Author Archives: alisomnia

The subterranean termite is a social, wood-devouring insect, invasive, destructive and below my cabin. And dead. Discovered about a month ago, its whereabouts were unclear for some time and the suspicion that it had been tipped off and had defected to another location was proven to be false, as was the rumour that it wasContinue reading “My house has been mistaken for a tree”

So Dracula was Irish? I read it on the BBC website so it must be true! https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-51053870.If you thought he was Transylvanian, have a look. According to Bob Curran, a retired lecturer from Ulster University, Stoker was interested in Irish folklore, particularly a Celtic chieftain called Abhartach who is buried between Garvagh and Dungiven inContinue reading “The Daily Antinote Thought for the Day”

It is a sunny, early spring morning and I am reporting from an isolated gulf island somewhere in the wild west. With only the clothes on my back, a selection of musical instruments, my trusty Mac and two cats, your bold and adventuring Daily Ant reporter has been taken to the very edge of humanContinue reading “Report from the edge”

What to do today? Ah yes, finish putting the weatherstripping on the front door. I’ve been at it two days already but today could be The Big Day. I may even finish it.  I come from a culture where women generally didn’t do “those kinds of things”. Women did the cleaning, the cooking, the washing upContinue reading “A little knowledge”

Gabriola Island, British Columbia, to Sydney, New South Wales Australia on foot. We’ve all done it – well, perhaps not done it, but told Google Maps we wanted to do it. Haven’t we? Ok, maybe you’re not as barmy as I am. But I honestly did do this, and I know I am not theContinue reading “A short stroll before breakfast”

From deciding how much of your owner’s favourite potted plant you can get away with eating, to whether or not it’s acceptable to throw up furballs at the feet of royalty, being a cat is a minefield of tough decisions. In our guide to Eticatte, we cover some of the dilemmas facing the modern feline.Continue reading “Introduction to Eticatte Part I”

To the non-islander all of this may sound a bit unlikely. How can you lose so many things in such a small place? But it’s not just carelessness. It’s a process of attrition that occurs almost without our knowing it. We are biodegradable, or well – degradable anyway.  I had overlooked the ultimate end ofContinue reading “An Overnight Sensation”