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Fact: every word you... |
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This section features News from CJ Writing -- new projects, new clients, industry news and various other items.
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SOHO Solo West Cork Blog Launched
CJ Writing is pleased to announce the launch of the SOHO Solo West Cork Blog... a new initiative to attract new members and add value for existing members of this active local networking group.
... |
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Have you ever:
Found yourself sitting for hours staring at a blank page?
Been frustrated by business copy that doesn't get your message across effectively?
Struggled... |
| Articles |
OpenOffice.org -- A FREE office suite that rivals MS Office
Openoffice.org is a fully functional office productivity suite that at least
matches the leading commercial software, and in some cases exceeds it.
It is a shining example of how far Open Source software has come in
recent years — and provides... |
Writing Clients
... |
Testimonials
When it comes to choosing a service provider you simply can't beat recommendations from happy customers -- so we'd like to invite you to take a look at what our clients have to say about our writing services:
... |
Blow in....
This feature article was published in the June 2005 edition of The Countryma in the UK
Take
the N71 west from Cork City and after a short drive you'll cross an
invisible line that defines the boundary of West Cork. This region,
at... |
Orang utan -- going, going...almost gone!
This article appeared in the January February 2003 edition of Wild Ireland magazine -- Ireland's wildlife and environmental magazine. [CJ]
We stopped
and stared. Ninety kilos of muscle, sinew and dense orange fur stared
back.
With... |
Is your buggy stifling your child's communication skills?
How
much time does your baby or toddler spend strapped into their buggy
every day?
Half-an-hour...
an hour... maybe two? A trip to the local shop, a mid-afternoon
stroll, taking older siblings to and from school... when you think
about it,... |
Profile: Birth Choice Cork
Women in Cork City and
County can make their voices heard when it comes to their right to
choice in childbirth... so says fledgling action group BirthChoice
Cork.
The group was set up by
Caroline Corcoran and Caitriona O'Dochartaigh in... |
Escaping the Rat Race in West Cork
Like
it or not, we live in a world where work dominates our lives. In
Ireland today many of us suffer long working hours and tortuous daily
commutes that lock us into an endless cycle: we get up, go to work,
come home and go to bed, then we repeat... |
Nature's Chemical Weapons
This feature appeared in the November 2004 edition of The Countryman in the UK -- one of the world's oldest and most respected country living publications.
As you read this article a
complex arsenal of chemical weapons is being manufactured... |
Down on the farm down under
This full-length feature article appeared in the July 2006 edition of The Countryman magazine in the UK -- one of the world's oldest and most respected country living magazines. [CJ]
Standing
on the back of the 4x4 "ute"... |
It's a Jungle Out There
As another wildlife documentary draws to a close, I can't help looking out of the window at our small back garden: the patio, the lawn, the garden wall strewn with ivy, the flowers nodding their heads gently in the evening breeze. It all seems... |
Ireland's best kept wildlife secret
The following feature and photographs appeared in the January 2005 issue of The Countryman in the UK, one of the world's oldest and most respected countryside magazines.
A giant head broke the surface and a plume of spray erupted seven... |
Evening Echo Advertising
"Calvin is very professional and very good at what he does. He understands well how to appeal to the reader."
Lisa Calnan, Advertising, The Evening Echo
... |
Lasertech South West Cork
"I was having trouble putting together a profile for my business so I contacted Calvin, The result was amazing and something I would never have come up with myself, the profile is very catchy and will most definitely grab the readers attention."
... |
BHWC
"Going to CJ Writing to get our concept brought over to the general public was one of soundest moves we could make. Calvin's editorial on our company and what we are about was very impressive and we continue to have positive feedback and sales... |
Anonymous Client
"I've dealt with a lot of sub-contractors on projects, but I've never experienced such a high level of result so consistently. What you send back to me says what I want to say so clearly. I'm very impressed."
Anonymous... |
Chiconi Technologies
"When we needed to rewrite our web copy we brought in a professional. Thanks to Calvin's writing skills and his ability to interpret our requirements Chiconi Technologies now has a website that eloquently portrays the company's message... |
Brightspark Consulting
"We produce websites for clients all the time, but when it came to creating our own it was difficult to separate passion from professionalism. Bringing Calvin in helped us to ensure our site content was consistent and written in one voice."
