Around 9pm on February 4, 1974, Patricia Hearst, heiress to the greatest newspaper fortune in the US, answered a knock at her apartment door in Berkeley, California.

Three people ran into the room, attacking and tying up Patty's partner, Stephen Weed, before grabbing the 19-year-old, dragging her outside and pushing her into the boot of a car.

Neighbours reported seeing Patty struggling as she was carried away, blindfolded. They were powerless to help her as the kidnappers began firing shots into the street and around them to cover their escape.

And so began one of the strangest kidnappings in American history.

Patty had been kidnapped by a virtually unknown revolutionary group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). The domestic terrorists had already shot two Oakland school officials with cyanide-tipped bullets, killing one and wounding the other.

Then the strangest thing of all; a few weeks later, Patty stunned the nation when she was photographed holding a machine gun as the group robbed a bank in San Francisco.

***

On February 7, the SLA contacted a Californian radio station, announcing it was keeping Patty as a "prisoner of war" and demanding the Hearst family hand over $70 worth of food to every needy person from Santa Rosa to Los Angeles.

If this demand was carried out, the SLA said they'd begin negotiations for Patty's return. But when Randolph Hearst gave away $2 million worth of food, the SLA claimed this was not enough and asked for $6 million more.

This led to the Hearst Corporation agreeing to donate the extra food if Patty was safely released. In April, the drama took a fascinating turn when CCTV footage captured Patty participating in the armed robbery of a bank, as well as helping with the robbery of a Los Angeles store.

The reasoning behind the SLA's decision to kidnap Patty was simple; she came from a rich, powerful family and they knew her disappearance would be front-page news around the world.

Once Patty was in their clutches, the SLA began brainwashing her, hoping to turn her into a "poster child" for their planned revolution.

The brainwashing seemed to work. In April, the group released a tape to the media, featuring Patty confirming she'd joined their fight to free the oppressed and changed her name to 'Tania'. She also explained she had joined the SLA of her own free will.

Two weeks later, Patty was seen on bank surveillance cameras wielding an assault weapon during an SLA bank robbery. She also yelled directions at terrified bystanders and provided cover to her SLA colleagues.

The FBI launched one of the biggest manhunts in US history to track down the SLA and rescue Patty.

On May 16, two SLA members had attempted to steal weapons and other equipment from a gun store, but they managed to get out without being caught. But, luckily the groups' getaway car was found, leading police to an SLA "safe house."

That night, police managed to raid the SLA's secret headquarters, where a massive shootout took place. Six of the SLA were killed, including the leader, Donald DeFreeze, an African American ex-prisoner who was also known as "General Field Marshal Cinque." But neither Patty nor two other SLA members were on the premises during the police raid, so the hunt continued.

It wasn't until September 18, 1975, that Patty was finally captured in a San Francisco apartment and arrested for armed robbery.

Patty's rescue was a relief for her family, but even though she defended herself by saying she'd been brainwashed by the SLA, she was sentenced to seven years behind bars for her role in the bank robbery.

However, after serving just 21 months, her sentence was officially commuted by US President Jimmy Carter. The last two members of the SLA were arrested in 1999 and 2002.

After her release from prison, Patty returned to her usual life, and later married police officer Bernard Shaw. The couple has two daughters, Gillian and Lydia.

In 2001, she was officially pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the kidnapping was Patty's switch from victim to supporter, sparking countless psychological studies. The transition in Patty's behaviour with the SLA has been widely attributed to the psychological phenomenon known as 'Stockholm syndrome', where victims start feeling positive towards their captors.

Stockholm Syndrome occurs when the victims' initially terrifying experience is later countered with "acts of compassion or camaraderie by those same individuals."

There have been multiple films and documentaries made about Patty's dramatic kidnapping, including The Ordeal of Patty Hearst, Patty Hearst, Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst and the more recent documentary The Radical Story of Patty Hearst.

Property News:Sustainable House Day 2020: The most inspiring homes to see this year - domain.com.au

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The kidnapping and brainwashing of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst - 9Honey

In some quarters - our condo, for example, on Orange Street attacks of mental numbness and weariness have been verified.

There is much, to be sure, that my wife Suzanne and I are grateful for, including that, though as seniors we qualify as high-risk Covid-19 candidates, we are at this moment still breathing. This, I know, is much more in the way of upbeat news than can be said in the abodes of so many other households near and far.

We do our best to keep spirits up, relishing the life around us. For it is only in the New Haven version of Connecticut where one can spot a pedestrian walking while reading a book, and occasionally looking over the printed page to check for any sidewalk peril: an unruly puppy straining on its leash, a sleep deprived new mom pushing her pram or simply a seriously uneven sidewalk. It is here at the outside tables of East Rock Coffee where a patrons stop for a cappuccino can be enhanced by chewy tidbits from nearby conversations about Carl Jung or the history of U.S. and China trade relations. We also know, though, that for all of the differences, there is one matter that has been universal in America: We have been infected by a pandemic of artlessness.

Physiologically speaking, no doctor would diagnose a disease caused by the closing of theaters, art galleries, concert halls, and the like. But there certainly is one. George Bernard Shaw was speaking in a conditional tense when he said, Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. The question is no longer one of the conditional. We are there. Unbearability is the daily norm. We hate the news, but we are addicted to it, slurping up every morsel. This results in a cycle of heartlessness and even fear, with no art to restore us.

Our tickets, or our intent to purchase them, for Long Wharf, Yale Rep, the Shubert are now just fantasy. Nor do we need to shell out the token entry fee to high school musicals in which, though several members of the cast stumble around the stage, one or two teen prodigies steal the spotlight and remind us of the human miracle of natural talent. Yes, its the standing ovation at curtain call that I miss, when so many tears of joy the most wonderful tears run down my cheeks. Where is there a moment like that compare in the routine of life?

A couple of summers ago, at The Place, the outdoor rustic restaurant in Guilford, I saw at the next table a face I had never forgotten one that brought me tears of joy as a young man. It was the tiny Hollywood and stage performer Jane Powell, whose oversized blue eyes I saw decades ago even from the cheap seats in summer stock, as she played the female lead in Frank Loessers musical, The Most Happy Fella.

