Hidden in a French forest is a grove, dedicated to an ancient Celtic Goddess, cared for by two old crones, who are writing this blog on life in many different dimensions…..

Brighid's Ogham Grove
Brighid's Ogham Grove
@yangearthdog07dcc94eef@brighidsoghamgrove.com

Writer, historian, philosopher, environmentalist and lots more besides!

53 posts
10 followers
  • TALES OF LITTLE LORD BERNARD

    By Veronica Smith and her sisters Our brother Bernard liked to tell stories but, like the Irish Leprechauns, he could not tell the truth!  So, for the sake of those few honest people, who would like to hear the other side of Bernard’s fairy tales, here are eye-witness accounts by his three sisters, who were…

  • THE YEAR IS 1958 by Veronica Smith

    I was born in February 1958.  In fact, I was two weeks over-due and should have been Aquarius, born in the Chinese year of Yin Fire Rooster.  As Fate would have it, I arrived as Pisces, born in the new Chinese year of Yang Earth Dog!  My place of birth was Dublin, capital of the…

  • French Supermarkets versus Irish Supermarkets!

    When I moved to France in 2017, I knew that there would be a language difference. However, I also should have guessed that there would be differences in food as well! The Irish diet is largely based upon British Food, which is looked down upon by the French, who regard themselves as culinary superior! So,…

  • DEPRESSION-ERA PUMPKIN SCONES

    This recipe comes from the 1930s, between the two World Wars, at a time of economic depression.  It appears in my mother’s battered copy of the C.W.A. Cookery Book and Household Hints.  C.W.A. stands for the “Country Women’s Association of Australia”, where my parents grew up.  I have not converted the original quantities to modern…

  • OLD FASHIONED LEMON CURD RECIPE

    The instructions for this Lemon Curd have been adapted from a recipe, which is nearly 200 years old!  It makes no apology for using lots of real butter, sugar, eggs and lemons.  These were ingredients available to our ancestors.  The eggs would have come from the family hens and the butter would probably have been…

  • EXPENDABLE PAWNS: MY GRANDFATHER IN WORLD WAR ONE AND ITS AFTERMATH By Veronica Smith

    What do you do when there is a hell of a party going on and you are deemed too young to join in? You lie about your age, of course!  At least, that is what my maternal grandfather, Jack Morgan did in 1915.  Not only that, but he lied about his surname too!  Born John…

  • RECLAIMING SAMHAIN FROM THE CULT OF THE GROTESQUE By Veronica Smith

    Is anyone else disturbed by the negative spin put on the western festival that takes place at the end of October / beginning of November?  It seems that the “Cult of the Grotesque” has taken over, aided and abetted by commercially-driven media, selling ugly plastic products that pander to the darker side of the human…

  • CURSE OF THE CARER   By Veronica Smith

    (aka “Suzi the Robot”) Burn-out is a real issue for Care-Givers.  I know because I have cared for a succession of elderly relatives over the decades.  This is a 24/7, 365 days of the year job, with little or no time off.  Unlike nurses, care-assistants, catering and cleaning staff in a nursing home, Home Carers…

  • NOT ALL GREMLINS ARE BAD by Veronica Smith

    I wrote this story eleven years ago, when I was still living on the smallholding in Southern Ireland.  The events described are true.  Whether or not you accept my interpretation, is entirely up to you!  In November 2013, I attended a Holotropic Breathwork weekend at Dunderry Park (the Irish Centre for Shamanic Studies).  At home,…

  • BRAMBLE-BERRY PLANT LORE By Veronica Smith

    Every Celtic festival has at least one Sacred Plant linked to it. For Autumn Equinox, the Druids chose the BRAMBLE, with its Black Berries. In Shamanic traditions, Bramble is associated with Brigantia, Brighid, the Sidhe, various Harvest Goddesses and the Triple Goddess. Not surprisingly, Bramble’s element is water and gender is female. The Bramble flowers,…