Maryrose... |
Mark Twain
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark... |
Ray Bradbury
"You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance."
Ray Bradbury -- advice to writers
... |
Leo Rosten
"The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it."
Leo Rosten
... |
Terry Pratchett
"Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and
he's warm for the rest of his life."
Terry Pratchett -- Discworld
... |
Terry Prattchett
"I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it."
Terry Pratchett
... |
Douglas Adams
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
Douglas Adams
... |
Mark Twain
"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."Mark Twain ... |
Josh Billings
"About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment."
Josh Billings
... |
Douglas Adams
"But it takes an awful long time to not write a book!" Douglas Adams ... |
Paul Bettany
"I'm a writer... I give the truth scope!"
Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer in the film 'A Knight's Tale'
... |
Blaise Pascal
"I have made this [letter] longer, because I have not had the time to make it shorter." Blaise Pascal, "Lettres provinciales", letter 16, 1657 ... |
Server Problems
Server Problems
We experienced problems with our hosting service over the last 48 hours or so. The site was down for a while. Now that it's back up and running we're still experiencing some residual problems and are working through them as... |
Shaken, not stirred!
It
was Sunday, and out of the blue Nana and Granddad said they'd take
the kids for the day, and keep them overnight. Naturally delighted at
the prospect of a child-free 24 hours we bundled them into the car,
kissed them goodbye and waved them off... |
Learning should be fun....
Every
day the girls come home from school with some reading to do. It's not
much - just a precursor to actual homework, something to break them
into the idea gently. It's a good thing, and we've been trying to get
them into the habit of... |
Another year on the clock
It
was lashing again.
As
we huddled together under an umbrella waiting for the twins' school
bus a little voice said: "Dad, I can see skin."
I
checked the small of my back, thinking the shirt had pulled out of my
trousers... |
Christmas is coming
Is
it just me or does Christmas seem to come around earlier every year?
We're
only in the middle of November and yet the commercial Christmas
bandwagon is already in full swing. This year I spotted my first
Christmas decorations, in a shop... |
Birthday mania
It
was the twins' sixth birthday.
Although
it was the school holidays they'd been up since before seven, hardly
able to contain their excitement. The day before we'd stopped them
from opening the cards and parcels that the postman... |
The parenting adventure
Parenthood
takes you by surprise. One minute, it seems, you have the freedom to
do what you want, when you want... the next your whole life's been
hijacked.
It
doesn't make a jot of difference that you've had nine months to get
used... |
What's a parent to do?
Have
you ever felt like nothing you do is good enough... that you can't do
right for doing wrong... that every decision you make is
fundamentally flawed?
Parents
today could be forgiven for feeling all of the above on an almost
daily basis... |
The only way to travel
"I
want to go swimming," shouted the little one over the roar of the
wind. Normally I'd be encouraging her to get into the water - but
not this time. She was looking down at the Irish Sea as it whizzed by
some forty feet below her. I... |
Imagine
Life
with children is never dull. Frustrating, maybe; exhilarating,
certainly; bemusing, constantly... but never dull.
