Chris Ó Conghaile
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mccustard.bsky.social
Chris Ó Conghaile
@mccustard.bsky.social
85 followers 50 following 46 posts
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.
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mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
Today's walk in the December sunshine. 2025 has just 1 day left. May it be a peaceful one.
The Stena ferry leaves Cainryan on its way to Cairnryan. Calm, smooth water in the loch made it a perfect day to make the trip. Tiny Christmas trees. The wood is full of them. A white cottage is almost hidden by wintry trees. There's a wee burn to the bottom right of the picture.
December 30, 2025 at 6:07 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
Roe deer today in Kirkcolm, North Rhins. She's keeping an eye on me even though we're on opposite sides of the burn.
A deer in a field, chewing some grass while looking in my direction.
December 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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.
Our old bookshop. Sign by street artist Coloquix.
December 28, 2025 at 6:04 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
The wreck of the Monreith, Dhoon Bay.
The Bay framed by trees and folaige. In the middle of the photo - only just visible even to people with perfect eyesight - are the bones of the Monreith, a schooner that ran aground in 1900 and has been slowly decaying ever since. That's better! A close up of the Monreith, looking like the upside remains of a dinosaur. But don't go too close. There's quicksand all around.
December 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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.
The domino players, painted by Horace Pippin. 3 women are seated at the table, having a game, while another is doing some sewing. There's a warm stove glowing on the right of the scene.
December 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
Silhouettes in Kirkcudbright today.
Picture taken from the east side of the River Dee, up a grassy bank, into the sunshine. Trees and buildings, including Maclellan's Castle, are silhouetted against the sky.
December 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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.
A boat turned into a flower garden. It's painted red on the outside, white on the inside and its name is The Clayholer. Lots of cherry blossom by the A75, the entry into Stranraer from the East. Looking out of a window at house roofs and a bit of treetop in Stranraer Castle. The toon. Old shops in the foreground, hills, Loch Ryan and a blue sky beyond. I can't lie. The weather isn't always like this.
December 23, 2025 at 12:52 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
Kirkmaiden churchyard in today's December sunshine. There's a touch of sea in the picture if you look closely.
Shadows in the foreground. A leafless bush to the left, 17th century kirk on the right, gravestones and a blue sky.
December 19, 2025 at 3:36 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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.
Me - old geezer wearing glasses & a hat - with my tabby cat. Her claws are in a soft blanket because she's making biscuits.
December 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
Killantringan Bay, South Rhins, Scotland.
Grazing sheep in front of a sign that reads LITTER - TAK IT HAME. The sea lies beyond, with a headland visible in the top right of the picture.
December 15, 2025 at 9:40 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
A wee part of Torhouse Stone Circle, Wigtownshire, Scotland, in rare winter sunshine.
Sun shining on standing stones.
December 15, 2025 at 9:36 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
Ian is my first follower & followee. What a guy!
December 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM
mccustard.bsky.social
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.
The famous, much-missed sycamore tree by Hadrian's Wall, pictured against a blue sky with wispy clouds.
December 14, 2025 at 7:50 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
It's my birthday, the sun's been shining & I made friends with a couple of donkeys. Life doesnae get much better than that.
Meeting two donkeys; a white one and a grey one in their field.
December 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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.
Pot plants around the door leading to a pretty close. The outside walls are painted white, with light blue facings. A sign reads EA Taylor and Jessie M King lived & worked in this house,
December 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
I'm 69 this week. Would never have made it this far without my beloved.
A smiling woman, wearing blue dangly earrings, in a railway museum.
December 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
mccustard.bsky.social
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
mccustard.bsky.social
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