BLOG TAKES A BREAK

Available for freelance writing commissions on a variety of subjects including family history, nostalgic Belfast and its famous people, shops, shoppers & shopping, the golden age of Hollywood (esp westerns) and humorous pieces on life's weird and wonderful. Op-eds, columns, non-fiction book reviews too. 

CV of published material available on request.

joecushnan@aol.com & @JoeCushnan

There will not be any new postings on this blog for a while.

I have a major 2019/2020 research and writing project to complete, as well as several much smaller sideline jobs to work on, and any tasty newspaper/magazine commission requests that arrive.

In December, look out for some of my writings in Reality and Ireland's Own magazines, and some new online poetry that has been kindly accepted for publication.

Anyone wanting to get in touch - joecushnan@aol.com

Until the next time, happy trails. 

ROLE MODELS - WHERE ARE YOU?

I fear for the younger generation and generations to come because politics and political leadership have become grubbier than they have ever been, and lying, cheating and bullshitting leadership is becoming the norm.  

The UK is off and running with a General Election and savagery, nastiness and chicanery will be front and centre. Promises and pledges will pour out like sewage from a burst pipe and come the morning after the results that deafening noise we will all hear will be the sound of manifestos being shredded on an industrial scale.

Savage media (formerly known as social media) has killed the very notion of a positive, inspirational role model to lead with vision, integrity and humanity.

The percentage of people who vote should think very carefully where they put their X.

The percentage of people who are eligible to vote but don't bother should be ashamed of themselves.

Nowadays, democracy should be spelled deMOCKracy. And how desperately sad is that?

Positive, inspirational role models, where are you?

NOVEMBER FEATURE WRITING IDEAS

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CV of published material available on request.

joecushnan@aol.com & @JoeCushnan

I can write a piece on any or all of the following - joecushnan@aol.com

1 Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley was UK number one 50 years ago

12 Grace Kelly was born 90 years ago. Died at 52 in 1982

12 New York's Ellis Island immigration entry point closed 65 years ago

16 Anthony Blunt revealed as the "fourth man" in the Cambridge spy ring 40 years ago.
18 Ben-Hur film was released 60 years ago

19 The first UK National Lottery draw took place 25 years ago

21 Televised House of Commons proceedings began 30 years ago

21 Quentin Crisp died at 90 20 years ago

22 President Kennedy assassinated in Texas 56 years ago

25 John Lennon handed back his MBE 50 years ago

30 Pink Floyd released The Wall album 40 years ago

ME AND FAMOUS PEOPLE

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Once,

I saw Michael Longley at Belfast City Airport,
by the taxis where Tayto advertises;
Seamus Heaney in Kings Cross Station,
studying the big timetable board;
Frank Ormsby in Waterstones, Belfast,
wandering around, browsing away;
Clive James in Selfridges, Oxford Street,
signing copies of Unreliable Memoirs;
Terence Stamp in Hatchards, Piccadilly,
carrying a wicker basket full of books;
Adam Ant in a wine bar, Jermyn Street,
on his way out, flanked by two big guys;
Michael Caine outside Fortnum and Mason,
crossing the road towards the Dunhill shop;
Ralph McTell in the Regal Centre, Worksop,
signing cds, photographs and ticket stubs;
and more and more and many, many more.

And some of them may have seen me.

THERE'S TREASURE IN THEM THERE EAVESDROPS

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For some years, I have carried a notebook and scribbled anything and everything. Observations, thoughts, ideas, notes-to-self, etc amount to a lot of rubbish but also some golden nuggets.

A casual hobby of sorts is recording snatches of conversations that I have been able to use when writing poems or stories. I must have a couple of hundred eavesdrops in that notebook and recently I decided to write a series of poems under the title An Eavesdropper Walks the Streets. I have a dozen or so in the sequence so far and I am delighted to say that three pieces have been accepted by an editor for a December 2019 issue.

These notes are a godsend if writer's block kicks in. A quick scan through the pages and 'bingo!' - an idea emerges.