Youre not going to interrupt her dinner? Sue asked, guessing the worst, but she hadnt finished the sentence before Id jumped up from the tree stump that served as a chair and gone over to properly gush. Miss Powell, though by then in her advanced 80s, looked youthful, and those eyes were still luminous.

She seemed thrilled to be recognized. I told her that I remembered her performance in the Loesser musical, and she started talking about what a delight it was, and for a moment she and I were in that other world, far away from lobsters and grilled corn, somewhere, if not over the rainbow, at least in the vineyards of an Italian immigrant in the Napa Valley, trying to master English, singing, Happy to make you acquaintance, thank you so much Im a feel fine.

On reflection, our recent and seemingly giant abyss as lovers of art, theater and music is nothing, or course, compared to the suffering of those young and middle age people, who havent yet had the success of Miss Powell, and have few if any prospects for stage work, or even to make do on waitstaffs. There is a ton of muffled talent out there. And, as they suffer, so do we, because we dont have a chance to introduce ourselves to new and powerful art.

In lieu of doing anything else, Sue and I have sent donations to the institutions we love. But even these fall short of helping the neediest. In many cases, large operations are still delivering huge paychecks to the executives who run them, even while actors and musicians have lost wages and, in many cases, health care coverage. The gig economy, on which many industries including the arts depend, has become almost gigless.

Its true, and a good sign, that Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont put into play Phase 3 of reopening which loosens crowd restrictions on performing arts venues, And some museums, including the prominent Yale Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art, have once again opened their doors, but only for limited hours and limited crowds.

The one art form that has thrived in this pandemic is that of the written word. More people are reading than ever before, and this supports both authors and book stores (including, so sorry to add) the behemoth company run by Jeff Bezos.

During the summer I read or listened to more books than in any season previously, and as a result was often enriched and delighted. Works by Erik Larson, Henry Miller (finally), Stephen Fry, Lee Child, Amity Shlaes, and others. But even reading books, as important as they are, is a process we do alone.

We cant stuff ourselves into RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, as we did so often in years past, to hear readings by the likes of many of the countrys finest authors. We cant even gather to hear a reading by Yales new Nobel Laureate, the poet Louise Gluck. (Though you can watch her above.)

Much of the conversation with friends has been about the comfort of home and access to compelling television series, the kind of writing and acting that threatens the movie theater release, now moot. But these excellent shows give us little chance for communion because we watch them from our respective couches.

I want to finish here with a Hollywood ending. Something uplifting. The best I can do at this point, though, is to point out that when this all ends, we will never again take another night of artful presentation for granted. We will recognize and treasure the way art nourishes us, and gives us the strength and inspiration to carry on.

Lary Blooms biography, Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas, is a finalist in nonfiction for the 2020 Connecticut Book Awards. The winners will be announced Oct. 15.

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Life Without Art In A Pandemic - New Haven Independent

There is no better way to savour a beautifully imagined and executed photographic essay of the Skelligs than to do so while gazing at the real thing.

That is not too difficult in south-west Kerry.

These three rocky, craggy islands situated about 12 kilometres off the southwest coast, have been the stuff of wonder, legend and lore for thousands of years.

They consist of Skellig Michael (Sceilig Mhicil), Small Skellig (An Sceilig Bheag) and Lemon Rock, the latter described by photographer and Skellig enthusiast Peter Cox as the runt of the litter'.

Runt or not, Lemon Rock provides a dramatic counterpoint to Small Skellig which has its own unique natural wonder, home to almost 30,000 pairs of gannets, the second largest colony of such sea birds in the world.

The most majestic island of the three is undoubtedly the once inhabited Skellig Michael where, from the sixth to the 12th or 13th century, Christian monks lived lives of splendid isolation in honour of the third century St. Anthony of Egypt who spent his time in the arid deserts of his homeland.

Skellig Michael, is harsher, windier and wetter but no less a desert, the edge of the known world of Europe centuries ago.

The early monastery, which is perched on one of the islands two summits, has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site not only for its well-preserved structures but for its historical significance as a cauldron of Christianity amid a religious ice-age throughout much of Europe.

The monastic site on the island, reached by 500 steep steps not for the faint-hearted, includes stone beehive-shaped huts where the monks lived and prayed.

They cling precariously to cliff edges alongside oratories, a cemetery, stone crosses, holy wells and the Church of St Michael. Enduring several Viking raids, the monks eventually left the island and it became a place of pilgrimage for centuries afterwards.

In the 19th century, two lighthouses were built on Skellig Michael, establishing its importance in Ireland's maritime history.

Boat trips to the island also began as word spread of this unique and enchanting place. Following a visit in 1910, George Bernard Shaw described it as an incredible, impossible, mad place and part of our dream world.

It was that dream world that, in recent years, has attracted Hollywood, taking a starring role as Luke Skywalker's island sanctuary on the planet Ahch-To in both Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

Director JJ Abrams was struck by the wonder of Skellig Michael, describing it, in quasi-religious terms, as a sort of miracle'.

That miracle can be captured from the air and also on land from the Dingle Peninsula, to Valentia Island, to Ballinskelligs at the edge of the Iveragh Peninsula. The best view, though, I believe, is from the Skellig Ring, overlooking St Finians Bay, locally known as The Glen.

Residents of Valentia, which affords a distant view of the islands, may beg to differ. They celebrate the remoteness of their home, also an island, telling visitors that, on a rare calm day, you can hear the traffic in New York. They are only half-joking.

Excerpt from:
The Skelligs: the Islands of wonder, legend and lore - Irish Examiner

School uniforms are designed so everyone is dressed the same in class - so heads turned recently when students at one Dublin secondary school arrived into class in the historic garb of past pupils from the 1890s to the 1960s.

The old uniforms from the archives of Wesley College in Ballinteer were resurrected to add a bit of fun to the schools 175th anniversary celebrations.

And, to add further drama, the students took on the persona of some of these past pupils.

The characters included Florence Forsyth one of the first girls to enrol at the Methodist day and boarding school in 1912 (it became co-educational in 1911).

A talented singer, Forsyth set up the Pembroke School of Singing and worked in 2RN, the forerunner of Radio ireann.