A
little dash of childish imagination can spice up everyday life no
end. Unlike us, children give their imaginations free reign... |
No Place Like Home
When
I was growing up I'd hear my dad moaning about the tourists that
descend on the North Wales coast every summer. Roads that are quiet
for most of the year suddenly become jammed with people who don't
know where they're going and are... |
Little kids – big business
Can you name Australia’s highest earning performers? Actors Russel Crowe, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett probably spring to mind; or how about pop icons like Kylie Minogue or age-old rockers AC/DC? While all of these figure prominently... |
Sports Mad
Can you imagine getting up and going for a 4 km swim, then hopping straight on your bike and cycling for 180 km before rounding the morning off with a 42 km run? Do that too often in Ireland and you’d quickly earn the reputation of being a bit mental…... |
Dangerous Australians
One of the twins was pulling at my shirt. “Dad, I think I saw a long squiggly thing that looks like a snake,” she said, looking up at me with a serious expression on her face. “Show me,” I replied, expecting to see a strange-looking... |
Beaches
It was 8am as we left the farm and drove our trusty little hire-car towards Bathurst. From there we headed up into the Blue Mountains, then down to the Hunter Valley and on towards the coast where we picked up the Pacific highway and headed north. When... |
Down under on the farm
The earth was dry, barren-looking and hard as rock. A cloud of dust billowed from the wheels of the pick-up (or “Ute” as they’re known out here) as we herded the unruly “mob” of sheep towards a fresh “paddock”... |
Home from home
When you visit somewhere new with young children you walk through the door and immediately start scoping for the danger zones. On the first sweep you build a mental map of potential hazards, then a secondary scan flags the breakables that your angels... |
Paddy’s Day Down Under
We got off the train at Town Hall station and walked through Sydney city centre up towards Hyde Park. Everywhere I looked there were Irish jerseys, Irish flags, painted faces and shamrocks. The usual sea of busy-looking business suits and ponderous tourist-types... |
Broadening their horizons
“What’s the thing you like best about Bali?” I asked the twins on our last day, thinking maybe it would be our trip up into the hills to see the breathtaking vista of terraced rice-paddies, or perhaps the wonderfully costumed Balinese... |
Island in the sun
I’ve found it: the answer to the million dollar question that every parent is searching for. How do you tame a demented toddler? With heat, humidity and a good helping of jet-lag, that’s how. OK, so I’ve had to fly to almost the other... |
Lying through your teeth
“Do I floss? Yes, of course...,” I smiled what I hoped was a convincing (if un-flossed) smile up at the dentist who was performing my check-up. “Well, what I mean is, no, not any more… but I used to. It was one of my New Year's... |
Final Preparations
“Dad, is Australia a long, long way away?” one of the twins asked at breakfast. “Yes darling, it's the other side of the world,” I stood up and showed them Australia on the big world map hanging on the kitchen wall. “Oh!... |
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf…?
Reading to the girl is great – they get a story or three every night before bed, and we take it in turns to read to them. They love their books and have reams of them crammed onto the shelves in their room. But let’s face it books designed... |
Earth from the air
Ireland is a wonderful place to live. It’s easy to forget that when you’re bogged down with the trivialities of everyday existence, when the kids are acting up and you’re being bombarded from all sides by negative perceptions.My realisation... |
Great expectations
The start of a New Year is always punctuated by a tirade of pointless prediction. Endless horoscopes woo the gullible masses with tales of a happy and prosperous future, while a chronic procession of self-professed "experts" in the media deliver... |
Think of the parents
Sometimes I wish the word Dad had never been invented! Invariably these days it seems to be a summons to help the twins with one of the new games or toys that seem to have overrun the house in the wake of their birthday and Christmas. Optimistically... |
Let's pretend
We played an interesting game the other week. The twins had gone to their Nana and Granddad's house "on their holidays", leaving us to pretend that we were a one child family for a few days. We've never had the luxury of just one baby before... |
Who needs the gym?
I was standing in reception at the local leisure club the other day, waiting for my wife and the twins to emerge from the ladies changing room. I had the baby with me, and as usual we were out first. After swimming it takes at least half an hour... |
On the mend
Mashed up potato, carrot and parsnip rained down on me as I ducked for cover behind a kitchen chair. The table looked like a war-zone and my clean t-shirt was covered with the vegetable equivalent of pebble-dash.The baby has a cold, which has turned feeding... |
Chickenpox!
So much for my assertion in the New Year that trying to predict the future is futile. Last week I ended this column with a prophecy that chickenpox would pay us a visit soon. No sooner had I typed the words than one of the twins started erupting in little... |
Mealtimes!
I've always thought of daytime telly as something you only watch when you're sick or when you're incredibly bored. I was neither, so I can't imagine how I found myself watching celebrity chef Anthony Worral-Thompson discussing the cooking habits of the... |
Tell me it's not morning yet!
It was a Friday night, and we'd managed to track down that most elusive of creatures… a babysitter. My wife's youngest sister called to see the kids and was talked (… maybe "bullied" is a better word…) into staying while... |
Bad habits
Children pick things up so quickly that if you blink you're guaranteed to miss something significant. It's normal, and healthy in many ways for youngsters to emulate their parents and their peers, and it's staggering how much toddlers can learn in the... |
Gone but not forgotten
How do you explain death to a three-year-old? I lost my grandmother on my mother's side last week. Although she lived quite a long way from us we used to see her often, and she doted on the girls, always giving them little presents and spoiling them... |
Help!