So more on this and other stuff in due course.

ROSA PARKS

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Rosa Parks

Activist

The story goes …..

….. that Rosa Parks summed up a significant moment 

in history with these humble words:

“I didn’t get on the bus to get arrested. 

I got on the bus to get home.” 

Montgomery, Alabama, 1955.

She was not the first to ignore a driver 

in this whites-trump-coloureds era

before Elvis’s rock and roll, 

when a white boy sang like a black man 

and changed the world overnight.

The shockwaves of a woman, 

a black woman, 

sitting stubbornly in that seat on that bus 

took a little longer to shake and rattle the pedestals 

of the self-appointed white righteous. 

Arrested for “refusing to obey order of bus driver”,

nationality defined as “negro”, 

complexion “black”, 

build “medium”, mug shot “7053”,

this bespectacled 42-year-old, 

five-foot three citizen became an icon of resistance, 

a living symbol

underlining the right in civil rights, 

later awarded medals and remembered on Rosa Parks Day.

But long before the accolades, 

the significant moment. 1955. America. 

When everything really was

black and white.

CALLING ALL THEATRE SCHOOLS/GROUPS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

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I have a number of free copies of this play, self-published in a handy paperback, to send, primarily, to drama schools/groups in Northern Ireland for table-reading/acting practice. Schools/groups outside NI will be considered.

I want nothing in return, except feedback.

The play was written as a 45-minute radio drama, but it has not been performed - yet.

It is fiction, based on several facts from my life. 

A 60-year-old son tracks down his 89-year-old father to question him on why he left the family home, a wife and seven young children. In the quest to find out about the 'missing years', the son finds it hard to suppress simmering anger and the father clings to hope of reconciliation. 

The script is adaptable for the stage and would be useful for student actors to practice their skills.

Apart from a brief introductory scene, this is a two-hander.

In mid-2015, I sent the play to BBC NI radio producer, Heather Larmour, who declined it because a daughter/father drama had already been commissioned. She said: 

“Thank you so much for sending ‘Shaking Hands’, it’s a very thoughtful, emotional and intelligent script which I very much enjoyed reading.  I thought your treatment of the relationship between father and son was very interesting and viscerally drawn - you really could feel the anger and frustration and hopes and vulnerabilities of the characters as they negotiated the stages of the meeting.  Although I was secretly hoping for a happy ending, I also very much admired how you left the piece, with no resolution possible given the past, but perhaps some understanding for the characters. Unfortunately however, we have recently had a piece commissioned, which tackles the story of a daughter tackling her father about the secrets of his past, and although the two pieces are of course very different, we just felt that the subject matter was too similar at the moment and that Radio 4 would be unlikely to be looking for another piece in the same territory.”

If you are interested in a sample copy, please contact me via joecushnan@aol.com

BOOK REVIEW - A FORCE LIKE NO OTHER: THE NEXT SHIFT

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CV of published material available on request.

joecushnan@aol.com & @JoeCushnan

A Force Like No Other: The Next Shift
More real stories from the RUC men and women who policed the Troubles
by
Colin Breen


https://blackstaffpress.com

In this follow-up to his bestselling A Force Like No Other, Colin Breen brings together more compelling insider stories from RUC officers who served during the Troubles. Includes stories about the IRA border campaign (1958–62), the Shankill Butchers murders and the 1987 Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen.

Here's a short extract from a chapter:

"You were constantly looking under your car; you were constantly looking behind you; and if your wife or children befriended someone, you had to check that person out so that you knew it was safe. The reality was that your family, including your children, were suffering as much as you were and a lot of the time we didn't even realise."

The words of a Royal Ulster Constabulary police officer illustrate the constant on-duty/off-duty pressure of doing such a job. At any moment of any day, a life could be ended by a tripwire, a rigged gate or door, a sniper, a mortar shell, a brazen assassin or a bomb. As an RUC officer, you, your family, friends and colleagues were all targets.

