We the citizens make up the State

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

When I was a young boy it would have seemed to me that no one had any sort of a chance of standing up against the State or large organisations.

These days far more attention is rightly given to the rights of the individual person.

Modern technology, modern media has made it so much easier for the individual to disseminate news, information and opinion. 

Sometimes it’s accurate, other times it can be far removed from the truth.

It’s easy and tempting to blame the State and large organisations for all our woes. And it’s good that we can. They are not beyond reproach. But it takes two to tango.  We have individual rights but we also have responsibilities.

I bring my recyclable waste to a bring bank. The facility is operated by the local authority and individuals are allowed to dispose of their bottles, plastic, batteries, bulbs, papers and other recyclables for free.

Over the years I have become friendly with the attendant who manages the facility.

On many visits I have noticed people dispose large quantities of waste at the facility, which does not cater for commercial quantities The manager of the facility assures me that people are abusing the system but it is difficult to prove it. So there is nothing he can do to stop them in their bad behaviour.

Think of all the times the media world, you and I, criticise the State, county councils, government ministries for all sorts of shortcomings. But what about how we individuals don’t play our part in enhancing the common good.

Is it an Irish characteristic to try to find a way around breaking rules and regulations?

Talk to any employee of Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and ask them about Travel Card abuse. Next time you are on a train and happen to meet a member of the Revenue Protection Unit you might ask him or her to fill you in on some of the remarkable stories they have to tell. Those people could write a brilliant book on the topic of people who abuse the Travel Pass.

How many people don’t pay their television licence? How much money is lost to the State in the black economy?

We are forever criticising the Department of Health and the HSE for inefficiency and poor management. How often do individuals behave dishonestly in matters concerning our health system?

There is no one who is perfect and I’m most definitely not but I’m thinking of a saying I first heard from my novice master fadó fadó.

It is from Germany’s literary giant, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: ‘Let everyone sweep in front of his own hall door, and the whole world will be clean.’ It makes great sense.

Of course we have to support the weak and fragile, that’s the purpose of our social welfare system. But for it to work to our best advantage it depends on each one of us to play our part in being as honest and ethical as possible.

The State is not some amorphous body. We the citizens, make up the State. And every time we abuse the system the chances are it’s the poorest and most fragile who suffer.

We all depend on one another. Rules and regulations are there for the smooth-running of society. The value of democracy is that the people decide at the ballot box who will make our rules.

And then we should keep them. It’s so easy to blame someone else for all our woes.

A funny story at a Lidl check-out

Mick and Robo work for Dublin City Council. Over the last 10 years or so I have got to know both gentlemen from bringing my recyclables to a DCC Bring Bank facility.

They are kind men and very funny. They never miss an opportunity for a laugh or a joke. They have that great gift of Dublin wit.

They both know that I am a priest.

Often early on a Friday morning I bump into them in a Lidl shop. There's always the smart comment, the laugh, the joke. Always trying to get me on the back foot. They win most times.

Usually there are three, four people in the store at that time in the morning. Last Friday morning there were queues at the check-outs.

My two men were ahead of me. Robo had paid for his goods and Mick was in front of me and about to pay.

It seemed most shoppers had bought toilet paper. Mick makes one or two smart comments and then, out loud to me he says: "Ah Jays, if I'm going to be in isolation for a few weeks I better stock up with condoms." He says it with a good-humoured smile. He gets something of a laugh from the shoppers.

He thinks he has got me, snookered me. I immediately quip: 'Ay Jays, Mick, you wouldn't know what to do with them."

He's surprised, caught and for the first time since I know him he's speechless. I can see him with his feet stuck to the ground, speechless. Robo looks on laughing. I get a far bigger laugh from the shoppers than Mick.

In the midst of this horrible Covid - 19 crisis a good laugh at 08.15 in a Lidl store in South Dublin does us all good.

Now's the time for prophetic and uplifting words

It is uplifting to see peoples of all nationalities, beliefs, colour, generations coming together in this time of crisis.

And then the President of the United States tweets this:

Sleepy Joe Biden was in charge of the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic which killed thousands of people. The response was one of the worst on record. Our response is one of the best, with fast action of border closings & a 78% Approval Rating, the highest on record. His was lowest!

Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has tweeted good and uplifting advice and comments on her account.

Some of the observations in reply are shocking.

Hope over despair

Some interesting events on March 15. Signs of despair but hope too.