"Daddy I'm coming to help you...," came the cry from the direction of the house. My heart sank. Things had been going so well. I'd finally made a start on the garden, digging over the new vegetable patch in preparation for planting -... |
Bag ladies
What is it about girls and their handbags? I saw a TV program recently where a film crew intercepted women on the street and asked them to divulge the contents of their handbags. It was amazing how many obliged. Even more surprising was the quantity... |
The discontented little baby
Life with babies and young children often falls into a series of routines. Routines apply some much needed structure to the chaotic world of parenting and offer beleaguered parents a bit of respite from the anarchy that all too often reigns. But you can... |
Once upon a time
Breakfast time in our house has been hijacked by an aesthetically challenged duckling, an accident prone irreparable egg, three sightless rodents and ninety eight other bizarre characters that could only be the products of seriously warped imaginations... |
IKEA
As soon as we walked through the doors of the enormous blue and yellow building it was obvious that this was a place where spending money would be easy. We were in Cardiff, visiting my sister-in-law, and had just walked into IKEA, the Swedish furniture superstore... |
Pretty in pink
Somewhere buried deep inside the genetic make-up of every little girl is a mutant gene. It lies dormant for the first year or two of their lives, and then activates, generating a biologically hard-coded preference for the colour pink. By the time... |
Playground antics
It's a stand off. Neither side willing to give an inch; neither side willing to negotiate. The tension in the air is palpable - the whole thing likely to erupt into violence at any moment. Is this an Israeli-Palestinian confrontation on the west... |
Danger zone!
Instinct is an amazing thing when you think about it. A series of automatic behaviours and responses that are hard coded into the genes - things you don't need to learn… you just know. In humans learned responses quickly override much of our instinctive... |
Busy little socialites
The children are at yet another kiddies' birthday party this afternoon. There seems to be an epidemic of them going around at the moment. When you add these parties to the frequent invitations to visit friends' houses and factor in the customary return... |
Community spirit
"You're going to have a job getting the girls clean!" I looked up to where one of the other parents from playschool was pointing. There stood the twins, paintbrushes ready, covered from head-to-toe in foxfire red weathershield. There was... |
Oh the excitement!
We got a new fridge the other day. Not a particularly earth-shattering event, you may think, but then you're not three years old. To the twins the arrival of a new fridge was high adventure, and required serious investigation…."Dad, is that... |
Summertime!
Ah, summer… balmy days… long hazy evenings relaxing on the patio, a favourite tipple close at hand. OK, reality check! First of all, this is Ireland, whose summer weather is about as consistent as her politicians. Second, with three young... |
A walk on the wild side
"Is it real, is it alive?" the little boy asked, gazing in rapt wonder at the tiny, bundle of fur in my hand. As if in answer two long, translucent ears swivelled towards the sound of his voice and a bright-eyed pug-face looked in his direction... |
I'm Still Important
The twins were going through their collection of storybooks earlier today, and picked out one that I haven't seen in a while. It's a beautifully illustrated little book that was a present from a friend of ours when my wife was pregnant. Called I'm Still... |
The buck stops here
We've all heard about them… gangs of unruly children, some as young as ten, roaming the streets, damaging property and generally making residents lives a misery. Untouchable, unafraid and unrepentant - these young villains consider themselves above the law... |
Information Overload
I was in Eason's yesterday and couldn't help but notice the bewildering array of books they stock on parenting. There was a complete set of shelves dedicated to the subject. Over on the magazine shelves there was an equally impressive collection of periodicals... |
Flying the nest
There are swallows nesting in our garden shed this year. Whenever I go to get out the lawn mower or to pick up the watering can I'm greeted by the insistent clamour and demanding yellow gapes of four little swallow chicks. The eggs hatched about... |
Wakey wakey
I'm sure you've heard parenting described as a full time job before now. What a load of old nonsense! In a full-time job you have a defined start and end time, you're entitled to regular breaks and you stop for lunch. When you're looking after young... |
Birthday preparations
Where has the last year gone? Our little one will be one at the weekend, and it all seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. And to crown it all off she started to walk just a couple of days ago. It happened suddenly. She's been standing up herself... |
Not a cult!
