others who just can't stop tweeting - I recognised a tall, bespectacled senator in a renowned club garden on Saturday night and went over and said 'you were tweeting the whole time through the Health Committee Hearings'.

I blame the influenza, memory does not serve me well enough to quote the exchange; I had to explain why I was there listening for 3 days. In fairness, when I walked away, he followed me and was extremely good natured and insisted I contact him. Another on my list of influencers to influence. On a slightly higher note, I was introduced to a gemmologist, a young man from Mayo, who looked more like someone in a band, but who deals in diamonds, so my good recession story is that there is a market for gems. And I saw his card, so it wasn't a line..

As the urgency of the current debate increases, I went to a briefing in Leinster House yesterday, under serious medication and all of a quiver. But it was Cost Centre #1's graduation in Christchurch cathedral afterwards so there was an absolute necessity to get out of bed.

The group that gave the briefing are called Doctors for Choice and comprised a GP, a lawyer, a psychiatrist and a woman from the National Women's Council of Ireland. It's hard to believe that GPs are sidelined in this Bill, they are unquestionably the first port of call when you find you are pregnant, or at least back in the 1990's when I was, it was the way to get it confirmed and referred to an obstetrician. Dr Mark Murphy from Sligo, a young man of 32 has a wise old head on his shoulders, it was a pity there were not more TD's and senators in the room. Dr Peadar O'Grady rightly requested the removal of the 14 year sentence - a longer term than rapists are given, so a girl who is raped and has a termination can be sent to prison for 14 years. Please?

I now have to learn what lobbying is all about.

So that's what happens when I leave landlady house, I get a good dose of influence.

Be Generous - Tweet Good Thoughts

I hadn't anticipated becoming a twitterati, nor indeed still writing a blog mid-year, there's only so much you can say about your gentleman lodgers and your cost centre sons before they come crashing down on you. Gentleman Lodger #1 to the best of my knowledge doesn't even know there is a blog. The longer he is here though, the more bewildered he seems, something to do with the late rugby nights he keeps and the fact that landlady has been going into Oireachtas Hearings. It's so nice not to have too much discourse at home; just a passing comment from CCs and GL#2 suffices. I don't want to go into detail with a man who likes to keep things simple.

But GL#1 (Adam as he was the first on planet landlady) must have noticed how busy I've got, I haven't had time to do his washing, a bad habit to have gotten into anyway. Especially when the Cost Centres came home from Life festival in Belvedere (go google) with sacks of rancid clothes and now there's a right back-up.

I thought it was a bit of a swizz that Groove Armada pulled out of the festival, though the last minute replacement with Leftfield wasn't bad, amazingly enough I have both of their actual first CDs. I know that's amazing because the Cost Centre's are confused that I had their music before them.

Speaking of Leftfield, I was invited to the United African Nations celebration of their Golden Jubilee on Saturday and roped blonde Racquel along. Great hair, great costumes (not us). There was a doctor from Galway doing wine samples from her distributorship (Kinnegar Wines) of South African tipples. She worked in a hospital as a cardiologist and was taking the train back that night. Amazing what people do...the second Reisling was my favourite, the fourth sample pretty much meant it was time to go and eat. Saturday night, no bookings, after a big rugby match? Best to turn up needy, we got a high table in Keshk, the place where you can bring your own wine, amid two 30th birthday parties, a good reason to hurry the (very good) food and move on.

It still being early we joined friends in the calm garden of Dylan, rested on comfy sofas and toasted Sir Leigh's birthday.  You see, one of the ideas of tweeting is to be generous, so I'm mentioning all the nice people I met.

It's a good thing in life too, not imposing your anxieties, prejudices and ideologies on others who don't share them. I’m only beginning to discover the cut-throat raw edge of politics and campaigners of late. And I'm just an on-looker.

Shattered by the Bookseller of New York

I’m not one for conspiracy theories. But the copy of Alan Shatter’s book, Laura, a story you’ll never forget, was supposed to be shipped on Wednesday according to the ever efficient Amazon.com, only I got an email yesterday from the bookseller to say they were out of stock, promptly followed by a refund email. What can I say, were they being greedy and thought they’d make a hundred dollars more? It went up from 1 cent in the UK last week to thirty dollars (what I paid) as of today it’s 165 pounds and, I kid you not, three copies are 999 dollars each in USA.

I’ve found one on Donedeal with a lady on the North Side for 50 euro, but oh, dear, that is such a lot of food I could buy instead, unless of course I can read it, review it quickly (I feel that won’t be a problem) and re-sell it. I have another trick up my sleeve but saying nothing until I have it in my hand.