1939 German troops occupied Czechoslovakia.

1945 Soviet Forces begin an offensive to push Germans out of Upper Silesia.

1990 Mikhail Gorbochev is elected first President of the Soviet Union.

2019 Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries strike to protest climate change.

Lovely words from Pope Francis

This is a lovely read from Pope Francis.

Tonight before falling asleep
think about when we will return to the street.
When we hug again,
when all the shopping together will seem like a party.
Let's think about when the coffees will return to the bar, the small talk, the photos close to each other.
We think about when it will be all a memory but normalcy will seem an unexpected and beautiful gift.
We will love everything that has so far seemed futile to us. Every second will be precious.
Swims at the sea, the sun until late, sunsets, toasts, laughter.
We will go back to laughing together.
Strength and courage.
See you soon! "#Papafrancesco #restateacasa #pope #popefrancis ❤🙏

Diarmuid Martin writes to priests of the Dublin diocese.

This is a letter sent from the Archbishop of Dublin to priests in the diocese.

English is intriguing. Isn't it the rule that all proper nouns begin with an upper case letter and all common nouns begin with a lower case letter, unless at the beginning of a sentence?

Why upper case bishops, churches. Is it something to do with giving importance to something or someone? Provincials do it too as do some priors and bursars. Something pathetic about it. And certainly breaking the rules of English.

Then again, so often is doctor and manager spelt with upper case while plumber is always lower case. And then there's professor.

It tells its own story.

Mass is an interesting word. Is it a proper or common noun?

Why uppercase church but not graveyard? And how could weekdays be ever spelt with an upper case 'w'?

A funny old world.

Diarmuid Martin's letter is helpful and informative.

IMPORTANT LETTER FROM ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID MARTIN ON CORONAVIRUS  SPECIAL MEASURES

Dear Father,

Please read carefully the advice (below) issued this afternoon Thursday 12 March by the Irish Bishops.

Whereas I realise that many of these restrictive measures will make pastoral life more difficult, we have to remember that as a society we have a duty of care to protect ourselves and above all to protect others.

Ø All Confirmations are postponed until further notice.  This applies with immediate effect.

Ø Are Masses cancelled?   Not absolutely.  Where normal attendance on Sundays or Weekdays is less than 100, there is no reason not to hold public Mass.  Mass with limited congregations can be celebrated to permit participation by web-cam.  Pope Francis does this himself every morning. Attention can be drawn for those who cannot attend Mass to the traditional practice of Spiritual Communion. 

Ø In the current emergency, all are dispensed from the obligation to physically attend Sunday Mass.

Ø Funerals: Funeral Masses can be celebrated but limited to close relatives or friends with at most 100 people inside the Church.  Larger gatherings of up to 500 could take place outside after Mass or at a graveyard. 

Ø Similarly Church Weddings and Baptisms can take place on condition that attendance does not exceed 100 people inside the Church.

Ø Within Churches it is necessary that people observe a distance of at least one metre from each other.  This is because one of the easiest ways in which the virus is transmitted is through close contact.

Ø It is not permitted to pass baskets or collection bags from person to person.  Arrangements must be made for closely monitored collection points at entrances to Churches, with distinction between the first and second collections.  There is also an on-line payment facility for the Common Fund and Share collections on the front page of the diocesan website.  Click on “Donate”.

The situation of isolation that many will feel with the current restrictions challenges the Christian community to be attentive to and remember those in our communities who live alone and especially families carrying extra burdens.

I am well aware of the burdens and uncertainty that this complex situation places on priests. We will experience a workload that is uncharted.   We must pray for each other, support one another and remain hopeful and be a focal point to provide hope for others.  Our Churches can remain open and offer consolation and comfort to us all. 

Over the next days, up-dated information will be made available on the diocesan website.

Yours very sincerely 

+Diarmuid Martin

Archbishop of Dublin

Day One on Rathgar Road and in Lidl Terenure

Rathgar Road between 07.00 and 08.20 today was almost like a Christmas morning. No one at bus stops, two, three cars, empty buses passing bus stops.

Then to Lidl in Terenure. Usually on a Friday morning I am one of two, three customers in the shop. This morning there were queues. And all that toilet paper.

There was a Garda in the shop and a local council employee told us at the check out that the Army would be on the streets on Monday,

The Taoiseach's address to the nation yesterday

This is a statement from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar issued in Washington yesterday morning.

There is a lovely tone to it and the Taoiseach has to be commended for his words.

Good morning,

I need to speak to you about Coronavirus and Covid-19.