Another character re-enacted was that of, Eileen McKew, a diligent academic student who went on to become the first female Registrar of Sir Patrick Duns Hospital in 1939.

No one was quite brave enough to take on the role of the schools most famous past pupil, playwright, George Bernard Shaw but one student dressed in the wool swimming costume of prize-winning swimmer, Reginald Arthur Dench,who met his wife-to-be Eleanora Olive Jones at Wesley College and they later became the parents of actress, Dame Judi Dench.

The students seemed to enjoy stepping back in time. Daisy Forte who dressed in 1920s white tennis dress and blazer says that she realised how lucky students are now.

In the 1920s, girls couldnt take the same subjects as boys and had to study elocution, painting/drawing and domestic science instead. They couldnt eat in the same dining room either, she said.

Ruby Meira, who wore a gingham dress, blazer and a beret which was the summer uniform of the 1960s says she loved wearing the beret.

I wanted to be a student from the 1960s because this was the first generation of teenagers and a time when boys and girls became friends rather than being fascinated or scared of each other.

The school was then on the corner of St Stephens Green and Harcourt St and the berets which only the junior students had to wear - were thrown in the nearby Grand Canal as a rite of passage into the senior cycle.

The current school, designed by architects, Scott, Tallon, Walker, was built on a 50 acre farm in Ballinteer in the 1960s.

Raheem Olatunde wore a suit with short pantaloon trousers, a waistcoat and woven tie and took on the persona of Harry Brown, a final year boarder from 1895.

The boys had to get up at 6.30am and do one hours study before school started at 9am. Id be sleeping in class if I did that. Also there were no girls in Wesley at that time and I find that strange as a lot of my friends in school are girls, says Olatunde.

Other historic uniforms included a homemade pleated pinafore from the 1950s, a white smock and chefs hat for the girls domestic science class in 1925.

The boys uniform from the 1940s was a double-breasted blazer with baggy grey flannel trousers, a narrow school tie and braces which Bosola Ojewale says he enjoyed wearing.

Wesley College principal, Christopher Woods is only sorry one of the students didnt choose to take on the persona of former student, Sir Robert Hart who was responsible for financial reforms in 19th century China.

He was the only western named by Empress Dowager Cixi among the 50 most important people in China at that time, says Woods.

Maybe a student will enact this crucial character in Sino-Irish relations for the 200th anniversary celebrations.

And, regarding the debate on whether girls should be allowed to wear trousers as part of their uniform the Wesley girls seem nonplussed.

We can wear trousers if we want but they arent that comfortable so most girls prefer to wear skirts, said Forte.

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Students resurrect old uniforms to mark schools 175th anniversary - The Irish Times

The team at Northern Light Theatre is thrilled about two things. Not only is the small company reopening its doors at the Westbury Theatre, but this year, it also celebrates its landmark 45th anniversary season with a four-show lineup exclusively featuring five dynamic mature actresses.

Originally launched as a lunch-box theatre in 1975 by the far-sighted Scott Swan and Allan Lysell, the theatre gradually introduced masterful productions from George Bernard Shaw to Brecht. It even producedthe first taste of Shakespeare in the Park, mounted on Connors Hill in 1980.

By the mid-'90s, artistic directors D.D. Kugler and Sandhano Schultze rebranded Northern Light Theatre with more alternative scripts reflecting a darker, funnier and more complex world.

As the current artistic director for the past 18 years, Trevor Schmidt has continued to push boundaries with more provocative, edgy works.

He admittedly has a soft spot for women past the ingnue years. He composed this seasons quartet of plays keeping in mind the timeolder actresses have invested in their craft, and how difficult it can be to secure a role if one is of a certain age actresses trapped in a culture that values youth and beauty over wisdom and experience.

My original concept was to do a season of shows with women of a certain age. I wanted to ask, What is a womans place and value when her looks go, when sexually she no longer holds value? And if so, what value are women if they are not viable as sexual objects? Today, theres a big push to support emerging artists, but often the mature artists are overlooked, said Schmidt.

For the seasons first production, he brings back Kristin Johnston (Baroness Biankas Bloodsongs) in the world premiere of We Had a Girl Before You running Nov. 5 to 21 at Westbury Theatre. In this production, Schmidt takes on a triple workload as playwright, director and costume designer.

This is Johnstons third starring role under Schmidts wing. Their artistic partnership has blossomed to the point he wrote We Had a Girl using Johnston as his muse.

Kristin is such a joy to work with. Shes super multi-talented. Shes a gifted comedienne and shes a hard worker. And I like working with her. Shes pleasant, grateful for the work and collaborative.

In writing We Had a Girl Before You, the playwright was influenced by Gothic romances and thrillers set in the Regency era.

There was a revival in the 1950s and '60s pulp fiction Jane Eyre, Lady Eleanor Smith. Theres usually a romantic governess, a dark mysterious brooding man, ghosts and the supernatural underlying the florid, pulpy themes, Schmidt said.

In his play, the heroine is no longer young or beautiful. But she still holds on to the trope of a spinster searching for romantic adventure. She is hiredas a companion at a mansion, but discovers there were many other girls in the post before her that were dismissed.

She has to wonder if shes next in line. And the audience starts to wonder if shes a reliable narrator or if shes lost her mind. This play is true to the Gothic nature, buttheres also a fine line between parody and truth, comedy and terror.

Next in the lineup is the North American premiere of The Look running Jan. 14 to Jan. 31, 2021, at Studio Theatre inside Fringe Theatre.

Written by Australian playwright Alexa Wyatt, The Look plays upon the illusion of physical beauty. Marilyn is an ex-photographic super model who was once celebrated as the original Estelle girl.

Age has demoted her to giving lectures to sales girls on the Estelle cosmetic range. During one of her training sessions, she forgets her notes and slips back through time.

She talks about the theory behind cosmetics. What women owe, what men expect. And she has a bit of a meltdown. She gets distracted and forgetful to where shes going. She sees things in her history viewed from a distance and sees she was complicit in her oppression, said Schmidt.

Tackling the role is Linda Grass, a statuesque blonde who corners the market on elegance and eloquence.

Linda creates her signature looks but is so funny in this role.

