 |
| The blaa (pic by The Daily Spud) |
I have neither the energy nor the wit to write a coherent report on my time at the Waterford Writers' Weekend. We went, we walked, we ate.
They shove the
blaa at you in Waterford as if there's a famine in progress (in the nicest possible way of course.) And, naturally, we had to sample them at every hand's turn. It would have been rude not to.
Literary festivals are utterly exhausting - I'm still in recovery - but a jolly time was had by all. My workshop was booked solid and I enjoyed the company of 12 short story enthusiasts for 3 hours on Saturday.
On Sunday I read with Monica McInerney, who is a delightful woman and writer. We both read short stories and then we talked about the process of writing stories, with questions afterwards from the audience. It's always good to make a new friend in the writing world and Monica and I hit it off as we seem to come from the same place (though she's an Australian living in Dublin). We're both from families of 9 and we both eschew plot in favour of writing in order to tell ourselves a story. I heart non-plotters :)
Anyway, Waterford is lovely, the weather was gorgeous and the festival organisers had given us free passes to all sorts, so I took in Waterford Crystal (an excellent tour) and the museum in the Bishop's Palace as well as having lovely meals in Emiliano's and Bodéga. What is a weekend away without endless good food? Thanks to the organisers for having me and for making it a very special weekend.
(Good God, how many clichés can I fit into one blog post?!? See, my head is cabbaged with tiredness!!)
Anyhoo, in place of a decent report, here are some photos:
 |
| Brian Keenan being interviewed live for Arena |
 |
| Poet Mark Roper - Arena |
 |
| Seán Rocks interviewing Dónal McIntyre |
 |
| Waterford Crystal tour |
 |
| Waterford Crystal |
 |
| Waterford Crystal |
 |
| Juno in the Bishop's Palace |
 |
| Miss Busy-Bee the Typist, toy display in Bishop's Palace |
 |
| Monica McInerney & me, chatting before our reading |
 |
| Signing afterwards |
8 comments:
love miss busy bee, i presume she's vintage:) great photos
Yes, Niamh - one of many old toys in the museum. I look a bit like her after a hard day at the desk :)
Sounds like a lovely festival, Nuala. And the Blaa - I have to try that! Hope you are able to have a nice rest now!
I took it handy today, Shauna. Back to the grindstone tomorrow.
You'll have to go to Waterford for the blaa. They don't export them :)
You're right Nuala, blaas can be experienced in Waterford only! My daughter has them with Chocolate Philadelphia for school lunches - divine.
Thanks for a wonderful workshop on Saturday. I've already applied your advice on titles to one of my stories. - Orla Shanaghy
Oooh, Choc Philly - it sounds so wrong but somehow is so tempting!
It was lovely to meet you again, Orla :)
What do you mean, I "have to go to Waterford for the blaa"? I'm hungry particularly for the blaa right now!
Glad you had a great time - always a good sign when you're too fagged to write it all up!
I love the way the table was dressed behind wee Juno (once I stoped admiring the lady herself to see beyond her). Might look a tad ostentatious in my place though ;)
Yes, I was going to pretend it was our dining room table but the wall cards for the museum were giving the game away :)
Post a Comment