For the past few weeks, the Government and our public services have been focused on the impact of the virus.

In that time, we have taken several important and unprecedented measures to protect public health.

We have been preparing for all eventualities.

Yesterday, the World Health Organisation formally described it as pandemic and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) updated it guidelines advising us all to act early to be effective.

Our own National Public Health Emergency Team met last night and has issued new advice to Government. We are acting on that advice today.

There will be many more cases.

More people will get sick and unfortunately, we must face the tragic reality that some people will die.

The virus is all over the world. It will continue to spread but it can be slowed. Its impact can be reduced making it easier for our health service to cope and giving our scientists more time to develop better testing, treatments and a vaccine.

It is important to remember that the disease effects will be mild for the majority of people especially the young and healthy.

We know that older people and those with chronic diseases are at real risk. We have a duty as a society to protect ourselves and above all to protect others - our parents and grandparents, our family and friends, co-workers and neighbours.

We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory. This is unchartered territory.

We said we would take the right actions at the right time.

We have to move now to have the greatest impact.

So, from 6pm today, the following measures are being put in place. They will stay in place until March 29th.

Schools, colleges, and childcare facilities will close from tomorrow. Where possible, teaching will be done on-line or remotely. Cultural institutions will close.

Our advice is that all indoor mass gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled.

Arrangements are being made to ensure that everyone entering Ireland through our ports and airports is fully informed and self-isolates if they develop symptoms.

You should continue to go to work if you can but where possible should work from home. In order to reduce unnecessary face to face interaction in the workplace, break times and working times should be staggered and meetings done remotely or by phone.

Public transport will continue to operate.

The shops will remain open and we have plans to ensure that supply chains will not be interrupted.

We need the public and businesses to take a sensible and level-headed responsible approach.

Restaurants, cafes and other businesses can stay open but should look at ways that they can implement the public health advice on social distancing.

As a general rule, outside of work people should seek to reduce social interactions as much as possible.

You can play your part by hand washing, coughing and sneezing into your elbow, and seeking medical advice if you develop symptoms. This is now more important than ever.

The Cabinet will meet later today.

Opposition party leaders and our counterparts in Northern Ireland and Britain will be briefed.

In the period ahead, the Government will deploy all the resources we can muster, human and financial, to tackle this threat head-on. Those resources are extensive but not unlimited.

Healthcare workers have been at the forefront of this crisis since it started. They will be at the frontline of the crisis in the time ahead.

We must do all we can to help them, so they can help those who need help the most.

I know that some of this is coming as a real shock and it is going involve big changes in the way we live our lives.

I know that I am asking people to make enormous sacrifices.

We're doing it for each other.

Together, we can slow the virus in its tracks and push it back.

Acting together, as one nation, we can save many lives.

Our economy will suffer. It will bounce back.

Lost time in school or college will be recovered. In time, our lives will go back to normal.

Above all, we all need to look out for each other.

Ireland is a great nation. And we are great people. We have experienced hardship and struggle before. We have overcome many trials in the past with our determination and our spirit.

We will prevail.

Thinking out loud about Boris Johnson

The opinions of some well-known English people  on Boris Johnson.

“He’s lied his way through life, he’s lied his way through politics, he’s a huckster with a degree of charm to which I am immune. As well as being mendacious he’s incompetent.” 
Conservative former minister Chris Patten

“Johnson is a man who waits to see the way the crowd is running and then dashes in front and says, ‘Follow me’.” 
Former Conservative government minister Michael Heseltine.

“He’s an enormous character but not a team player… And he doesn’t know if he’s a journalist or a politician, but he does know it’s all about him. The more he repeats what everyone can see is not credible, the more his own credibility disappears.” 
Former foreign office colleague Sir Alan Duncan.

“I’m afraid he’s shown, especially during his period as foreign secretary, that he doesn’t have the necessary skills and capacity to be leader.” 
Former Conservative MP and former attorney general Dominic Grieve.

The birthday of the author of 'A week is a long time in politics'

Harold Wilson was born on this day in 1916.

He was a British Labour politician, who was UK prime minister from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976.

Wilson sent troops to Northern Ireland in 1969.

It is said, as a young boy in school the teacher asked the class to write an essay on their favourite job. The young Wilson asked the teacher what number on Downing Street die the chancellor live. The teacher told him and jokingly said would he not like to be prime minister.

Some minutes later the young Harold went back to the teacher and asked at what number did the prime minister live.

