My thoughts on a page.

The other day as I returned from a visit to our local supermarket, my head full of Christmas songs on a loop and my heart full of the excitement of these early days of the season, I opened my laptop and settled down to write.

At least that was the plan, but I was easily distracted and strayed into the world of Facebook.

It reflected the world around me, my feed full of photos of beautifully decorated Christmas trees and adds for everything I’d thought of buying that psychic Google somehow knew about. Then a post caught my eye. An online buddy, Ciara McDonnell, was collecting for children in our local direct provision centre. (These are places where those who have come to this country to seek asylum are sent to live. I wont get into the rights and wrongs of them here, but they are not places I’d wish to live and many are stuck there for years). She wanted to raise enough money to give parents in the centres a gift card for every child to buy them a Christmas present. In centres around Ireland others were doing the same.

Today, only days later, I saw a photo of the handing over of the gift cards. All 300 children in Cork provision centres will get a decent present this Christmas.

Sometimes we read only bad news, so it’s wonderful to know there are so many good people around us.

Ciara McDonnell I’d like to say thank you, and all who worked with you, for your thoughtfulness, kindness and hard work. Well done one and all, you did a wonderful thing.