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Irish Post
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Songs of home and leaving — from Christine Tobin
Three powerful performances explore Irish emigration, homecoming and the poetry of W.B. Yeats at London's Irish Cultural Centre, July 19-20 ACCLAIMED Irish vocalist and composer Christine Tobin returns to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith for a two-day, three-concert residency titled Letters Home , running 19–20 July 2025. Blending music, memory and multimedia, the project explores themes of emigration, belonging and the emotional geography of the Irish experience. Each of the three performances offers a distinct perspective on the search for home, cultural identity and the passage of time. Returning Weather Saturday 19 July, 7.30pm The residency opens with Returning Weather , a song cycle described by Tobin as 'part homecoming, part memoir.' Inspired by her return to Ireland after years abroad, the performance weaves together original compositions, spoken word and stunning imagery of the landscape around Frenchpark, Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. Musically, the piece draws on Irish traditional music, 20th-century art song and jazz. Tobin is joined by Aoife Ní Bhriain (violin), David Power (uilleann pipes & whistles), Phil Robson (guitars, electronics), and Steve Hamilton (piano). The work explores what it means to belong—to land, to memory, to community—and how those ideas evolve over a lifetime. Letters Home Sunday 20 July, 2.30pm The second concert blends live performance with documentary film. Also titled Letters Home , it focuses on the lives of Irish emigrants who left Roscommon for Britain during the 1960s to 1990s. The film, made by Tobin and Robson, is based on interviews with six elders who emigrated in search of work and later returned to Ireland. Their voices form the narrative spine of the documentary, which is interspersed with archive images, photos and live songs performed on stage. Tobin sings traditional and popular Irish songs of farewell and longing—such as Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore , Mountains of Mourne and Come Back Paddy Reilly —evoking the pain and pride of a generation that helped build modern Britain while supporting families at home through remittances. The hour-long show gives voice to everyday resilience and the quiet heroism of the Irish in Britain. Among the featured interviewees is Annie, who left rural Ireland in her teens and took an unusual path for a woman at the time—working for the New York Telephone Company rather than entering domestic service. Another participant, Michael, now in his eighties, left for England in the early '60s and built a successful construction business after stints with Wimpey and McAlpine. At just 20 years old, he was sending home £100 a month to support his mother. Sailing to Byzantium Sunday 20 July, 7.30pm The final concert in the trilogy is Sailing to Byzantium , featuring Tobin's musical settings of 12 poems by W.B. Yeats. Named after the poet's 1927 meditation on ageing and the eternal role of art, this performance reflects on what lies beyond the physical journey—searching instead for artistic and spiritual meaning. The poems, ranging from When You Are Old and The Wild Swans at Coole to The Second Coming , are reimagined through Tobin's musical lens. She is joined by Gareth Lockrane (flutes), Kate Shortt (cello), Phil Robson (guitars), Dave Whitford (double bass) and Steve Hamilton (piano). 'I like finishing with Yeats,' Tobin says. 'After exploring the early and middle years through the themes of emigration and return, Yeats helps us look ahead—to the search for wisdom, purpose and creative fulfilment.' An Expanding Body of Work Letters Home follows the success of Tobin's recent composition Pseudologia Fantastica , commissioned by Improvised Music Company's BAN BAM programme and premiered in Dublin in April. That work, exploring misinformation and far-right ideologies through multimedia, marked a new political direction in her output. Still, Returning Weather and Letters Home remain deeply rooted in her personal history and the shared legacy of the Irish diaspora. 'There are many songs of leaving,' Tobin notes. 'This is the music of return.' Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black's Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9DT Tickets available for each concert separately: Returning Weather (Saturday evening) (Saturday evening) Letters Home (Sunday afternoon) (Sunday afternoon) Sailing to Byzantium (Sunday evening) Running times: approx. 1 hour each (some include film interludes). See More: Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, Music, Poetry, WB Yeats
Business Insider
07-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Business Insider
I moved from Atlanta to Panama after retiring with my 97-year-old mother with dementia. Prices aren't too much cheaper, but we love the culture and calm.