Harold Wilson is famous for having said at a time when the Pound was devalued by 14 per cent, that the Pound in a person's pocket would not be worth less.

And his most famous line of all surely was: "A week is a long time in politics".

The Wilson government abolished capital punishment and liberated laws on censorship, divorce, abortion and homosexuality.

The Open University was established during his time as prime minister.

Wilson joked about leading a cabinet made up mostly of social democrats, comparing himself to a Bolshevik revolutionary presiding over a Tsarist cabinet. 

He was a great performer on television, usually smoking his pipe.

Wilson and his government offered a new style in British politics.

An interesting man. One of my childhood heroes.

Russia and Covid - 19

How come Russia is reporting so few Corvid -19 incidences?

And what's happening in Africa?

The Bible is a trove of great stories

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

During the last week or so there have been stories in the Gospels read at Mass that have blown my mind. They certainly set me thinking.

I acknowledge that I am no Scripture scholar or Exegesis expert but I can say over the years that I have been dipping in and out of the Bible stories, both Old and New Testament. I regret not knowing more about the Bible. 

To get one’s head around the Bible, both New and Old Testaments, it helps to know about the history of the times in which the different books have been written.

In my work as a hospital chaplain whenever I am asked to pray with a patient I read from the Psalter or the Book of Psalms. Indeed, in the parish church where I celebrate early morning Mass, I begin by reading a line or two from one of the Psalms prescribed for that day.

Just this Monday I read these lines from Psalm 41: ‘By day the Lord will send/ his loving kindness;/ by night I will sing to him,/ praise the God of my life. 

The Psalms are wonderful Jewish prayers written as poetry. Maybe more accurately said, most of them are, as some of them can sound nasty and tough. But there are always ones among the 150 to suit the particular moment or situation.

Last Monday week’s Gospel (Matthew 25: 31 - 46) was an amazing story. The gist of it was that when we serve one another we are serving God. 

It’s when we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, care for the sick, cloth the naked and support the prisoner that we are showing our real respect for God. It’s then that we are truly worshipping God.

And in Tuesday’s Gospel of this week (Matthew 23: 1 - 12) Jesus criticises the scribes and Pharisees: ‘They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others…’

Are they not incredibly radical pieces of writing? And how they apply to our present world. Imagine if we lived this? There would be no question of a billion people in the world not having enough food to eat. There would be no homeless people living on the pavements of our streets.

What has organised religion done that it has so atrophied, indeed, managed to emasculate the message of the Bible? And particularly Christian ministers of religion, how have we managed to confuse people so much that they are simply not aware of the message or the mission statement of Jesus Christ?

The stories that we read about Jesus in the New Testament could not be more radical. He could not be more on the side of the poor and marginalised. 

Jesus spends his time questioning the authority of the day and has no trouble criticising them for feathering their own nests.

And isn’t it odd that in most cases religion is used as a tool by the right-wing, ultra conservatives to protect a status quo.

I get the impression that religion is often hijacked by the right-wing.

It seems so often we miss the wood for the trees when it comes to looking at the full picture of what it means when we say we believe in God.

Once we try to ‘corner’ God for our purpose isn’t that what idolatry is?

God is love.

Fr Ernesto Cardenal dies at 95

Ernesto Cardenal, priest, poet and politician has died in Managua. He was 95.

Pope John Paul II suspended him from priesthood. 

The pope publicly confronted Cardenal at Managua Airport on arrival on an official visit to the country in 1983.

Ernesto Cardenal was reinstated to priesthood by Pope Francis.

Serious systemic church problems go down the generations

The story of the late Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche, as it comes to light, is sad.

There is much to learn from it.

Jean Vanier was greatly influenced by a French Dominican, Thomas Philippe. In 2014 a canonical inquiry found the late Fr Philippe guilty of serious sexual abuse of women.

It is said that the allegations come from trustworthy people, that Jean Vanier under coercive conditions gave a mystical justification for his inappropriate sexual activity.

The Tablet quotes one woman: "When I expressed my astonishment saying ... how could I manifest my love to Jesus and to him [Vanier], he replied: 'But Jesus and myself, this is not two but one, but we are one ....It is Jesus who loves you through me.' "

Is that not copybook behaviour of the allegations made against the late Irish Carmelite priest Noel Dermot O'Donoghue?

It's always extremely dangerous to create gurus. It's always absurd to place any human person on a pedestal.

Jean Vanier was influenced by Thomas Philippe.

