graphic designphotography

paul railton

Hello, my name is Paul. I am a magazine loving, photo-taking, Graphic Designer based in Tynemouth and occasionally Dublin.

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NEWCASTLEMUSIC HUB

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A collection of Images & Logos from 2010-12

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thanks honey“

“

,

carving up gingerly a slab of meat, which hours ago her bearded partner wrestled ferociously with in the depths of the surround-ing forest. Hands still bloodied from the kill and with several of

gives his wife a tender kiss alongside a “thanks, honey” for the lovely meal or whether Cavewoman thanks her man for provid-

thank each other in their own, silent way.

words share a root, stemming from the Proto Indo-European

fact which matches up nicely with the intuition that gratitude should be considered rather than automatic. It is no wonder that in Stone Age times, where food, shelter and sex were the hallmarks of successful existence, thinking and thanking were relegated to a common sentience. While thinking about thanking is a sign of evolutionary progress, not thinking about

thanking is synonymous with the language of service transac-tion, which constitutes a process more sophisticated than the simple bartering of one good for another. Take a bog standard

arrives late and takes me in to town. I alight and thank the bus driver. As I pass the gates of Trinity College, a religious enthusi-ast thrusts upon me a medallion of the Virgin Mary, which she claims will protect me from everything the world may throw at me, excepting medallions themselves it seems. I thank her with a smile and hurry on. I am groggy and so I head straight to Butlers Chocolate Café, where I order a caramel machiato ‘to go’. I thank the man at the till as I hand him over my money. Without thinking, I have given thanks for a tardy service for which a driver earns his keep, for an item I would rather be without and for due receipt of a steaming cup for which I have paid ready money.

But why? A 2007 study into cross-cultural service exchanges argues that “the use of thanks in closing conversations …

a common frame of reference and a shared satisfactory role-relationship.” In other words, perhaps what I mean to say is “I

gratuitous items to passers-by” and “I value my cup of sweet warmth and your pleasant demeanour, even if provision of both forms part of your job description”.

Uttering thanks may have become automatic but feeling

ultimately more meaningful. A child can be forced to say “thank you” for the cotton socks its Great Auntie has bestowed upon

uttering thanks and being grateful. Indeed, true gratitude is -

ing gratitude to American service men and women, which has registered over two and a half million hits, describes some of the problems, which accompany the attempt to express true gratitude. One of the most common is the feeling of awkward-ness. How do you tell somebody you have never met how grate-ful you are for their actions? How do you tell somebody you see every day how much they mean to you?

Perhaps it’s about showing and not telling. Like love and hope -

body with a look, a hug, a card, a surprise and watch the warm feeling break across their face. It is nobler to thank than to be

of being appreciated. -

ganic turkey that Marigold’s high-powered legal job has helped provide and Hannah Montana occupies the kids in the back-ground, perhaps it will be a silent, prehistoric glance between man and wife and not a glass-tipping dedication to America that will express true thanks. “To Silent Gratitude”.

The Science of ThanksWords Kate Ferguson Illustraion Jessica Tobin

Thanks to the aimsir, my triocha-lá Bikram buzz was stopped in its tracks. For the past trí seachtaine, I took up a post lánaim-seartha with a fashion retailer working on their Press Day for Spring/Summer 2011. As well as being in situe from Monday to Friday from 10-6 (agus roimh agus i ndiaidh where necessary), my mode of transport was restricted to Dublin Bus. Coupled with the droch-aimsir and the lack of rothar freedom to be where and when I wanted to, getting to and from Bikram classes was severely impacted. Sound - get over and get on with it! So the key question is; did my sub-quest to stay off alcohol continue, all other factors notwithstanding? Táim bródúil a rá go n'eirigh mé as an ól go dtí an séú lá deag mí Nollag. Mí in iomlán gan ól. I relinquished alcohol control and celebrated it at the Rubberbandits cósúir Nollag in the Button Factory. Má raibh tú i láthair - you know what an amazing, electri-fying gig that was. So carried away with the mothúcáin was I, that at one point, I discreetly wriggled and removed my bra and threw it onstage to see it proudly worn by DJ Willie O'Dea. Scór!! What wasn't funny, was the morning after. Íosa Chríost - was I sick as a dog. Not only was I physically sick - that familiar tem-porary downward mood descended around me. While even only temporary - it begged the question - was it worth it? I mo thuairim - nílim cinnte. Tar éis mí ina chaith mé ceann soléir, ní féidir liom neamhaird a dhéanamh faoi na buntáistí; bhí fuinnimh agam, bhí smaointe nua agam, bhí dearcadh dearfach ginearálta ionam agus le daoine eile AGUS bhí neart craic agam chomh maith. Cea-

of things I've gotten up to on the wagon but measaim de bhárr an atmosféar ag an Rubberbandits gig, I would have done the bra-throwing sober chomh maith. Regardless - all of the previous buntáistí far outweigh booze i m'intinn. Ní dóigh liom go mbeidh mé mar some 'Straight Edge' type, but seriously loving this sober craic.

consecutive days of yoga (but I will take up that baton again), it's spéisiúl that in my quest, I found another buzz; booze free me! And I likes it!

*Wince*

signed up for a 30-day Bikram yoga challenge. Na smaointí of excessively sweating it out, for an hour and and a half everyday for 30 days, causes people to recoil in imagined pain. Ní hea mise, ní hea anois. Tar éis ceithre lá, and already the knock

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures performed in a room of at least 30 degrees, and may also be refered to as ʻHot Yogaʼ

greater stretching is achieved. Tar éis blianta of cycling, running, walking and so on, I had always paid poor homage to stretching until dʼfhulaing mé díobhálacha like hamstring injuries. An chuid is mó scanrúil, I awoke one morning last year with a completely numb left arm; ansin fuair mé an teachtaireacht.

challenge, was more holistic. Go dtí bliain go leith ó shin, I was the rubber-arm girl. Rubber-arm.com. Nearly always the last one to leave a session, a club, wherever there was music, people, craic - Bhí bród orm an suaitheantas sin a chasadh! However, as I get older, agus dúisigh mé ó lá go lá with no distractions like a Monday-Friday 9-5 job, the effects of such abuse are more apparent. The mental and emotional cracks can be crippling; cuireann sé as dom. Itʼs not just Tuesday blues, itʼs practically an tseachtain go léir. No matter how much I try to assign the blame on other factors, tá sé slapping dom ar mo aghaidh go crua, that even though I can still hold my own, the aftermath is not worth it anymore. You know, tá saol ró-ghearr agus ró-mhaith, to be spent licking the wounds caused by alcoholic lashings. And so, in the quest to make a concerted effort to pull back from drinking, Iʼve signed up for Bikram to keep me ar an mbothar díreach. Gig-going and exhibition attending are the things which give me áthas in this life but are invariably intertwined with social drinking. The Bikram challenge gives me an interim leithscéal to exclude me from drinking or leaving a session earlier; until I have the misneach to stand my ground and emphatically decline alcohol for no other reason that I just-donʼt-want-to. Fanaigí tuned!

Creidim go bhfuil téim an eagrán seo faoi gheall 'thrifty' - shílim gan doubt, níl aon bealach níos fearr chun an téim seo chun cur i bheidhm ná gan alcohol. Like so many people, I'm currently díf-hostaithe, and my sabbatical pot of gold has dwindled evermore over the last few months. However, it has been conserved through alcohol abstinence. The beauty of the cúlú, is that cairde are ok with foregoing the Irish tradition of 'rounds'. In fact, it is disturb-ing to think of how much airgead I would have spent on a fairly tame night out, not to mind a wild one! And I was never a big

of people drinking in the home, prior to heading to a venue, to try and save on money. This never really worked for me. An fhírinne, it loosened the grip on the clasp, while ag an am chéana, greased

Mar shampla - tar éis seisúin beag i dteach chara roimh an gig/pub;'Tógfaimid taxi - táim ró-leithscúil (nó meithscúil) chun súil go dtí an ionad' - 10 yoyos kerching! 'Cad a ólfaimid? Dhá whiskeys and ginger ale?' - 15 yoyos - kerch-ing! 'It's my round, no no, I insist - same again?' 15 yoyos eile - kerch-ing! Before long - the dochar is déanta..and you peruse your online banking in horror the following day.

Yup - the merits of not drinking alcohol are not only healthy for the mind and body, but for the bank balance. My overall crusade was put to the test on New Year's Eve when I attended my cousin's wedding at home in West Cork. Family weddings are proper knees-up affairs and I told myself that I would approach it as how I felt best like doing on the day. Deep down, I was prepared to renege on my geallta to my myself, and be ceart go leor with whatever happened. It's aisteach, chonaic mé an athrú ól ar an slua uair by uair, and I wondered if I would last until mean oíche. Ionach orm, I did! By Christ I was out on the

with the best of them, and loved it! Best of all, when the bride was to throw the bouquet - I strategi-cally slipped in behind all the young wans, quickly guaged how far I reckoned Sinead would throw the bouquet and positioned myself accordingly. Need I tell the torthaí to you? Yep - and I did a

of relatives that suspect that I'll end up 'on the shelf'. Is mí cúin é, an mí Eanair -so tá an t-adh agam faoi láthair. Tá beagnach gach duine banc briste tar éis an Nollaig, agus tá faic ar súil ag an am chéana. FYI - I went back to Bikram this week and am loving it. It's not cheap as a pursuit; but as value for money, mind and body, I'm gladly foregoing pints, shots, glass and bottle in ionad. Go dtí an mí seo chugainn, bígí ag léamh Le Hip du Hop, tabhair aire agus go Dé sibh slán!

