A lil trip to Belfast

Upon finding a pretty fantastic deal, Sarah and myself headed to the home of Stormont and the farl; Belfast. As these things turn out, its much of the same stuff but in a different location, in other words we passed the time walking, eating, drinking and talking. Ok I can fudge no longer, the focus of the day was food. And so you will find below pictures of a nice cafe and a restaurant and of me in front of city hall which incidentally was taken just before a marks and spencer picnic on
the stoop.

Cafe Conor, which we visited post Starstruck exhibition in the Ulster Museum. We had Prosecco with bread, olives and tapenade, which was brought to us by a waitress who couldn't understand why I would want olive oil for my bread as there was already tapenade on the plate. But a fellow waiter redeemed our afternoon when he pointed us in the direction of the Duke of York bar.





Very stylish indeed. We stumbled upon the newly opened Potted Hen in the Cathedral Quarter post Duke. Calamari to die for and a truffle infused risotto, all washed down with a NZ Sauvignon Blanc.





Oh and there I am!

Lonely Voice

I'll be doing a reading in the Irish Writer's Centre, Parnell Square, at 7pm Wednesday 27th July, as part of the Lonely Voice: Short Story Introductions Series. All Welcome! There will be drinkies from 6.30pm :)

Does happiness write white?

BBC Radio 4 show produced by my good friend Faith Lawrence

Everyone's talking about happiness: politicians want to measure it, and self-help books explaining how to become ever happier are two-a-penny. So why have literary folk been reluctant to depict this emotion, when many philosophers and politicians see it as the very point of human existence? The French poet Montherlant may have the answer- he claimed that 'Happiness writes white', that it is too boring to depict or even unrepresentable. Presenter Catherine Blyth explores the challenges facing award-winning writers, including Helen Simpson, novelist Ann Patchett, and poet Don Paterson when they try to put something as elusive and subjective as 'happiness' onto the page.

Have a listen!

Whats hot ... so says The Guardian ....

Guardian List of first book award 2011