The seasons third production is the Tennessee Williams' classic Something Unspoken running April 14 to May 1 also at Studio Theatre. The only show in the NLT lineup with two actresses, the one-actwas written in 1958 and debuted as part of a double-bill of Williams' plays.

The action takes place in Meridian, Louisiana, where two women live in a codependant relationship yet cannot deal with an incident that happened years ago.

Miss Cornelia Scott is a wealthy Southern spinster whose greatest desire is to be regent of the local chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy. An election is underway and shes waiting to hear the results.

Her secretary and live-in companion, Grace, has been with her for 15 years. Despite their long relationship, a mysteriousundercurrent of tension exists between the two women.

Davina Stewart takes on Miss Cornelia Scott while Patricia Darbasie is Grace.

It interests me in that its about a different relationship and what happens if you dont speak the truth for years. What are you gaining by not speaking? Schmidt asks.

In theatre you figure out the motivations, but this play has a very enigmatic script. Theres a lot of talk about nothing and a lot of dancing and waiting for someone to make the first move.

The final play of the season is Victoria playwright Janet Muncils The Ugly Duchess. The dramaticwork is based on Margaret Maultasch, a 14th century monarch of Tyrol reputed to be the ugliest woman in history.

She was famed for her unfortunate features. But she had an enviable piece of land and was sought after by many men. She learns at a young age looks matter to society. But she holds on to the idea that if she is good, someone will love her.

She realizes her husband doesnt love her and must deal with constant court machinations. Eventually her panic-stricken subjects even vilify and blame her for the plague.

She had to fight to be seen as a ruler in her own home.

Munsil originally created the role casting her husband actor Paul Terry as Margaret. Schmidt has instead recast the beautiful Lora Brovold as the medieval monarch.

For this transformative piece, Schmidt stated it was less about horrifying the audience than seeing Margarets trueinner beauty.

Her physical transformation follows her internal transformation.

The Ugly Duchess takes place from May 6 to May 22 at Studio Theatre.

There is limited seating capacity to allow for social distancing. PPE will be in place and audiences will be expected to wear a mask upon entering the building. Tickets are available at 780-471-1586 or online at northernlighttheatre.com.

The rest is here:
Northern Light Theatre has something special to celebrate - St. Albert TODAY

Some things never change and that a shame.

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."

-- George Bernard Shaw

One month to go beforeElection Day/Week and I have to watch TV on "mute".

It's a house rule instituted by the woman my son called Mother Superior, who grew tired of me yelling, "That's not true!" at campaign commercials.

"Of course, it's not true," my wife will remind me calmly. "They're politicians."

I know that.

You know that.

They even know that.

But they don't stop, do they?

Some people talk about about "four more years." I dont know if I can take four more weeks.

I just want to go to bed and sleep until somebody wakes me up for Thanksgiving dinner, or maybe to open Christmas gifts.

I could quit watching TV and avoid part of the aggravation, but there are still several ways to get to me.

My wife and I were happy last month when he finally severed our telephone land-line, and all those political calls stopped. Yet nothing is fool-proof for a sufficiently talented fool. Theyre knocking on the door.

Then theres the mail.

Some have said the post office will have trouble handling mail-in ballots. I doubt it, because they sure dont have trouble delivering election propaganda.

What particularly irritates me are politiciansthat I liked at some point.

TheonesI thought would speak for me and the things I valued.But they (or their minions) are "approving the message" that shows they don't mind shucking their shorts and jumping into the mud, ready to bring it and sling it.

What can we do?

Well, I've tried to turn it into an exercise, a carefulanalysis of what is being said and what is being meant -- rarely the same thing.

Heres my list. Compiling it was therapeutic.

"(My opponent) has waged a negative campaign."

(Translation: "I have much to be negative about.")

"(My opponent) wants to let criminals out of jail."

(Translation: "Not really, but if I say it often enough, my consultants say some of you will believe me.")

"(My opponent) is trying to buy this election."

("I would prefer to steal it.")

"I am proud to be an American."

(Translation: "There are no Canadians voting in my district.")

"Childrenare our future."

("They'll have to pay for all this stuff I'm promising you.")

"(My opponent) is ignoring the issues."

("... a strategy he stole from me.")

"(My opponent) will hurt senior citizens."

("A shame because I live with my parents.")

("My opponent) will raise taxes!"

(Translation: "Making him like everybody else.")

"(My opponent) thinks leadership involves kissing babies.")

(Translation: "I will kiss the rumps that matter.")

"Paid for by friends of ..."

(Translation: "The rumps with the wallets.")

Original post:
Kirby: What they say, what they mean and what can you do? - The Augusta Chronicle

Oct 3rd 2020

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, a playwright and activist, thought that the best way to bring about social equality was to keep the entire community intermarriageable. He was primarily concerned with relationships across the class divide but, when he visited South Africa in 1935, he caused a stir by suggesting the same idea for race. The Daily Telegraph, for one, was taken aback. Marriages of white and black: Startling plan by Mr Shaw, its headline read.

What was once startling is now commonplace. The number of Britons who say they have a mixed-ethnic background almost doubled between the census of 2001 and 2011, to about 1.2m, or slightly more than 2% of the overall population. That figure is probably an undercount, since not all children of mixed marriages will have ticked one of the mixed categories, and the number is likely to have grown since the census. An analysis by Alita Nandi of Essex University and Lucinda Platt of the London School of Economics suggests that the true figure could be three times as high. If that is right, mixed-race people constitute a larger proportion of the population than any ethnic group.

And that share is still growing. Fewer than 1% of Britons aged 50 or over in 2011 had a mixed-ethnic background, according to an analysis of official statistics by Rob Ford of Manchester University. Among the youngest cohortunder fives6% had one. The proportion of cohabiting couples that are interracial shot up from 2.6% in 2001 to 4.5% by 2011. Both patterns suggest that the next census, due next year, is almost certain to report an even larger number of mixed-race Britons.

This demographic shift coincides with the resurgence of race as a central political theme. In Britain, as in America and continental Europe, this year will be remembered not only for covid-19 but also for a reassessment of the state of race relations. As statues were felled and historic anthems reappraised, the idea of white privilege leapt from the campus to the streets. Yet much of the focus on symbolic and systemic racism overlooks the growing significance of mixed-race Britons, who often defy labels. The attitudes of this group will be crucial in determining the future direction of identity politics.