Parental warning bells stared to ring as soon as they arrived. Something wasn't quite right about this innocuous looking little group with their matching blue shorts and bright-red logo-emblazoned t-shirts. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first,... |
It'll all come out in the wash
"101 stains removed or your money back", "whiter than white", "kind to colours", "super", "ultra", "bio", "non-bio".... Welcome to the perplexing world of washing powders (liquids, tablets, etc... |
Eat your greens
Our little one has decided to take a more hands-on approach to food and the result's aren't pretty! There was a brief period - when the twins started to get more food into their mouths than on the floor and before the baby started helping herself - when... |
Everybody needs good neighbours
Two sets of clothes each, check; blankets, check; bibs, check; travel cot, check; cuddly toys, check; nappies, check... the list just went on and on. Our girls, all three of them, are going to stay with our next door neighbour tomorrow and we were... |
I want to be in your gang
Watching the twins together it soon becomes obvious that they share a special bond. They seem to understand each other, even at this age. Having a close sibling relationship is a wonderful thing. When the girls are playing with other children they remain... |
Terrible twos
Impossible demands, shouting, temper tantrums, whingeing, wining, crying and screaming are all well documented symptoms of "the terrible twos" - bane of every parent's life. When the twins were young we were inundated with "helpful"... |
Playschool: The Return
Summer holidays are officially over. The twins headed back to playschool last week, full of excitement at the prospect of playing games, singing songs, doing art and generally having fun with their classmates. They looked adorable leaving the house dressed... |
Invasion
I spotted it as I jumped into the car this morning, just within the periphery of my vision… something familiar but at the same time strangely disquieting. At first I couldn't make out what it was but closer inspection revealed that it was part... |
Techno kids
I got a phone call earlier today from my mum. She was having trouble with the computer and needed a bit of telephone tech support. Mum is a bit of a technophobe, but is trying hard to embrace the information age. She can send and receive e-mails and even... |
A lot to live up to
"Dad, what's that?"; "Dad, where's my blanky?"; "Dad, where's that bird going?"; "Dad, what's that doggie's name?"; "Dad… what's the square root of 238274?" Okay, so I made the last one up,... |
Decisions, decisions!
"What do you want for tea girls?" I knew it was a mistake as soon as the words left my mouth, but it was too late. "I want rice," said a voice from the back seat. "No, not rice, pasta," said another. &q... |
City perils
We rounded the corner by the GPO and were met by a forklift-cum-dumper contraption hurtling along the footpath. It was laden with heavy paving stones destined for the frenzied refurbishment going on in the run up to Cork's tenure as European Capital of Culture... |
The heat is on
You don't realise how much you take things for granted until they're gone. Take hot water and central heating, for example. Our ancient boiler finally gave up the ghost about a fortnight ago. We inherited it when we moved into the house and it must have... |
Voices
We all have a conscience: that little voice inside our heads that tells us right from wrong. Well recently mine seems to have acquired a real voice… or two to be more accurate. Yes, lucky me, the twins have decided that it's their job to point... |
Spooky!
The twins turned four last week. Their birthday falls around Halloween, so we decided to throw a birthday-cum-Halloween fancy-dress party for them. As the big day neared they picked out their outfits. I explained that Halloween was all about ghouls, ghosts,... |
Alone
The silence was deafening. Even the roar of the jet engines couldn't intrude on the sense of peace. The seat next to me was empty and the person sitting by the window was a complete stranger. I was without my usual entourage, and it felt very strange.... |
Do as you're told!
