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Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
I would love to track down my 1980s English teacher and thank her for saving me
It was late 1984. George Michael was gorgeous, everyone wanted a Gremlin for Christmas and Bob Geldof was the hero of the hour. I was in first year of secondary school, 12 years old and going to bed at night with a wish that I wouldn't wake up in the morning. In August, 1980, I'd been through a fire. It was, literally, a blazing inferno at the Central Hotel in Bundoran, Co Donegal . My dad climbed up a drainpipe to get to the room where me and my younger sister were sound asleep. What I remember is a booming sound and the burn of the floor on my bare feet. I recall my sister shrieking, the air feeling hot and men below the window holding up their hands to catch me. I remember worrying they'd see up my nightie and Daddy shouting 'jump!'. And then, standing with strangers, sparks raining and sirens. Waiting so, so long for my dad to come out. He'd gone deeper into it, trying to rescue the little girl we'd been playing with on the beach. He couldn't get to her. READ MORE My childish faith in God's protection went up with the smoke. If it happened now, a GP, or somebody, would recommend counselling, but that wasn't the way of things then. I remember the long drive home in clothes that weren't my own and Granny standing at her open door, waiting. That's all. Not one person spoke of it again. Well, they didn't speak of it to me. My parents' marriage was fractured. Four chaotic years later, my father and sister left. I was close to silent. My English teacher was a student, a young woman with long, dark hair that was always a bit messy. In my mind's eye, I'm probably blending the memory of her with an image of Kate Bush. She wore bangles that jangled and fringed skirts with little mirrors stitched into the fabric. She began with Walter de la Mare and moved on to Ezra Pound. She spoke about similes and metaphors, alliteration and onomatopoeia – words with potential. Hoping we might write something real, I suppose, she set an unusual homework assignment. For one week, we were to keep a diary. We were to resist the temptation to simply describe what had happened; it wasn't to be our 'News of the Day'. We were to write out our feelings. The deal was that she would never see this homework. She trusted us. I'd like her to know that all those feelings got poured into a novel This girl took to it like the proverbial duck. Mostly, I wrote how I felt about Remington Steele and Madonna, and the status of the spot on my chin. But when I needed it, I had a release valve, a way to scream. Writing slowed my mind, cooled it, gave me a chance to parse my feelings. Writing quelled that ever-present panic. I kept my diary for 20 years, until my eldest child learned to read. I pivoted towards writing letters then, sending those excavated feelings out of the house, through the post to gentle friends. [ Manchán Magan: The deeper you dive into Icelandic culture, the more of Ireland you find Opens in new window ] [ Author Paul Perry: 'The myth of the starving genius is harmful nonsense' Opens in new window ] Undoubtedly, I overshared. I still do. It's the habit of a lifetime now. If I pick up a pen, my emotions pour out. Eventually, I wrote a novel, full of my feelings but avoiding my childhood. And then, I got brave and wrote another one. I believe in my heart that my English teacher saved me, not only in the sense of keeping me alive in a bad moment, but in gifting me a method to make my life better. To my shame, I can't remember her name. A friendly secretary at my old school interrogated the staffroom, but my story rang no bells. My best guess is that she graduated with a degree in English, probably from UCC, in 1984, and was completing her teaching qualification at Presentation Convent, Bandon, in 1984/85. She would be in her early to mid-60s now, approaching retirement. I'd like her to know that way back then, by accident or design, she did a very good thing. I'd like her to know that all those feelings got poured into a novel, and I'd like her to know that my new book is dedicated to her. Fifty-three-year-old me, on behalf of 12-year-old me, would like to say 'thank you'. Lynda Marron is a writer who lives in Cork. Her novel, The Bridge to Always, is published by Eriu.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Aid worker says ‘not the time for crying' after surviving Russian missile attack
An aid worker from Britain has said 'this is not the moment for crying' after surviving a Russian missile strike in central Ukraine, which left four people dead. Karol Swiacki, founder of charity Ukraine Relief, from Bournemouth Dorset, shared his disbelief after an air strike in Kryvyi Rih hit the Central Hotel on Wednesday night – his accommodation for the duration of his stay. The aid worker and his team said they felt lucky they were able to flee their rooms at the hotel before the strike happened. 'I don't how we survived this. It was an incredible and shocking moment for all of us,' Mr Swiacki told the PA news agency. 'If we were in our rooms, we would be dead. It is a huge disaster.' Four people died in the strike, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Mr Swiacki and his team travelled to Ukraine to distribute generators and supplies to a local school and orphanage, and he said he felt 'broken' after the aid was destroyed by the attack. The charity founder said he and his team visited the school on Thursday morning to continue aid efforts in Ukraine. 'We went to the school today, we didn't give up,' he said. 'We are not crying. This is not the moment for crying. 'This is the moment for getting things done. If they (the Russians) want to frighten us, put the fear into our minds that we shouldn't be here… but I'm not going to be doing that. 'We need to help Ukraine.' He praised the people of Ukraine for their bravery and said his experience highlights the daily plight of Ukrainians. 'What brave people and what a country – they are fighting for survival. Day by day these rockets are falling here and killing and injuring people,' he said. Mr Swiacki hopes that sharing his experience in Kryvyi Rih will remind the public about the ongoing conflict. 'We need to send the message of truth. People need to see what is really happening,' he said. 'We are an example of those who've been under attack and we survived it. 'We need to be ambassadors of this situation and use this to give people an example of what is happening. This is what (the people of) Ukraine are surviving.' Mr Zelensky said on X that rescue operations in Kryvyi Rih continue. He said: 'All night, a rescue operation continued in Kryvyi Rih at the site of a Russian missile strike. A ballistic missile struck an ordinary hotel. 'Just before the attack, volunteers from a humanitarian organisation – citizens of Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom – had checked into the hotel. 'They survived because they managed to get down from their rooms in time. Unfortunately, four people were killed in this attack. My condolences to their families and loved ones.' He went on: 'Rescue workers are still on-site, and all emergency services continue to operate.' Kryvyi Rih is Mr Zelenskyy's home town and has been attacked frequently from Russia, including a missile attack in January that killed four.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'So lucky to be alive': Aid worker describes escape from Russian missile strike