This is truer of Britain than of other rich countries. London appears to have a far more ethnically mixed population than Paris, Berlin or Rome, though since France, Germany and Italy do not collect data on race, it is impossible to be sure. Certainly, mixed-race people make up a greater share of all non-whites in Britain (16%) than in America (11%). And the pattern of marriage is different, too. Most Americans of mixed parentage settle down with a partner from a minority group, but 50% of Britons with black African and white parentsand 75% whose parents were white and black Caribbeanmarry a white partner.

A poll for The Economist by Ipsos MORI suggests that mixed-race Britons are, in general, less wary of Britains institutions and history than black Britons (see chart). They are marginally less likely to support Black Lives Matter (BLM), less likely to agree with the proposition that Britain is a racist country and much less likely to think most British cops are intentionally racist. Though a plurality of all ethnic groups surveyed thought the British Empire should be a source of neither shame nor pride, considerably more mixed-race than black Britons were proud of it. Sunder Katwala of British Future, a think-tank, believes that BLM will pursue different policies in Britain than in America in part because of the disparity in the rates of inter-ethnic relationships. This policing of the boundaries requires a high level of social distance between the groups, he says.

That is much rarer in Britain than it once was. Consider Marvin Rees, the mixed-race mayor of Bristol. He is proud of his Jamaican ancestry and, growing up in the 1980s, he often faced racial abuse. Yet he would return home each evening to his white mother, who left school at 14 to work as a hairdresser. There is such a thing as white privilege but my white family did not grow up with privilege, he says. He remembers a school friend asking him during one of the citys race riots, when they were both about 13, in a war between black and white whose side are you going to be on?...The idea of going to war with white people didnt sit well with me. At the same time, I recognised the physical threat to my safety was coming from white people.

Mr Rees, whose wife is white, credits his background for his nuanced approach to racial issues. His city made headlines around the world in June when protesters toppled a statue of a city father who was a notorious slave trader. But Mr Rees was wary of such direct action, arguing that symbols were far less important than measures to tackle entrenched inequality. I will talk about race and racism in all its fullness, he says. But Im not going to go home and give mum a hard time for being white or ask her to feel guilty.

Maya, a 30-year-old university teacher in London, also says her ancestrymixed white and south Asianmakes her aware that identity is in part changing and contextual. That she can count ancestors on either side of Britains colonial history emphasises the complexity of racial politics and makes her ambivalent about rigid identity positions. Another Londoner reckons his mixed-race parentage gives him a sense of perspective on how arbitrary identity politics is.

It is not inevitable that, as ethnicities mix, identities get watered down. Mr Rees points out that, as people feel their connection to a particular identity weakening, they may well seek to reassert it. People crave simplicity and certainty. If that were to happen, the growth in intermarriage could eventually make racial politics more, not less, divided.

But our polling suggests the opposite is happening. Trevor Phillips, a former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, argues that rather than being forced to choose one ethnic identity or another Britains mixed-race citizens are increasingly claiming both sides of their heritage. His children have Indian, French and Caribbean ancestry, with cousins from each branch of the family. Wherever they are at Christmas, he says, they know what to do. And, as Mr Katwala has written, that is only a threat to those whose views of race depend on telling everybody else how to think about who they are.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Not black and white"

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Britains mixed-race population blurs the lines of identity politics - The Economist

Listen to the opening of Felix Mendelssohns Octet, as played by Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky and friends on the irresistible recording they made in 1961 at the old Elvis-haunted RCA studios near Hollywood and Vine. Mendelssohn was 16 when he produced this truest embodiment of unbridled, anything-is-possible youth. Unlike a document film, painting, photograph, printed or even spoken word it is neither youth preserved nor mimicked but, in each performance, youth reborn.

Goethe encountered both Mozart and Mendelssohn as boys and had this to say to the latters teacher: What your pupil already accomplishes, bears the same relation to the Mozart of that time that the cultivated talk of a grown-up person bears to the prattle of a child.

The Octet has got to be the most impressive work of art ever produced by anyone so young. Its not just its verve but its voice that is so remarkable. The depth of feeling, the humanity, the craftsmanship, the sheer giving of pleasure are all pure Mendelssohn, already there. This is the immediately recognizable, immediately lovable Mendelssohn of the Overture to A Midsummer Nights Dream, the Violin Concerto and the Scottish and Italian Symphonies.

Above all, the Octet remains a manifest proclamation of youth and, hence, hope. If a 16-year-old could do this nearly 200 years ago, what might our youth now augur?

Indeed, Mendelssohns unsullied exultation led to one of the great and influential careers in music. The Octet was written in 1825, and the composer went on, until his death only 22 years later, to become perhaps the leading musician of the second quarter of the 19th century. In addition to being a famed composer, he was said to be an amazing pianist, violinist and violist who also invented modern conducting and turned Leipzigs Gewandhaus into a legendary German orchestra.

He was handsome. He was a talented painter and gymnast. He was a loving son, brother, husband and father. He was doted upon by royalty and generously used his influence and power to support other composers. He was a humanist who idealistically made ecumenicalism the spiritual and societal center of his life.

Yet he became hated. Shortly after his death, Mendelssohn was attacked for being a Jew by an insanely jealous Richard Wagner and discredited by progressives for being a conservative. He was canceled by the Nazis and dismissed by Modernists who thought him sentimental and superficial.

George Bernard Shaw complained of Mendelssohns despicable oratorio mongering. In his otherwise probing The Romantic Generation, Charles Rosen sniffily titled his chapter on the composer Mendelssohn and the Invention of Religious Kitsch. A withering Ludwig Wittgenstein reduced Mendelssohn to a man who is jolly when the people he is with are jolly anyway.

Although concerted scholarly efforts over the last half century have aimed to provide context to Mendelssohns career and restore his reputation, Mendelssohn might today seem the poster boy for our own cancel culture. Grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and son of a wealthy Berlin banker, the composer was the epitome of white privilege, growing up in an idyllic Berlin mansion, where he was given every opportunity.

