This is the question of the hour in my life right now. I’ve been absent from blogging for almost two months. Life is not always smooth like my favourite peanut butter. It’s the challenges thrown at us, that build us up and make us stronger. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that I try to find some sort of ‘sliver of silver’ in every situation. (Say that five times quickly).

My family was faced with a traumatic situation in March of this year, which we made public, as it elicited help from the greater community as well as An Garda Siochana (The Irish Police Department). The overwhelming response from family, friends and strangers was incredible. Tears were shed, leg muscles were flexed, brains were tested, and sleep was deprived. While there is still no ideal outcome to report, nobody died, and everyone is safe. The local police department was beyond helpful. My family is truly grateful to them, and for the incredible support, compassion and concern from everyone around the world. Thank you.

But where are those slivers of silver you mentioned Orla? Well, life is nudging me to push forward. As Forrest Gump once said “Keep on keepin’ on”.

Well, I’m blessed to still be able to chase after a little black rubber ball in the confinements of four white walls. A far cry from the confinements of a psychiatric ward in years gone by, although there are stark similarities. Sterile white walls with odd looking black marks, loud bangs, strange grunts, and puzzled looks from passers-by. I’ll say no more.

The recovery after my neck surgery has been excellent, although I went from being 65 kilos to 75 kilos – obviously it’s the menopause… Or could it be the decrease in exercise and increase in calorie consumption in the form of Prosecco and jelly beans? Surely not!

My on-line writing group is often my saving grace in difficult times and I’m forever grateful for this tribe. Writing-wise, I am beavering away at editing my memoir. Alas, given the curveball thrown at me in March, I’m now revisiting the last few chapters. A wise woman once said “Everything for a reason”. Right?

Now for some big news. Last year, I collaborated with Val Troy from said writers group. We wrote a pilot episode of a comedy drama which was long-listed in the Female Pilot Club writing competition. This nod from a recognised entity encouraged us both to get busy and come up with some other ideas. All the while, Val was keen to try her hand at stand-up comedy. I had dabbled in stand-up comedy for about a year, pre-Covid and had some reasonable success, including a gig at Electric Picnic in 2018. I’ve made mention of my steely balls, and it seems these balls have rubbed off on Val. I’m not sure if she is enjoys it or not, but she has definitely been much more daring of late.

Let me explain. Both Val and I are contributors to the Funny Women Magazine, and after Val’s stand-up debut, we became aware of an opportunity to host the Dublin Live Chapter of the Funny Women Stand-Up Comedy show. 

‘Why not host it together?’ I suggested.

‘What could possibly go wrong?’ she replied.

So, we submitted our idea to Lynne Parker, founder of Funny Women UK, who agreed to a zoom call to discuss the parameters and criteria of hosting such an event.

‘It needn’t be a big event, not for the first one’, Lynne said.

‘We have a small venue, seating capacity 50 people’, Val assured Lynne it would be a nice cosy room, with a warm atmosphere.

And so, off we trotted to do some brainstorming. We were about to co-host a stand-up comedy show, and there was mention of a podcast in the works, so we would need a name for our duo.

Back and forth we went on WhatsApp. Hilarity ensued as we came up with some questionable ideas. We solicited suggestions from our writing group. ‘Busy Beavers’ was one of my favourites, but Val wasn’t having any of that for obvious reasons. Val and I are polar opposites. A former accountant, she is straight and married with three teenagers. And she loves spreadsheets. I’m a former squash teaching professional, am gay, twice divorced, and now living with my girlfriend and two teenagers. And I hate spreadsheets. We couldn’t be more different. And yet a bond was formed between us when I read Val’s short story about a woman battling it out with a pair of Spanx in a toilet at a wedding. It was meant to be.

We settled on the name ‘ChatterBoxx’ for a variety of reasons.

1. Val is FULL of the Chatter and I’m all about my Boxx, I suppose.

2. There are two X chromosomes indicating we are two women.

3. As if by chance, I am twice divorced – so two Ex’s. (I swear that wasn’t planned).

All fifty tickets sold out for the show within 7 hours. Far be it from us to settle, and we certainly don’t do things by halves, so we have secured the Main Stage at Whelans on Wexford Street – seating capacity is 250! (Ahem, it needn’t be a big event, Lynne said)

We are hoping for a sell-out show as we have an amazing line up including Emily Ashmore, Jessica Collins, Leigh Douglas, Claire Roche, Kate Feeney, and headliner Louise O’Toole. We’ve also convinced Barbara Scully, author of Wise Up! to join us on stage and read aloud a few of her hilarious excerpts which provide epic words of wisdom to us women.

Get your tickets for the show at Whelans here. Hope to see you there!

It feels good to be back on the page, albeit a simple diary entry, but I’m happy to be here again. Thank you for reading, and I promise there’ll be more regular antics coming your way!