Towards Winter

By Aileen Bradfield Newcestown, Co Cork

To stare in awe at nature’s shapes

pitch black on dawns grey-navy sky

then earth tilts eastward in slow motion

and heavenly light spills into view

And as the autumn sighs towards winter

and trees stand in windswept repose

bowing out for yet another year

in arching sleeping rows

Their leaves like copper penny coins

glide and drift in roadside bundles

and tumble, breaking golden waves

the wake of busy morning drivers

And see the undulating fields

no longer lush with emerald green

and smattering of contented cows

graze fervently these shortened days

And slanting sun through mossy trunks

and ghostly seedheads ping with dew

and ivy wet with cobwebs glimmer

the fairy road is winding through

And low the sun glares through the window

attention seeking short-lived sprite

until it dips and once again

departs in a blaze

of fiery light.

Northern Irish author, Martin Waddell (pictured below), is the first children’s author to receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the An Post Irish Book Awards.

With more than 100 books to his credit and 25 million books sold worldwide, he is one of the most-prolific and successful children’s writers. He is best known for the timeless classic Owl Babies (1992), a picture book about three baby owls waiting anxiously for their mother to return.

The Children’s Remembrance Day Committee at University Hospital Galway (UHG) has launched its annual ‘Sponsor a Christmas Tree Light’ 2024. A light can be sponsored on the Christmas tree at the hospital in memory of the deceased or as a gift to a loved one. Every time a light is sponsored, the purchaser receives a Christmas card, which they can keep or send to the person they sponsored the light for. This lets the recipient know who is being remembered. The lights are available through Children’s Remembrance Day Committee until 4pm on 8 December 2024.

Contact ChildrensRemembranceCommittee@hse.ie. Each light costs €5.

This Christmas, Clo Chocolates has a beautiful collection of delicious gifts. The award-winning luxury artisan chocolate company nestled in the heart of Sligo is run by French chocolatier Clotilde Rambaud and her polish husband Tomasz Giderewicz.

We love the artistry and attention to detail of this Advent calendar for €49.95. See clochocolates.ie

Ballymoney National School, Ballineen, Co Cork has won the 2024 International Creativity in Schools Award for its climate change project. The award, presented by The Global Institute of Creative Thinking, recognises the school’s creative approach to addressing climate change.

Ballymoney National School was selected out of entries from 27 countries across six continents. Students aged 9-12 years old created a climate awareness song, sustainability leaflets and a “free little library” from repurposed materials. The project showcases how rural schools can inspire environmental responsibility. Pictured: the senior pupils of Ballymoney National School.

Irish Country Living will be running a series on the planning application process around Ireland.

We will look at a range of aspects of the planning process, from how local authorities implement national planning guidelines to the role of State agencies in decisions. We’re keen to tell the real stories of what is happening on the ground when trying to build a home in rural Ireland. Scan the QR code below to have your say.