Blianta ó shin, thosaigh mé an leabhar a bhfuil clú agus cáil ar, d'arb ainm é 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' ón scríbhne-oir Stephen R. Covey. Ach cósúil leis an cuid is mó do dhaoine eile,

I knew what their messages were and thus didn't need to read the book to tell me what I knew I should already be doing. However, the réamhrá itself was enlightening. In it, Covey discussed how his book research took him through over 200 years of success literature with which he noticed a surprising pattern emerge from its content. Ar dtosach an chéad 150 bliain, bhí beagnách an litríocht in iomlán dírithe ar what he calls 'Character Ethic' as the foundation

courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty. Suimúil agus oirúinach gur rinne sé tagairt ar autobiography Benjamin Franklin mar shampla den scoth. However, in the past 50 years,

image consciousness or what he calls 'Personality Ethics'. Public image, attitudes, behaviours, communication techniques either or both through PR or PMA (positive mental attitude) exercises are lauded as ways to manipulate others to achieve your own end goals. The Character (and its ethics) is paid mere lip service. This insight reasonated with me when ag smaoineamh ar ár polaiteoirí agus an ár ionchais uathu. Mar shampla, cuireann sé isteach orm nuair a mbíonn jibes déanta about a politicians poor physical appearance, yet we reel in disgust when an annual hairdresser's bill is revealed. We pour over how a politician has performed in a debate, judging their communication skills as a measure of their potential political worthiness. Elections are being won and lost on PR battles; who is communicating the most effectively and how.

The current battle cry is a need for change - absolutely, but who and why? Can the general public articulate why a certain party would be better above another, aside from proferring the 'looks, talks and acts like they could be the leader of this country'? Do we pay enough attention to politicians' 'Character Ethics'? Are we looking long enough at the core values and traits of our political representatives and asking - 'is this a good person, who honestly cares about this country, our area and its future?'.

Nuair a bhí mé ag fás aníos, bhí mo chéad cuimhní cinn polaitiúil ná de Garret Fitzgerald. Nílim mar ball d'aon páirtí polaitúil ach ba chóir orm a rá - i mo thuairim agus mo thuiscint ar; ba dhuine cliste, tuisceanach é, and forward-thinking, who still continues to provide interesting political insights and suggestions. Tá fhios agam gurb páiste mé ag an am sin, but I intrinsically believed and trusted him and how he steered this country. From image and communication perspectives, he was more like a bumbling academic - how would he have been perceived in the spinning personality politics of today? It goes without saying, this election will be a truly interesting one. How and why people vote, who gets elected, and will their

country believe in itself once more. I know I want the truly 'best' party to succeed. Gan amhras, táim dóchasach go mbeidh an bua ag an páirtí agus na polaiteoirí is fíor fearr.

an eachtra na héireannNiamh Ní Shúilleabháin

I

thanks honey“

“

,

carving up gingerly a slab of meat, which hours ago her bearded partner wrestled ferociously with in the depths of the surround-ing forest. Hands still bloodied from the kill and with several of

gives his wife a tender kiss alongside a “thanks, honey” for the lovely meal or whether Cavewoman thanks her man for provid-

thank each other in their own, silent way.

words share a root, stemming from the Proto Indo-European

fact which matches up nicely with the intuition that gratitude should be considered rather than automatic. It is no wonder that in Stone Age times, where food, shelter and sex were the hallmarks of successful existence, thinking and thanking were relegated to a common sentience. While thinking about thanking is a sign of evolutionary progress, not thinking about

thanking is synonymous with the language of service transac-tion, which constitutes a process more sophisticated than the simple bartering of one good for another. Take a bog standard

arrives late and takes me in to town. I alight and thank the bus driver. As I pass the gates of Trinity College, a religious enthusi-ast thrusts upon me a medallion of the Virgin Mary, which she claims will protect me from everything the world may throw at me, excepting medallions themselves it seems. I thank her with a smile and hurry on. I am groggy and so I head straight to Butlers Chocolate Café, where I order a caramel machiato ‘to go’. I thank the man at the till as I hand him over my money. Without thinking, I have given thanks for a tardy service for which a driver earns his keep, for an item I would rather be without and for due receipt of a steaming cup for which I have paid ready money.

But why? A 2007 study into cross-cultural service exchanges argues that “the use of thanks in closing conversations …

a common frame of reference and a shared satisfactory role-relationship.” In other words, perhaps what I mean to say is “I

gratuitous items to passers-by” and “I value my cup of sweet warmth and your pleasant demeanour, even if provision of both forms part of your job description”.

Uttering thanks may have become automatic but feeling

ultimately more meaningful. A child can be forced to say “thank you” for the cotton socks its Great Auntie has bestowed upon

uttering thanks and being grateful. Indeed, true gratitude is -

ing gratitude to American service men and women, which has registered over two and a half million hits, describes some of the problems, which accompany the attempt to express true gratitude. One of the most common is the feeling of awkward-ness. How do you tell somebody you have never met how grate-ful you are for their actions? How do you tell somebody you see every day how much they mean to you?

