Kirjahaku

Everyone has heard of, say, the Irish Fusliliers, the Glorious Glosters, or Royal Scots Greys. But where are these regiments today? What are they called? And what were they called a hundred years ago?The painful and much-resented rationalisation of the British regiments - which meant amalgamation or simply disbandment - has been going on since the first regiments were raised in the 17th century, according to the perceived needs of the nation in war or peacetime. But it accelerated in the mid-1950s and the task has now been completed on General Jackson's watch, in 2007. Anyone trying to follow the name changes of a particular regiment soon gets caught up in and confused by different histories in different books. By using clear family trees, Gerry Murphy sorts out all the confusion in one indispensable volume. The appendices alone are invaluable, showing the number of regimental antecedents, honours, colours and insignia.

Everyone has heard of, say, the Irish Fusiliers, the Glorious Glosters, or Royal Scots Greys. But where are these regiments today? What are they called? And what were they called a hundred years ago? The painful and much-resented rationalisation of the British regiments - which meant amalgamation or simply disbandment - has been going on since the first regiments were raised in the 17th century, according to the perceived needs of the nation in war or peacetime. But it accelerated in the mid-1950s and the task has now been completed on General Jackson's watch, in 2007. Anyone trying to follow the name changes of a particular regiment soon gets caught up in and confused by different histories in different books. By using clear family trees, Gerry Murphy sorts out all the confusion in one indispensable volume. The appendices alone are invaluable, showing the number of regimental antecedents, honours, colours and insignia.

IF YOU FOUND OUT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE TOMORROW, what would that information stir in you? Calmness? Regrets? Sadness? Need? Wishes? What promises would you make to yourself, if you could suspend the end? And what if the time from now until tomorrow is compromised by your condition? There would be no arranged farewells, no last meal of your choice, none of the luxuries that Hollywood or bucket lists suggest are available to us. For 5 days in an ICU in NYC this became my reality. Isolated, not allowed food or water, not coherent or comprehending enough to communicate with my loved ones, and too scared to go to sleep in case I didn't wake. I use my love for music as the backdrop for my story. The songs and lyrics that elevated my spirit, mended my heart and showed me the real connections in my life. Songs that brought me comfort and that brought back memories of the people, places and times that mattered the most.The key concept of the book is 'practicing death'. Faced with a high possibility that this was the end for me, 'Practicing death' is the idea that you can use my story and my experiences over the last 5 years, to deal with the inevitability of death. Use this story to evaluate your life, to challenge yourself with the big questions, and to shape your life in such a way that WHEN that time comes, you are more in control and more satisfied with your answers than I was.

From the opening poem in which he recognises himself "raving blessedly/ between truth and delusion", to the closing poem's return to "something new and strange: / yourself, again", in his latest book Cork's uncrowned poet laureate explores, confronts, ventriloquizes, indulges and, at every available opportunity, undermines the very notion of the self engaged in a writing life - even as he takes on the duties of that calling with total committment.At once hilarious and melancholy, earnest and throwaway, the poems in The Humours of Nothingness take nothing for granted - least of all the power of humour in the entirely serious business of staying sane.

From the opening poem in which he recognises himself "raving blessedly/ between truth and delusion", to the closing poem's return to "something new and strange: / yourself, again", in his latest book Cork's uncrowned poet laureate explores, confronts, ventriloquizes, indulges and, at every available opportunity, undermines the very notion of the self engaged in a writing life - even as he takes on the duties of that calling with total committment.At once hilarious and melancholy, earnest and throwaway, the poems in The Humours of Nothingness take nothing for granted - least of all the power of humour in the entirely serious business of staying sane.