What happens across religious congregations and dioceses where 'senior clerics' are set up as gurus, given roles of authority, and then it turns out that they have engaged in criminal activity? For example, say men are vocations directors, is there need for a root and branch investigation to discover the damage they may have done?

Surely there is. Who should carry out the investigation?

The French Dominicans have set up two groups to assess the career of Fr Thomas Philippe.

The provincial of the French Dominicans Nicolas Tixier announced last month that there would be an investigation into the link between Vanier and Philippe.

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day.

On this day I honour and remember my late mother.

At her funeral Mass in 1988 I said that she burned her bra before most Irish women were wearing them.

And so she did.

US authorities advise over 60s to skip church services

Two top US infectious disease experts with ties to the federal government have advised people over 60 and those with underlying health problems to strongly consider avoiding activities that involve large crowds.

Dr William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University professor and longtime adviser to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said these two groups should consider avoiding activities such as travelling by airplane, going to cinema, theatres, attending family events, shopping at crowded supermarkets, and going to religious services.

People in these two groups "should strongly consider not doing these activities at this juncture," Schaffner said.

"This ought to be top of mind for people over 60, and those with underlying health problems, such as heart or lung disease, diabetes, or compromised immune systems," Schaffner added. "The single most important thing you can do to avoid the virus is reduce your face to face contact with people."

'PowerPoint is the creation of the devil'

A well-known Irish public figure commented a number of years ago that PowerPoint is the creation of the devil.

Like all modern technological developments, PowerPoint, when used properly can be a most enhancing pedagogical tool.


But when it is badly used, when people simply fill the space with text and read from it, it must be one of the worst possible methods in attempting to convey information or instruct people.

And then to add to the insult, make sure that the PA system is ineffective, well, it's the perfect miserable experience.

Sitting through a day of  PowerPoint badly used is certainly a close encounter with the devil.

I know. I have been there this week.

It was also a first for me to attend a book launch and no copies available for the hoi polloi.

Anniversary of the death of Michael Heuston OP

Today is the anniversary of the death of Dominican priest Michael Heuston. He died in Rome in 1984.

An eccentric genius, a kind and good man.

Fr Luke Dempsey, who died last month, while he was prior in the Dominican Priory at San Clemente in Rome, afforded Michael Heuston a new lease of life.

Also, the late Raymond Collins, when prior in San Clemente, gave Michael great support.




Someone quipped to Michael that he was ahead of his times. He replied: "No the Irish Dominican Province is behind the times."

Does anything ever change?

Michael was the brother of Sean Heuston of 1916 fame.

Michael visited his brother, Sean the night before his execution. Michael was a novice in Tallaght at the time. 


He never made a statement to the Bureau of Military History about the visit.  On that visit he was accompanied by Michael Browne, who went on to be Master of the Dominican Order and later a cardinal. In1957 Michael Heuston made a declaration to the BMH while he was living in Tralee.

Next time you are at Heuston Station check out the bronze plaque near Platform 2.  Michael was consulted about it before it was placed.

Kingsbridge was renamed Heuston Station on the 50th anniversary of the 1916 revolution.

Right up until the early 1990s the older locomotive drivers always called it Kingsbridge and wrote 'KB' in their logbooks.

Eugen Ruge writes about the nonsense we are all fed

Eugen Ruge's 'In Times of the Fading Light' is well worth a read.

The book was written after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It tells the story of a family with links with the Soviet Union and Mexico. Some, true believers in the Marxist Leninism of the  GDR, convinced followers of the system, others less so and then all the nonsense, lies and spoof they were told.

The quote below is about Alexander:

 “He had been fooled, his entire life. He had been led by the nose. He was delighted he had realised this.

"In reality everything is about deceit. And the truth of the matter is: He is a stupid foolish white man who has been fleeced - what else.'

The author is recounting  an incident where Alexander, while visiting where his grandmother lived in Mexico, was robbed by a taxi driver and his young friends.

But it tells a bigger story. It tells the story of how organisations and States make fools of all of us.

The book was first published in German in 2011. It has been translated into English and a film version was released in 2017.

Eugen Ruge was born in 1954 in the Soviet University, studied mathematics at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Worked as physicist in the GDR and then as a film maker.

He fled the GDR in 1989 and is now back living in a united Berlin.

Clerical sex abuse threatens existence of Catholic Church

The clerical sexual abuse scandal threatens the existence of the Catholic Church as an institution, the president of the Centre for Child Protection at the Gregorian University, Fr Hans Zollner said in Dresden in late February at a theme day on 'Escaping from Power, Seduction and Abuse'.