This as-told-to interview is with Debbie Boyd, 71, who moved to Panama from Atlanta with her 97-year-old mother, Doris Britto, who has dementia. Boyd and Britto moved in early 2025 and have enjoyed their time so far. Boyd has particularly appreciated the medical resources and lower cost of living abroad. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. I moved to Panama in March this year, and my mother followed a few weeks later. I had always considered the possibility of relocating outside the US and had looked into moving for a couple of years before I retired. I read about the lower cost of living being less, but I think what spurred my action was the political climate. My first impression is that I love it here. The people in Panama are very friendly and caring. Our goal now is to get more entrenched in this new life. Are you an older American comfortable sharing your retirement outlook with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form. We are especially interested in hearing from people 80 and older. I've had a number of different careers My mom and I are both native New Yorkers. She was a long-distance operator for the New York Telephone Company for over 40 years. I relocated to Atlanta in 1983, and my mom followed me there in 1986, when she retired. We were in the Atlanta area up until this year. She traveled with her friends and helped me raise my son. She became active in some senior citizen groups in the area. I had a couple of careers. I've been a real estate broker with my own residential real estate firm, worked as an administrative assistant, and taught classes in criminal justice for online universities as an adjunct professor. I retired in 2016. I found that I was becoming bored and wanted to make better use of my time. After retiring, I took swim classes, got together with friends for lunch, and traveled. After I initially retired, I took about one year to decompress and give some thought as to what I wanted for the next phase of my life. I spent mornings reflecting over a healthy breakfast and good coffee. I enrolled in Water Zumba classes and started a walking regime. I also used this time to reconnect with friends and making quite a bit of lunch dates with my former tennis team members. I went back to work after a couple of years in a work-from-home position. In 2018, I got a bladder cancer diagnosis, and it involved a serious surgery. I wasn't well enough to take care of my mother, though she and I lived together. She moved into a nursing home and lived there for seven years. Once I determined earlier this year that I was going to move to Panama, I asked my mom if she wanted to come. She said she did. I decided that it was probably best for both of us. Otherwise, she would be in Atlanta, and I would be abroad. My son and grandchildren are grown up and have very active lives, so I knew she would be pretty much alone in the nursing home, which I didn't want for her. Panama checked a lot of the boxes. Healthcare seemed excellent, and I had a friend who retired there who answered my questions. At the time, we were doing fine financially. We're not wealthy people, but we've worked our whole careers, paid bills on time, handled finances responsibly, and have good credit. But things have gotten so tight in the US; it's really hard to make ends meet as a retiree living off of Social Security and a small pension. As an African American, I feel we are being targeted and knowledge of our proud heritage is constantly under assault. The first few weeks abroad involved managing many logistics I did three scouting trips. I wanted to come first to find a place that was suitable for us logistically. My mother's in a wheelchair, so I looked for a place that was more level. We got as much paperwork done as we could ahead of time so she could leave her facility. My son made time to help me out by bringing my mother a few weeks later. I set up an appointment with a doctor, and he was able to see her within a week of her getting here, making sure we could transfer her medications and prescriptions. My mom told me that since I'm here and I've handled everything, she's happy and has enjoyed it so far. She came down with a cold a few weeks ago and lost her appetite, but she started eating again and felt better. She's happier to not be in a nursing home environment. We're now looking to find more activities we can participate in together. My friend who retired here introduced me to another person who had a sister with MS and who connected me with a home care agency. A young lady comes in six days a week to tend to my mom; she helps bathe her, prepare her meals, change her sheets, and do her laundry. I get much more home for the same price here Rental prices are a little higher than what I expected they'd be, but there's a gamut of price ranges. I've seen everything from $500 a month up to beyond $3,000 where I'm located. I have a four-bedroom house, an in-ground pool in the backyard, a very large living room, dining room, and kitchen. The rent is $1,500 a month, a bit more than what I was paying for my mortgage on my house in the States, the mortgage on which is $777 a month. I still own my home. However, there have been recent property tax and home owner insurance increases and I estimate my mortgage will be approximately $250 more in 2026. I get so much more for the same amount of money. The utilities aren't too bad. One month, I had a $70 bill, but the next month was $300. Each bedroom has its own individual air conditioning unit, so we're trying to figure out when to run it and for how long. I'm still doing some paperwork and making phone calls to get things settled. A couple of friends have come to visit, and my son has come three times. I have a lot more company coming over the next two months. I handle my business here like I would at home; I go to the grocery store, the bank, and the pharmacy. I take Ubers because I don't want to drive here; they drive really fast. An Uber one-way is about $2.20. I'm still getting acclimated I've discovered, though, that Panamanians love to party and love music. There are also always dogs barking early in the morning and late at night, so I'm trying to get used to the noise. We don't live in an expat neighborhood. I wanted to be immersed in Panamanian culture. It's been about two months since we've been here, but I haven't had much of a chance to meet our neighbors yet. All of the houses are gated individually, so it's not like you can just walk up to your neighbor's front door. But when I go to the mall, people talk with me. When they realize I only speak a little Spanish, everybody's helpful, pleasant, and willing to help me find things. I haven't gotten to eat out much, but I've gotten really into going to the market and getting fresh fruit and vegetables. The hospital near me has a program where they will accept Medicare Advantage if you have an emergency situation and are hospitalized, which I'm applying for. I'm also applying to a program that's $220 a year to have any tests, blood work, or lab work done. I have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and I was on oxygen when I was back home. I haven't had to use it since I've been here. My goal now is to get more involved with expat groups. I joined one recently and went to a very nice luncheon, where I met new people. I hope to continue expanding my social network. I plan to make this my new home and get more involved in volunteering.