In this excellent book, Colin Breen reminds readers that from 1969 to 2001, 302 police officers were killed, over 10,000 were injured and hundreds were left disabled. The stories and memories at times make harrowing reading and I lost track of how many officers were "blown to bits" or "to smithereens". Some of the recollections are graphic and red-raw, which they should be, otherwise the book would be just a series of anecdotes. This was real life and there were no guarantees that a police officer would go to work and come back home at the end of a shift. As well as putting on the uniform and all the necessary gear, an officer would also have to 'wear' caution and alertness and be ready for anything. One mistake or forgotten detail in a procedure could be fatal.

I was struck by comments that there was little or no counselling at the height of the Troubles for police officers who had experienced traumatic incidents. A nice chat, maybe a day off or a few shots of whiskey replaced any notion of serious therapy. It beggars belief. Years after they left the force, many officers still have nightmares and suffer stress.

There is not as much humour in this follow-up book but there are many examples of the same camaraderie among officers, colleagues looking out for each other and sometimes running or driving towards danger to help anyone in distress. There are stories ranging in an arc from courage to despair.

Colin Breen writes: "This book shows the human face behind the uniform and how ordinary people coped in extraordinary times."

And it is the human element that makes this a powerful book, one that will not appeal to everyone, especially those who have no fondness for the police, but it a hard book to ignore as it is a candid reflection of some very bloody times in recent Northern Irish history, as told by real people.

A Force Like No Other and A Force Like No Other: The Next Shift emphasise Colin Breen's professional and emotional attachment to his old force, and highlights his credentials as a very fine writer indeed.

BELFAST, LOOKING FOR MEMORIES OF ST MARY'S CHRISTIAN BROTHER GRAMMAR SCHOOL, 1965 - 1970

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I am researching an autobiographical writing project which includes my time at St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School, Glen Road, from 1965 (when I was a first year "wee legs") to 1970.

I want to hear from anyone who was there in those years, their memories, stories and the everlasting influence the school and its teachers had on them.

Contact me via joecushnan@aol.com

To refresh memories, this is the cover of The Simmarian Magazine, Christmas 1965, that contains a photo of every pupil. My original copy is right in front of me.

These are photos of the first two pages of Form 1, new intake, that might jog memories. UTV's prime news presenter, Paul Clarke, is in amongst the line-up.

If anyone can help, please get in touch via joe cushnan@aol.com. I know it's 54 years ago.......

Thanks.

I WANNA TELL YOU A STORY.....

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During the last 12 months or so, I have been building up a stock of flash fiction and longer stories, most submitted or entered in competitions. 80% edited professionally. Here are the teaser titles. (P indicates edited professionally).

Incident P

Who Cares? P

Bags and Cats P

Butch  P
The Snob and the Slouch P

Lunch Interrupted P

Never Caught but Rumbled P

The 40^thAnniversary of a Done Deal P

The Girl Who Had Nearly Everything P

Betrayed P

Brothers P

Journal P

The Unpredictable Actions of Burton Daniels 

Mystery Guest P

Shirts (Published)

Hope P

Letter 

Honesty P

Twist (Published) P
Sweetheart (Published) P
Barking 
Hope with Milk and Two Sugars P
Closure P
A Memorable Dinner P
Yellow and Gold
Wedding Daze
The Horse Painting P
Private Moments in Public Places P
She's Fed Up (Flirting with a Fool) P
SSSSSSHHHHHH
Mild-mannered and Snippy, But not Gay P

BOOK REVIEW - SHOOTING THE DARKNESS

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Shooting the Darkness
Iconic images of the Troubles and the stories of the photographers who took them

Trevor Dickson
Paul Faith
Alan Lewis
Stanley Matchett
Martin Nangle
Crispin Rodwell
Hugh Russell