He discerned a systematic inability to act. Some churchmen were still trivialising or denying the abuse, and the church's responsibility for it. The church was traumatised, he said.

There was a connection between spiritual power, power attributed to theology and power sanctioned by canon law, he explained.

- From the current issue of The Tablet.

Light security at Dublin Airport and with a smile

A Guardian journalist going through security at Dublin Airport was asked to remove his belt, which he duly did.

He then asked the security person: "what about my shoes?".

The security man looked at him, looked down at the shoes and then looked back at the journalist and said: "Nope, I wouldn't wear them."

And on this day in 1966 in an interview in the London Evening Standard, John Lennon said that the band was "more popular that Jesus now". 

People do and say odd things.

Highest in reds, lowest in blacks

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

There is no algorithm or paradigm to determine or measure what anyone does on a Sunday afternoon.

I image for many people Sunday afternoon, can be a lazy time. Especially at this time of year, it’s easy to give in to our sloth.

On Sunday I was invited to lunch. There were five adults and four children at the table for a delicious meal.

At some stage one of the children produced a set of playing cards. They had been on the mantelpiece. A conversation about playing cards ensued and it was suggested that after the meal the adults would play cards.

Meal over, table cloth pulled away and five of us sat down to play 25.

Two of us had some idea how to play the game but for the three younger adults, it was all new territory. Though one young woman from the US had as a child played an American version of 25.

Originally I had planned to head home sometime before 5pm. I eventually headed off after 8pm. It was the funniest afternoon I have had in a long time.

The other person who had some idea about 25 is from the North of Ireland and the fun we had in our interpretation of the rules was hilarious. In the card game 25, each person is given five cards. In dealing the cards you begin by dealing each person three cards and then two cards. The player from the North said no, you first give each person two cards and then three cards. Of course there is no difference but it did manage to create a funny disagreement between us.

I had only met the young American woman on two or three previous occasions and up to our card game our relationship was rather formal. 

The card game changed that. Two hours into our game I saw a side to the woman that I had never before seen. She was hilarious. Her sense of humour had me rolling around the table laughing. And then another player wanted to know why the Five of Hearts had such a high rating. How do you answer a question like that?

There was some cheating too. One or two people were caught looking into their neighbour’s hand.

The fun, the laughs, the excitement, a bit of shouting and dodgy language too, added to the fun.

A simple game of old-fashioned playing cards gave the five of us great entertainment.

It set me thinking and brought me back to my childhood and early manhood. We played cards at home, especially at Christmas and then later as a young Dominican, cards were always on the menu during holiday time and sometimes on Saturday nights.

People still play cards, especially Whist and Bridge but regular card-playing by amateurs like me seems long dead.

And the death happened well before computers, tablets and mobile phones appeared on the scene.

I’m wondering why did playing cards die the death it did? Was it the television that killed cards? It’s just not done these days. I can’t imagine it’s the cool thing to do.

Is it that we are too busy and have no time for such ‘simple games’. God love us, if that’s the way our thinking has gone. But I’m part of that gang as I have not played card games in years. 

There was no money on the table. And guess what, had there been, I can’t imagine it would have improved the entertainment aspect of the afternoon.

UK Civil Service at war with its own government

This story from the Guardian gives some idea of the brutality and cruelty of the new UK government.

If they do this to their own people, if they treat their Civil Service in this way how at all will they treat Ireland?

This is a shocking story. Sir Philip Rutnam resigns because of the behaviour of home secretary Priti Patel. He accuses her of crass behaviour in the department. Rutnam intends suing the government for constructive dismissal.

But this is no change of behaviour from Johnson and his team. It's par for the course.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/29/priti-patel-home-office-chief-resigns-unfair-dismissal?CMP=share_btn_link

Pius Xll archives open on anniversary of his election

On this day in 1939 Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope and Pius XII begins his pontificate that lasts until 1958.

Is it a coincidence the archives on his pontificate will be unsealed, initially to a small number of scholars, on the anniversary of his election as pope.

Luxembourg introduces free travel today

Luxembourg introduces free travel today.

From today all public transport in Luxembourg will be free on all national buses, trains and trams.

Free public transport will end at the border.

No refunds will be issued for passes and tickets which would theoretically be valid after February 29.

It is the first country in the world to introduce free national travel.

What happens first class? Will passengers who travel first class have to pay a surcharge?