Michael Harding: As I left the graveyard, I reflected on what November does to the soul
I was thinking of a forgotten soldier who fought in the first World War recently as I walked around the place where my own family members are buried
‘She has no one to mind only herself’: The husband tossed a phrase in the air as lethal as a missile
Words can wound, like the father who says he’s disappointed with the child
I see my old friend on Facebook. I stare at his page but I don’t say hello
Monk from Tibet planted yew tree in garden, which has been more effective means of staying in touch
An ode to the country tradesmen, never as ruthless as solicitors or doctors about payment
Michael Harding: That may sound sentimental but I have lived my life in rural Ireland and never known it to be otherwise
I had picked the only week this year when Ireland was enjoying good sunshine to take a package holiday
I sulked on my balcony, thinking of all the surfers that might be clogging the beaches of Donegal
I always liked Enniskillen. It was the same as Cavan only different in an Alice in Wonderland kind of way
My mother once told me women marching in white were Orangewomen, making me fear there was something deeper I could not see
I was wary of the Kneecap film, but the tiocfaidh-ár-lá sex scene clinched it for me
From the chaos of the Troubles, the movie constructs a story of hope and tenderness, proving there’s more to life than land
My school president believed the first stirrings of the Troubles were a communist plot
He was a saintly man of enormous integrity, but he was also our religion teacher, which made him a target of much ridicule
As a Buddhist, I was philosophically opposed to killing the wasp in my house. But we all have our limits
Eventually, I dashed around the room with The Irish Times rolled up into a weapon of death
Not even pets are safe from Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson: ‘It’s the tone of their voices’
The General asks me: ‘Have you any idea how exhausting it is listening to them ranting about how Marxists are destroying western civilisation?’
I remember the first time I saw adults cry and behave like vulnerable and fragile children
Michael Harding: I swallowed the beauty of the moment and cherished it for years. And for a few years afterwards I found a kind of peace by just recalling the incident
There’s a room where I find refuge from the demons afflicting me
Religion can be extremely divisive, yet prayer is the one key that opens the door of the heart in every religious tradition
The General and I used to go boating. Now we sit on the patio like characters in a Beckett play
We talk about what we have done in the past rather than what we are going to do in the future
The moment I assemble the flute, the cats dive off the sofa and claw the back door, screaming to be let out
‘Would you not get yourself a concertina?’ he asked. Why? ‘It would be quieter’
Michael Harding: We had just finished the salmon when the row broke out. All had gone well until then
‘It’s not that we were taking different sides in an argument. We had become the argument.’