Emer McLysaght

3 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Emer McLysaght

It finally happened. I saw a driver getting caught breaking a red light. Just when I had almost given up on any kind of policing of the decline in motorist behaviour, the flashes of an unmarked Garda car brought back a smidgen of hope. Driving behaviour since Covid has been steadily declining. Speeding, impatience, phone use, complete abandonment of the rules of the road and abject rage at anyone obeying them is now commonplace.

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Emer McLysaght

I’m due to take my first flight of the summer in a couple of weeks and, as an anxious person, my needless fretting has already begun. With a bit of time before me and the travel event, baggage is currently taking the lead on the worry-o-meter. We’re doing a music festival in Barcelona for three nights on one small bag (40x20x25) each. Usually, I’m good for it. I’ve done two weeks in Portugal with a 10kg carry on. I’ve done four days in Paris on the one small bag. I have the tiny toiletries down pat.

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Emer McLysaght

I was never much of a small-dog person. Maybe because my great uncle had a Jack Russell will razor-sharp teeth. My granny had something similar, living up to the name of Nipper. We were a “big-dog” family. There was a Labrador in the house for much of my childhood. Chieftain was born in the kitchen when I was three and died when I was 17. He’d gone doddery at that point, and we brought him to the vet to be placed into the humane long sleep.

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Emer McLysaght

Last week, I accidentally posted my one and only hair roller to France. Why do I own just one? A fair question. During my most recent visit to the salon, I asked for a “bit of a fringe”. Knowing me as she does and knowing I absolutely did not have any at home, my incredible hairdresser Lisa presented me with a singular roller as I was leaving, so I could attempt to style it myself. The fringe has been a hit, and I have bowled over at least two gatherings with the volume I’ve created.

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Emer McLysaght

“You’d have passed your test with that.”The words, dear readers, of a veteran teacher of the good and great of Dublin’s bus-driving community. Spoken to me, a mere mortal, after just half an hour of double-decker training after I reversed the behemoth into a bus parking space. I can die happy.