"Would you ever do as you're told?" I snapped at the twins. It was a playschool morning and they were playing up. They go through the occasional bout of asserting their independence, making a stand against the tyranny of parental rule.... |
Early bird
When you're up at daft o'clock in the morning there are certain rules that you adhere to. Most of these have to do with noise: just because you're up doesn't mean the rest of the house has to be too. You don't, for example, put on heavy boots and stomp... |
Road sense, no sense
The girls arrived home from playschool clutching a fistful of fluorescent armbands and almost bursting with excitement. "Mummy, Daddy the Garda came to playschool, the Garda came to playschool!" they both chorused with the effervescent... |
Catalogue blues
Catalogues are the bane of my life! It all started a few months back when we decided that getting a few catalogues for the girls might be a good idea… they'd enjoy looking through the toy section and it would give us a few ideas when it came... |
Naughty or nice
It was way past the twins' bedtime and they were playing up again. If they're in belligerent mood it can take hours to settle them down at night. We had a few friends around that evening and after the fourth visit to their bedroom to try and resolve their... |
Surrogate Santas
When Santa landed his job all those years ago he must have thought he was on to a real winner. Working just one night a year has to be the ultimate cushy number, right? But then traipsing around on icy rooftops in the dead of night at... |
Blink and you'd miss it
The inevitable hype and promotion that marks the build up to Christmas started as a trickle way back in October. Gradually it built up to become an all-consuming torrent, sweeping all of us into the hedonistic commercial frenzy that modern-day Christmas has become... |
Passports
It's happened… we've officially taken leave of our senses. The flights are booked and in about eight weeks time we'll all be winging our way to Australia. Our trip will last just over two months and will see us dragging the twins, their... |
Food glorious food!
The twins are going through one of their "I don't like this" and "I want only that" stages at present. It doesn't matter what we do, they only ever seem to finish their meals when we serve up their particular favourite - something... |
Worrying times!
When I was a child I remember being relatively free to explore. My parents always wanted to know where I was, of course, who I was with and roughly when to expect me home, but armed with that knowledge they were quite happy to let me wander in relative... |
Me and my shadow
Imagine walking around for most of the day with a hefty weight cradled in one arm. Now imagine that weight is constantly shifting, moving and wriggling, pulling you this way and that - you try and get rid of it but it clings to you tenaciously. Finally... |
Some of our writing clients:
... |
Dublin Bay Prawn (Nephrops norveigicus)
Nephrops norvegicus is
a shellfish that looks like a cross between a large prawn and a small
lobster. It is known by a host of different names: Dublin Bay prawn,
Norwegian lobster, scampi and langoustine all refer to this
commercially important species... |
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
The
diminutive goldcrest is not only Ireland's smallest bird, but also
Europe's - a title it shares with its close relative the firecrest.
It is widespread and found throughout the country, and often visits
gardens, especially during winter months... |
Brown Long-Eared Bat (Plecotus auritus)
The brown long-eared bat
is one of the most common of our nine recorded bat species and is
found all over Ireland. As night falls, these remarkable little
mammals emerge from their daytime roosts to feed on a wide variety of
nocturnal insects.
As... |
Bumblebee
The
slow, lazy buzz of the bumblebee is a fundamental part of the Irish
summer. These fat, furry, ponderous bees trundle from flower to
flower, collecting pollen and nectar to support their growing colony.
They liven up the summer garden, and providing... |
Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus)
The
basking shark is the biggest fish found in Irish waters, and the
second largest fish on earth after its Indo-Pacific cousin, the whale
shark. Although it belongs to the same family as the notorious great
white, and has more teeth than any other... |
Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)
The
fly agaric is the classic toadstool of children's fairytales,
unmistakable with it's large red cap covered with white flecks. It is
widespread and common, occurs throughout Europe and North America,
and was introduced to Australia, New... |
Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)
A
northern bottlenose whale made the headlines in early 2006 when it
strayed into the river Thames and became stranded in the heart of
London. News organisations from around the world picked up on the
story, and suddenly this normally inconspicuous... |
Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
This article is one of a series written for the back page of Ireland's
Own magazine -- Ireland's favourite family magazine for over 100 years.
