Lizzy – from ‘The Life and Times of Lizzy Redmond’
If you’ve read my ‘A’ post, you’ll know that last year’s AtoZ was all about Lizzy Redmond. These days she’s a regular feature in a local newspaper in Dublin and she has her own blog here on this site.
She prefers to speak for herself so click here for an introduction to her 🙂
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Kev – from ‘Singing the Blues’
To be ‘Kev the Karaoke King’ was not Kevin Doyle’s ultimate dream. What he really wanted was to host a game show on British TV; because let’s face it, it doesn’t get any bigger than that. His dream was to present Family Fortunes and in time, Celebrity Family Fortunes; but sadly it was not to be.
In his early 20s he did a few years on the cabaret scene in Blackpool. He made it once Granada Television, but just as an audience member in a recording of the ‘Criss Cross Quiz’.
He eventually ran out of work and money, and so he came home to Ireland. But his timing was good and it was just when Karaoke was starting to take off here. He got into it quickly. He borrowed (more) money from his mother and went from strength to strength. Even now when Karaoke is a bit ‘last season’, Kev manages to keep busy and gets most of what little Karaoke work there is out there.
He has even managed to pay his mother back in full.
Kev takes karaoke very seriously; problem is, in this story he’s about the only one who does.
You’ll find Kev in ‘Singing the Blues’ from ‘The Long & The Short of it’
John – from The Disappearance of Bernie Francis
John Francis was always spotlessly clean. It was what his wife liked about him first when she met him. The guys he hung out with were a bit scruffy. In the pub after the football match they’d look like they hadn’t bothered to shower or even brush their hair. John Francis always looked like he was ready to go to a wedding.
Maybe that’s all there was between them. She loved his clean nails and he loved the attention; but after they married and had their first child, that attention turned solely to her children. Over the years John just faded into the background and he put up no argument to that.
He noticed that the child who gave most trouble was the child who received most attention from his wife. He knew he should do something about it but he buried his head and ignored the guilt.
When I thought of him as a character first I had a modern day Mr Bennett (Pride & Prejudice) in mind.
When John’s daughter Bernie goes missing, his wife’s devotion to her turns to obsession and soon there is no one else in the world other than Bernie Francis; to his wife at least. At first to John, the absence of Bernie is a relief and he secretly hopes she is gone for good. Another weight of guilt he pushes aside.
He is glad that no one in the family knows what happened between him and Bernie when they fought. Not because he is ashamed of himself, but because he is embarrassed that he did not prevail.
When the story ends there is grief mixed with relief. But John Francis will always be pushing guilt around his heart and head like heavy luggage moved from hand to hand in the hope that, even for a moment it will feel lighter.
You’ll find John in ‘The Disappearance of Bernie Francis’ from ‘The Long & The Short of it’
Iris – from The Life and Times of Lizzy Redmond
Iris is Lizzy Redmond’s best friend. Lizzy was the subject of my AtoZ last year. She is now a regular feature in a local newspaper in Dublin and tells her story on her own blog on this website.
Lizzy knows Iris better than everyone so…Â I’m going to let her tell you all about her.
Click here to let Lizzy take it away… 🙂
Hannah – from ‘Lost and Found’
Hannah is a teenager. Mono-syllabic, head down, phone constantly buzzing, hair-straighteners always plugged in, plenty of eye-rolling.
There’s been a lot of sadness in her few years and in her own way she grieves the loss of her brother and her father.
Hannah has that ‘iceberg’ thing going on. There’s a lot more happening under the surface than we see above it. She hides it well but she is frightened about the future of her family and confused about how she should react to her parents inability to have a conversation without arguing.
It’s one of those usually benign annoyances of life, that opens up a door for change. It might not look like Hannah is watching how things are unfolding, but she is…
You’ll find Hannah in ‘Lost and Found’ from ‘The Long & The Short of it’
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