Imagine the premiere of the Octet at one of the Mendelssohns regular Sunday salons that attracted the leading poets, philosophers and powerful politicians of the day. Felix may have been ruddy from a morning horseback ride or swimming, activities at which he also excelled. The food, drink and conversation were, no doubt, excellent.

Then came a performance, in which Felix likely played the soaring first violin part, that had to have made the whole scene seem too good to be true. The very idea of a string octet was original. There had been double string quartets, and the year before Schubert wrote a luminous octet for strings and winds, but Mendelssohns was a new lush string ensemble sound.

The piece, itself, has many precedents. The jump-for-joy Finale takes its inspiration from Mozarts Jupiter Symphony. The slow movement was written by a young composer besotted by the late quartets Beethoven was writing. But the buoyant, bounce-off-the-wall melodies are teenager adrenaline distilled. There is no stopping him, and sometimes it shows. He goes on too long in the exposition of the first movement. He tests the limits of his listeners with his ever-increasing exuberance.

Even so, every other turn of phrase is a winning new marvel. The third movement is the predecessor to the fantastical kind of music, representing the spirit world, that would show up next year in A Midsummer Nights Dream Overture, which then became the most astonishing piece by a 17-year-old in the literature.

The Octets accomplishment didnt come out of nowhere. The way was paved with symphonies, concertos and operas along with solo and chamber music galore hundreds of scores, a few of which are juvenilia worthy of occasional revival. He went on to write a wealth of additional music, though of various quality. Not all the complaints about Mendelssohns penchant for predictable melodies, four-square phrasing and formalist repetitiveness lack validity. He can be too cheery. He can seem, at his most somber, to be holding something back. None of that, of course, matters in the slightest when, at his best, Mendelssohn raises your spirits by sweeping you away on the wing of song. At his best, moreover, Mendelssohn was the voice not just of good taste and restraint but of essential reason.

Mendelssohn and his Octet were, in fact, just a little too good to be true, and that is what makes him matter the most to us now. He lived in a revolutionary Germany that he supported but only without losing sight of the highest ideals and accomplishments of the past.

He got this from his grandfather, Moses, the Enlightenment philosopher who became known as the Jewish Socrates. Moses believed strongly in the necessity for Jews to assimilate into modern German culture but to resist conversion, insisting that Jews not lose their identity. Felixs father, however, had his son convert at age 7, and the composer came to enthusiastically celebrate Christianity as Judaisms vital evolutionary next stage.

Mendelssohn sought to seize what he realized might be the last moment in European history, wrote the conductor and scholar Leon Botstein, who has been the forefront of the modern Mendelssohn revival, to further the project of assimilation, enlightenment and the universal love of god. Still, Mendelssohn never stopped seeing himself as a Jew. Disastrously, Germany didnt either: Hitler toppled the Mendelssohn monument in Leipzig.

Even the even-tempered, athletic Mendelssohn is part myth. Neither his health nor temperament were as ruddy as all that. He was extremely close to his sister Fanny, also a gifted composer forced by gender and class to be unjustly overshadowed by her brother, and when she died of a stroke, he went into an emotional and physical tailspin. His health was always poor, it turned out, and he died six months later.

Listen carefully to the Octet and all that exuberance and suffusion of warmth can be heard as not just innocent overflowing spirit but containing more than the composer or his world could sustain. He needed a container for it all, which became his classicism. His brilliant attempt to find the incredibly fine balance offered history a hope for sanity. Maybe, if we let it, it still can. Meanwhile, Mendelssohnian privilege offers its own lasting lesson. For the composer, a life of ease led to resentment. But it also demonstrated that when we provide talent, wherever we find it, the opportunity, it can flourish beyond our wildest expectations.

Starting points

The Heifetz-Piatigorsky recording of Mendelssohns Octet has no competition for the arresting quality of exuberance. It leaps off the turntable, CD player or YouTube, wherever you find it. Fully embodying Mendelssohns spirit, it was one of the great recordings, and it has been remastered in ultra-hi-res and also released as part of a CD set of the complete Heifetz-Piatigorsky Concerts from Sony Classical.

A more modern alternative is the more analytical but wonderfully illuminating and superbly recorded reading by the Henschel Quartet. While youre at, check out the New Music String Quartets gripping and newly remasteredperformance of Mendelssohns String Quartet No. 2, which takes its inspiration from the movement in Beethovens Op. 132 featured earlier in this series. The 1954 recording is an example of one of the few modernist ensembles who took Mendelssohn serious at that time.

With live concerts largely on hold, critic Mark Swed is suggesting a different recorded music by a different composer every Wednesday. You can find the series archive at latimes.com/howtolisten, and you can support Marks work with a digital subscription.

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In the Mendelssohn Octet, the pure sound of youth - Los Angeles Times

About the Irish Navy The Navy maintains a constant presence 24 hours a day, 365 days a year throughout Irelands enormous and rich maritime jurisdiction, upholding Irelands sovereign rights. The Naval Service is tasked with a variety of roles including defending territorial seas, deterring intrusive or aggressive acts, conducting maritime surveillance, maintaining an armed naval presence, ensuring right of passage, protecting marine assets, countering port blockades; people or arms smuggling, illegal drugs interdiction, and providing the primary diving team in the State.

The Service supports Army operations in the littoral and by sea lift, has undertaken supply and reconnaissance missions to overseas peace support operations and participates in foreign visits all over the world in support of Irish Trade and Diplomacy. The eight ships of the Naval Service are flexible and adaptable State assets. Although relatively small when compared to their international counterparts and the environment within which they operate, their patrol outputs have outperformed international norms.

The Naval Service is the Irish State's principal seagoing agency with "a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements". It is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles.

The Naval Service is based in Ringaskiddy, Cork harbour, with headquarters in the Defence Forces headquarters in Dublin.

The Naval Service provides the maritime component of the Irish State's defence capabilities and is the State's principal seagoing agency. It "protects Ireland's interests at and from the sea, including lines of communication, fisheries and offshore resources" within the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Naval Service operates jointly with the Army and Air Corps as part of the Irish defence forces.

The Naval Service was established in 1946, replacing the Marine and Coastwatching Service set up in 1939. It had replaced the Coastal and Marine Service, the State's first marine service after independence, which was disbanded after a year. Its only ship was the Muirch, formerly the British armed steam yacht Helga, which had been used by the Royal Navy to shell Dublin during the 1916 Rising. In 1938, Britain handed over the three "treaty" ports of Cork harbour, Bere haven and Lough Swilly.