Perhaps it’s about showing and not telling. Like love and hope -

body with a look, a hug, a card, a surprise and watch the warm feeling break across their face. It is nobler to thank than to be

of being appreciated. -

ganic turkey that Marigold’s high-powered legal job has helped provide and Hannah Montana occupies the kids in the back-ground, perhaps it will be a silent, prehistoric glance between man and wife and not a glass-tipping dedication to America that will express true thanks. “To Silent Gratitude”.

The Science of ThanksWords Kate Ferguson Illustraion Jessica Tobin

Thanks to the aimsir, my triocha-lá Bikram buzz was stopped in its tracks. For the past trí seachtaine, I took up a post lánaim-seartha with a fashion retailer working on their Press Day for Spring/Summer 2011. As well as being in situe from Monday to Friday from 10-6 (agus roimh agus i ndiaidh where necessary), my mode of transport was restricted to Dublin Bus. Coupled with the droch-aimsir and the lack of rothar freedom to be where and when I wanted to, getting to and from Bikram classes was severely impacted. Sound - get over and get on with it! So the key question is; did my sub-quest to stay off alcohol continue, all other factors notwithstanding? Táim bródúil a rá go n'eirigh mé as an ól go dtí an séú lá deag mí Nollag. Mí in iomlán gan ól. I relinquished alcohol control and celebrated it at the Rubberbandits cósúir Nollag in the Button Factory. Má raibh tú i láthair - you know what an amazing, electri-fying gig that was. So carried away with the mothúcáin was I, that at one point, I discreetly wriggled and removed my bra and threw it onstage to see it proudly worn by DJ Willie O'Dea. Scór!! What wasn't funny, was the morning after. Íosa Chríost - was I sick as a dog. Not only was I physically sick - that familiar tem-porary downward mood descended around me. While even only temporary - it begged the question - was it worth it? I mo thuairim - nílim cinnte. Tar éis mí ina chaith mé ceann soléir, ní féidir liom neamhaird a dhéanamh faoi na buntáistí; bhí fuinnimh agam, bhí smaointe nua agam, bhí dearcadh dearfach ginearálta ionam agus le daoine eile AGUS bhí neart craic agam chomh maith. Cea-

of things I've gotten up to on the wagon but measaim de bhárr an atmosféar ag an Rubberbandits gig, I would have done the bra-throwing sober chomh maith. Regardless - all of the previous buntáistí far outweigh booze i m'intinn. Ní dóigh liom go mbeidh mé mar some 'Straight Edge' type, but seriously loving this sober craic.

consecutive days of yoga (but I will take up that baton again), it's spéisiúl that in my quest, I found another buzz; booze free me! And I likes it!

*Wince*

signed up for a 30-day Bikram yoga challenge. Na smaointí of excessively sweating it out, for an hour and and a half everyday for 30 days, causes people to recoil in imagined pain. Ní hea mise, ní hea anois. Tar éis ceithre lá, and already the knock

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures performed in a room of at least 30 degrees, and may also be refered to as ʻHot Yogaʼ

greater stretching is achieved. Tar éis blianta of cycling, running, walking and so on, I had always paid poor homage to stretching until dʼfhulaing mé díobhálacha like hamstring injuries. An chuid is mó scanrúil, I awoke one morning last year with a completely numb left arm; ansin fuair mé an teachtaireacht.

challenge, was more holistic. Go dtí bliain go leith ó shin, I was the rubber-arm girl. Rubber-arm.com. Nearly always the last one to leave a session, a club, wherever there was music, people, craic - Bhí bród orm an suaitheantas sin a chasadh! However, as I get older, agus dúisigh mé ó lá go lá with no distractions like a Monday-Friday 9-5 job, the effects of such abuse are more apparent. The mental and emotional cracks can be crippling; cuireann sé as dom. Itʼs not just Tuesday blues, itʼs practically an tseachtain go léir. No matter how much I try to assign the blame on other factors, tá sé slapping dom ar mo aghaidh go crua, that even though I can still hold my own, the aftermath is not worth it anymore. You know, tá saol ró-ghearr agus ró-mhaith, to be spent licking the wounds caused by alcoholic lashings. And so, in the quest to make a concerted effort to pull back from drinking, Iʼve signed up for Bikram to keep me ar an mbothar díreach. Gig-going and exhibition attending are the things which give me áthas in this life but are invariably intertwined with social drinking. The Bikram challenge gives me an interim leithscéal to exclude me from drinking or leaving a session earlier; until I have the misneach to stand my ground and emphatically decline alcohol for no other reason that I just-donʼt-want-to. Fanaigí tuned!

