22 ............... Sunday, May 26, 2019 1RM

By AOIFE BANNON

MEET the Irish woman who used fengshui to meet her dream man — andreckons the ancient art can help youachieve anything in life.

Patricia Lohan, from Galway, is a feng shuiexpert who leads a busy online consultancyhelping people to reorganise their home in a waythat will help them fulfil their dreams.

And she told how she’s proof that creating aharmonious and balanced home space can have positiverepercussions in other areas of your life.

She believes the Chinese practice helped her meet herhusband Ken Mahon, with the happily married duo nowrunning their online business from beautiful Bali.

She said: “After I moved into an apartment in DublinI decided I wasn’t moving out until I met someone.

“So I set up my bedroom for love and made sure thatit was always a calm and beautiful space, even though Iwouldn’t naturally be very tidy.

“I made sure I had a double bed, which I pulled outfrom the wall so that it was suitable for two people. Igot two bedside tables, two bedside lamps, I had a shelfup high that I left clearfor the man I would meet.

“I upgraded my linenand I even bought sparehangers for the wardrobeso that there would bespace there for hisclothes.

“It was about makingspace in my bedroom,in my wardrobe and inmy life. It turned outmy husband also usedfeng shui and had setup a low shelf in hisbedroom.”

The couple firstmet briefly at a sha-manic fire walk inDunderry Park inNavan, Co Meath.Although they didn’texchange numbers,they each sought the

other out and crossedpaths again three

months later. Theymarried in August 2015

and went travelling to India, before settling in Bali.The pair now run a busy feng shui programme that’s

been taken by people all over the world, with four cou-ples married and three engaged as a result.

Patricia said: “We can work anywhere so the plan is towork between Bali, New York and Europe.

“I really wanted to have an online business so that wecould do this. We are working with people all over theworld and have so many clients who have met theirsoulmate. It’s blown my mind how powerful it can be.”

Patricia has written a book called The Happy Home,which explains how a home’s energy can affect areas ofyour life, from wealth and happiness to relationships andlove. In it, she explains how to ensure your home isn’tcreating bad energy.

She said: “Each home is unique. Some homes are badfor money, that’s just how it is, but the best thing aboutfeng shui is that everything is fixable.

“There’s usually a specific remedy for each home. Ifyou have money problems, it could be about finding theprosperity area of your home and making sure it’s clearof clutter and adding some positive affirmations there.

“Some people are dubious of feng shui but it’s used byhuge corporations all over the world — like Disney andCoca-Cola — they’re not doing it for the fun of it.”lFOR more see Patricalohan.com/happyhomebook.

GALWAY GIRL’S TIDY LITTLE LOVE TRICK

I met Ken at a shamanic fire walk...after getting

him sheets, a locker and a shelf in my bedroom

By MICHAEL DOYLE

A WOMAN has beenfound alive more thantwo weeks after she wentmissing on Maui, Hawaii.

Amanda Eller, 35, waslast seen on May 8. Fam-ily and friends hadlaunched a search effortand offered a cash rewardfor her safe return.

Ms Eller was found onFriday when she waveddown a rescue helicopter.

Reports suggest she gotlost and injured whilehiking in the area.

Photos show her smil-ing with rescuers JavierCantellops, Troy Helmerand Chris Berquist.

Her mum Juliadescribed her as being in“surprisingly good shape”considering how long shehad been missing andtold local news she hadalways “felt in her heart”her daughter was alive.

An online announce-ment about her rescue onthe Find Amanda Face-book page has now beenshared and liked thou-sands of times.

Missingwoman rescued in Hawaii

Safe . . Eller & rescuers

By JOHN HAND

US President DonaldTrump is approving thesale of billions of dollars’worth of weapons toSaudi Arabia.

Trump invoked a rarelyused aspect of federallaw to push through the€7billion deal — bypass-ing Congress.

He did so by declaringthat ongoing tensionswith Iran amounted to anational emergency.

The controversial movehas angered those whofear that the weaponsmay be used againstcivilians in Yemen bySaudi-led forces.

Weapons will alsoreportedly be sold to theUnited Arab Emiratesand Jordan.

Members of the USCongress have heavilycriticised Saudi Arabia’shuman rights record overits role in the Yemenconflict and for the mur-der of Saudi journalistJamal Khashoggi inIstanbul last October.

U.S. flog €7bn inweapons to Saudi

Arms deal . . . Trump

PUTTING THEIR LIVES IN ORDER . . .

Patricia and Ken

Says Feng Shui guru PATRICIA LOHAN

26 ............... Tuesday, April 2, 2019 1RM

DOING the good deed on Saturday got me in a bit of a squeeze and it has left me concerned.

I went to the Leinstergame in the Aviva and took the opportunity to use the Dart to get there — use public transport where pos-sible, they say!

Well, doing the gooddeed isn’t something I’ll be in a rush to do again because the capacity of the Dart line cannot facilitate things like sta-dium events, as far as I’m concerned.

On the way to the match the carriages were uncomfortable to say the least.

Think of any rush hour jam you like and add more people — particularly small kids who are the most vul-nerable. By Clontarf it was getting hot and jammed, by Pearse Street it was ridiculous.

Yet even there, morepassengers were allowed to force their way into the carriages.

After Pearse, the crowd made groans as the packed train moved with the bend.

I actually got off a stop early at Grand

Canal Dock due to the claustrophobic atmo-sphere onboard.

