How I started driving

The first thing I ever drove was when I was only about ten years old. It was an old Circus truck a Commer that my father used for delivering coal. We were delivering to houses in Baron Park in Clonmel. The drivers name was Jim Gabriel. Jim was an elderly man. While Jim was in one house I decided to move the truck a couple of houses up so I got in behind the steering wheel and started up the truck and drove to the next house, it was great fun.
After a year my father bought a truck from Curran’s Enamel in Clonmel. The make was a Tames truck and was much bigger. One evening while we were out in Marlfield, I decided to move the truck to the next house. Outside the house were four women customers. I started off slowly but then I came too close to the women, I could not stop. They had to move fast to get out of my way. I said I was sorry and luckily they had seen the funny side of it. I still meet some of them now at the over fifty fives Social club and we still laugh about it.
The next time I drove was in Kilree Cottages in Bagnelstown. It was a zephyr v four car that my father had. Where we lived was a cul-de-sac with a small drive in to the house. Myself and my brother would take turns pushing each other up and down the road. Then dad bought a zephyr v six car, this was great fun because it had a very long bonnet on it. I wasn’t allowed to drive it but when we moved back to Clonmel, I got my chance.
My Mother and Father were going on holidays to Wales, so Dad had left the car up in Dundrum, Co Tipperary, in the company van driver’s house after being out on site so he asked me to go up and collect the car. This was the first time I was allowed to drive on my own. Dad warned me to make sure to put petrol in the car. The next night, I, my sister and four of her friends went for a drive. I was a great fellow driving. I put two pounds worth of petrol in the car every night we went for a drive. One Sunday we went down to Wexford. That was the longest drive. When mom and dad got back, I had the car cleaned out and polished it was like a new car, not a scratch on it.
One day all the family were going up to Dublin to see my aunty Winnie who was a nun in Clondalkin. When we got to the other side of Carlow, Dad asked me to drive. Just then, a truck with two horse carriages passed. When I caught up with it, dad told me to pass it out. When I did, he gave out to me and said to slow down. I got mad and pulled into the side and said you drive yourself. Things were very quiet for the rest of the journey.
Then, when I got some money out of an accident, I bought my own car, a new blue Vauxhall Viva. I kept that for a year and bought a red Ford Cortina which was later wrote off by a friend of my brother.
After that, my brother in law Niall Dennehy asked me to drive an old Transit post office van delivering goods all over the country for Bolger Transport in Clonmel. Then he bought a bigger Transit then a ten ton Bedford truck. Next was two Hino articulated trucks and then he got a Daff articulated truck. What we didn’t know at the time was that it was a left hand gearbox instead of a right-hand one.
One Sunday evening it was left outside my front door to do a run down to Dingle, Co. Kerry. I had never driven this truck before. Instead of the gears going from left to right, they went right to left. I left home at four the next morning for Dingle. It wasn’t long before I got the hang of the gears. The place I had to deliver to was very awkward but I managed it.
From then on, I started driving for Bolger Transport. I was driving trucks for fifteen years altogether. Then I went in to business for myself selling Fruit and Vegetables. I bought a Transit van and was selling at car boot sales, door to door house visits, cattle marts, the Square in Cahir and the novenas in Holy Cross. Then I got sick and could not drive or drink for a year. I didn’t mind giving up the driving but not the drink, that nearly killed me [Joke].
From that, I went on to do a computer course for nearly two years. Following on from the course, I got a job as a caretaker in a day-care centre and then, one day I fractured a rib and got a Hernia. I had to have an operation to fix the hernia.
I hope to be back in work in two months please God.(It actually took ten months!)


Anthony
13/7/2010

Family at Christmas Time

Family at Christmas Time
At Christmas time with family all around
And hope and joy with every sound
The smell of turkey roasting in the oven
The excitement of children with Santa coming
This feeling fills me with love
And I thank God above
Every Christmas brings the same joy
And I await this like a child waiting for a toy
This year I feel like no other
I can’t wait to see my brother

By Catherine

My Family

My family

By Billy

I had a wonderful father and mother, I also had three brothers and I got on well with them. When I got sick, my mother took me to the Regional Hospital in Cork and I was made better. I passed my time in a small farm which was one of my father’s friends’. I was with my father and mother a good number of years, giving them a hand.