A UK-based aid worker said he and his friends and colleagues were "so lucky to be alive" after they narrowly escaped a Russian missile attack on a hotel in Ukraine on Wednesday night that left at least four dead. Karol Swiacki, a Polish national and founder of the Bournemouth-based charity Ukraine Relief, was at the Central Hotel in Kryvyi Rih having dinner with friends when the missile struck. "We are all safe we didn't have a scratch, it is incredible," Mr Swiacki told BBC News adding "we still don't know how we survived this, honestly." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that more than 30 people were wounded in the attack and rescuers were still at the scene. The charity worker - who has previously won a BBC award - is in Ukraine carrying out aid relief work including delivering sports equipment to a school and renovating a school for 550 children. He is also visiting schools, shelters and orphanages with Ukraine Relief's trustee, Marc Edwards - a British national who now lives in the US. The duo were having dinner with friends at the hotel restaurant at the time of the strike. The dining party included two US volunteers, two workers from a Ukrainian charity foundation, and a young boy and his pregnant mother. "We'd just put our stuff in our rooms and went to eat with our local Ukrainian contacts and the cell phone alarm went off so we ran to the shelter," said Mr Edwards. Mr Swiacki said: "We took two steps and there was a big boom, absolute nightmare, everything just within seconds changed into a very apocalyptic news screams, alarms." Live coverage and analysis Video sent by Mr Swiacki to the BBC showed smoke filling the restaurant with half-eaten meals and takeaway boxes on tables. "There was so much stuff that we couldn't see where we were going," said Mr Swiacki. Mr Edwards confirmed that the blast "took out all the windows" and they had to climb out of the restaurant through a broken window. The duo went back into the hotel to retrieve some of their belongings and to see if anyone else was hurt. They also went outside the hotel to look for the vehicles they were using to travel around the country. "Three vehicles we had with us were all destroyed – they were full of aid," said Mr Edwards. Mr Swiacki's van, which he had parked outside the hotel, was "smashed completely to pieces". "We heard some noises we don't want to hear again. Somebody was trapped under the rubble next to our van and didn't make it. Someone was hit from shrapnel and didn't make it. I'm numb," he said. Mr Swiacki described the scene as "crazy, absolutely nightmare" and that he and the group he was with were lucky to have survived. He says the restaurant was on the ground floor and he thinks it is the only one room or at least one of the few rooms that didn't collapse. The duo are still in Kryvyi Rih and despite the shock of the explosion, Mr Swiacki says he has not been deterred him from continuing his aid work with Ukraine. "I will never stop helping people after this," he said. The attack happened ahead of a European security summit on Wednesday which Zelensky is attending. Reacting to it, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it showed "why Ukraine needs defence capabilities: to protect human lives from Russian terror".
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
UK-based aid worker describes escape from Russian missile attack in Ukraine
A UK-based aid worker said he and his friends and colleagues were "so lucky to be alive" after they narrowly escaped a Russian missile attack on a hotel in Ukraine on Wednesday night that left at least four Swiacki, a Polish national and founder of the Bournemouth-based charity Ukraine Relief, was at the Central Hotel in Kryvyi Rih having dinner with friends when the missile struck."We are all safe we didn't have a scratch, it is incredible," Mr Swiacki told BBC News adding "we still don't know how we survived this, honestly."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that more than 30 people were wounded in the attack and rescuers were still at the scene. The charity worker - who has previously won a BBC award - is in Ukraine carrying out aid relief work including delivering sports equipment to a school and renovating a school for 550 children. He is also visiting schools, shelters and orphanages with Ukraine Relief's trustee, Marc Edwards - a British national who now lives in the duo were having dinner with friends at the hotel restaurant at the time of the strike. The dining party included two US volunteers, two workers from a Ukrainian charity foundation, and a young boy and his pregnant mother."We'd just put our stuff in our rooms and went to eat with our local Ukrainian contacts and the cell phone alarm went off so we ran to the shelter," said Mr Swiacki said: "We took two steps and there was a big boom, absolute nightmare, everything just within seconds changed into a very apocalyptic news screams, alarms."Live coverage and analysis Video sent by Mr Swiacki to the BBC showed smoke filling the restaurant with half-eaten meals and takeaway boxes on tables."There was so much stuff that we couldn't see where we were going," said Mr Edwards confirmed that the blast "took out all the windows" and they had to climb out of the restaurant through a broken duo went back into the hotel to retrieve some of their belongings and to see if anyone else was also went outside the hotel to look for the vehicles they were using to travel around the country."Three vehicles we had with us were all destroyed – they were full of aid," said Mr Swiacki's van, which he had parked outside the hotel, was "smashed completely to pieces". "We heard some noises we don't want to hear again. Somebody was trapped under the rubble next to our van and didn't make it. Someone was hit from shrapnel and didn't make it. I'm numb," he said. Mr Swiacki described the scene as "crazy, absolutely nightmare" and that he and the group he was with were lucky to have says the restaurant was on the ground floor and he thinks it is the only one room or at least one of the few rooms that didn't duo are still in Kryvyi Rih and despite the shock of the explosion, Mr Swiacki says he has not been deterred him from continuing his aid work with Ukraine."I will never stop helping people after this," he attack happened ahead of a European security summit on Wednesday which Zelensky is to it, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it showed "why Ukraine needs defence capabilities: to protect human lives from Russian terror".
