I actually began this post thinking that it would be about anything, anything, other than coincidence. I was scrabbling around for a subject. Maybe books I'm set to read, like the latest Paul Charles' book 'The Lonesome Heart is Angry' (which carries the legendary blurb about his earlier book 'The Last Dance': 'Romeo and Juliet to the sound of the Hucklebuck' - Martin McGinley). Or 'The Origins of the Irish' by J. P. Mallory, picked up in Monaghan at the bargain basement price of €28.55 and which begins with the striking line, "After a night that could not have been entirely pillow talk, Cairenn, the mother of Niall, carried within herself a fertilised egg weighing about 0.000005 grammes." Or 'Seaweed Memories: In the jaws of the sea', by Heinrich Becker ('A jewel of a collection' - Irish Times). Or, finally, 'Now and in time to be', by Thomas Keneally, which I given the loan of yesterday on a visit to friends ('If you read only one book on Ireland, make sure it is this one' - Belfast Telegraph.)
Then, of course, I remembered that this book, 'Now and in time to be', was itself the subject of a remarkable coincidence (no!). Kathleen was reading the book during a visit to Glencolumbkille several years ago, and was in the phone box opposite Biddy's chatting about it to Rik. Who comes round the corner, followed by a film crew? Thomas Keneally. Who lives in Australia.
I rest my case.
(Yes, nothing more on coincidences - ed.)
