dailyprompt

Tell us about the last thing you got excited about.

That was yesterday. My grandson got his GCSEs results. Had been waiting for early morning for the call. A combination of A’s and B’s means he’s back to school for another two years.

I’m excited for his future. Will he be a solicitor like his brother or will he enter the caring profession like his sister who is studying Occupational therapy?

At the moment law seems to be the option.

So I’m excited for his future and I know whichever path he chooses he will be successful.

His sister brought him a basket of goodies to celebrate. 🥳

How would you design the city of the future?

What are peace lines?

‘The separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican or nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British loyalist or unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. They have been built at urban interface areas in Belfast and elsewhere.’

Coming from a divided city like Belfast where there are peace lines of almost 42 miles, my vision for a city of the future would be a city where all citizens integrated, regardless of religion or culture.

I can’t even fathom why they are called peace lines, as rather than keeping the peace, they drive communities further apart. My future city would do away with Catholic and Protestant housing and look to a future generation to heal the divide.

My city of the future would also see beautiful architecture from days gone by restored and maintained and an end to the many glass boxes and soulless buildings we have today.

My city of the future would be carless allowing citizens to breathe fresh air while shopping. Planting trees and wildflowers for ambiance and outside eating areas although the weather here doesn’t always allow for that.

However it is what it is and I love my city with all its peculiarities. It’s been my home since the sixties and I don’t think I could live anywhere else.

Where did your name come from?

My first name came from my great aunt Anna. I found out some years ago in the baptismal register of the church in which I was baptised that I too was initially to be called Anna. For whatever reason and maybe because I was baptised the day after I was born, no one was quite sure what I was to be called. Anyway the Anna was stroked out and replaced by Anne.

I’m not sure exactly when it became Ann but I changed it because I was continually being called Ann (ie). All my official records spell it Anne and it infuriates me.

Patricia was my mother’s second name so following tradition it became my second name.

Valerie … well I was born on 14th February …. Valentine’s Day so Valerie was added on.

My brothers all got Irish names and I ended up with such a plain name which has mostly died out in favour of more exotic names like Apple and Summer. Had I been able to choose my own name I think I would have opted for something more interesting but I’m stuck with it now and I couldn’t answer to anything else.

Ann is a Hebrew word meaning “ grace”.

What motivates you?

I guess there is something deep down in my psyche which enables me to keep going and motivates me every day to get out of bed.

I’m 75 and when I look around and see others of the same age who appear to have given up, it makes me more determined. My daily walks help tremendously plus playing Words with friends keeps the brain active

I do not want my brain to seize up through lack of stimulation. I have 4 grandchildren and through them I have a different perspective on life than my parents before me.

I love modern technology and social media. I have a Twitter (X) account Facebook and many others including TikTok.

I love to meet up with family and friends. I’m strongly motivated to helping people. I’m alway ready to reach out to someone in trouble.

Finally I’m motivated by my husband of 54 years who is active despite being in pain and keeps our garden looking pristine. Having our house looking well kept is a motivation for both of us and we are constantly up dating it.

I guess you either have it or you don’t.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I believe my first piece of writing that received any recognition was in a competition at primary school for the RSPCA. ( animal charity). I won first prize and a book and was awarded the prize at a local hotel. The book was ‘School under Snowdon’ and I remember it almost 65 year’s later.

After that my essays at school were written with imagination and with a desire to always get a special mention from the teacher.

Life intervened in the following years and it was only on returning to education and a university degree that I was able to get many thoughts and ideas on paper.

Again life intervened and roll onto 2015 when I wrote a piece for a local website. It turned out to be well received and started off my love for writing again.

I wrote for various organisations until I started my own site. I loved being able to challenge local issues and eventually did a stint as a community journalist at View digital, managing to publicise an issue re changing facilities for the disabled which resulted in the government taking action.

I find it hard to compete against the large number of blogging sites on the internet but if only one person reads what I write I’m happy ( well not really) but ..

