The Convent


I entered into the building which was formerly known in Dingle town as The Convent. As I walked down the long corridor I noticed the wooden panels and high ceilings. A statue of King David carved in white marble lay beside a window. There was a peculiar smell about the place.

I stepped into the hall to view the exhibition of Faith and Light which had been advertised on shop windows about the town for the past month. The lights were on. There was a donation box standing next to the door and the fire extinguisher next to that. The wall hangings were nailed onto panels and there was a poem next to each work of art. The intricate weaving patterns caught my eye as did the Chakra Rainbow of silken pictures which were at the other end of the hall. Orange, wine, green, blue, yellow. There were three aqua-marine candles floating in a bowl of water - I would have liked to have lit them but felt that it wasn't my duty though it would have added to the atmosphere of the exhibition.

At first glance there seemed to be a lack of creativity by the artists. The woven materials were either too short on one side or too tight or not finished off properly. But on examination I realised that these pieces of art were very precious. Why? Because the artists were actually disabled and the Faith and Light project is all about craft therapy for a community with a learning disability. Fitting for the community that had lived in the convent previously who had given their lives to education.

I spent some time perusing, reading about the artists and admiring the skills of Paul who suffers from spina-bifida and Leanne who is partially blind and still quite young.

As I turned to go, I noticed a rather large poster on a door at one corner of the room saying "Dangerous - No Entry Under Any Circumstances". Because I am nosy by nature I peeked inside and there before me was a whiter-than-white toilet, with a beautiful mirror over the ornamented sink. There was also a virgin-white bath in pristine condition, pink toilet paper and make-up, eyeliner and lipstick on the ledge by the mirror. And there was that smell again. That's when I noticed the bottle of Dettol which was on the window sill. [399]