https://www.carolynohara.com/reviews-2 daily 0.75 2023-10-27 https://www.carolynohara.com/prestwick-rotary-talk daily 0.75 2021-04-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1618145940989-VMZFW4ZSDXVZPA3ULTWY/SLIDE+2.PNG Prestwick Rotary Talks - ROTARY CLUB OF PRESTWICK - “REVISITING THE PAST WITH THE PEN” I was delighted to be asked back to talk to Prestwick Rotary in 2021. With the country continuing to be in the grip of coronavirus, like so many groups and organisations, Prestwick Rotary were continuing to ‘meet’ on Zoom. My talk, on Thursday 15th April 2021, was entitled Revisiting the Past with the Pen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1618146667379-A53J94A7BTEOQM6Z0FKK/SLIDE+11.PNG Prestwick Rotary Talks - From Ayr’s Auld Brig history to World War II memories, and lots more … I put together a twenty minute PowerPoint presentation to accompany my talk which focused on the large part historical influences have played in my published writing. Apart from an update on my journey to the publication of my social history book, I provided a snapshot of other historical subjects I’ve written about. Subjects have been as diverse as Ayr’s Auld Brig, an 18th century sea captain, World War II fundraising efforts by school children, and a special toy from one hundred years ago. I finished off by giving a taster of subjects I am currently working on. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1619198429487-RDDXODE0HKX3LTOUEMDZ/LIBRARY.PNG Prestwick Rotary Talks - ROTARY CLUB OF PRESTWICK - “FINDING OCULEUS” 2018 I was pleased to be invited to talk to Prestwick Rotary, about my social history project, on OCULEUS, back in February 2018. At the time, I was continuing to research and write what was to become my 12-chapter social history book, based on a year’s worth of columns written by my great grandfather, William Gilmour Wallace, under the pseudonym OCULEUS, for The Ayrshire Post, in 1898. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1619197827205-7IK9KB0P43TIE1QMAO4G/POWERPOINT+ROTARY+TALK+1+SLIDE+2.PNG Prestwick Rotary Talks - Meet the Family! The talk featured several extracts from the columns, along with information I had uncovered in the course of my research. The final slide in my PowerPoint, featured one of the few photographs of OCULEUS in old age. The photograph was taken on the occasion of the 50th Wedding anniversary of my great grandparents, in the garden of their home in Dongola Road, Ayr, and shows four of their five children, some spouses and two grandchildren. My mother, Allison, was eleven at the time. Little did she know that her safe-keeping of the family scrapbook, containing those newspaper columns, would become so important to her elder daughter (me!) at the start of the 21st century. My mother remembers the day well! https://www.carolynohara.com/work daily 1.0 2023-02-03 https://www.carolynohara.com/events daily 0.75 2021-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617378905309-CJL9HPX8UMA5SXCGMC31/DSC_0127.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617378075030-GDWPATVE5F9VS5RUQTJ9/DSC_0103.JPG History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617378122756-URU8C6ISDOW3GHV4DSVY/Hansel+event+2019.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617378957673-M4LDZ1D97ZK79NCYR37U/Dead%2BGood%2BLunch%2BPoster.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617379052617-E29JXBK1Y44W8A6MX8NM/Hansel%2Bcompere%2B3.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617550504183-SYAWY8XG3VL8KZMHP5IJ/FB_IMG_1601734393832.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch - Scrapbook Time Travel Having found the perfect partners for publication of my social history book, in the AYRSHIRE ARCHEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, I also learned from them about the British Association of Local History. The AANHS are members of this umbrella organisation which hosts a regular blog on their website, and I decided to apply to submit a piece. How delighted I was to have been enthusiastically accepted. My blog was published on the British Association of Local History website - January 2021. To read the blog, click on direct link to BALH on this drop down menu. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617468210252-CNIU3WKGR1X20G3W25CJ/book%252Blaunch.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617469861086-0V1UURAPTV4D4URTAU0N/DRESSING%2BSCREEN.jpg History blogs, book launch and CRIME lunch - Finding OCULEUS During the six years it took to research and write my non-fiction social history book, I came across the SCOTTISH HISTORY NETWORK. Their website hosts a regular blog, in which historians - professionals or enthusiastic amateurs - share information about projects they are working on. I set about sharing some of my favourite, fascinating, little snippets like this hand -drawn bathing screen to illustrate my great grandfather’s point about the need to preserve female dignity when bathing. And so, in December 2017, having worked with their digital team, I had my first blog about my history project published. To read the blog, click on direct link to the SCOTTISH HISTORY NETWORK on this drop down menu. https://www.carolynohara.com/general-6 daily 0.75 2021-05-05 https://www.carolynohara.