Blackstaff Press 2019

"Based on the acclaimed documentary by Broadstone Films, this landmark book presents the stories of leading photographers – Alan Lewis, Paul Faith, Martin Nangle, Stanley Matchett, Trevor Dickson, Hugh Russell and Crispin Rodwell – whose images captured some of the most important events of the Troubles.They talk, many of them for the first time, about the photographs they took – how they got the shot; what it cost them to take the photograph; and reflect on whether it was worth it.More broadly, they talk about what it was like to be a photographer during the Troubles: how the paramilitary groups dealt with them, the ethical dilemmas they faced, and the emotional fallout they experienced.The book includes the stories behind iconic images such as Bishop Edward Daly waving a blood-stained handkerchief on Bloody Sunday, Sean Downes being shot and killed by an RUC plastic bullet in Andersonstown in 1984, and the brutal attack of corporals Derek Wood and David Howes in March 1988.'

Anyone who uses the term "the Troubles" in reference to some of Northern Ireland's desperate past is in danger of wrapping up history in a couple of words. It is an almost cosy, off-the-cuff term that doesn't even scratch the surface of what actually happened during the forty or so years from the late 1960s.

Many words have been written about those times from all kinds of perspectives, but words are not enough. Photographs have considerable power. They illustrate both humanity and inhumanity. It is easier to skim words but not so easy to ignore an image, especially when it shows tragic fallout and anguish.

This is not a book to flick through in a few minutes. It requires time to reflect on the photographs, what they record, what they represent, and to appreciate the skill and talent involved behind the lens.

Shooting the Darkness is a collection of brilliant photographs by superb photographers. I'll pick out some but, for copyright reasons and sensitivity in some cases, you will have to browse the book shops or buy the book to see the images I describe. This will only scratch the surface.

Trevor Dickson: "Our job was to be right in the thick of it".
A photograph a of woman kissing the hat of her bus-driving husband. He had been shot dead while driving through a gun battle.

Paul Faith: "We take pictures; we don't take sides".
The bloody floor of the Loughinisland bar where six people were murdered and five wounded.

Alan Lewis: "We showed what was happening as honestly as we could".
An ambulance man carrying a dead baby in a blanket.

Stanley Matchett: "The camera was always on my desk with a fresh roll of film in it".
A series of photos showing Father Edward Daly and victims of Bloody Sunday.

Martin Nangle: "That's the nature of working in a job that you're passionate about - you're prepared to take a risk".
A photo recalling the day two off-duty soldiers drove into an IRA funeral cortege and were murdered.

Crispin Rodwell: "There's intuition and instinct, but on top of that there's luck".
A photo of a young boy playing handball against a wall on which someone had painted, Time for Peace.

Hugh Russell: The older I'm getting, the more I'm starting to realise that we were doing something special".
A photo of a distraught young girl being escorted to school through a hostile crowd.

If my arm was twisted and I was forced to pick just one photograph that upset me the most, it would be Allan Lewis's shot of a 7-year-old boy sobbing uncontrollably at his murdered father's funeral.

Never mind today's stubborn, bickering politicians and history re-writers and those who want to draw a line under the past, a book like this is a necessary and impactful pictorial album that pulls no punches when it comes to showing death, destruction, injury and mayhem, and everlasting grief. And also moments of sympathy, caring and kindness.

As I said earlier, this is humanity and inhumanity captured by an extraordinary number of gifted photographers.

NEW MUSIC - STEPHEN DUNWOODY - FINDING NINA: THE SONGS OF NINA SIMONE

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Finding Nina
The Songs of Nina Simone
by
Stephen Dunwoody
Burgundy Records

https://www.stephendunwoody.com/albums

Track Listing:

1 Exactly Like You

2 Gin House Blues

3 The Gal From Joe's

4 I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel

5 Feeling Good

6 African Mailman Medley

7 Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

8 Ain't No Use

9 My Baby Just Cares

10 Love Me Or Leave Me

11 Lonesome Cities

12 L'll Liza Jane

"Finding Nina has been a labour of love for me. The 12 songs I have chosen have, for many years, been a part of my live set and have evolved to what you hear on this disc. I saw Nina Simone only once, quite by chance, in a small club in Paris when I was just 18. The memory of such an amazing performer has stayed with me."