Enough bibliophile undercover activities, I wrote a post about the Surreal Moment in Leinster House last Thursday, not realising the effort would take the stuffing out of me when I got home. Though the stories from the group of women in Termination for Medical Reasons brought my own experience back to me and caused a flood of tears, it was the weight of emotion in the room and the compassion from all but two of the audience (the two that left rather obviously before the end, Peter Mathews and Fidelma Healy-Eames) that overcame me at home. It was the kind of evening to be wrapped in a blanket and watch trash TV with chocolate and red wine. Which is exactly why I record Revenge and enjoy my guilty pleasure all the more, can’t wait to see what Laura and her guilty pleasures are all about.

Surreal Moment at Leinster House

This is not a baby

I sat in the AV room at Leinster House with eight women and one man in front of me, a full audience of TDs and Senators behind. Richard Boyd Barrett introduced the topic and revealed that he and his former partner had the experience of fatal foetal abnormality, he certainly empathised with the issue.

Ruth had only begun her story and I was crying. Thankfully I had the canteen serviettes in my bag, because there were eight more stories to go and I don’t think I could have remained sitting.

You see, even though I went through the trauma of fatal foetal abnormality eleven years ago, I have never known anyone I could talk to, or with whom I could share the experience. Even though I wrote about it, and took the first human rights case against Ireland, I still felt alienated as if this was something only I had to go through. 

So today was quite a milestone. I had no intention of speaking because I find it very difficult to repeat my story but I realised I could remember all the legal nuances from my ECHR case and the Heads of Bill.

I stood and said I was Deirdre de Barra who wrote the letter in 2002. I am normally very nervous speaking in public, but the facts were so well known to me and the wrongdoing so clear, that it wasn't an effort, the point was to remind these legislators how to enable the amendment to the Bill. 

It was funny and kind of David Norris to say to me afterwards that he kept my letter. Indeed it was very moving to hear each and every one who spoke in response, that they would support legislation in this situation.

Catherine Murphy Kildare North TD said it all when she described the listening experience as surreal, stating that briefings in the AV Room were generally full of engagement, questions and explanations, but in this case there was no need, it was so clear that change was needed.

I firmly believe there is scope to amend the proposed bill, we have cross party support and I believe that support will grow. It was unfortunate that Peter Mathews had to leave mid presentation, the briefing was only for an hour, if he couldn’t stay he shouldn’t have come in. Because he missed what I had to say to him. Don’t compare a flower with a fatally abnormal foetus.

Downtime at Landladyhouse

Back home in landladyland milestones have been passed since last week, both cost centres have finished third level. They talk of needing downtime, they don't need to. They're in perma-bed ever since. I've become a bit of a lazy mother since taking up residence in Leinster House; well I would reside if I could find the bedrooms the Duke of Leinster no doubt appointed for guests. I've slept in the Duke's suite at Carton, I just need a word with bald usher and I'm there.

CC#2 Final Exam Breakfast Avocado and Poached Egg

I've found just about everything else, including the Bold Room and since today the AV Room, where briefings are held. The cost centres still have to find their own pathway (my new term from the Oireachtas hearings) or indeed a space to master and inhabit. Remember when we had those career guidance advisors in school and mock interviews, it was all so abstract, how on earth do you know? As far as CC#1 is concerned he’s heading off to Mullingar for a music festival this weekend as he turns 23, talk of CVs or jobs is off the agenda until next week. 

I thought the ‘Irish Mammy’ was someone like ‘Mary, dear’ from the Riordans, ok too far back, but at least someone from a generation we wouldn’t recognise. I fear she is staring me in the face in my bathroom.

CC#2 is interning for the summer followed by a post grad in the autumn. He’s struggling to decide where to holiday in the meantime. Bless that tax rebate from the J1 job.

The Gentlemen lodgers are still here, #1 is in a high state of excitement with the level of rugby on recent weekends. G.L.#2 continues to patronise Dublin’s arts and culture scene and keep me abreast of what’s hot and not.

I keep house, after a fashion. Filed my book review on Monday, wrote another Indo piece coming out tomorrow. Fired off my own book today to three publishers, deciding I couldn’t wait for agents to get back to me.

Since the weekend, the cul de sac is enlivened for two weeks while neighbour husband returns from Sydney for the young fella's communion. Rumours that there is a job shortage in Australia are not exaggerated, he has been searching for 5 months and only came back because he's starts a contract in June. Harmony restored in Lara's house, and a happy communion boy to boot.

I sat in the Dáil Bold Room on Tuesday, loving the news being made by the minute, the Shatter Wallace carry-on, then came the tweet about his censored steamy novel. I read other peoples books for research, to see how high the bar is for publishing, or how low, as is often the case. I just had to check out Minister Shatter’s novel. Of course all copies were taken off Amazon, but I managed to find a second-hand one in the USA, I’m distraught at having to pay 30 dollars, but hey, it's a collector’s item.

By Thursday I discover 'Laura, A story you will never forget', by A Shatter is for sale at £165.00 and there are only two copies left, I fear my relatively cheap copy could be intercepted at the Customs courtesy of Garda insider surveillance, don’t know why I get that feeling. But I want to do a book review. I feel it deserves it. Anyone?