Thank you, D... !

Although my good times have only just started - say, from a few months ago - after a long spell of not-so-good times, it has been a wonderful end to a year with an unexpected turn to my destiny. It's a heady feeling, being on the playing field again when for so long, I subdued my art and stayed in the shadows.

• I never suspected I would at this moment live in Ireland with visits to London just round the corner.
• I never thought I would fit into Dublin like a hand to a glove. But circumstances would will such a glorious thing to happen.
• I have a comfy little place of my own...where I can finally lay my dangerously-growing book collection to rest in any awkward display I may so choose. Or perhaps, they'd like a say. :-)
  
• I have a generous writing/work table.
• I now own the Irish broadband for my laptop. Only just. My laptop bought in Melbourne - and which has finally been rehabilitated into a splendid condition after a near-breakdown crisis - has travelled quite a way with me. It's back to the leisurely reading of obscure online classics, world literature and the Icelandic sagas. All these came to a sudden halt early this year.
• Technology is highly advanced here in Ireland. I'd say, tops.
  
• My dvd player is also working perfectly.
• British newspapers with accompanying Irish editions are easily available even in tiny shops.
  
• I am able to write full-time. Not possible before & one of destiny's kindest gifts so far.
• Temple Bar is a 10-minute bus ride away.
• Bookshops, boutiques and cafes are everywhere in this picturesque city.
• Christmas feels properly festive here without the feeling of overwhelming crowds.
• Transportation in Dublin is excellent. I like the Luas - which is a fast light-rail train system.
• etc. etc.

On my present reading list these hols:

Nirwana Bites...a novel by Debi Alper*Writing a Play*The Saffron Kitchen...a novel by Yasmin Crowther*The Miniaturist by Kunal Basu*Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2008*Staying Alive...poetry by Neil Astley*Poetry Ireland Review*The London Review of Books*the January 2008 issue of Vanity Fair magazine....

I'll be happy with another armful of reads from the city today. Ireland stores a vast literature on folklore, fairy tales and stories of ancient peasantry. I am fortunate that this enchanting magic continues to shroud me like a moonbeam. And on my list too, stay a few world films. Ingmar Bergman, maybe.

By the way, my attempts at domesticity have not been fruitful. I've just burnt the eggs and ruined a saucepan.