[CJ]
The
lapwing, also called the green plover and the peewit, is a common
resident... |
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
Fast and agile, the sparrowhawk is a supremely capable aerial predator. This fierce-looking bird is our most common and widespread raptor, and is found throughout the country. However its shy and secretive nature means that it tends to be seen much... |
Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus)
This article is one of a series written for the back page of Ireland's Own magazine -- Ireland's favourite family magazine for over 100 years. [CJ]
The
Atlantic mackerel is a common and widespread fish around Irish
coasts... |
Acorn Barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
Barnacles are a common site around Ireland's rocky shores. These tiny animals form the familiar off-white patchwork that often covers large swathes of rock between the high and low water marks. Barnacles are crustaceans, relatives of crabs, shrimps and... |
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
The holly blue is a tiny blue butterfly that has a scattered distribution around Ireland. It is largely confined to the relatively scarce patches of native woodland that still support both holly and ivy. It is also found in urban and suburban gardens... |
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
The wren is a small bird with a big personality. Considering its small size it has an incredibly loud voice; the familiar song, prolonged and full of complex chirrs, rattles, trills and whistles, is delivered with a gusto that belies the bird's diminutive stature... |
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Humpback whales are regular visitors to Ireland's south coast. These magnificent whales begin to appear off the coast of County Cork in early September each year, and spend several months in the area before moving on to their winter breeding grounds.... |
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
The fieldfare is a large, attractive thrush that is a widespread and abundant winter visitor to these shores. Most of the birds that over-winter here originate in Scandinavia and the number of birds and the time of their arrival varies from year to year... |
Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)
The wood mouse, also known as the long tailed field mouse, is one of Ireland's most common small mammals and is found in all sorts of habitats throughout the country. They are shy, secretive little animals that are rarely seen, and they have good reason... |
On a roll
This short story was published in Ireland's Own magazine -- Ireland's favourite family magazine for more than 100 years
Trish McGowan lifted her
eyes to heaven and muttered a silent prayer. She kissed the dice in
her right hand, feeling... |
Lady in waiting
This short story was published in Ireland's Own magazine -- Ireland's favourite family magazine for more than 100 years
Caroline
loved working at Broadale Hall. She loved the historic grandeur of
the old house, the magnificent sweep... |
All Alone!
The following short story appeared in Ireland's Own, Ireland's favourite family magazine for over 100 years.
Janet
looked out of the cottage window. An Atlantic squall drove rain
horizontally against the windowpane, the landscape... |
Role Reversal
This short story appeared in the leading Irish women's weekly Woman's Way.
"Daddy, that's not how Mummy does
my toast..."
I sighed, my four-year-old daughter,
Rebecca, looked up at me with disapproval. It was only... |
No way in!
The following short story was published in The Holly Bough, a seasonal publcation that's practically required reading in Munster during the holiday season.
Blue lights flashing and
sirens blaring two fire engines arrived on the scene. It... |
Reunited
This short story with a Christmas theme appeared in the Holly Bough, practically an institution in Munster suring the festive season
Thomas Matheson didn't believe in Christmas any more.
He sat in the doorway of a shop on the... |
Old Money
This short story, about an elderly Irish woman struggling to come to terms with the transition to the Euro, was published in Irelands Own, Ireland's favourite family magazine.
'That
will be fifteen Euro and thirty five cents please... |
Published Writing
We're in the process of adding our published material to this section of the site. Please bear with us, and check back soon to see what's new!
... you can also see published work by browsing our old website here.
This section... |
Feature Articles
Here are a selection of the non-fiction features I've had published by various newspapers and magazines around the world. ... |
Baby Talk Column
This weekly column on parenting features in the popular Wow! (Women on Wednesday) supplement of The Evening Echo, one of Ireland's leading regional daily newspapers. It has been running continuously since the supplement was launched in May 2003.... |
Ireland's Wildlife
This regular (usually weekly) feature profiling a species of Irish wildlife has been running on the back page of Ireland's Own -- Ireland's oldest and most popular family magazines -- since April 2003. ... |
Short Fiction
In this section you'll find a selection of my published short stories. I love writing fiction, and plan to spend more time on both short and long fiction in 2006. Enjoy... and don't forget to let me have your feedback! ... |
Favourite Quotes
Here are a selection of my favourite quotes: ... |
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Calvin Jones:The Mall School, Leap, Co. Cork, Ireland.Phones are typically manned from 09:30 to 17:00 (GMT/BST) Monday to Friday. Or drop me a line by e-mail using the form below.... |
About Us
Who am I?
My name is Calvin Jones. I am a full-time professional freelance writer based in West Cork, Ireland. I have a passion for words, and a talent for finding new and innovative ways to express ideas.
Freelance writing lets me channel... |
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