Thought for the day
‘Fancy a thrashing?’ are often the first words the family ask me in the morning. They are referring to Malefiz, a German board game. Gabriel Byrne in ‘In Treatment’ might wonder if this was a safe forum for us to play out competitive feelings. The boys like the teams to have names, and the ones they favour are things like ‘The Phoenician Pirates’ or the ‘Roman Army’. I prefer my team to be a bit more obviously underdog, so the glory is greater when I triumph. My team is more likely to be the ‘Separatist Feminists’ or the ‘Camisards’. If the boys start winning they shout out things like ‘Ah, the Irish are being crushed!’ This is an insult aimed directly at me.
On the subject of the Irish, I once had a terrible phone call. It must have been fifteen years ago. I had made a mosaic for the entrance to the US embassy in London. It was to commemorate the Commander in Chief of Naval Forces Europe (which is a long title to make in marble). Vic Menozzi rang me up. He said ‘They’ve come and had a look Emma, and there’s a bit of a problem.’ As you might imagine, this was rather a heart sinking moment. He continued ‘ You know the map of Europe you made? Well, you’ve left out Ireland.’ My father is Irish, my mother is half Irish. How could that possibly have happened?
Leave a Comment