To be happy, healthy and to treat others as I would want to be treated. To love and be loved. To live a good life. To make my family proud.
When I look around this world I see the hate that exists. The fact that nobody seems to be able to deal with the perpetrators, makes me feel that things that I can control are small in comparison.
The mission of many of our leaders are governed by power, by wealth and with no consequences as to how they achieve their goals.
In a just and democratic society Trump and his fellow dictators would be arrested, tried and put in prison but they have bought the judiciary, fixed elections and their mission is to destroy the world order and to take control.
So my mission has to be family and community oriented and to live in hope that the dictators will not succeed.
I could have avoided going down slippery steps to the beach on the third day of the new year and I wouldn’t have slipped and fallen down same steps, winding myself and ending up with severely bruised ribs.
Great start to the 2026 after having the worst year of my life in 2025.
Strong painkillers and rest will help but very frustrating not to be able to move about freely.
So next time I see a heron and want a photo I will avoid slippery, wet concrete steps to get it.
Probably not surprising but my favourite subject was English and especially English literature. I also enjoyed writing essays.
I won a prize in an essay competition during my primary school days. It was a competition run by the R.S.P.CA. My prize was a book called School under Snowdon which I read over and over again. After that I read everything I could get my hands on though I’m not sure Graham Greene was suitable for a 12 year old.
My essays at grammar school were always imaginative and my English teacher loved them.
Unfortunately it was a while before I was able to have a chance to write again. I used to write articles and short stories for my work’s magazine
I did a degree in humanities when I was older and English was one of my main subjects.
This introduced me to authors that I would not have known about.
The study of English explores fascinating elements of both literature and language. How we communicate, how words and language have developed, and what this means for us and society. Studying English literature and language gives you the tools to analyse the spoken and written word critically and creatively. Study of English explores fascinating elements of both literature and language. How we communicate, how words and language have developed, and what this means for us and society.
Then in my late sixties I used my writing skills to start my Chatter blog @apvallan.
I owe a lot to my English teacher at grammar school for making English an interesting subject and to my lecturer at University who was so dedicated to his subject and students.
Unfortunately AI has taken over the job of writing essays for students and this is stifling the creativity of young people who are becoming dependent on this form of technology.
I have been having a bit of a writers block recently. It’s not been a great year. My 48 year old son was diagnosed with throat cancer in December of last year. Life slowed down and a lot of time was taken up with visits to hospital for chemo and radiotherapy. Some days I was in the mood to write almost as a distraction but it depended on how my brave son Paul was coping. He was I might add, an inspiration to both me and his dad and the rest of the family and to all who followed his cancer journey on Instagram.
He has in the last few weeks been given the all clear and is cancer free. I can breathe again and think of other things and get down to writing again.
I did carry on my daily diary on Facebook which I enjoy doing. I didn’t have to think much just honestly record how I was feeling and what was happening day to day.
So I’m hoping some topics will come up here and I can start writing again.
What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?
I’ve changed my mind on a few things but there are two that come to mind. One is the moon landing and the other social media and the internet.
I’m not convinced about the moon landing.
I used to be quite convinced that men had landed on the moon but now looking at images of the landing I find it hard to believe and I wonder if was all a set up to make Russia think that America had beaten them to it.
Also if they were able to land on the moon in 1969, why have they waited so long to go back ? I’m not convinced.
I’m also rapidly changing my mind about the internet and social media. I used to think it was the best thing ever but seeing the damage it is doing I’m not so sure.
Instead of being an informative medium I feel it has become a dangerous place with misinformation leading to where we are today. It has helped to change the world order and turn America into a dystopian society with a dictator in charge.
I had stopped writing my memories some time ago finishing in 1977 when my son was born. I have however been asked by grandson Ben to write some more. Hopefully they will also be converted to videos too.
In 1978, the United Kingdom experienced several significant events across political, social, and cultural spheres.
We saw the birth of Louise Brown, the first test tube baby; Grange Hill became a firm favourite on BBC and Grease became a box office favourite. We were also heading to the winter of discontent due to high unemployment and inflation.
In Northern Ireland the Troubles continued, with ongoing violence between republican and loyalist paramilitaries, British security forces, and civilians. Notable incidents included IRA bombings and attacks, contributing to a tense atmosphere. Efforts toward peace or political solutions, like the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, remained stalled.