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-04-25 https://www.carolynohara.com/new-page daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/32824b24-c715-4c95-80f4-3432cef034de/TITLE.PNG Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/fe598e19-9099-4719-be79-5346219d50ef/QUOTATION.jpg Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/36748abf-8619-42f0-8940-1c489287c02f/RESEARCHING.jpg Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/195a984c-c2bc-4da3-b9d8-4b15b033e6ee/SIR+JOHN+STEELL.jpg Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/ad863989-ebd2-4c74-9773-b9b053cff6d9/20230208_181325.jpg Writing Workshops 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Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617278461510-UQ1PZ0T6BILWOPS9HIFY/Slide+16.PNG Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617278492316-3E2UCWL6ECY6B3QDHGN7/Slide+18.PNG Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617278521806-3G0TOAN5D73GQD5FHTEU/Slide+19.PNG Writing Workshops https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/98e7aecb-6b00-4590-b637-2cd47e6ff638/PRIMARY+SOURCES+SLIDE+11.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/62dc4fc5-9a59-4095-903a-fd6149752158/PRIMARY+SOURCES+SLIDE+13.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/38972913-1da9-4dbf-9b4a-8b79715610b5/PRIMARY+SOURCES+SLIDE+1.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/607862d8-91b2-474a-aee1-cf0967cfe0e5/PRIMARY+SOURCES+SLIDE+12.png 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https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/835df973-82aa-4e99-8d11-1f862bba0b02/Screenshot_20250203_081006_Facebook.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/230fe9c4-e1a8-4876-b24e-c62408aa35af/Screenshot+2025-02-02+160036.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/bdb8fee0-f3d5-4d25-bc17-cd96ea450a3a/Screenshot+2023-11-16+142826.png https://www.carolynohara.com/articles daily 0.75 2025-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/ceb18d9c-b3a7-4e3d-b8b2-56f205ec2c68/AYRSHIRE+MAG+2024.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/a1d87e78-edac-4f42-adb5-fa9ce3ea2dbe/WAVES+OF+MEMORIES+article.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/742fd3ad-dac8-4b3e-bffd-0a597cfe5ac3/Screenshot_20221125-145518_Chrome.jpg 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Entitled Valuable Volunteering, in it I explored the impact that being a volunteer had on my life. In the years since then, I’ve had more than twenty articles published, in a wide variety of publications, covering subjects as diverse as childhood toys, ladies’ hairstyle from the 50s to 80s, WWII fundraising, Seafield House, Ayr’s Auld Brig and Scipio - the black slave - at Culzean. Below is one of the articles I had published in the SCOTTISH MEMORIES magazine - sadly no longer in existence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617376559929-2RDWRHHZ2UL235KMDX1Z/Picture2.jpg ARTICLES Mid performance - Cinderella’s carriage appears. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617376378057-NXMW7R3KGO9UVH8LQXIZ/Toy+Theatre+1.jpg ARTICLES Toy Theatre makers’ label https://www.carolynohara.com/poetry daily 0.75 2023-05-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/7dc4bd3b-8e7f-4275-a990-45338c671bd6/IMG-20230511-WA0013+-+Copy.jpg POETRY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/5c6ee3cc-70b1-4f44-b6c4-9f5a30754012/20230511_162257.jpg POETRY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1633098997070-NI3UDM4ZZUNQTFIDDP8G/image-asset.jpeg POETRY - ANTHOLOGY July ‘21 This summer, another DREICH anthology entitled OVERFLOW was published, containing two of my poems. “Hands on Experience” arose from my awareness of the crippling effect arthritis has had on my hands, contrasted with the recognition of the powerful positivity of touch. “First Degree of Separation” conjures up what felt like a life-changing moment a very long time ago, when our elder daughter was very young. To see a video performance of this one, click on the link to DREICH tv, on YouTube. My submission starts at 12 mins 30 secs. DREICH Telly 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1620571892214-EC6ZVS4DFX23B7OIY30M/POETRY+Zoo+Animals+2.jpg POETRY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617360110526-DYJ06LTF9LZ53D2VZO8R/20210401_155356.jpg POETRY - POETRY I’ve always loved poetry but it came as a bit of shock when I discovered I also enjoyed writing free verse, and have now had a few published. Not that I find it easy to write on demand; generally a subject will present itself, sometimes in the form of a whole line, that comes and needs to be scribbled down somewhere - anywhere - before it vanishes for good. Then the real work begins, in order to find if a shape offers itself. One of my favourite Seamus Heaney poems, DIGGING, reflects this idea. I have many scribbles saved which so far haven’t developed but sometimes revisiting them, one will blossom unexpectedly. It can feel like a strange alchemy when it works. Very satisfying. Read some samples below. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617381383760-I61V4BSK2PH2EV8O5B6Q/Scottish+Book+trust+2019.jpg POETRY - SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST Launch of Blether in which my poem “By Chance” appears. The launch was held in the Edinburgh City Arts Centre, on 30th October 2019. Contributors from across Scotland gathered for the celebration, during which a selection of the pieces was performed ‘live’ by their authors. It was a great opportunity to mix and mingle, enjoy a delicious buffet and make new writing connections. A grand day out! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617361503088-J1WMHSZNGA9JERGCPZAN/unsplash-image-rPOmLGwai2w.jpg POETRY - Journey Sat nav voice barks instructions mangling familiar names. Back muscles seize, palate and tongue buddy up. Familiarity warps into foreign fields as I loop and swirl around a string of emerald islands, dizzying my internal compass. Breath picks up its tempo. Landmarks, swotted on Down Your Street, pop up coating anxiety with a veneer of confidence – I can do this. Roads narrow, streets cluster close, brown brick buildings bully me into a dead end: ‘Your destination is on the right.’ I watch occupants tumble from other cars, laughs and shouts littering the street before the closing of a barred door brings silence. My shaky finger on a buzzer activates access to a deep, dark corridor along which I hesitate. A rectangular portal with sliver of glass stands at the threshold I must now cross my allegro heart beating a cappella. I emerge, blinking in the brightness: a chorus of chairs, sheet music played out on every seat, trilling notes resonate around the room. Thirty years on, I’m here to harmonise again. https://www.carolynohara.com/fiction daily 0.75 2021-04-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617377528650-3G800845M475H054QTRF/SHORT+STORY+PUB+%282%29.jpg FICTION - Short Fiction Although not the genre that I feel most comfortable writing, I have had four short stories published so far. PASSING TIME was published in the Weekly News, in October 2018. This idea came as the result of a fiction workshop at AYR WRITERS’ CLUB during which the speaker gave us a writing prompt - a single opening line to spark our creativity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617380453153-1ISU2OBBXFM7GCLNYFBZ/Women%27s+short+story+trophy+2018.jpg FICTION - AYR WRITER’S CLUB Women’s Short Story Competition - 1st Place Every year, regular competitions, run by AYR WRITERS’ CLUB, are adjudicated by experts in each genre. In February 2018, my short story “Triangulation” was placed joint first. I took great pride polishing the trophy that year, as a result. The story focuses on perception and reality, and the dangers of taking what you see at face value. https://www.carolynohara.com/about daily 0.75 2025-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617204043870-58QNSB9YKTOH9BED81CZ/20210127_222212.jpg About - Who am I? With a background in teaching English in the classroom, as well as tutoring, I have always had a love of language, and derive great pleasure from working with young people, helping them learn to communicate effectively, to build their confidence, and achieve their ambitions. In 2010, I stepped into the wonderful world of writing when I joined AYR WRITERS’ CLUB - the best move I ever made. Encouraged by them to dive in and experiment with writing in all genres, I found myself soaking up advice and expertise from the generous, supportive group. As a result, I have had a growing number of articles, poetry, and short stories published, as well as a social history book, which became a reality in 2020. I’ve always had a passion for social history. When, in 2012, a chance discovery provided me with a rare and unique opportunity to delve into late Victorian Ayr, I started on a journey which has ultimately led me to write my non-fiction book. To learn more about that, and other work, have a look the WRITING tab . Another joy - associated with writing - has evolved from writing poetry and monologues and, since 2017 when I first took the plunge, I have loved performing my work at spoken word events, in my local town, in various parts of Britain and as far away as New York. I live in Prestwick with my husband, Ken. We have two adult daughters, and three wonderful grandsons, one a lockdown baby, the second born in September 2024, and the third arrived in May 2025. I take great pleasure in thanking my wonderful family for their continued inspiration and encouragement. https://www.carolynohara.com/social-history