Two seconds into track one and it's welcome to a quality production from Stephen Dunwoody in this wonderful homage to Nina Simone. Man, he does her proud! But it is not a straightforward covers album. This is a Dunwoody album. Not that the actual songs needed it but he breathes new life into them. He performs beautifully throughout. The arrangements are superb. He has a quirky vocal style but it more than suits the material and he delivers every time.

(Here's a little sampler from YouTube, a rehearsal version of My Baby Just Cares https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77haTy8Bq5Q )

Nina Simone once said of herself: "Sometimes I sound like gravel, and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream." She also described her music as black classical. And those ingredients and more are right here, Dunwoody-style.

In an odd way, the album is both vintage and modern, not an easy chemistry, but it works perfectly. It is impossible to pick out a favourite because I love all of the songs. I'll mention Exactly Like You, excellent choice to rope us in. Stephen excels on Gin House Blues and he reinvents Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. My Baby Just Cares For Me is as cool as cool can be.

And cool is not a bad word to use for Finding Nina. This is an album that should be dominating radio playlists for the foreseeable future. It deserves attention. It is so good.

I urge you all to seek it out and, just to get a bit jazzy for a moment, dig it, man. Dig Dunwoody. 

STEPHEN BOYD: FROM BELFAST TO HOLYWOOD

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This book still ticks along in sales.

A version of this book was published in 2013. I have made minor adjustments to the text, added some illustrations and some extra writing segments. 

"Stephen Boyd was one of the nicest, kindest people I have met in my lifetime, rare in this profession." - Euan Lloyd, film producer of Shalako, The Man Called Noon and The Wild Geese.

"Joe Cushnan’s excellent biography of Stephen Boyd, the forgotten film star and a fellow countryman of mine, fills a disgraceful gap in cinematographic history and should be read by all who are interested in that fascinating subject." - James Ellis, actor in Z Cars, The Billy Plays, etc.

Stephen Boyd was one of the biggest film stars of the late 1950s and 1960s (The Man Who Never Was, Ben Hur, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Fantastic Voyage, etc), an ordinary boy from Northern Ireland who made a dream journey to Hollywood, starring alongside some of the most prestigious names in cinema including Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Gregory Peck, Brigitte Bardot, Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, James Mason, Gina Lollobrigida, Omar Sharif, Doris Day, Sean Connery and Raquel Welch.

This is the first book to celebrate his life and work. He had a 20-year film career, sadly cut short by his sudden death, aged 45, in 1977. 

Joe Cushnan is a freelance writer of books, features, reviews, poetry and fiction

ISBN: 9781786101105

Type: Paperback

Pages: 208

Published: 5 September 2015

PIPS

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She was not keen,

Hated it in fact,

Lemon pips in her gin glass.

How hard is it?

I mean how hard is it

To flick the pips out

At the slicing stage?

She earned the right to be fussy,

Was the right age not to give a shit

About insult and offence.

A gin and tonic without debris.

How hard is it?

Resolved by the second rant 

And the third glass.

A LETTER FROM PETER SISSONS

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In march 2014, Peter Sissons replied to a complimentary letter I wrote to him about his excellent autobiography, When One Door Closes. 

"It was kind of you to write, and much appreciated. I am afraid that the views you express about the quality of news broadcasting today are widely shared. I spend some time these days giving talks on cruise ships and it is quite remarkable how much disquiet there is at the output of the BBC, particularly among people who should be the Corporation's core audience. Ten years ago it was rumbles of discontent; now the licence fee payers are much more mutinous.

As for the previous generation of news broadcasters, I was privileged to work alongside many fine people who also became my friends. Except in the first months of Channel 4 News, I never worked with or for anyone whom I could't respect. Towards the end of my time at the BBC there was practically no one in that category. So sad.

Still, a life in news still stands me in good stead, and I keep busy with lots of other things."

Peter Sissons - 17 July 1942 - 1 October 2019