Creidim go bhfuil téim an eagrán seo faoi gheall 'thrifty' - shílim gan doubt, níl aon bealach níos fearr chun an téim seo chun cur i bheidhm ná gan alcohol. Like so many people, I'm currently díf-hostaithe, and my sabbatical pot of gold has dwindled evermore over the last few months. However, it has been conserved through alcohol abstinence. The beauty of the cúlú, is that cairde are ok with foregoing the Irish tradition of 'rounds'. In fact, it is disturb-ing to think of how much airgead I would have spent on a fairly tame night out, not to mind a wild one! And I was never a big

of people drinking in the home, prior to heading to a venue, to try and save on money. This never really worked for me. An fhírinne, it loosened the grip on the clasp, while ag an am chéana, greased

Mar shampla - tar éis seisúin beag i dteach chara roimh an gig/pub;'Tógfaimid taxi - táim ró-leithscúil (nó meithscúil) chun súil go dtí an ionad' - 10 yoyos kerching! 'Cad a ólfaimid? Dhá whiskeys and ginger ale?' - 15 yoyos - kerch-ing! 'It's my round, no no, I insist - same again?' 15 yoyos eile - kerch-ing! Before long - the dochar is déanta..and you peruse your online banking in horror the following day.

Yup - the merits of not drinking alcohol are not only healthy for the mind and body, but for the bank balance. My overall crusade was put to the test on New Year's Eve when I attended my cousin's wedding at home in West Cork. Family weddings are proper knees-up affairs and I told myself that I would approach it as how I felt best like doing on the day. Deep down, I was prepared to renege on my geallta to my myself, and be ceart go leor with whatever happened. It's aisteach, chonaic mé an athrú ól ar an slua uair by uair, and I wondered if I would last until mean oíche. Ionach orm, I did! By Christ I was out on the

with the best of them, and loved it! Best of all, when the bride was to throw the bouquet - I strategi-cally slipped in behind all the young wans, quickly guaged how far I reckoned Sinead would throw the bouquet and positioned myself accordingly. Need I tell the torthaí to you? Yep - and I did a

of relatives that suspect that I'll end up 'on the shelf'. Is mí cúin é, an mí Eanair -so tá an t-adh agam faoi láthair. Tá beagnach gach duine banc briste tar éis an Nollaig, agus tá faic ar súil ag an am chéana. FYI - I went back to Bikram this week and am loving it. It's not cheap as a pursuit; but as value for money, mind and body, I'm gladly foregoing pints, shots, glass and bottle in ionad. Go dtí an mí seo chugainn, bígí ag léamh Le Hip du Hop, tabhair aire agus go Dé sibh slán!

Blianta ó shin, thosaigh mé an leabhar a bhfuil clú agus cáil ar, d'arb ainm é 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' ón scríbhne-oir Stephen R. Covey. Ach cósúil leis an cuid is mó do dhaoine eile,

I knew what their messages were and thus didn't need to read the book to tell me what I knew I should already be doing. However, the réamhrá itself was enlightening. In it, Covey discussed how his book research took him through over 200 years of success literature with which he noticed a surprising pattern emerge from its content. Ar dtosach an chéad 150 bliain, bhí beagnách an litríocht in iomlán dírithe ar what he calls 'Character Ethic' as the foundation

courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty. Suimúil agus oirúinach gur rinne sé tagairt ar autobiography Benjamin Franklin mar shampla den scoth. However, in the past 50 years,

image consciousness or what he calls 'Personality Ethics'. Public image, attitudes, behaviours, communication techniques either or both through PR or PMA (positive mental attitude) exercises are lauded as ways to manipulate others to achieve your own end goals. The Character (and its ethics) is paid mere lip service. This insight reasonated with me when ag smaoineamh ar ár polaiteoirí agus an ár ionchais uathu. Mar shampla, cuireann sé isteach orm nuair a mbíonn jibes déanta about a politicians poor physical appearance, yet we reel in disgust when an annual hairdresser's bill is revealed. We pour over how a politician has performed in a debate, judging their communication skills as a measure of their potential political worthiness. Elections are being won and lost on PR battles; who is communicating the most effectively and how.

The current battle cry is a need for change - absolutely, but who and why? Can the general public articulate why a certain party would be better above another, aside from proferring the 'looks, talks and acts like they could be the leader of this country'? Do we pay enough attention to politicians' 'Character Ethics'? Are we looking long enough at the core values and traits of our political representatives and asking - 'is this a good person, who honestly cares about this country, our area and its future?'.

Nuair a bhí mé ag fás aníos, bhí mo chéad cuimhní cinn polaitiúil ná de Garret Fitzgerald. Nílim mar ball d'aon páirtí polaitúil ach ba chóir orm a rá - i mo thuairim agus mo thuiscint ar; ba dhuine cliste, tuisceanach é, and forward-thinking, who still continues to provide interesting political insights and suggestions. Tá fhios agam gurb páiste mé ag an am sin, but I intrinsically believed and trusted him and how he steered this country. From image and communication perspectives, he was more like a bumbling academic - how would he have been perceived in the spinning personality politics of today? It goes without saying, this election will be a truly interesting one. How and why people vote, who gets elected, and will their

country believe in itself once more. I know I want the truly 'best' party to succeed. Gan amhras, táim dóchasach go mbeidh an bua ag an páirtí agus na polaiteoirí is fíor fearr.

