I find myself living in strange times, like all of a sudden I am living in a future I could not have dreamt of a child.

The Queen’s Speech in Dublin Castle, 2011…

A Uachtaráin agus a chairde (President and friends).

Prince Philip and I are delighted to be here, and to experience at first hand Ireland’s world-famous hospitality.

Together we have much to celebrate: the ties between our people, the shared values, and the economic, business and cultural links that make us so much more than just neighbours, that make us firm friends and equal partners.

Madam President, speaking here in Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore the weight of history, as it was yesterday when you and I laid wreaths at the Garden of Remembrance.

Indeed, so much of this visit reminds us of the complexity of our history, its many layers and traditions, but also the importance of forbearance and conciliation. Of being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it.

Of course, the relationship has not always been straightforward; nor has the record over the centuries been entirely benign. It is a sad and regrettable reality that through history our islands have experienced more than their fair share of heartache, turbulence and loss.

These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy. We can never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all. But it is also true that no-one who looked to the future over the past centuries could have imagined the strength of the bonds that are now in place between the governments and the people of our two nations, the spirit of partnership that we now enjoy, and the lasting rapport between us. No-one here this evening could doubt that heartfelt desire of our two nations.

Madam President, you have done a great deal to promote this understanding and reconciliation. You set out to build bridges. And I have seen at first hand your success in bringing together different communities and traditions on this island. You have also shed new light on the sacrifice of those who served in the First World War. Even as we jointly opened the Messines Peace Park in 1998, it was difficult to look ahead to the time when you and I would be standing together at Islandbridge as we were today.

That transformation is also evident in the establishment of a successful power-sharing Executive in Northern Ireland. A knot of history that was painstakingly loosened by the British and Irish Governments together with the strength, vision and determination of the political parties in Northern Ireland.

What were once only hopes for the future have now come to pass; it is almost exactly 13 years since the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland voted in favour of the agreement signed on Good Friday 1998, paving the way for Northern Ireland to become the exciting and inspirational place that it is today. I applaud the work of all those involved in the peace process, and of all those who support and nurture peace, including members of the police, the Gardaí, and the other emergency services, and those who work in the communities, the churches and charitable bodies like Co-operation Ireland. Taken together, their work not only serves as a basis for reconciliation between our people and communities, but it gives hope to other peacemakers across the world that through sustained effort, peace can and will prevail.

For the world moves on quickly. The challenges of the past have been replaced by new economic challenges which will demand the same imagination and courage. The lessons from the peace process are clear; whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing the load.

There are other stories written daily across these islands which do not find their voice in solemn pages of history books, or newspaper headlines, but which are at the heart of our shared narrative. Many British families have members who live in this country, as many Irish families have close relatives in the United Kingdom.

These families share the two islands; they have visited each other and have come home to each other over the years. They are the ordinary people who yearned for the peace and understanding we now have between our two nations and between the communities within those two nations; a living testament to how much in common we have.

These ties of family, friendship and affection are our most precious resource. They are the lifeblood of the partnership across these islands, a golden thread that runs through all our joint successes so far, and all we will go on to achieve. They are a reminder that we have much to do together to build a future for all our grandchildren: the kind of future our grandparents could only dream of.

So we celebrate together the widespread spirit of goodwill and deep mutual understanding that has served to make the relationship more harmonious, close as good neighbours should always be.

We now live in an age were we expect more information then ever.
Online, interactive and instant. We have gone in a pretty sort space of time from being used to idling time away at bus stops with the bus to be along sometime in the next half hour or even hour if you live out side a city or big town, to not wanting to wait more then 15 minutes.

This is changing, it’s not been that way in many countries in Europe for the decades and it seems that we have always been behind the curve.

I don’t think we will ever get to the same efficiently as the German or Japanese transport systems, esp when trains arriving into Dublin city train stations can be 10 – 15 minutes late and still considered to be ‘on time’. It’s also crazy that you can’t book a train ticket for more then 4 weeks in advance on intercity routes.

But for many people in Dublin it is Dublin bus which they use the most grudgingly, most people will if they can get the Dart, train or luas rather then get the bus, paying more and working their day around less frequent departure rather the suffer the bus.

There has also been the rise of private bus routes for those who live in some of the gather suburbs and again people will prefer to get a bus which takes a more direct route then sit on a bus which goes too far out of their way.

One way to try and combat this is I guess it to give people what they have wanted, which is to know when their bus is due. The next bus to the stop they are at, for the route they want.
Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? and such systems are in place in other cities but just not here.

Well the signs are slowly being rolled out, they all having still in testing on them but they seem to work.

