In this episode, Dara reflects on a few days spent at a writers’ retreat and his attempts to slip into a writing flow. Among other things, he talks about identifying his preferred voice, the subject matter he finds himself drawn to, and trusting that his own process would reveal to him what he should be trying to write. He describes as luxurious the gifts of headspace and optimal conditions for creativity.
While away, Dara rewatched for the first time in many years 1968’s royal melodrama, The Lion In Winter. A hysterical and historical account of a family Christmas going to hell, it features two fantastic performances from Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn, as well as stalwart turns from Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton and others in their earliest screen roles. But what is it about Hepburn and O’Toole’s raging husband and wife that reminds Dara of his own parents?
Also touched on – Valentine’s Day thoughts, vagus nerve topicality, departing guinea pigs, Ireland problems, men giving nothing away, and the return of The Receptive Mind!