I have lived through a whole lifetime of emotions in the last seven days -joy, helplessness, gratitude, guilt, relief, loneliness, deep sadness, not necessarily in that order.  
During those seven days my eight siblings and I sat by our mother’s bedside, taking turns to watch  over her and hold her hand, as she gradually slipped [...]

The Holy Communion and Confirmation season will soon be in full swing. A very special family day where three and sometimes four generations join together to celebrate the occasion. Grannies, grandpa’s, aunties, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and special friends all dressed to the nines and laden with presents congregate far and wide. [...]

Ann Mulligan has wanted to run a B&B in Ireland as long as she can remember.   As a child in Wenatchee in Washington State, she was surrounded by family who loved to cook.   Ann’s grandmother’s cooking was legendary and her dad was a chef for many years.  He too encouraged her to cook with stories [...]

On a recent trip to India we travelled right into the central province of Madhya Pradesh to try to catch a glimpse of the famous Bengali tiger before it disappears entirely.   It was quite a mission - A flight from Mumbai to Nagpur, followed by a two hour jeep drive to Baghvan, a cc Africa [...]

The perception of the city of Calcutta , or Kolkatta as it is now called, is changing fast. At last it is beginning to acquire an image other than that of destitute poor and the Black Hole of Calcutta.
The economic boom in India means that third world meets first world on every street, Mercs glide [...]