Meanwhile life in Belfast continued. Looking after my two children and my niece, life was mainly childminding, housework and the occasional night out when I could bribe my sister to babysit. There weren’t many venues for entertainment in the city as they had either been bombed or had shut down.
Louise and Orla were quite advanced for their age and they played well together but it was obvious that play school wasn’t stretching them enough and they were bored.
I approached the headmaster of our local school, Mr Rogan, about the possibility of them starting school early. Due to the troubles taking its toll on East Belfast, many families had left the area and the Catholic population had dwindled. So although they wouldn’t be four until after school started in September, he agreed to enrol them.
There had also been plans for a new Catholic grammar school being built on the Comber Road in Dundonald but that had to be scrapped due to the shifting population.
Gordon was working at Veterinary research and studying part time for a degree. This wasn’t easy with two children and a full time job but he worked hard and in 1979 he was awarded a BSc ( first class honours in Biological Sciences ) along with the Davison Hardy prize for the highest marks. His route to higher academic achievements had begun.
Towards the end of 1978 and after suffering from the inconvenience of storage heaters we were able to install central heating.
This caused a lot of disruption with floors being lifted and drilling through tiled floors.
Thankfully the children were able to go and stay with their grandparents in Rostrevor. Coming back to a lovely warm house was bliss.
In 1978 interest rates climbed to 17 percent going way up from 5% and we were finding it hard to manage financially with only one salary coming in. Gordon worked most weekends but it was looking more like I was going to have to find a job.
With no family nearby, child minding was a problem. I saw an advert for interviewers for the BBC ‘s audience research department.
I’m just coming up to a year from the day I started wearing hearing aids. For a couple of years my family kept hinting that it was time to do something about my hearing and I fought against it. After all I was only 75. I know!
I knew I was having problems hearing and I know I started tuning out when I couldn’t understand conversations that were going on around me.
I actually began to feel cut off from the family, missing important information because I didn’t want them to know how bad my hearing had become. Sometimes it was a bonus not to hear. Sorry Gordon.
Going out to restaurants and family gatherings was a nightmare. When in the middle of a group discussion I would smile, nod my head and agree with whatever was being said. Goodness only knows what I agreed to or with.
TV was a challenge. I couldn’t make out what was being said and if I was on my own the sound on the tv could be heard at the end of the road.
So last August after a series of tests and fittings and a considerable sum of money I was fitted with my new hearing aids. Suddenly I could hear sounds I hadn’t heard for years. I could follow conversations, watching tv was such a more pleasant experience. I could even use them to listen to my iPhone and answer the phone.
So if you’re feeling at all isolated and reading lips because of your hearing, go and get tested and get hearing again.
Being isolated through poor hearing can lead to dementia and depression as the brain becomes lazy and loses the ability to to function properly.
You may be entitled to get them on the NHS but there is a waiting list, so if you want to be part of the conversation, put your name down sooner rather than later. If you can afford it, go for it.
It has to be music from the sixties. I lived in Belfast in the late sixties and before the troubles started all the big groups visited here .
I’ve been to see most of them although the Beatles were just before my time. But the Beach boys, Roy Orbison, the Kinks, Van Morrison, Tom Jones, Manfred Mann I could go on, I saw them all.
Great music that has survived over 60 years. Some artists survive as long as their last record but this genre lasts and lasts.
I’m not an authority on anything but I have gained a lot of knowledge over my 76 years so I could probably join in a conversation on many different subjects
There is an old saying ‘Jack of all trades, and master of none’ and that’s where I see my self.
Some say this is a derogatory statement but I feel it suggests that it is a good thing to have a broad knowledge of many subjects rather than being confined to one.
How boring would it be to have lots of knowledge of one subject but lacking knowledge on more important topics.
So I’ll be happy to take Shakespeare’s quote as a compliment rather than an insult.
I would usually buy flowers or chocolates. I have on occasions baked something like a fruit loaf or a special desert. If it was something really special I might treat them to lunch or a spa day.
I would also send a card or a text expressing my gratitude. Offering to be available should they need something in the future would be another way of showing gratitude.
CHATTER 