This interview took place in 2001:
We were extremely lucky to persuade Cleo to answer our questionnaire
as she is most definitely one of the busiest people we know.
| Name: | Cleo Watson |
| Profession, past/present employment details: | Trained General Nurse, trained in England, Yoga teacher, Connemara pony breeder, you name it, I have done it or tried to! At present, I’m trying to get a business off the ground, Creative Writing and Photography, so far, two successful groups, Foot and mouth, clobbered me badly, hopefully I will recover. |
| What do you like about Currane? | I love everything about Currane, the view of the ocean from my window, the clean sweet smell of a Spring morning, the sound of the ocean when I am going to sleep, the blazing sunsets, the seals basking on the rocks, the peace and the peace-loving people. |
| Favourite walk/walks | My favourite walk/walks are from the house here across the cliffs to Peels house, great views and of course, all the thought provoking Lazy Beds, is it possible for anybody to see these and not conjure up a million stories? The other one is from here to the sandy banks, great beach for having fun with the dog, or just to be alone with my thoughts. A place to be still and be calm |
| Favourite place: | My favourite place is a big dark secret, it is where I go to let infant poems stretch and grow. |
| Favourite time of year: | The best time of year for me has to be the longer days of Summer, which means more time outside (If it isn’t raining!) for walking gardening or just messing about. |
| Favourite story/folklore: | It is very difficult to choose a favourite story, any from Russian Fairy Tales, I suppose. This book was given to me by my father when I was a little girl and couldn’t pronounce or understand most of the words. The quotation I am giving you comes from ‘Wassilissa The Beautiful’ ‘Lie down, shut thine eyes and go to sleep. The morning is always wiser than the evening’. |
| Place you’ve most enjoyed traveling to (and why): | I don’t have a favourite place to travel to, I just love to travel. However, traveling to Rwanda at the tail end of its horrendous war, was probably the most memorable. Rwanda is a place I would visit again,…Pure curiosity to see if the framework we put in place actually was viable. I often wonder how the Irish seed potatoes fared, no, we didn’t make lazy beds! I wonder about the water, Is it cleaner, do the men remember to keep cattle away from the wells, did the pregnant women deliver healthy babies. Did Sara ( an ‘unaccompanied’ child one of thousands) ever find her parents. This child will always own a piece of my heart, from the very first day she followed me everywhere, so very difficult to leave her behind when I came home. |
| Place you’ve least enjoyed traveling to: | There is nowhere that I wouldn’t visit again (well, perhaps Torrid Molinos!) good or bad, ugly or beautiful, there is always something to learn. |
| Place you would love to visit: | A place I would love to visit? There are so many!! My wildest dream (there are many of these too!! ) is to go to a culture that hasn’t been contaminated by the Western world, learn everything there is to learn, not teach anything! |
| Favourite book: | I love books, again, difficult to find a favourite, so here are three. ‘Women who run with the wolves’ by Clarrissa Estes. Very briefly and not doing this book justice, it is about the intuitive wisdom of women, a celebration of femininity and woman power. ‘Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying’ Sogyal Rinpoche. A book ‘to inspire the whole way we look at death and care for the dying and the whole way we look at life and care for the living.’ ‘Anam Cara’ John O’ Donoghue . Like the other two books, you want to read and read again. About secrets of the ancient Irish world, Irish prayers and blessings, a beautiful approach to spirituality. |
| Favourite music: | My favourite music, everything from Bruch’s violin concerto to Pink Floyd or Dire Straits. Andrea Boccelli to Rod Stewart. |
| Favourite song : | (One of many) Mystic Lipstick written by Jimmy McCarthy sung by Maura O’Connell. |
| Favourite film: | Schindler’s List, The Black Stallion, Lassie come home. |
| Favourite drink: | Antigua Smile, and it does make you smile! I can’t remember what is in it, which shows how good it is, I still remember it after a lot of years, which shows how good it is, I swam much better after it, which shows how good it is!! Does anybody have the recipe? Then we will have a lot of smiling, swimming people around Currane with bad memories including me!! |
| Best feeling in the world: | When I am ‘on roll’ with my writing. |
| Worst feeling in the world: | When I have a ‘dry’ period with my writing. |
| Which person would you most like to meet living or dead: | Grainne ni Mhaille, Pirate, sea queen, a very liberated lady!! |
| Any important plans/resolutions for the future: | To live in the moment. |
| Cleo is also well known as a poet and has kindly given us a copy one of her poems describing her feelings on her journey to Rwanda. | Kigali 1994
Steady drone of the aircraft Note. Harry is a Bosnian refugee he drove one of the trucks. |
Thanks Cleo for talking to us and good luck with your business venture.
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