an eachtra na héireannNiamh Ní Shúilleabháin

I

thanks honey“

“

,

carving up gingerly a slab of meat, which hours ago her bearded partner wrestled ferociously with in the depths of the surround-ing forest. Hands still bloodied from the kill and with several of

gives his wife a tender kiss alongside a “thanks, honey” for the lovely meal or whether Cavewoman thanks her man for provid-

thank each other in their own, silent way.

words share a root, stemming from the Proto Indo-European

fact which matches up nicely with the intuition that gratitude should be considered rather than automatic. It is no wonder that in Stone Age times, where food, shelter and sex were the hallmarks of successful existence, thinking and thanking were relegated to a common sentience. While thinking about thanking is a sign of evolutionary progress, not thinking about

thanking is synonymous with the language of service transac-tion, which constitutes a process more sophisticated than the simple bartering of one good for another. Take a bog standard

arrives late and takes me in to town. I alight and thank the bus driver. As I pass the gates of Trinity College, a religious enthusi-ast thrusts upon me a medallion of the Virgin Mary, which she claims will protect me from everything the world may throw at me, excepting medallions themselves it seems. I thank her with a smile and hurry on. I am groggy and so I head straight to Butlers Chocolate Café, where I order a caramel machiato ‘to go’. I thank the man at the till as I hand him over my money. Without thinking, I have given thanks for a tardy service for which a driver earns his keep, for an item I would rather be without and for due receipt of a steaming cup for which I have paid ready money.

But why? A 2007 study into cross-cultural service exchanges argues that “the use of thanks in closing conversations …

a common frame of reference and a shared satisfactory role-relationship.” In other words, perhaps what I mean to say is “I

gratuitous items to passers-by” and “I value my cup of sweet warmth and your pleasant demeanour, even if provision of both forms part of your job description”.

Uttering thanks may have become automatic but feeling

ultimately more meaningful. A child can be forced to say “thank you” for the cotton socks its Great Auntie has bestowed upon

uttering thanks and being grateful. Indeed, true gratitude is -

ing gratitude to American service men and women, which has registered over two and a half million hits, describes some of the problems, which accompany the attempt to express true gratitude. One of the most common is the feeling of awkward-ness. How do you tell somebody you have never met how grate-ful you are for their actions? How do you tell somebody you see every day how much they mean to you?

Perhaps it’s about showing and not telling. Like love and hope -

body with a look, a hug, a card, a surprise and watch the warm feeling break across their face. It is nobler to thank than to be

of being appreciated. -

ganic turkey that Marigold’s high-powered legal job has helped provide and Hannah Montana occupies the kids in the back-ground, perhaps it will be a silent, prehistoric glance between man and wife and not a glass-tipping dedication to America that will express true thanks. “To Silent Gratitude”.

The Science of ThanksWords Kate Ferguson Illustraion Jessica Tobin

Thanks to the aimsir, my triocha-lá Bikram buzz was stopped in its tracks. For the past trí seachtaine, I took up a post lánaim-seartha with a fashion retailer working on their Press Day for Spring/Summer 2011. As well as being in situe from Monday to Friday from 10-6 (agus roimh agus i ndiaidh where necessary), my mode of transport was restricted to Dublin Bus. Coupled with the droch-aimsir and the lack of rothar freedom to be where and when I wanted to, getting to and from Bikram classes was severely impacted. Sound - get over and get on with it! So the key question is; did my sub-quest to stay off alcohol continue, all other factors notwithstanding? Táim bródúil a rá go n'eirigh mé as an ól go dtí an séú lá deag mí Nollag. Mí in iomlán gan ól. I relinquished alcohol control and celebrated it at the Rubberbandits cósúir Nollag in the Button Factory. Má raibh tú i láthair - you know what an amazing, electri-fying gig that was. So carried away with the mothúcáin was I, that at one point, I discreetly wriggled and removed my bra and threw it onstage to see it proudly worn by DJ Willie O'Dea. Scór!! What wasn't funny, was the morning after. Íosa Chríost - was I sick as a dog. Not only was I physically sick - that familiar tem-porary downward mood descended around me. While even only temporary - it begged the question - was it worth it? I mo thuairim - nílim cinnte. Tar éis mí ina chaith mé ceann soléir, ní féidir liom neamhaird a dhéanamh faoi na buntáistí; bhí fuinnimh agam, bhí smaointe nua agam, bhí dearcadh dearfach ginearálta ionam agus le daoine eile AGUS bhí neart craic agam chomh maith. Cea-

of things I've gotten up to on the wagon but measaim de bhárr an atmosféar ag an Rubberbandits gig, I would have done the bra-throwing sober chomh maith. Regardless - all of the previous buntáistí far outweigh booze i m'intinn. Ní dóigh liom go mbeidh mé mar some 'Straight Edge' type, but seriously loving this sober craic.

consecutive days of yoga (but I will take up that baton again), it's spéisiúl that in my quest, I found another buzz; booze free me! And I likes it!

