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Jan 21
5 min

Paternal Plunging

Here is one of those Dad stories I promised. This happened during the summer of 2005, just after he had knee replacement surgery and I fl...

Lizzy Shannon

Jan 15
5 min

How long is too long?

When you’ve been absent from blogging for as long as I have, it’s really difficult to know where to begin again! I had every intention of...

Lizzy Shannon

Jun 4, 2019
1 min

A moment with Freddie Mercury

I'm watching the Freddie Mercury story on Netflix, and keep thinking back to 1986 when I had the honour of appearing in the music video o...

Have you ever had a really bad feeling about a place?

Lizzy Shannon

Jan 20, 2019
2 min

Have you ever had a really bad feeling about a place?

A friend owned a cabin in a little town at the foot of Mount Hood in Oregon. I was just starting out as a writer, and she very kindly let...

Have you ever eavesdropped and heard a conversation that terrified you?

Lizzy Shannon

Jul 3, 2018
2 min

Have you ever eavesdropped and heard a conversation that terrified you?

This question recently came up on Quora, which I answered. To my amazement it's had over 40,000 views in 20 hours, so I thought I'd add i...

Lizzy Shannon

Jun 26, 2018
2 min

Blame it on the Weather

The other day I got to display what a rational, composed human being I have become. (Ahem!) I was driving Dad and the dog over to Murloug...

Lizzy Shannon

Jun 4, 2018
2 min

This fleeting, floating world

Dad and I got back from our walk with the dog to find a baby bird lying helpless on the ground beside the garage. The wings hadn’t formed...

Lizzy Shannon

May 31, 2018
1 min

Incorrigible

The eccentric father I mentioned in my last post is as incorrigible as ever. I just got back from walking the dog with him, and he was in...

Lizzy Shannon

May 30, 2018
4 min

Answer to prayer, and other things ...

Okay, I’ve faffed around enough. Been in Northern Ireland for six months now and haven’t written very much at all. I have, however, becom...

Lizzy Shannon

Mar 12, 2018
1 min

Travelling in a Strange Land

On Friday I made my first exploratory expedition in the literary world here in Northern Ireland, by attending David Park's book launch of...

Lizzy Shannon

Sep 18, 2017
2 min

There and Back Again

I recently had a good whine on Facebook about three 'endings' that have just happened in my life. The last of a group of friends in my ne...

Lizzy Shannon

Jun 1, 2017
2 min

Alien: Covenant

About a week ago I went to see Alien Covenant. A town a few miles away from Dundrum had sprouted a multi-screen cinema at some point, but...

Lizzy Shannon

May 23, 2017
3 min

A rude by any other name

I drove over to Ballynahinch today to meet my cousin for lunch. In the public car park, I parked in a space beside a stationary 4x4 Suzuk...

Lizzy Shannon

Apr 6, 2017
6 min

The Saw That Went To Hell

Almost six months have sped by and I find myself back in Northern Ireland again. It was actually quite a pleasant journey over, this time...

Lizzy Shannon

Feb 7, 2017
3 min

Tickling the ...

It's been a time of reflection so far this year. I've recently had more time to practice my piano playing, and I dug out a couple of boxe...

Lizzy Shannon

Dec 27, 2015
1 min

The end is nigh! :-)

I have finally finished A Song of Bullets! It took several months longer than I'd anticipated, but is now completed after two years. The ...

Lizzy Shannon

May 16, 2015
7 min

Excuse me while I moon you

Hard to believe I'm back in Northern Ireland again! Time has this pesky habit of sneaking away from me. Last time I looked, it was the en...

Lizzy Shannon

Jan 3, 2015
3 min

Fly me to the moon ...

First blog of 2015! And Dad and his eccentricites already promise to make this a very entertaining year. This afternoon I was lost in wor...

Lizzy Shannon

Nov 24, 2014
2 min

A brush by any other name...

The other day was blustery and rainy, and Murlough Nature Reserve had become a quagmire when Dad and I walked Cooper there. But our boots...

Lizzy Shannon

Nov 16, 2014
2 min

Not the salvo you were expecting

Last week I was in Belfast again, meeting up to bid a friend bon voyage before he headed home to Australia. For old time's sake we stoppe...

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LIZZY SHANNON