Imperfection ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 123

I have a strange streak of perfectionism that has stalked me all my life and over the last week or so I’ve been doing battle with it, even in my dreams,  as I’ve been struggling with the ‘flu and feeling pretty lousy.

The situation is this: I’ve been doing a course since last September, working hard and reaping the rewards with decent marks. Now I’ve come face to face with the second last assignment ~ a ‘biggy’ ~ due in next week and I know that I just have to lower my standards or drop out.  Up to yesterday, I was more on the drop-out road than any other. But, I forced myself to take a look at what people have written about perfectionism and my old friend Leonard Cohen first jumped out at me:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen

Then came Margaret Atwood:

If I waited for perfection … I would never write a word. 

Kilkenny Castle

As if this wasn’t enough, I suddenly remembered being in Kilkenny Castle, looking at a marvelous tapestry.  (I’m the person who never got passed trying to sew a buttonhole in Domestic Science Class when everyone else had made flowery aprons and sexy blouses.) Anyway, the Tour Guide pointed to a ‘flaw’ in the tapestry which she said had been deliberately put there to symbolise the fact that that ‘humans aren’t perfect.’ 

So, best get off and start cobbling the assignment together. I think I’ll leave Leonard Cohen playing in the background!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-vSfwIJkjY

The Bracelet Girl ~ Kilkenny’s Social Bridge

I first saw the Bracelet Girl at the Kilkenny Arts Festival last year as I was strolling down the Parade which was buzzing with people all energised by the vast choice of events, exhibitions and sheer beauty of Kilkenny. She had small table near the railings which were lit up by a great array of  paintings, many of which portrayed bright flowers or scenes of historic Kilkenny.

Her table was one of those little desks with tiny seats attached to it ~ the kind one associates with happy Senior Infants.   As I drew near, I saw to my delight that this was a place where one could make one’s own bracelet.  There were boxes of colourful beads of all shapes and sizes in various containers and a girl was sitting there helping a small child to thread beads onto a string.

I was suddenly back in my youth sitting on the drawing-room floor in Drogheda with my big sister making necklaces from beads we had bought with our pocket money at the Dandelion Market off Grafton Street in Dublin.  I was also back in Old Town, Alexandria which I had visited in 2010 and where I was mesmerised by the array of shops selling beads.

The Bracelet Girl pulled me out of my reverie by asking softly if she could help me. She seemed a little surprised when I said I wanted to make a bracelet. I could have sat there all day delving into the boxes finding just the right bead to add to the string. Like my big sister, the Bracelet Girl had tied the first knot for me so that the beads would stay on. She didn’t impose on me; just let me be as creative as I wanted.  The bracelet that I made that day has lived on my wrist all year.  It’s a red and pink mix,  inspired by the roses in Kilkenny Castle – whose fragrance was wafting  down the Parade.

Back at the Festival last Saturday, I went in search of the Bracelet Girl.   She was in the same spot – just across the road from old Bank of Ireland building – now  The Left  Bank Bar – which was the first place my late father worked when he joined the bank in 1939.  She gave me a big smile through her semi-faced painted visage,  and said that she remembered me from last year!  It seems I was one of  few grown-ups who wanted to make their own bracelet but that’s changing now.

To me, she will always be  The Bracelet Girl, but her name is Aimee and her ambition is to train as a jewellery designer and set up her own business.   Every single instinct in me knows that my Bracelet Girl will one day make it big in Ireland and internationally. She has the talent, ambition, natural way with people and a true understanding of the fulfilment that can be derived from creativity. As she was tying the knot in my multi-coloured bracelet, both of us knew -without saying it – that she was bringing together a flood of  of our combined memories and hopes.

Kilkenny ~ A Social Bridge

Kilkenny is a historic city which has had a major impact on my life and which I write about in Section Eight of  Social Bridges.  It is where my parents first met in 1940, and where I  worked as a sociologist almost 30 years ago. It is also a place which connects my mother, myself and my son through tennis.  Each year, I return to savour the wonders of  the Kilkenny Arts Festival.

Haiku-a-Day July 2011 Slideshow – from Ireland Calling!

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