*Wince*

signed up for a 30-day Bikram yoga challenge. Na smaointí of excessively sweating it out, for an hour and and a half everyday for 30 days, causes people to recoil in imagined pain. Ní hea mise, ní hea anois. Tar éis ceithre lá, and already the knock

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures performed in a room of at least 30 degrees, and may also be refered to as ʻHot Yogaʼ

greater stretching is achieved. Tar éis blianta of cycling, running, walking and so on, I had always paid poor homage to stretching until dʼfhulaing mé díobhálacha like hamstring injuries. An chuid is mó scanrúil, I awoke one morning last year with a completely numb left arm; ansin fuair mé an teachtaireacht.

challenge, was more holistic. Go dtí bliain go leith ó shin, I was the rubber-arm girl. Rubber-arm.com. Nearly always the last one to leave a session, a club, wherever there was music, people, craic - Bhí bród orm an suaitheantas sin a chasadh! However, as I get older, agus dúisigh mé ó lá go lá with no distractions like a Monday-Friday 9-5 job, the effects of such abuse are more apparent. The mental and emotional cracks can be crippling; cuireann sé as dom. Itʼs not just Tuesday blues, itʼs practically an tseachtain go léir. No matter how much I try to assign the blame on other factors, tá sé slapping dom ar mo aghaidh go crua, that even though I can still hold my own, the aftermath is not worth it anymore. You know, tá saol ró-ghearr agus ró-mhaith, to be spent licking the wounds caused by alcoholic lashings. And so, in the quest to make a concerted effort to pull back from drinking, Iʼve signed up for Bikram to keep me ar an mbothar díreach. Gig-going and exhibition attending are the things which give me áthas in this life but are invariably intertwined with social drinking. The Bikram challenge gives me an interim leithscéal to exclude me from drinking or leaving a session earlier; until I have the misneach to stand my ground and emphatically decline alcohol for no other reason that I just-donʼt-want-to. Fanaigí tuned!

Creidim go bhfuil téim an eagrán seo faoi gheall 'thrifty' - shílim gan doubt, níl aon bealach níos fearr chun an téim seo chun cur i bheidhm ná gan alcohol. Like so many people, I'm currently díf-hostaithe, and my sabbatical pot of gold has dwindled evermore over the last few months. However, it has been conserved through alcohol abstinence. The beauty of the cúlú, is that cairde are ok with foregoing the Irish tradition of 'rounds'. In fact, it is disturb-ing to think of how much airgead I would have spent on a fairly tame night out, not to mind a wild one! And I was never a big

of people drinking in the home, prior to heading to a venue, to try and save on money. This never really worked for me. An fhírinne, it loosened the grip on the clasp, while ag an am chéana, greased

Mar shampla - tar éis seisúin beag i dteach chara roimh an gig/pub;'Tógfaimid taxi - táim ró-leithscúil (nó meithscúil) chun súil go dtí an ionad' - 10 yoyos kerching! 'Cad a ólfaimid? Dhá whiskeys and ginger ale?' - 15 yoyos - kerch-ing! 'It's my round, no no, I insist - same again?' 15 yoyos eile - kerch-ing! Before long - the dochar is déanta..and you peruse your online banking in horror the following day.

Yup - the merits of not drinking alcohol are not only healthy for the mind and body, but for the bank balance. My overall crusade was put to the test on New Year's Eve when I attended my cousin's wedding at home in West Cork. Family weddings are proper knees-up affairs and I told myself that I would approach it as how I felt best like doing on the day. Deep down, I was prepared to renege on my geallta to my myself, and be ceart go leor with whatever happened. It's aisteach, chonaic mé an athrú ól ar an slua uair by uair, and I wondered if I would last until mean oíche. Ionach orm, I did! By Christ I was out on the

with the best of them, and loved it! Best of all, when the bride was to throw the bouquet - I strategi-cally slipped in behind all the young wans, quickly guaged how far I reckoned Sinead would throw the bouquet and positioned myself accordingly. Need I tell the torthaí to you? Yep - and I did a

of relatives that suspect that I'll end up 'on the shelf'. Is mí cúin é, an mí Eanair -so tá an t-adh agam faoi láthair. Tá beagnach gach duine banc briste tar éis an Nollaig, agus tá faic ar súil ag an am chéana. FYI - I went back to Bikram this week and am loving it. It's not cheap as a pursuit; but as value for money, mind and body, I'm gladly foregoing pints, shots, glass and bottle in ionad. Go dtí an mí seo chugainn, bígí ag léamh Le Hip du Hop, tabhair aire agus go Dé sibh slán!

