At the beginning of lockdown I was invited to join a Zoom group called ‘Coffee at Eleven with Colm O’Brien’ – a series of interviews with inspiring people How Eating Pigs’ Potatoes Almost Made Me a Billionaire On Tuesday a red van pulled up outside the lane of the cottage bearing a bunch of tulips and box of Celebration sweets A man of small build with a cheeky face and fly eyes motivational speaker and hypnotherapist based in Finglas The Baron Benoni grew up in a town called Săbăoani it was his childhood that really got to me so named because he used to love the stories of the Red Baron as a child “Just one day of my childhood changed my life.” when he was sent by his parents to buy a loaf of bread if you can imagine the Leinster and Munster rugby teams scrabbling for food outside the little hatch of a shop and me We had two big aluminium pots that we used to boil small potatoes mixed with pumpkins to feed the pigs They had been left on the pot for five days and they were smelly my mother breastfeeding my sister Petronela They tasted revolting even after adding grey rock salt “A bitter and a deep sorrow gripped my heart At that moment I made a promise to myself that I was going to break the poverty cycle that had plagued my family for generations.” Two years after graduating from University the Baron and his brother Gabriel fled from the communist bloc The borders were heavily patrolled by an army of soldiers all ready to shoot refugees We decided to cross downstream where the river seems to be split into two islands divided by branches “As we waded through the cold water we came across the bloated body of a man stuck between branches Half of his body that was under water was pink He was wearing a green T-shirt and a gold wristwatch Holding their rucksacks over their heads they waded upstream a few kilometres “I remember the first time we sat on the train The Baron managed to get a job as a chef in an Italian restaurant in southern Germany After several failed attempts to enter Ireland by ferry The first thing they did was find a church and pray “We were so grateful to be in Ireland… but we were also starving We ended up sleeping in the bushes near Heuston Station.” the Irish government decided to give work permits to immigrants “My first job with my real name was as a chef in the Mespil Hotel in Ballsbridge,” he said In 2005 he met a beautiful Romanian girl called Vasi that became the turning point for the Baron author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.” and they ended up going to a mastermind retreat in Florence I am not a big fan of motivational speakers but the Baron would give them a run for their money the fearless Baron hopped into his red mode of transport and disappeared I decided that I would never take buying a sliced pan for granted again But the joy of the Baron’s visit was soon dissipated by the arrival of an email from the Irish Prison Service regarding the man who murdered my sister Brian Kearney is up for his third parole hearing The letter brought all the terror and fear back Not many folks realise that when my family send in letters objecting to his release By Thursday I was determined I wasn’t going to let it affect me so I treated myself to a lobster roll in the Corner Note the huge wooden table that is normally nailed into the ground was gone I was peering at the remains of two metal hinges “They nicked it last night,” said the lovely Mary Caviston The person who robbed my chair from outside my house a couple of weeks ago must have fancied a table to go with it I might just need a hypnosis session with the Baron to get me through the week Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Aurel Percă, auxiliary of the Diocese of Iaşi, as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Bucharest, Vaticannews.va announced The Holy Father has also accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bucharest the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Bucharest after completing the philosophy and theology studies he was consecrated priest in Iași on June 29 Aurel Percă continued his theological studies in Rome between 1980 and 1985 he was appointed chancellor of the Ordinariate of Iaşi in 1985 Between 1984 and 1994 he was the rector of the Seminary and in 1994 he was appointed vicar general of the Diocese of Iasi Business Insider SRL is a carrier of data with personal character registered in the “Registrul de Evidenta a Prelucrarilor de Date cu Caracter Personal” with the no Romania-Insider.com is a trademark registered with the help of NOMENIUS and all exclusivity rights are reserved to the owner of Business Insider SRL Any unauthorized use will be sanctioned according to the provisions of trademarks law 84/1998