I love writing and I know my daily diary on Facebook gets quite a lot of views even if it’s only the musings of an old lady.

What do you love about where you live?

I came to Belfast in 1966 when I was 16 and apart from a few years when I lived in a nearby village I’ve always lived here.

To say we’ve had our problems in Belfast is an understatement but due to the resilience of the people who live here we got through it. It’s not perfect even now but what city is?

We have the sea within a mile from where I live. We have mountains, beautiful coastlines close by. The city has been regenerated and there are lots of restaurants. Thirty in a 2 mile radius from my front door.

Our educational standards are high with a well educated workforce and one of our universities is the prestigious Queen’s university.

And there’s the people, hard working, down to earth ( well most of them) and with a great sense of humour.

We have great hospitals with medical staff from many countries. I’m lucky at my age to live close to one.

And finally I also have the Stormont estate at the top of my road, home to the on/ off Northern Ireland assembly. Don’t ask lol. A beautiful place to walk with an excellent play park for children.

What’s not to like living here?

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

I can’t say I always feel positive especially with what’s happening in the world. Hard to stay positive when you look around and see children and families murdered in Gaza.

Hard to stay positive when a huge swathe of the American population are prepared to vote for a rapist, pedophile , racist and a thoroughly despicable human being.

Hard to stay positive when children in rich countries are going hungry and hard to stay positive when seeing people living on the street.

It is possible to be positive when I see my family doing well and are happy and well adjusted.

Not possible to see those who confess to be Christian acting in an unchristian manner and foistering their outmoded beliefs on others.

Possible to be positive when I see the possibility of a groundswell in many countries prepared to vote for change.

So I’m going to opt for positivity because to be continually negative in outlook is soul destroying and life is short.

What brings you peace?

William Butlet Yeats said

“And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow …..referring to his moving to the the Lake Isle of Innisfree. He was referring to the peace he experienced surrounded by nature as opposed to city life.

I feel peaceful when walking by the sea but it is a transient feeling. It doesn’t take long to come back to reality though I do have my photos to remind me.

My real peace comes from knowing my family are safe and well. As a mother I worried as my children grew up with the threat of a bomb going off, or a riot starting. This was the norm in Northern Ireland during the ‘troubles’ . I got no peace until they were home tucked up in bed.

Now I get some peace knowing my family are healthy, happy and settled, each perusing a career they love and each being a credit to their dad and me.

The outside world may be in turmoil but in my own little world peace has to be knowing all is well with my family.

What profession do you admire most and why?

So it has to be the medical profession. Not just doctors or nurses but all the disciplines that come together to look after the sick and get them back on their feet.

How many people can look after patients day after day, deal with horrendous accidents, and come back to do the job the next day ready to start all over again.

I’m slightly biased as my daughter is a Nurse Practioner and my granddaughter is studying to be an Occupational Therapist. Two of my nieces are GPs and I see the dedication they put in their jobs every day. I couldn’t do it so I very much admire those who do.

In hospital recently with a blocked intestine I saw the patience of the Doctor and Nurse as I tried to swallow a tube to my stomach. My reflexes insured that they needed a change of clothes only succeeding on the fifth go. I would have given up.

So without them what would we do. Covid was a great example of their dedication. So the profession I most admire has to be the medical profession.

What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?

It has to be my phone. I often wonder how I managed before the mobile phone became available.

I’ve actually had one since 1989/90. A rather large Nokia which only made phone calls. However in my job as a housing officer I travelled the length and breadth of Northern Ireland so I invested in a phone. It was expensive but it was very reassuring to have it during long trips to isolated areas, especially during the troubles.

Nowadays it is like my right arm, and I never go out without it. While waiting for appointments I can scroll through the news, play Words with Friends and check the number of steps I’m doing during a walk. I never have cash and pay everything with my phone, so no need to carry anything else when I go out.

Should I fall there is an alert to my family and I can alert emergency services.

Traffic alerts are also helpful as is checking the weather. So all in all my most important item to carry with me all the time is my iPhone.