Blianta ó shin, thosaigh mé an leabhar a bhfuil clú agus cáil ar, d'arb ainm é 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' ón scríbhne-oir Stephen R. Covey. Ach cósúil leis an cuid is mó do dhaoine eile,

I knew what their messages were and thus didn't need to read the book to tell me what I knew I should already be doing. However, the réamhrá itself was enlightening. In it, Covey discussed how his book research took him through over 200 years of success literature with which he noticed a surprising pattern emerge from its content. Ar dtosach an chéad 150 bliain, bhí beagnách an litríocht in iomlán dírithe ar what he calls 'Character Ethic' as the foundation

courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty. Suimúil agus oirúinach gur rinne sé tagairt ar autobiography Benjamin Franklin mar shampla den scoth. However, in the past 50 years,

image consciousness or what he calls 'Personality Ethics'. Public image, attitudes, behaviours, communication techniques either or both through PR or PMA (positive mental attitude) exercises are lauded as ways to manipulate others to achieve your own end goals. The Character (and its ethics) is paid mere lip service. This insight reasonated with me when ag smaoineamh ar ár polaiteoirí agus an ár ionchais uathu. Mar shampla, cuireann sé isteach orm nuair a mbíonn jibes déanta about a politicians poor physical appearance, yet we reel in disgust when an annual hairdresser's bill is revealed. We pour over how a politician has performed in a debate, judging their communication skills as a measure of their potential political worthiness. Elections are being won and lost on PR battles; who is communicating the most effectively and how.

The current battle cry is a need for change - absolutely, but who and why? Can the general public articulate why a certain party would be better above another, aside from proferring the 'looks, talks and acts like they could be the leader of this country'? Do we pay enough attention to politicians' 'Character Ethics'? Are we looking long enough at the core values and traits of our political representatives and asking - 'is this a good person, who honestly cares about this country, our area and its future?'.

Nuair a bhí mé ag fás aníos, bhí mo chéad cuimhní cinn polaitiúil ná de Garret Fitzgerald. Nílim mar ball d'aon páirtí polaitúil ach ba chóir orm a rá - i mo thuairim agus mo thuiscint ar; ba dhuine cliste, tuisceanach é, and forward-thinking, who still continues to provide interesting political insights and suggestions. Tá fhios agam gurb páiste mé ag an am sin, but I intrinsically believed and trusted him and how he steered this country. From image and communication perspectives, he was more like a bumbling academic - how would he have been perceived in the spinning personality politics of today? It goes without saying, this election will be a truly interesting one. How and why people vote, who gets elected, and will their

country believe in itself once more. I know I want the truly 'best' party to succeed. Gan amhras, táim dóchasach go mbeidh an bua ag an páirtí agus na polaiteoirí is fíor fearr.

an eachtra na héireannNiamh Ní Shúilleabháin

ALL THATGLISTENS

IS NOTGOLD

Dún Laoghaire bay glistened pale blue and brilliant white. On my way there, on board the 46A bus, a schoolgirl sat next to me eat-ing salt and vinegar crisps for breakfast. She was small enough, with wavy brown hair and a chequered uniform. When the bus pulled into Dún Laoghaire, I avoided gripping the point on the pole where she had smeared her

-ment in the yacht club so I found a café and bought myself a hot chocolate. I felt as if I were back in London being an early-riser cosmopolitan-type enjoying the sunshine with strict purpose. I took out some books and a notepad with the intention of planning the class I was to teach later on.Next to me two ladies sat down opposite each other. Fortyish – the two of them – I

blackish-grey-haired and had that bowl-cut hairstyle known from childhood. She had an intense look on her face and told her friend

their drinks and what they talked about was

spent her life not allowing anybody see her cry and this had to stop. She resolved to cry in front of friends and family. Her friend, or therapist nodded and added “You need to change, Margaret”.Time up and I had to tear myself away from the scene. All kinds of backgrounds to it had danced around my head- was this an expo-

who had a fear of drinking from dirty vessels

shared by the general public? Or perhaps the dialogue represented no more than an unbal-anced friendship. Or perhaps a marital crisis.I came out of the yacht cub two hours later the honorary editor of a new website called www.writing.ie and smiled when I realised that there may be a genetic component to holding such a title: my father has been

Irish Sword, for years.I was too timid to ask to use the facilities in the yacht club and so I went in search of a bathroom in the village. I was striding down

-Donalds when an elderly man startled me. He came from nowhere and barred my path. I swerved apprehensively.“Excuse me, love”, he said. “Do you know where I can get a box of sweets around here?”An extraordinary request, I thought and all that popped into my head was: “I don’t know. I’m sorry, but I am new to the area”.My mind was still bouncing with ideas from my meeting in the yacht club but my bladder was speaking with a singular urgency. I con-

centre and emerged, relieved.On my way out, I passed a gaudy ‘Cash for Gold’ store. Inside, the salesperson was

him was parked a large wheelchair where a young man lay on his side, paralysed. His

Photo Paul Railton Words Kate Ferguson

A collection of Editorial Design from lehipduhop Magazine

2010 -11

Paul RailtonFlat 2, 57 Percy Park Road, Tynemouth, NE30 4LHpaul@lehipduhop.com@paul_railton07588250550