The Naval Service has nine ships - one Helicopter Patrol Vessel (HPV), three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), two Large Patrol Vessel (LPV) and two Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPV). Each vessel is equipped with State of the art machinery, weapons, communications and navigation systems.

The ships' names are prefaced with the title of Irish ship or "long ireannach" (LE). The older ships bear Irish female names - L Eithne, L Orla, L Ciara, L Roisn, and L Niamh. The newer ships, named after male Irish literary figures, are L Samuel Beckett, L James Joyce, L William Butler Yeats and L George Bernard Shaw.

Yes. The 76mm Oto Melara medium calibre naval armament is the most powerful weapon in the Naval Services arsenal. The 76mm is "capable of engaging naval targets at a range of up to 17km with a high level of precision, ensuring that the Naval Service can maintain a range advantage over all close-range naval armaments and man-portable weapon systems", according to the Defence Forces.

The Fleet Operational Readiness Standards and Training (FORST) unit is responsible for the coordination of the fleet needs. Ships are maintained at the Mechanical Engineering and Naval Dockyard Unit at Ringaskiddy, Cork harbour.

The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.

The Flag Officer Commanding Naval Service (FOCNS) is Commodore Michael Malone. The head of the Defence Forces is a former Naval Service flag officer, now Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett appointed in 2015 and the first Naval Service flag officer to hold this senior position. The Flag Officer oversees Naval Operations Command, which is tasked with the conduct of all operations afloat and ashore by the Naval Service including the operations of Naval Service ships. The Naval Operations Command is split into different sections, including Operations HQ and Intelligence and Fishery Section.

The Intelligence and Fishery Section is responsible for Naval Intelligence, the Specialist Navigation centre, the Fishery Protection supervisory and information centre, and the Naval Computer Centre. The Naval Intelligence Cell is responsible for the collection, collation and dissemination of naval intelligence. The Navigation Cell is the naval centre for navigational expertise.

The Fishery Monitoring Centre provides for fishery data collection, collation, analysis and dissemination to the Naval Service and client agencies, including the State's Sea Fisheries Protection Agency. The centre also supervises fishery efforts in the Irish EEZ and provides data for the enhanced effectiveness of fishery protection operations, as part of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The Naval Computer Centre provides information technology (IT) support service to the Naval Service ashore and afloat.

This headquarters includes specific responsibility for the Executive/Operations Branch duties. The Naval Service Operations Room is a coordination centre for all NS current Operations. The Naval Service Reserve Staff Officer is responsible for the supervision, regulation and training of the reserve. The Diving section is responsible for all aspects of Naval diving and the provision of a diving service to the Naval Service and client agencies. The Ops Security Section is responsible for the coordination of base security and the coordination of all shore-based security parties operating away from the Naval base. The Naval Base Comcen is responsible for the running of a communications service. Boat transport is under the control of Harbour Master Naval Base, who is responsible for the supervision of berthage at the Naval Base and the provision of a boat service, including the civilian manned ferry service from Haulbowline.

Naval Service ships have undertaken trade and supply missions abroad, and personnel have served as peacekeepers with the United Nations. In 2015, Naval Service ships were sent on rotation to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean as part of a bi-lateral arrangement with Italy, known as Operation Pontus. Naval Service and Army medical staff rescued some 18,000 migrants, either pulling people from the sea or taking them off small boats, which were often close to capsizing having been towed into open water and abandoned by smugglers. Irish ships then became deployed as part of EU operations in the Mediterranean, but this ended in March 2019 amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the EU.

Essentially, you have to be Irish, young (less than 32), in good physical and mental health and with normal vision. You must be above 5'2, and your weight should be in keeping with your age.

Yes, women have been recruited since 1995. One of the first two female cadets, Roberta O'Brien from the Glen of Aherlow in Co Tipperary, became its first female commander in September 2020. Sub Lieutenant Tahlia Britton from Donegal also became the first female diver in the navy's history in the summer of 2020.

A naval cadet enlists for a cadetship to become an officer in the Defence Forces. After successfully completing training at the Naval Service College, a cadet is commissioned into the officer ranks of the Naval Service as a Ensign or Sub Lieutenant.

A cadet trains for approximately two years duration divided into different stages. The first year is spent in military training at the Naval Base in Haulbowline, Cork. The second-year follows a course set by the National Maritime College of Ireland course. At the end of the second year and on completion of exams, and a sea term, the cadets will be qualified for the award of a commission in the Permanent Defence Force as Ensign.

The Defence Forces say it is looking for people who have "the ability to plan, prioritise and organise", to "carefully analyse problems, in order to generate appropriate solutions, who have "clear, concise and effective communication skills", and the ability to "motivate others and work with a team". More information is on the 2020 Qualifications Information Leaflet.

When you are 18 years of age or over and under 26 years of age on the date mentioned in the notice for the current competition, the officer cadet competition is held annually and is the only way for potential candidates to join the Defence Forces to become a Naval Service officer. Candidates undergo psychometric and fitness testing, an interview and a medical exam.

The NMCI was built beside the Naval Service base at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, and was the first third-level college in Ireland to be built under the Government's Public-Private Partnership scheme. The public partners are the Naval Service and Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the private partner is Focus Education.

Afloat 2020

The Naval Service is the State's principal seagoing agency. The Naval Service operates jointly with the Army and Air Corps.

The fleet comprises one Helicopter Patrol Vessel (HPV), three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), two Large Patrol Vessel (LPV) and two Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPV). Each vessel is equipped with state of the art machinery, weapons, communications and navigation systems.

LE Eithne was built in Verlome Dockyard in Cork and was commissioned into service in 1984. She patrols the Irish EEZ and over the years she has completed numerous foreign deployments.

Type Helicopter Patrol Vessel Length 80.0m Beam 12m Draught 4.3m Main Engines 2 X Ruston 12RKC Diesels6, 800 HP2 Shafts Speed 18 knots Range 7000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 55 (6 Officers) Commissioned 7 December 1984

L.. Orla was formerly the HMS SWIFT a British Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the waters of Hong Kong. She was purchased by the Irish State in 1988.She scored a notable operational success in 1993 when she conducted the biggest drug seizure in the history of the state at the time, with her interception and boarding at sea of the 65ft ketch, Brime.

