It Says in The Bridge - February 2023
The front page of the first Bridge of 2023 — we don't publish one in January — is one of many smiles, writes Brian Byrne.
We devote it to pictures from Sheila Peacocke's recent 90th birthday celebrations in Fallons, attended by family and many friends. As one of the most loyal Bridge readers — we know that because she will always be first to ask about it if we're late — we thought the front page was appropriate.
As we're out on the first public holiday celebration of another woman very local to Kildare, there's a lot about Brigid in this month's magazine. Our editorial muses on her place as an icon for equality 1,500 years after her death. Mary Orford gives her page to the life of a goddess, saint and ... brewer, and looks briefly at some of the folklore around her life. The centre spread is about St Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club, which on this public holiday is having an open fun scramble event as its part in the local Brigid 1500 celebrations. Sean Landers, meantime, provides a background to the Fr Henry Flanagan sculpture that marks St Brigid's Well in the Valley park, which depicts Brigid feeding the poor.
There are some reflections of Christmas past, primarily in a report and photos from the Nollaig na mBan evening in Fallons which 'could have been sold three times over'. There's a 'thank you' for generosity shown by the community over Christmas, from the St Vincent de Paul, and another from Kilcullen Lions to those who helped in their seasonal appeal. There's also appreciation relating to the further back Dawn Walk event, from Pieta for the €6,869 collected in the fundraiser.
Our regular contributors are all back rested from their Christmas exertions. Fr Gary writes from the perspective of a new year opportunity to think about new beginnings. Julie Felsbergs is also looking to a year of 'restoring balance' in our lives, much of which can be achieved by 'spending time' — with others, on our own, and with God. Billy Redmond is someone quite happy to spend time on his own, but his Off the Cuff this month is about an encounter with a bunch of school children and their teacher as he went about his voluntary chore of tending to the church grounds.
In their regular series about Understanding Autism and ADHD, Cliona and Sandra explain why and how neurodivergent people often try and hide their differentness by 'masking' in order to fit in. Our correspondent John Duffey has a telling tale about a doctor and a dog, and there's a spread about the 2022 European Transplant & Dialysis Sports Championships in the form of a diary kept by Kilcullen athlete James Nolan.
We also have two new feature pages that will be regular — one from the Bridge Camphill Community which brings us up to date on where they are just now, another from the Brigid 1500 Creative Writing Group organised by Woodbine Books, kicking off with two poems.
There's a report and pictures from the retirement of two much appreciated teachers at CPC, and a profile of Kilcullen-raised singer-songwriter Elle León who now lives in Barcelona.
And, of course, more. Usual outlets. Usual €2. Usual, we hope, enjoyment.