My family was delighted when I got working in the Nagle Centre in Cashel. I got to see my friends back in my home town on the odd occasion.

I buried my father, mother and two brothers. I miss those who have passed away. I wish my family could see me win a couple of Olympic medals in Shanghai. My brother and sister in law were delighted also my nephews and a large circle of friends.

I am a Godfather of one of my nephews. I also have a good number of aunts and uncles.

A sore day out

A sore day out
My name is Daniel, I was born and raised around cars and that’s why I got into hot rod racing. My hotrod is a Toyota Starlet, it’s the most common car used for racing.
I painted my car red and yellow with a white roof, I used those colours because they were leftovers from another job. My car is a little different to other starlets, it is completely gutted out. I took out the dashboard, windows, seats, roof lining and took off all the door cards as well.

To save weight and stop it folding if it gets a hard slap from behind the exhaust is cut off at the centre box. That’s the reason hotrods are so loud, but the noise is music to my ears.

You don’t have to be mad to drive hotrods but it helps if you are, wait until I tell you about one race I drove in that shows what I mean. I was sitting at the start line, I put the car into reverse then into first and sink the boot to roast the front tyres off it, to get them hot. The flag is raised I am feeling edgy and very intense, but I never take my eyes off the flag.
I want to get off the start line quicker than
everyone else.




It is a straight line to the first corner banging and bashing all the way. There are sayings in hotrod, when you are out in front the others “eat my dust” and “eat my rubber”. The race to the first corner would be like mothers getting their kids to school, there is no mercy or forgiveness. It is not nice biting rubber or getting dirt in your eyes and the fumes are so bad you would fly home on them.
I drove flat out into the first corner, the car was roaring like a banshee all the way up the back straight I have the pedal to the metal. The rest were eating my dust I only had to stay out there for fifteen laps.
With four laps left and the boot welded to the floor, I show no mercy, once I walk inside that gate I have no conscience. Then trouble started, the back of the car started to break away and slowed me down. The rest of the cars caught up with me on the final lap, I was able to stay ahead by driving like a beginner on the motorway I was all over the track.
At the last bend I was still ahead, I took a quick look in the mirror and I saw my arch enemy. I knew this meant I was in severe trouble, he hit me in the ass as he passed. I went straight into the wall, turned over on to my roof, I was travelling so fast that I skated down the track and over the line upside down and finished in second place.
I was steaming when they got me out of the car, we turned it back over and brought it back to the pits, threw some oil into it and got it running, then I went out for the last two races. When we were sure the car was ok someone asked how I was, that’s hotrod for you.

By Daniel

My Dream Holiday

My Dream Holiday
My dream holiday was going to Rome for my fiftieth birthday. I have been on a lot of holidays but this one stands out from all the others.
I went to Rome in March this year. The weather was nice and warm. It was about 25 degrees with clear blue skies. The journey over only took two hours. We booked into the hotel. Our room was upgraded to a double deluxe with no extra payment. It was a fabulous room and great start to the holiday.
Next day after a lovely breakfast, we headed to St. Peter’s Square. It was full with people from all over the world. I queued to get into the church but it was worth it. My next visit was to see the Sistine Chapel. This was amazing and to me more beautiful than St. Peter’s. The walls and ceiling were covered in amazing artwork. I could’ve spent a week there, but I had to move on.
Over our stay in Rome, we saw lots of interesting and beautiful things including Trevi Foundation and Spanish steps.
Someday I hope to go back to Rome.

By Geraldine.

Book Review

Book Review

Date: 3rd March, 2010

Book Title: Woman Walks into a Bar

Author: Rowan Coleman

This book tells us about a woman in her 20’s called Sam. She is trying to find Mr. Right. Her daughter set her up on a dating service on the internet and we follow her on her
journey.

Sam is a single parent trying to raise her only daughter. They have a good relationship as Sam was very young when she had her daughter. Sam has two best friends whom she knows since school. Her past relationships have affected her confidence.

She has experienced emotional abuse and physical abuse in her past relationships and she has to find a way to lower her barriers for any new relationship to work.