daily 0.75 2021-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1622560001463-A73CS3X2SOOQ5809MT8K/Edinburgh+Reporter+article+COURANT.jpeg SOCIAL HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1616928329642-DAALPY5HVUDSXWBLWQZN/IMG_20200704_182624.jpg SOCIAL HISTORY - SOCIAL HISTORY - what was life in Ayr like in 1898? Based on columns from The Ayrshire Post written by OCULEUS, the penname of managing editor William Gilmour Wallace who was my great grandfather, this book gives a glimpse of what life was like, revealing complaints about potholes, and foul-mouthed school pupils, as well as concerns about a contagious outbreak of scarlet fever and the first appearance of motorcars on Ayr’s roads. Humorous, satirical and often moving, OCULEUS used his position to highlight scandals and right wrongs. A riveting glimpse into a time gone by. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1616930468099-JPPXKL8CK07OQ1A9ILOW/SCRAPBOOK+1.jpg SOCIAL HISTORY - WHERE DID IT ALL START? I have always been fascinated by history, as an enthusiastic amateur. I’m not so captivated by the dryness of dates but by the lived experience of those in a bygone era so when my mother produced a family scrapbook, about which I knew nothing, containing weekly columns written in 1898, I found my interest piqued. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1616930556113-YSXNMPV2AKFLNGM4X15A/OVAL+2.jpg SOCIAL HISTORY - William Gilmour Wallace The journalist responsible was my great grandfather, William Gilmour Wallace, who was managing editor of The Ayrshire Post in the 1890s. He began writing weekly columns commenting on current affairs – local and national – and signing himself Oculeus, a habit he continued until he retired. I opened the scrapbook and was swept into another world. These columns made me look at my familiar world afresh, re-examining my home town and its buildings. I also came to realise that the essence of what makes us human, has not really changed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1616930911377-NE9A82IU8AGBTJB3DSTN/CAROLYN+AT+CARNEGIE.jpg SOCIAL HISTORY - Nothing new under the Sun… Having already had articles published, I was in no doubt that I had found my next subject. I began digging deeper, finding much in the columns to explore and write about, which resulted in ‘Nothing New under the Sun’, my article published in 2013 by the Scottish Memories publication. With fifty-two weeks’ worth of historical treasure at my disposal, it was a pleasure creating a twelve-chapter, social history book, which offers a snapshot of life in 1898. In terms of research, my first port of call was Ayr’s Carnegie Library, where their archive houses original copies of the newspaper. What a thrill donning the white gloves! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1616931810442-37UG5SWCWMBXWISJO0PX/20210124_160847.jpg SOCIAL HISTORY - Explore the past … Fancy a bit of time travel to the 1890s? What springs to mind when you think of that period? This was the decade when Queen Victoria was nearing the end of her reign, Oscar Wilde was imprisoned and wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Van Gogh died, and Puccini wrote La boheme. I find it makes imagining OCULEUS’s world more fascinating to understand what else was happening at the time. So come and meet my ancestor! Where did he come from and what did people think of him? What were the issues which angered the people of Ayr in 1898? With chapters on Sport, Women and Fashion, Politics, Robert Burns as well as Poverty and Health, amongst others, you will find yourself transported to the late Victorian era - smell the sewage as you cross the Auld Brig, feel the bumps as you travel the pot-holed roads, and see the disgraceful state of the Tam o’Shanter Inn. But it’s not only Ayr and its immediate surroundings which are scrutinised. National -and even international - issues are discussed too. If however you imagine that his columns are dull or boring, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised. My great grandfather was often playful and mischievous, loved to pun, and even took great delight in playing an April Fool on his readership. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617380808907-2H3PONI46TLHSQYJI0JY/IMG-20200923-WA0000.jpg SOCIAL HISTORY THE AYRSIRE POST (October 2020) did me proud, publishing a double page interview about my social history book, with one of their early managing editors, William Gilmour Wallace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1617380968182-C6WLTUHPO6TBLWQPQCO2/DSC_0342+%282%29.JPG SOCIAL HISTORY AYRSHIRE MAGAZINE also interviewed me for their December 2020 issue. https://www.carolynohara.com/prestfest-stall-september-2021 daily 0.75 2021-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/605ca23d2ce3776a64e14b35/1632479706654-150V2SFWIWJ6HD9NX5EY/FB_IMG_1630996235565.jpg PRESTFEST Stall September 2021 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