Type Coastal Patrol Vessel Length 62.6m Beam 10m Draught 2.7m Main Engines 2 X Crossley SEMT- Pielstick Diesels 14,400 HP 2 Shafts Speed 25 + Knots Range 2500 Nautical Miles @ 17 knots Crew 39 (5 Officers)

L.. Ciara was formerly the HMS SWALLOW a British Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the waters of Hong Kong. She was purchased by the Irish State in 1988.She scored a notable operational success in Nov 1999 when she conducted the second biggest drug seizure in the history of the state at that time, with her interception and boarding at sea of MV POSIDONIA of the south-west coast of Ireland.

Type Coastal Patrol Vessel Length 62.6m Beam 10m Draught 2.7m Main Engines 2 X Crossley SEMT- Pielstick Diesels 14,400 HP 2 Shafts Speed 25 + Knots Range 2500 Nautical Miles @ 17 knots Crew 39 (5 Officers)

L.. Roisin (the first of the Roisn class of vessel) was built in Appledore Shipyards in the UK for the Naval Service in 2001. She was built to a design that optimises her patrol performance in Irish waters (which are some of the roughest in the world), all year round. For that reason a greater length overall (78.8m) was chosen, giving her a long sleek appearance and allowing the opportunity to improve the conditions on board for her crew.

Type Long Offshore Patrol Vessel Length 78.84m Beam 14m Draught 3.8m Main Engines 2 X Twin 16 cly V26 Wartsila 26 medium speed Diesels 5000 KW at 1,000 RPM 2 Shafts Speed 23 knots Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 44 (6 Officers) Commissioned 18 September 2001

L.. Niamh (the second of the Risn class) was built in Appledore Shipyard in the UK for the Naval Service in 2001. She is an improved version of her sister ship, L..Roisin

Type Long Offshore Patrol Vessel Length 78.84m Beam 14m Draught 3.8m Main Engines 2 X Twin 16 cly V26 Wartsila 26 medium speed Diesels 5000 KW at 1,000 RPM 2 Shafts Speed 23 knots Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 44 (6 Officers) Commissioned 18 September 2001

L Samuel Beckett is an Offshore Patrol Vessel built and fitted out to the highest international standards in terms of safety, equipment fit, technological innovation and crew comfort. She is also designed to cope with the rigours of the North-East Atlantic.

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel Length 90.0m Beam 14m Draught 3.8m Main Engines 2 x Wrtsil diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw Speed 23 knots Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 44 (6 Officers)

L James Joyce is an Offshore Patrol Vessel and represents an updated and lengthened version of the original RISN Class OPVs which were also designed and built to the Irish Navy specifications by Babcock Marine Appledore and she is truly a state of the art ship. She was commissioned into the naval fleet in September 2015. Since then she has been constantly engaged in Maritime Security and Defence patrolling of the Irish coast. She has also deployed to the Defence Forces mission in the Mediterranean from July to end of September 2016, rescuing 2491 persons and recovering the bodies of 21 deceased

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel Length 90.0m Beam 14m Draught 3.8m Main Engines 2 x Wrtsil diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw Speed 23 knots Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 44 (6 Officers)

L.. William Butler Yeats was commissioned into the naval fleet in October 2016. Since then she has been constantly engaged in Maritime Security and Defence patrolling of the Irish coast. She has also deployed to the Defence Forces mission in the Mediterranean from July to October 2017, rescuing 704 persons and recovering the bodies of three deceased.

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel Length 90.0m Beam 14m Draught 3.8m Main Engines 2 x Wrtsil diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw Speed 23 knots Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 44 (6 Officers)

L George Bernard Shaw (pennant number P64) is the fourth and final ship of the P60 class vessels built for the Naval Service in Babcock Marine Appledore, Devon.The ship was accepted into State service in October 2018, and, following a military fit-out, commenced Maritime Defence and Security Operations at sea.

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel Length 90.0m Beam 14m Draught 3.8m Main Engines 2 x Wrtsil diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw Speed 23 knots Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots Crew 44 (6 Officers)

Ship information courtesy of the Defence Forces

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Naval Service Will be Required to Deal with Tensions if Brexit Talks fail to Broker Deal On Fishing Rights - Afloat

As a journalist, you understand what George Bernard Shaw meant when he said, The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Many dont often those in positions of power, influence and authority.

A new, and fourth book, by Conor Kenny, explores this subject in all aspects of life, work, and play. From social to serious, late night wine spilling over furious keyboards tantrums to volcanic losses of self-control and pirates getting into positions of power pumping out toxic messages, cryptic to clear. What did you think were you saying? What was received? What were the consequences?

It is not an academic or prescriptive book but one full of true stories based on Conors experience over 40 years.

What you see, what you hear, and what you believe depends on where you stand your perspective, your agenda. Why something has not been heard or said has a lot to do with emotions, denial, the choice of words and what people want to hear and believe. Add in our own inner conflicts, politics, cultures, values and the cocktail can be dangerous. Thats the challenge of communication, what we meant to communicate is what is received and that we are, in fact, saying it.

The recurring theme of this book is to understand the impact of how we communicate. The impact on friends, family, acquaintances, and those we work with.

In this book, every short true story has a communication message and moral. It reinforces the importance of being understood, being clear and avoiding the unnecessary rubbish of clichs, slang and jargon.

Most of all, it seeks to make sure that whatever the communication, it actually gets said and takes place.

Conor Kenny is the founder and principal of Conor Kenny & Associates, a multi award winning professional development and training company.

He is the author of.

What Are You Saying? 2020 Its Who I Am. Irish Times Business Books of The Year 2017. Dancing at the Fountain. Irish Examiner Books of the Year 2016. Sales Tales 2014.

He is a former fundraising volunteer for Debra Ireland. He is a director and board member of The Rutland Centre (addiction treatment)

The book is out now and published by Oak Tree Press

Go here to read the rest:
'What Are You Saying? And why you're not saying it' - a new book by Conor Kenny - Limerick Post