LEADERSHIP

My very first leadership role was being the eldest of 6 siblings.

Most people in Ireland where I grew up had a parlour in their home. It was used as the "good room", away from all the clutter of the house. Visitors were entertained there amongst all the best bone china,  spotless but uncomfortable chesterfield and  fireplace with well polished brasses.

This was our house when we became teenagers. Before this, it was our playroom.
It was a place where all old furniture, broken strollers and Christmas decorations went. By the way, our fully decorated Christmas tree lived there for 11 months of the year, with an old sheet thrown over it.  What a great toy! Furniture became busses and airplanes and helicopters.

I was the boss of this magical kingdom. With this important position came the responsibility of making sure everyone was happy, without too much screaming going on. I was also responsible for safety, reporting on any injuries. Swear words were a reportable offence. I was in charge of organizing all games but did take some input from my charges.

For the most part all went very well. When the charges revolted however, all went crazy. I contributed to a lot of this craziness, practicing my loud commanding voice. This voice was more high pitched screaming, which threatened reporting of everyone to the highest bosses, the parents. Surprisingly it worked, eventually.

My brother Barry loved experimenting with cooking. He I used to do lunches and snacks. He liked to mix various instant soups together to produce strange flavours. He is the one who invented the pleasant medicine. He would mix a spoonful of Ribena, our daily dose of vitamin c with fizzy soda water, as our lunch drink. My sister enjoyed spending so she would go to the shops with our food budget and buy unusual food like cheese slices and blood oranges which thrilled us. Bernadette and Joan were the youngest so I would do their hair in strange styles and dress them up in their party clothes. My brother Thomas came up with the most unusual idea of all. He had heard the sunrise was amazing to see. When my parents were away for an overnight we tried to stay awake in front of our large dining room window, hoping for a view. Needless to say we all fell asleep on the big comfortable chesterfield and missed it. It was very exciting and mysterious trying to stay awake all night however, so we did not feel disappointed.

I think I spent far too much time practicing my loud commanding voice. I learned a lot. One Christmas my brother Barry gave me a bag of candy.  "This is from all your brothers and sisters" he said. "We wanted to show you how much we love you". It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. It will stay with me all my life. Words are very powerful. I did learn a lot.