It’s been a decent month of weather in June, clear blue skies and plenty of sun. Back to overcast days now with the occasional light curtain of warm summer rain but sure it’s easier to sleep and the farmers and gardeners are a bit happier, so we’ll take it.

We had a spell of three weeks without rain, and I love that smell from the earth when it starts again. I had to look this up because I’d read it somewhere before, but it’s called Petrichor, and was coined by two Australian scientists back in the sixties. It comes from the Greek words for ‘Blood of stones’.

Of course, wardrobes change as the weather improves, but some people are still resistant to the heat. Many Irish men of a certain age won’t change their longer length trousers despite the temperatures, and are resistant to do so - fashion reasons, I expect. I was in a pub in my local home town when an older gent clocked my shorts and asked ‘What time did you get out of school?’

Books

Another decent month for reading. Pick of them was ‘Close to home’ by Micheal Magee, a visceral and arresting debut about a young mans life spiralling out of control in Belfast. I also really enjoyed ‘Ordinary Human failings’ by Megan Nolan about a child who goes missing on a London housing estate, and attention falls on a local Irish Family. My last fiction book of the month was our bookclub pick ‘Desert Flowers’ by Paul Pen, about a couple and their four kids living in the remote Baja California desert - but something is decidedly off about them. A slow burner that became a decent read but with an ending that frustrated me.

Non-Fiction wise my Voyage of the dawn reader book was ‘Being aware of being aware’ by Rupert Spira which was a nice meditative start to the day. ‘Breath - the new science of a lost art’ by James Nestor was an absolute revelation and has resulted in my practising various breathing techniques, and I can already notice a change in my energy levels. One of those books that might just change your life.

Television

No outings this month so scrabbling around for something to watch on TV. It’s a recurring them in these monthly posts, but it’s mostly a load of oul shite. I don’t turn the TV on until an hour before bed, and I’ve been struggling to fill it - more often than not it goes off again. BUT. I did find a couple of gems.

I tend to avoid programmes about the north of Ireland. Heck, I barely watch the news headlines these days. And the troubles - no thanks, having lived through it and that. But I have a yearning for documentaries at the moment so thought I would try a little bit of ‘Once upon a time in Northern Ireland’ as it was made by the same crew who brought us ‘Once upon a time in Iraq’ so thought I’d give it a go. Anyway, there’s an off switch which I’m particular fond off.

And I did have to reach for the control a number of occasions in this six part series because I just found it too hard to remember those times. There were so many events mentioned where I was able to say exactly where I was when I heard the news report and we all sat in silence. Too many. People talk about remembering where they were when JFK was shot - so many times watching this I was able to see my life in freeze frames. Fear does that to you, a snapshot in time.

God, it’s so well done. The participants aren’t the usual politicians and media talking heads - it’s the ordinary people caught up in it. I cried, I raged and I remembered. And I wondered - how the F**k did we manage to survive those times and how well our parents did to keep us safe. But a lot of it was down to luck - that old ‘wrong place, wrong time’ thing. I think we all have PTSD - under the Good Friday agreement, the British government should have been forced to hire swathes of counsellors.

Can’t recommend this enough, especially if you didn't live through it and would like to know more. And if you did, take a breath and tread carefully. I did need something else for the palette after watching it though, so thankfully I came across season two of….

THE BEAR!! Yup, the eagle eyed amongst you will notice that the above trailer is for season one, but I didn’t want to risk posting any spoilers with a season two trailer. Because it’s that good, and you need to enjoy it from the start.

Carmen Berzatta has moved back to Chicago to take over his brothers restaurant. He’s a world renowned chef, but after his brother commits suicide, and he inherits ‘the beef’, a downtown family restaurant, he decides he’s going to run it. He’s grief stricken, but determined to make a go of it.

Season two picks up where one left off - the chemistry between the actors is superb, the writing, the directing - jeez, even the music is perfect. A restaurant is the perfect setting for a drama, with the tensions and relationships playing out between staff, but ‘The bear’ nails it every time. It’s got a frenetic energy at times, but it also does the quieter momments incredibly well.

I would say that this season works from a wider base - it’s got a swagger about itself, like it knows how good it is but it needs a wider scope and some of the guest stars - wow. And there’s one episode in particular, that comes at you sideways, unexpectedly and is absolutely integral to some of the dynamics in the show. It’s also good to get out of the kitchen, and we go deeper into the characters lives.

I also found it to be a heart warming show, something I looked forward to watching. The characters mostly look out for each other, there’s a sense they are all in it together. Sure, it gets messy, and there’s plenty of tension between them. But it always manages to stay balanced, not too much of the sweet stuff. But enough.

I’ve had a ‘Succession’ sized hole in my life and this is up there. My only regret is that I gorged on all ten episodes over three nights. The TV will be going off again.

Oh, nearly forgot, I did watch ‘Black mirror’. My favourite was ‘beyond the sea’ about the astronauts - I like that uneasy feeling, where you’re never quite sure what’s going on. And I found it desperately sad (if you’ve followed this blog for a while you’ll notice that I’m a sucker for ‘desperately sad’ so I promised a subscriber that I would include a few more photographs of of Irelands nature this month, which hopefully offsets the ‘desperately sad’ stuff).

Some of the rest of them were a bit meh - the one about the photographer?? - but I did like the first epsiode about ‘streamberry’ with Salma Hayek, thought that was fun. I thought the final one ‘Demon 79’ had a great feel to it (love that late seventies, north of England vibe) but never quite lived up to its potential. Overall a mixed big, bit like the last few seasons, but I hope they keep making them.

Music

Nothing new purchased nor gigs attended. One of my favourite tv events of the year is Glastonbury - a full fridge, no queues for the toilet - what’s not to like? Lots of highlights, but what about Rick Astley and The Blossoms? Morrissey who? When I heard about this originally I thought it would end up like bad karaoke but it’s just….joyous.

I can’t let the round up go without a mention of Christy Dignam, who fought the good fight but is sadly no longer with us. There was an interview with Ryan Turbidy (remember him Irish radio fans?) before he died, where he said he was looking out the window one day and a man walked past. Just casually out walking. And he thought, I’ll never do that again.

I dunno, wee details like that always catch me, especially when I hear them on the radio, when I’m chopping carrots or drying dishes. It’s like a wee arrow that sneaks under your armour because you’re distracted. Damn wee arrows.

He was always completely honest and I always loved listening to his interviews. And of course, that voice. And that’s where I’ll leave it for June.

Wherever you are reading this may you be happy, may you be well, and may you be free from suffering.