I know that if I am having to wait at a bus stop in a quiet area at night alone, it’s reassuring to know when the bus is going to get there, and that even if the next bus due at the stop is not the route I want there will be a bus passing where I am soon.

Information doesn’t just inform it connects people and the more information and connection we have to others the less alone and vulnerable we feel.

Not quiet sure where April went,pretty sure it was lost with being and doing and recovering. And now it’s May and Summer.

I guess I haven’t’ had either the time or the need to write about things.
While occasionally the notions would occur that I could write about something which took my interest happened there wasn’t any urgency to do.
Things simply remained bubbling in the background and just like that the urge was there again and just like buses you wait for ages and 3 come at once.

Today is international women’s day, it’s been a 100 years from the first one in 1911.

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp

1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women’s Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic ‘Triangle Fire’ in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women’s Day events. 1911 also saw women’s ‘Bread and Roses’ campaign.

A lot has changed for women over the last 100 years, so much progress has happened re rights and equality and it’s wonderful that so much of the day is now about celebrating achievements but it’s also about raising awareness about where women have been left out of history and where there is still inequality.

Some of those are where equality has been legislated for but it doesn’t happen in practice or that culturally we still have a gender bias in how we treat people and what we expect from them and how we judge them.

The stats on over 50% of women who have been murdered ere killed by their current or previous partner unfortunately applies also to Ireland.

http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/blogs/100-years-of-international-womens-day/feminism-shouldnt-be-an-f-word-annie-lennox

100 Years of International Women’s Day – Feminism shouldn’t be an F-word – Annie Lennox

It shocks, disappoints and angers me that in a world where man has travelled to the moon and where we can connect to people anywhere on earth instantly online, men and women are still not equal.

The statistics are sobering. Across the globe, gender-based violence causes more deaths and disabilities among women of child-bearing age than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. Even in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, it’s safer to be a soldier than a woman. Women do two-thirds of the world’s work for a paltry 10 percent of the world’s income and own just 1 percent of the means of production.

As the centenary of International Women’s Day approaches, I urge you to stop and think.

Last year, I did just that. I participated in one of 119 bridge events for International Women’s Day involving 20,000 women across four continents. It was a moving and powerful show of strength. I saw many wonderful women there, standing up for equality, justice and peace. But I was struck by how many other amazing women weren’t there.

It seemed to me that some people must think we already have equality. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, huge gains have been made since 1911, but we still have a mountain to climb. We need to persevere with this for the sake of our daughters, our granddaughters, and the generations to come.

Motivated and inspired, I became convinced that collectively we could make a loud noise. I want this year’s centenary celebrations for International Women’s Day to be a turning point, a catalyst for tangible and positive change.

Despite the fact that half of the world’s population is female, women’s rights have become marginalized as a ‘minority issue’. Many young women feel that the label of ‘feminist’ is, at best, irrelevant to their lives and, at worst, a stigma to be avoided at all costs.

Sullied by stereotypes of hairy arm-pitted man haters, the concept of feminism and its principles of equality and anti-sexism need to be refreshed and reclaimed by a new generation. Feminism shouldn’t be an F-word. We should embrace it.

Change only happens when we see the need for it and set about making it happen.

So how are you going to celebrate today?

There are events happening all over the world, two of which are.

Suffragette City

08 March · 20:00 – 23:00 L
Location The Mercantile Bar 28 Dame st Dublin, Ireland
Created by:
Irish Fem-Net, Madeline Hawke
More info
We’re casting off the shackles of election day blues and kicking out the jams suffragette style!

Join the Irish Feminist Network in celebrating 100 years of International Women’s Day with a bevvy of talented musicians!

Suffragette City is aimed at not only celebrating IWD but also the talent of indie female musicians from around Ireland. Men and women alike are welcome!

The gig will feature music from:

Marianne Lee
Lauren Guillery
and
Isobel Anderson

Included on the night will be a raffle where you could have the chance to win one of our delectable prizes. You gotta be in it to win it!

Doors open at 8pm.
Tickets €5

And if you prefer a giggle

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158316944223816&index=1″]The Humorous Feminist

08 March · 19:30 – 22:30
Location The Sugar Club, 8 Lower Leeson st., Dublin 2

Created by: The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI)

More info
Join us for our International Women’s Day with a host of hilarious female comedians such as The Nualas, Meave Higgins, Eleanor Tiernen, Sonya Kelly, Margo Carr, Lisa Joyce, Aileen Ivory, Sharon Mannion and Gaby Tzsechloch.

Doors open at 7.30
5 euro unwaged 10 euro unwaged
All proceeds go to raising money for a rape crisis centre in Leitrim

How ever you day goes to day have a good one.