One Sunday afternoon last month, I impulsively purchased a new €900 iPhone and put it on my credit card. That very day I also ordered a device to lock myself out of the very same phone. Ah, the duality of woman. I, like so many of us, have a problematic relationship with my phone. It … Read more
Forrest Gump famously said that life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get. It’s the most perfect metaphor for vintage shops, where items can range from luxurious furs to hardy leather jackets, to bespoke ball gowns and flamboyant Hawaiian shirts. Almost as diverse and unusual as the … Read more
I’ve been writing on and off for The Irish Times for nearly 10 years. I don’t “practise gratitude” because, like assertiveness, that’s for Americans. But thank you; even if you read me just to comment “this is rubbish” under the articles on social media (I appreciate you CoRkBoI_69). Here are the valuable life lessons I’ve … Read more
A friend used to live across the road from a family with a preposterous television. It was a gargantuan object and, in the evenings, when it lit up the entire cul de sac it really felt like maybe it might be seen from space. I had images of the family squeezing around the edges of … Read more
Women are represented in the top professions more than at any time in history, and living in the public eye. Although it means our financial position has greatly improved, we’re still disadvantaged by the grooming gap and costly beauty standards. The grooming gap is the set of social norms and expectations around appearance that is … Read more
“I have a new hobby,” Sandra Hüller said recently. “I try to sneak in a karaoke scene in every film.” The German actor doesn’t always succeed. I am pretty sure she didn’t get a song into Jonathan Glazer’s forbidding Zone of Interest. But, in Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, a critical smash from 2016, she belted … Read more
Every now and again, Herself will have a bit of a cry. Usually, this isn’t in response to a specific set of circumstances, it’s more like emotional maintenance. She’ll say: “I needed a good cry. I could feel it coming on.” And she’ll feel better for it. I’ve never had that experience. Many times, I’ve … Read more
I can’t see Nick Cave. The Australian singer is talking from his home in London, favouring the telephone because he is convalescing from the flu. “The whole of London is infected with this thing,” he says with a sigh. In the popular imagination, Cave has jet-black hair, a high forehead, an indomitable stare and, over … Read more
I think I was quite sheltered growing up. My parents were both teachers at a school called Rockport in Co Down. Because my dad did boarding duty there, we got a staff house. I grew up from age five in that school, in a place called Seahill, between Holywood and Bangor. My mum has this … Read more
Watching the coverage of the Oscars red carpet last Sunday night, I was struck over and over by the same thought. “Celebrities! Stop hugging and getting your heads so close together! Don’t you know that’s how the nits spread?” I don’t even have children, but a number of my friends who are parents have been … Read more