Yes I liked the book because it was enjoyable, it held my attention. It was entertaining.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a story with a nice ending.

My Summer Tour of Ireland

My Summer Tour of Ireland

By Aidan

When I got my holidays I went to Limerick to my sister and I met all my other sisters and brothers. I stayed for the weekend and we went for a meal and a drink.

On the Sunday night I got a phone call from an old friend and he invited me to Galway to visit him. I decided I would go on Monday morning. There was a music festival on at the time and
Galway was full of tourists. We had a few nights out and nice meals and we sat on the footpath eating chips and burgers and listening to music in the street.

My daughter lives in Mayo and as I was so near I decided to give her a ring and went to visit her for a few days. She lives near the coast. At 5am the next morning I went fishing with her brothers in law and nephews. I caught mackerel and had it for my tea that night and breakfast next morning!

Next I decided to visit my brother in Shannon in County Clare. We went for a day trip to Ennis. We did some shopping and had a nice lunch.

I also visited my sister in Shannon. She told me she had booked a house in Ballybunion in County Kerry and she invited me to stay. I spent a weekend with her and we visited Killarney and the lakes. We had a look around Tralee. She decided she didn’t want to cook so we ate out every day.

Two days after I got back to Clonmel I flew from Cork to Wales……………………but that is a story for another day!

Bill Gates

Everybody knows the name Bill Gates and anybody you ask now in the world will tell you that he is the man behind Microsoft, he had an early interest in computers and in software. In 1973 he started as a student at Harvard University where he met Steve Biller, now the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft while he was still an undergraduate. In 1975 before graduation Gates left Harvard to form Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen; the pair planned to develop software for the newly emerging personal computer market.
Bill Gates’ company Microsoft became famous for their computer operating systems and killer business deals, for example Bill Gates talked IBM into letting Microsoft retain the licensing rights to ms-dos an operating system that IBM needed for their new personal computer Gates proceeded to make a fortune form the licensing of ms-dos.
On November 10, 1983, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Microsoft Corporation formally announced Microsoft Windows, a next-generation operating system. On January 1ST 1994, Bill Gates married Melinda French Gates. They have three children. In 1995 windows 95 came out, it was a big hit then windows 98 and then 2000 followed by windows ME and XP. Bill Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect.
In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as non-executive Chairman. His Net worth is $57 billion and he is one of the most famous people in the world.
Thomas C

The Outside Light

When I was growing up in a little fishing village, situated on the west coast of the harbour, there was always something to do and to see. We would fish among the seaweed and rock pools. I used to love the shore and would spend a lot of time there when I was not in school and there was always something new to be discovered that had been washed off a ship during a gale. In the summer we would swim every day and sometimes twice a day, it was wonderful. On the quay there was always someone who needed help to overhaul nets or bail out a boat, and I would like to help when the old men were making sails and watch as they used a sail needle and a sail maker’s palm.
When I was very young my father had a small boat with sails and when the weather was favourable he would take me out fishing. I can still remember the sound of the creaking of the mast and the flapping of the sails as the boat glided through the water. Then when I was 9 years old, my father got a 5½ horse power outboard engine which cost £98 and at a time when salmon were 1 shilling & 3 pence per pound.
The sails were never used again. This made life easier for my father and it helped to get a lot more fish. But for me it meant that I had to go fishing when the weather was good or bad, and sometimes I would be very seasick and other times I would be burned with the sun and salt water, and my face would blister. At that time, there were a lot of ships using the harbour & the nets would have to be hauled in when the ships were passing, and then set out again. This had to be done very fast. It was hard work, but I liked it and I didn’t complain. Sometimes the captain of the ship would signal to my father, and he would exchange paint or rope for fresh fish, by means of rope and basket lowered from the side of the ship.




