Chris Ó Conghaile
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mccustard.bsky.social
Chris Ó Conghaile
@mccustard.bsky.social
Retired welfare rights worker & bookseller. Now celebrating the things that make life worth living: love, peace, friendship, nature, art, music, sunshine, coffee, cake, dairy-free custard. &c.
Thank you to everyone who shared and/or liked my post yesterday. You're all wonderful and I'd thank you all personally if I had enough time, but there's a cat to fed on demand here.

Wish you all a great 2026 with lots of love and fun. X
December 31, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Today's walk in the December sunshine. 2025 has just 1 day left. May it be a peaceful one.
December 30, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Roe deer today in Kirkcolm, North Rhins. She's keeping an eye on me even though we're on opposite sides of the burn.
December 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The Besotted Wretch; bookshop, cafe & welfare rights advice, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, in January 2016. When the same 2 guys came back to try to rob us a second time we knew we'd probably be better off closing down. We worked more or less for nothing, but have no regrets. It was a dream fulfilled.
December 28, 2025 at 6:04 PM
The wreck of the Monreith, Dhoon Bay.
December 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Nothing but repeats on TV this evening, folks, so how about a game of dominoes instead? Confession: I'd never heard of artist Horace Pippin (1888 to 1946) till about 10 minutes ago but I love his work already.
December 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Silhouettes in Kirkcudbright today.
December 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Stranraer, also known as The Clayhole, or Cleyhole. It's a bonnie wee town, in which we happen to have a house for sale. £100K will do nicely so we can move to what's currently a holiday cottage near Kirkcoubrie. 0.1% discount for Bluesky friends, or 0.2% if pie & custard are included in the deal.
December 23, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Seasonal thoughts by Julian Baggini. Less cheerful than my usual posts but that's because I come here as an escape from all the bad stuff rather than wasting time preaching to the converted. In reality I agree with JB on pretty much everything he writes here.

www.julianbaggini.com/seeking-midw...
Seeking midwinter light
A better quest than the vain search for the true meaning of Christmas
www.julianbaggini.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Take some well-deserved time off with Glenn Gould & his seatless old chair performing - & humming along to - JS Bach's Goldberg Variations in 1981. This performance lasted 13 minutes longer than his 1955 recording, & IMO those 13 minutes make all the difference.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klqj...
J.S Bach - Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould (Fixed Unsynced Audio)
YouTube video by TF2 Starlight
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Forgot to mention that the football team I love, Wigtown & Bladnoch, won 2-0 on Wednesday. Their first win for 2 years meant that the Wigs (a) doubled their goals for the season (b) quadrupled their points tally & (c) climbed off the bottom of the table all in one evening. Fantastic!
December 20, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Kirkmaiden churchyard in today's December sunshine. There's a touch of sea in the picture if you look closely.
December 19, 2025 at 3:36 PM
It's been dreich again today but we're all cosy now. 3 days till the solstice & then we've got snowdrops to look out for.
December 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Give this ensemble a menu to look through, and see what happens. Extraordinary, and very lovely indeed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSh6...
Michael Praetorius - Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland - polyharmonique
YouTube video by polyharmonique
www.youtube.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Biographical note: I'm an atheist but I don't agree that the Devil has all the best tunes. Here's some wonderful Xmas music from the Baroque period to illustrate the point...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns4O...
Main-Barockorchester | Corelli: Concerto Grosso Op. 6 no. 8 "Christmas Concerto"
YouTube video by Main Barockorchester
www.youtube.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Killantringan Bay, South Rhins, Scotland.
December 15, 2025 at 9:40 PM
A wee part of Torhouse Stone Circle, Wigtownshire, Scotland, in rare winter sunshine.
December 15, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Ian is my first follower & followee. What a guy!
December 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Never knew it at the time but I was lucky to visit Sycamore Gap in 2019. 4 years later the famous tree was no longer there.
December 14, 2025 at 7:50 PM
It's my birthday, the sun's been shining & I made friends with a couple of donkeys. Life doesnae get much better than that.
December 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
44 High Street, Kirkcoubrie. EA Taylor & Jessie M King were artists & designers during the Art Nouveau period, and were instrumental in establishing the town as an artists' colony.
December 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
This wee film makes me want to go to Ireland again soon. The hopeless love of Patrick Kavanagh for young Hilda Moriarty. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G27W...
On Raglan Road - By Patrick Kavanagh
YouTube video by Patrick Thomas Howard
www.youtube.com
December 9, 2025 at 7:33 PM
I'm 69 this week. Would never have made it this far without my beloved.
December 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Be nice to reclaim the word "cynic", which wasn't supposed to mean "heartless scoundrel who gains an unfair advantage by cheating". To be cynical is to be sceptical of propaganda, grandeur & displays of false benevolence. Nothing wrong with that.
December 9, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Met a lovely person in the Machars today who went out of her way, in spite of not being great on her pins, to follow us & recommend a cafe & pub in the area. What a sweetheart.
December 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM