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- About Me
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My Books
- Book List & Themes
- Strictly for Adults Novels >
-
Tales from Portlaw
>
- No Need to Look for Love
- 'The Love Quartet' >
-
The Priest's Calling Card
>
- Chapter One - The Irish Custom
- Chapter Two - Patrick Duffy's Family Background
- Chapter Three - Patrick Duffy Junior's Vocation to Priesthood
- Chapter Four - The first years of the priesthood
- Chapter Five - Father Patrick Duffy in Seattle
- Chapter Six - Father Patrick Duffy, Portlaw Priest
- Chapter Seven - Patrick Duffy Priest Power
- Chapter Eight - Patrick Duffy Groundless Gossip
- Chapter Nine - Monsignor Duffy of Portlaw
- Chapter Ten - The Portlaw Inheritance of Patrick Duffy
- Bigger and Better >
- The Oldest Woman in the World >
-
Sean and Sarah
>
- Chapter 1 - 'Return of the Prodigal Son'
- Chapter 2 - 'The early years of sweet innocence in Portlaw'
- Chapter 3 - 'The Separation'
- Chapter 4 - 'Separation and Betrayal'
- Chapter 5 - 'Portlaw to Manchester'
- Chapter 6 - 'Salford Choices'
- Chapter 7 - 'Life inside Prison'
- Chapter 8 - 'The Aylesbury Pilgrimage'
- Chapter 9 - Sean's interest in stone masonary'
- Chapter 10 - 'Sean's and Tony's Partnership'
- Chapter 11 - 'Return of the Prodigal Son'
- The Alternative Christmas Party >
-
The Life of Liam Lafferty
>
- Chapter One: ' Liam Lafferty is born'
- Chapter Two : 'The Baptism of Liam Lafferty'
- Chapter Three: 'The early years of Liam Lafferty'
- Chapter Four : Early Manhood
- Chapter Five : Ned's Secret Past
- Chapter Six : Courtship and Marriage
- Chapter Seven : Liam and Trish marry
- Chapter Eight : Farley meets Ned
- Chapter Nine : 'Ned comes clean to Farley'
- Chapter Ten : Tragedy hits the family
- Chapter Eleven : The future is brighter
-
The life and times of Joe Walsh
>
- Chapter One : 'The marriage of Margaret Mawd and Thomas Walsh’
- Chapter Two 'The birth of Joe Walsh'
- Chapter Three 'Marriage breakup and betrayal'
- Chapter Four: ' The Walsh family breakup'
- Chapter Five : ' Liverpool Lodgings'
- Chapter Six: ' Settled times are established and tested'
- Chapter Seven : 'Haworth is heaven is a place on earth'
- Chapter Eight: 'Coming out'
- Chapter Nine: Portlaw revenge
- Chapter Ten: ' The murder trial of Paddy Groggy'
- Chapter Eleven: 'New beginnings'
-
The Woman Who Hated Christmas
>
- Chapter One: 'The Christmas Enigma'
- Chapter Two: ' The Breakup of Beth's Family''
- Chapter Three: From Teenager to Adulthood.'
- Chapter Four: 'The Mills of West Yorkshire.'
- Chapter Five: 'Harrison Garner Showdown.'
- Chapter Six : 'The Christmas Dance'
- Chapter Seven : 'The ballot for Shop Steward.'
- Chapter Eight: ' Leaving the Mill'
- Chapter Ten: ' Beth buries her Ghosts'
- Chapter Eleven: Beth and Dermot start off married life in Galway.
- Chapter Twelve: The Twin Tragedy of Christmas, 1992.'
- Chapter Thirteen: 'The Christmas star returns'
- Chapter Fourteen: ' Beth's future in Portlaw'
-
The Last Dance
>
- Chapter One - ‘Nancy Swales becomes the Widow Swales’
- Chapter Two ‘The secret night life of Widow Swales’
- Chapter Three ‘Meeting Richard again’
- Chapter Four ‘Clancy’s Ballroom: March 1961’
- Chapter Five ‘The All Ireland Dancing Rounds’
- Chapter Six ‘James Mountford’
- Chapter Seven ‘The All Ireland Ballroom Latin American Dance Final.’
- Chapter Eight ‘The Final Arrives’
- Chapter Nine: 'Beth in Manchester.'
- 'Two Sisters' >
- Fourteen Days >
-
‘The Postman Always Knocks Twice’
>
- Author's Foreword
- Contents
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
-
Celebrity Contacts
-
Thoughts and Musings
- Bereavement >
- Nature >
-
Bill's Personal Development
>
- What I'd like to be remembered for
- Second Chances
- Roots
- Holidays of Old
- Memorable Moments of Mine
- Cleckheaton Consecration
- Canadian Loves
- Mum's Wisdom
- 'Early life at my Grandparents'
- Family Holidays
- 'Mother /Child Bond'
- Childhood Pain
- The Death of Lady
- 'Soldiering On'
- 'Romantic Holidays'
- 'On the roof'
- Always wear clean shoes
- 'Family Tree'
- The importance of poise
- 'Growing up with grandparents'
- Love & Romance >
- Christian Thoughts, Acts and Words >
- My Wedding
- My Funeral
- Audio Downloads
- My Singing Videos
- Bill's Blog
- Contact Me
Chapter Ten - ‘Mary Fanning: Waiting: January 2008’
Waiting in vain produces rust of the soul and brings a person nothing but bitter disappointment and a life of permanent regret.
All her life, 30-year-old Mary Fanning had waited to meet the man of her dreams. Even before her teens, Mary knew what type of man she wanted to marry and have a family with. She had often imagined the collision of their worlds as the two of them became romantically entangled in a love knot that would never be untied.
Mary would meet him, fall in love with him, marry him, and live happily forevermore, raising their family of seven. healthy children. The number of children she would bear had been prophesied in 1955 by a peg-selling Romany visiting her grandmother’s house in Portlaw; as had been her mother’s ‘specialness’ along with that of her own and the ‘specialness’ of her firstborn.
Mary Fanning had long ago decided what her ideal husband would be like; every detail of his character, dressed top to toe. She had been guided in how to discern the true character of a man through her mother’s wisdom and worldly guidance oft imparted to her.
Her mother had told her that he should be a man attentive to her every need. Their perfect match would negate all reason for a lengthy period of courtship before naming the big day. Because their meeting had been written in the stars long before either had been born, when they eventually met, there would be no need to wait a day longer to confirm what the stars had always known and fate had decreed.
Mary’s mother had advised her daughter not to care whether the man of her dreams was short or tall, stocky or slim, clean shaven or bearded, Catholic or Protestant.
“It doesn’t matter one iota, Mary,” she told her daughter one day, “so long as he is a man of kind disposition and gentle nature, and is honest, faithful, and truthful in all his dealings. It’s also an added bonus if he doesn’t demand his husbandly treats at inconvenient times of the month!”.
Mary imagined her ideal husband as being a hard worker who would support her and their children practically and emotionally; doing whatever was necessary to make them feel safe and secure in an often inconsiderate and uncaring world.
“The one thing that will reveal that he is not the man for you, Mary,” her mother would counsel, “is if he likes his drink too much! Always consider too much of a liking for the hard stuff to be an absolute deal breaker when picking a husband of lasting worth!”
Ever since childhood, Mary had dreamed of meeting such a man and marrying him when her time came. Despite having reached a maturity that made her frequently think of marriage; for such a man Mary was prepared to wait for as long as was necessary.
As Mary grew into an attractive young woman, young men in Clonmel could not watch her pass by without giving her a second glance. As she moved her body gracefully through their ranks, she stirred their loins and gave them all an extra sin of thought to confess when they next sought the penance of the confessional box.
Between her middle teens and into her early twenties, Mary Fanning blossomed as sweetly and as fragrantly as any flower could grow. As she began to fill out into full and shapely body, every eligible male in her neighbourhood stood proud to see her pass their way. The flower of Clonmel, she presented herself as a delicate bloom in a wild garden. The young men in her immediate neighbourhood could smell the nectar of her womanhood waiting to be pollinated and fertilised by the first mating drone to be granted access to her stigma.
Whenever her mother observed the admiration of her beautiful daughter by the young men of Clonmel, she would repeatedly warn her, “Never sell yourself short, Mary, by settling for less than the heavens have promised you and fate has decreed you deserve!”
All her life, 30-year-old Mary Fanning had waited to meet the man of her dreams. Even before her teens, Mary knew what type of man she wanted to marry and have a family with. She had often imagined the collision of their worlds as the two of them became romantically entangled in a love knot that would never be untied.
Mary would meet him, fall in love with him, marry him, and live happily forevermore, raising their family of seven. healthy children. The number of children she would bear had been prophesied in 1955 by a peg-selling Romany visiting her grandmother’s house in Portlaw; as had been her mother’s ‘specialness’ along with that of her own and the ‘specialness’ of her firstborn.
Mary Fanning had long ago decided what her ideal husband would be like; every detail of his character, dressed top to toe. She had been guided in how to discern the true character of a man through her mother’s wisdom and worldly guidance oft imparted to her.
Her mother had told her that he should be a man attentive to her every need. Their perfect match would negate all reason for a lengthy period of courtship before naming the big day. Because their meeting had been written in the stars long before either had been born, when they eventually met, there would be no need to wait a day longer to confirm what the stars had always known and fate had decreed.
Mary’s mother had advised her daughter not to care whether the man of her dreams was short or tall, stocky or slim, clean shaven or bearded, Catholic or Protestant.
“It doesn’t matter one iota, Mary,” she told her daughter one day, “so long as he is a man of kind disposition and gentle nature, and is honest, faithful, and truthful in all his dealings. It’s also an added bonus if he doesn’t demand his husbandly treats at inconvenient times of the month!”.
Mary imagined her ideal husband as being a hard worker who would support her and their children practically and emotionally; doing whatever was necessary to make them feel safe and secure in an often inconsiderate and uncaring world.
“The one thing that will reveal that he is not the man for you, Mary,” her mother would counsel, “is if he likes his drink too much! Always consider too much of a liking for the hard stuff to be an absolute deal breaker when picking a husband of lasting worth!”
Ever since childhood, Mary had dreamed of meeting such a man and marrying him when her time came. Despite having reached a maturity that made her frequently think of marriage; for such a man Mary was prepared to wait for as long as was necessary.
As Mary grew into an attractive young woman, young men in Clonmel could not watch her pass by without giving her a second glance. As she moved her body gracefully through their ranks, she stirred their loins and gave them all an extra sin of thought to confess when they next sought the penance of the confessional box.
Between her middle teens and into her early twenties, Mary Fanning blossomed as sweetly and as fragrantly as any flower could grow. As she began to fill out into full and shapely body, every eligible male in her neighbourhood stood proud to see her pass their way. The flower of Clonmel, she presented herself as a delicate bloom in a wild garden. The young men in her immediate neighbourhood could smell the nectar of her womanhood waiting to be pollinated and fertilised by the first mating drone to be granted access to her stigma.
Whenever her mother observed the admiration of her beautiful daughter by the young men of Clonmel, she would repeatedly warn her, “Never sell yourself short, Mary, by settling for less than the heavens have promised you and fate has decreed you deserve!”
~~~~~
Despite being born and baptised into the Roman Catholic faith, Mary’s mother, Mary Fanning (Nee Lanigan), preferred to follow the stars when seeking guidance, rather than blindly follow the word of the Pope as interpreted by the parish priest in his pulpit on Sunday mornings.
Astrology was the way of life that informed her general philosophy and shaped her prominent beliefs, although it was a practice that she never publicly declared to her husband, John Fanning, or the parish priest in the privacy of the confessional box.
To all intent and purpose, Mary Fanning was a good Catholic wife and mother who attended Mass on Sundays and Holy Feast Days, as well as taking Holy Communion and receiving Confession with a regularity that strongly suggested she would always stay true to the faith and never turn unfaithful or Protestant, whatever the temptation!
Even after her mother’s death, her firstborn could still hear her mother’s words of advice being whispered in her ears. It was the one message that her mother had frequently impressed upon her throughout her development from child into woman.
“Mary Fanning, don’t miss the boat, my girl. There are too many sorry travellers who let their ship pass them by in the night as it sneaked out of port. Whatever you do, Mary, do not to allow the opportunity of true love to pass you by, as it won’t come knocking twice!”
Astrology was the way of life that informed her general philosophy and shaped her prominent beliefs, although it was a practice that she never publicly declared to her husband, John Fanning, or the parish priest in the privacy of the confessional box.
To all intent and purpose, Mary Fanning was a good Catholic wife and mother who attended Mass on Sundays and Holy Feast Days, as well as taking Holy Communion and receiving Confession with a regularity that strongly suggested she would always stay true to the faith and never turn unfaithful or Protestant, whatever the temptation!
Even after her mother’s death, her firstborn could still hear her mother’s words of advice being whispered in her ears. It was the one message that her mother had frequently impressed upon her throughout her development from child into woman.
“Mary Fanning, don’t miss the boat, my girl. There are too many sorry travellers who let their ship pass them by in the night as it sneaked out of port. Whatever you do, Mary, do not to allow the opportunity of true love to pass you by, as it won’t come knocking twice!”