Well, well, well… look who’s wandered back after 22 months away! I’ve dusted off the cobwebs and found my way back to this little corner of the internet. You may have thought I’d emigrated, locked myself away in my studio with my watercolours, or simply forgotten my password. The truth is I’ve been spending my time writing a book – in fact two books with plans for a third in the pipeline.

And it’s not just any old book either. It’s a 220–page collection of short stories from Moy, Charlemont, Benburb, Blackwatertown and all the little townlands scattered in between them. The years I’ve covered run from 1880 to 1960 – those halcyon days of fairs, feuds, sports days, concerts, tragedies and triumphs. 

And now that the first book is finished, I’ve been thinking this site might be the perfect place to share some extras like photographs, forgotten scraps, and stories of local people from the 1960s onwards. Because why should the past stop at 1960?

With a fair wind and no further distractions (other than the usual ones) I hope to have both books out before Christmas – in time to sell them for £15 at the Craft Fair in the Church of Ireland Halls, in Moy, on Saturday 6 December. If you’ve nothing better to do, come along as there will be stalls selling all manner of goodies, and there’s always the chance of a good yarn.

And if you live too far away there will be an opportunity to buy both books online. 

So yes, I’m back. Twenty–two months older, possibly wiser, and certainly armed with more stories than I left with. Stay tuned. This time, I promise not to disappear quite so long.