When we were fishing at night the navigating would have to be down by the lights on the shore. This was more difficult in heavy rain or fog. When the fog was really thick it was not always possible to see the ships in time and they would come too close to our boat and sometimes cut through our nets.
At times the fog was so bad we had to stay out all night ‘til the sun came up in the morning. There was always one light that shone and it seemed to be brighter than all the rest and even at times when it was not possible to see, it was a comforting thought knowing it was on. That was the light that was on the corner of our house that my mother always left on when I was out in the boat. My father did not see the point of it and though it was a waste of electricity never the less, my mother would always leave on the outside light. When the weather was stormy that was the worst time of all. On one of these occasions when I was just 11 years old and the weather was very bad for some weeks, the wind was blowing from the south east direction which caused a big swell and I was very seasick. We had just hauled in our nets and we were steaming to another location when a huge wave struck our boat, I thought that we were gone under, and then my father was nowhere to be seen, he had fallen overboard and he was in the water. Luckily the engine stopped and I was able to grab his hand. I don’t know to this day where I got the strength to help my Father back on board.
There were good times also, like when the weather was calm and we could go ashore. I could explore some isolated beach, maybe a cave and swim from the boat in the clear deep water. Sometimes sharks would come alongside but this didn’t happen very often, only in extremely good water. Sometimes my father would tell stories of his seagoing days and I learned a lot about the sea life.
On Saturday there would be no fishing and I would help clean the boat and mend the nets. Then at the end of the season the boat would be hauled up on the quay and the barnacles and algae would be scraped from her bottom. Any leaking seams would be caulked with oakum and pitch, and a coat of tar would be given, then the boat would be painted and ready for the following year.
In the evening I would often got to the quay and watch the bigger herring boats unload their catch. We could always get some herrings to bring home. We would roast them in the fire on a wire grill and they were lovely. Then I finally left school and the only work that was available to me was fishing. It was hard work with long hours, sometimes we caught no fish for weeks and in the winter there would be work on the pier salting and barrelling herrings. I liked this job although it was hard and very cold working on the quay all day, sometimes from five o clock in the morning. There were times when we would have to work very late at night and on these occasions we would be brought to the pub and given what was called a salmon roll, and a large bottle of Guinness. Then we would go back to work loading or unloading a ship.
I fished for many years after that and there were times when I would get work ashore, but I always ended up back fishing. Finally in the early 80’s fishing as I knew it failed and when I met my wife we moved away from the sea. With her help I managed to get full time work ashore, and now when I visit the seaside my past life is just a fading memory. At times when I see the children playing on the foreshore and hear them cry out that they have found a crab or starfish, I can only smile.
I still like to watch the fishing boats and ships as they come in and out of the harbour as I stroll along the foreshore, of just sit on a rock on a summer’s evening and listen to the water lapping on the beach. Now as I drive back home and leave the harbour lights behind, my eyes sometimes mist over when that famous poem by John Masefield, “Sea Fever” comes to mind.
I must go down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

Mountain Disasters

I read from my book ‘Mountain Disasters’.
I read from page 1 to 41. I read about Mount Everest in India and Mount Hood in Portland, Oregon, USA. I am finding this book very
interesting.
This book has a very good key terms part.
This makes reading more clearer.
It is exciting to read about the climbers who reach the top.
It is very sad to think of the people who
perished on the mountain.

By Joan

Lanzarote

Lanzarote

By Liam

We went to Lanzarote for the first time this year. We stayed in a lovely hotel in Porto Del Carmen. It’s a lovely place with lots of places to see. We went on two trips. One was in a boat across the sea to Fuerteventura. On the way, we saw the dolphins diving. It was great to see them.
On the other tour, we went to Fire Mountain. A man there put a little bit of grit in our hand to see how long we could hold it. We didn’t hold it for long, it was roasting. From there we went to see the camels and went for a ride on them. They are very smelly and they spit and bite so they have leather bibs over their mouths. It was a good day out. We stayed a week and enjoyed ourselves.
I would like to thank my tutor Helen for all her help and wish her and my fellow
student a very happy Christmas.

Book Review

BOOK REVIEW
BY P.J.
Date: 23rd April 2010

Book Title: Fields of Home
Author: Marita Conlon-McKenna
This book is about the famine years, it tells the story of one family, the O’ Driscolls and their lives at the time. Eily lived with her husband John, their daughter Mary-Brigid, son Jodie and Aunt Nano. John has been working for the Land Owner and trying to do a bit on his own place, life was hard.
I learned a lot about the Famine and really enjoyed reading this book.