Sinead Keegan

This post was first published on www.NoDeadWhiteMen.wordpress.com on 01 September 2013. In the true spirit of blogging, I am going to make a confession. It will perhaps come as no surprise that I have always loved reading. I devoured all the assigned books when I was in school. I loved many of them, disliked some of them but read all of them. While my classmates bought Cliff’s Notes for Crime and Punishment , I wrapped myself in Dostoyevsky’s language. When they watched the film of  Great Expectations , I sought out more of Dickens’s novels. I read anything and everything I put my hand to and never quit. Real readers don’t quit. So, for many years now I have lived with the great shame of not having finished Gulliver’s Travels . I was sixteen when it was assigned to me and I hated it. I read Lilliput and just thought it was unbelievably dull. This, from a teenager who counted The Return of the Native among her favourite books. Until just this year it was the only b...

When my taller half and I were looking through current shows we were immediately intrigued by William M. Hoffman's As Is , currently playing at the Finborough Theatre. Originally produced in 1987 it was a groundbreaking look at the AIDS epidemic in young, gay, New York men. It is a powerful play whose mix of drama and comedy only serve to strengthen its effect on the audience. Hoffman manages to bring the audience inside the most intimate relationships of Rich, a writer recently diagnosed with AIDS. From his long time lover to his new fling, from his friends to his brother we feel the pain, sorrow, fear and confusion of every character. These are fully realised people that come no where near the stereotypes we often see portrayed. But is that enough? As Is promotional image

Thanks to all who nominated me for the Blog Awards Ireland "Best of the Diaspora" award. It is much appreciated. Now begins the wait with held breath and crossed fingers. There are a lot of great blogs nominated. Good luck to all! Short list is out on 08 September!

In a delightful twist to expectations, it turns out that everybody's favourite boy-wizard can act. Daniel Radcliffe and his child co-stars have long been accused of a lack of talent and empty fame built on the luck of being cast in the mega-film, Harry Potter franchise as children. Even those of us who were rooting for them worried that they would never be able to escape the wand-wielding typecast roles they played for their entire adolescence. How could they escape their alter-egos? Well, Emma chopped off all her hair and opted for the sexy dress route, while Daniel first shed all his clothes in Equus and now adopts an Irish accent to play the eponymous role in The Cripple of Inishmaan . So, did it work? Look! It's Harry! I mean, Daniel...I mean Cripple - no, just Billy.

While I have little to no interest in the latest little royal, I have been getting a lot of questions about the news. Isn't it thrilling? What is it like in London? Is it all over the news? Nope, not particularly thrilling that a couple I don't know have had a baby. Though, I am delighted that one of my oldest friends and her husband are expecting. London is a bit rainy this morning but we're expecting sunshine later - oh, you meant the baby. London is too big and too busy to care. And finally: Nope, it's not really in the news at all anymore. Or, if it is, I've just been tuning it out. I do, however, have an opinion on the name chosen for the baby. I mean, George. Really? Does it get more dull than George Alexander Louis? I feel that the new parents have missed a golden opportunity to join the ranks of awesome celebrity baby names. Why not start screwing up privileged children from the get-go? In light of some joyous names like North West, Blue Ivy and Fifi Trixi...

***BREAKING NEWS*** This just in: It is officially too hot for burgers. ****** Our local pub and burger joint (all they serve is burgers - beef, chicken or veggie) were out of beef burgers today because it was "too hot to deliver the meat." Of course. That makes perfect sense.  So is it the cows that have gone on strike? The farmers? The abattoir? Or are the delivery truck tyres just in danger of melting at a whopping 32C? Burgers are a BBQ classic and everyone knows that BBQ is a winter treat. Who wants to eat a burger when it's hot? Only the fools who might consider ice cream for desert. Identifying features blocked to protect the identity of this otherwise outstanding establishment

Yes, it's true. Heatwaves actually happen in London. And when they do, Londoners go nuts. We are now in day 11 of our blisteringly hot, sunny summer. I should clarify that by "blisteringly hot" I mean temperatures in the mid 20s-low 30s (80-100 Fahrenheit). Arizona is still laughing in our faces, but it's really hot for here. So hot that I have compiled a list of extraordinary things that have happened in the last week and a half: From nudity to firefighters - this post's a good one