After the game, the queues forced into nar-row lines by crash barri-ers to get on the Dart were manic.

I decided to go backto Grand Canal Dock hoping to avoid some of the jam only to real-ise that it was closed (to manage crowds I’m told — fair enough) but after walking to Pearse Street, I noticed people with kids even having to walk as far as Connolly to try to get on a train.

I tweeted Irish Rail who reaffirmed the crowd control logic of the closed stations but, in my opinion, this needs to be looked at as I don’t know if it’s working.

Obviously everyonegot to their destination safely, but I can’t say that it was with ease or that people felt safe due to crowds both on the train itself and the size of the queues to get home afterwards.

I think Irish Rail should really consider if there are enough trains on for these events or if ushering people to one station is the right approach.

Nobby’s

WITH MARK NOBLE

STRAWBERRYALARM CLOCKwith Jim-Jim & Nobby

Weekdays 6am-10am(Best of...) Saturdays 9am-12pm

By AOIFE BANNON

A YOUNG girl who losther leg to cancer hastold how she’s beensigned up as a model.

Bernadette Hagans, 22, hadher right leg amputated last

October after she wasdiagnosed with a rareform of cancer calledsynovial sarcoma.

But Bernadette says she’sdetermined to look only at thepositives and is embracing anew career as a model.

She explained: “Modelling isamazing as I can just beme and my disability doesn’thold me back.”

The Belfast girl had sufferedpain in her leg for almost ayear before she was eventually

diagnosed with cancer.After being told her leg would

need to be amputated, Berna-dette said she was simply con-cerned about how her familywould take the news.

She added: “I knew I couldn’tchange it. It was happening andI just needed to deal with it.

“But at the same time I knewmy family would take it badly.

“I hadn’t told them aboutwhat was happening as I didn’twant them to worry.”

She added: “So I just made ajoke about it. I figured if I cankeep them laughing then theywouldn’t be crying.

“With my friends as well, thefact that I was talking about itand joking meant it wasn’t awk-ward. They felt able to speak tome about it and ask questions.

“Cancer doesn’t just affect you,it affects everyone around youand I just wanted everyone tobe able to talk about it and notbe upset.

“My family were shocked butbecause I was laughing, theyknew I was OK and then theywere OK.”

Bernadette learned to walkagain in January and was dis-charged from hospital.

Fitted with a prosthetic, fash-ion-forward Bernadette wasdetermined not to hide her leg.

She said: “I think becausewhen I told people about theamputation, a lot of them said,‘Oh, at least you can wearjeans’. People thought I wouldn’tbe able to wear a dress againand I just thought, ‘I’ll wearwhat I want to wear’.

“People do look twice whenthey see me, but not in abad way. I think they’rejust interested.”

In February, Bernadettecontacted modellingagency Zebedee, whichworks with models fromdifferent, more diversebackgrounds, as sheadmired their work.

To her surprise, theagency asked for herphotos. She flew toLondon to do testshoots and has been

signed to their books,with work alreadyflooding in.

She said: “I’m not amodel. I’d never

modelled before.I was initiallygoing to say no

but then Ithought of kids who

have had amputations andthat it might be cool forthem to see a model witha prosthetic. They mightsee me do it and realisethey can too.”

Currently cancer free,Bernadette didn’tundergo further chemo-therapy after her sur-gery but may have to ifthe cancer returns.

She does, however, stillsuffer from phantompain in her leg.

But she told how she’sthrilled to be embracingnew opportunities shenever thought possible.

She said: “I find itfun. I’m not nervousbecause I’m enjoying it.I’m 5ft 3in and I haveone leg. I never thoughtI’d be doing this!”

CANCER SURVIVOR ON NEW FOUND ROLE

I’m 5ft 3in and

only have one leg... I’d never thought I could be a model

IN DEMAND . . . Bernadette has

signed for London agency Zebedee

6I can just be me and it doesn’t hold me back7

26 ............... Sunday, May 19, 2019 1RM

By KEIRAN SOUTHERN

FANS have been given alook at the TV adaptionof Philip Pullman’s bookseries His Dark Materialsin a new trailer.

Produced for the BBCand HBO, the show stars14-year-old actress DafneKeen as Lyra and Scot-tish star James McAvoyas Uncle Asriel.

Pullman’s His DarkMaterials trilogy, consist-ing of The Golden Com-pass, The Subtle Knife,and The Amber Spyglass,tells a story of a worldwhere human souls existoutside the body in theform of animals.

The visually strikingtrailer gives a glimpse ofthe show’s fantastical ele-ments, such as witches,Zeppelins and armouredpolar bears. It is slatedfor release in late 2019.

CRAZED COPA cop was arrested

after she tried to hire ahitman to kill herex-husband, as well as achild, in New York.

Trailer for Pullman’s Materials

Novels . . . Philip

FORMER roofer PaulByrne has told howan accident at workinspired him to begina new career — asa midwife.

Paul, 50, broke 11 bonesafter falling from a roofin January 2011, spendingover three months inhospital and rehab.

Having also lost his long-term partner Ann in 2010,Paul said the care of thehealthcare staff made himrealise that he wanted to dosomething “life-affirming”.

The Dubliner took on aone-year ‘access’ course inInchicore College, which hepassed with distinction,before going to the UK totrain for three years at theUniversity of West London.

Now three years qualified,Paul, who works at London’sNorthwick Park Hospital,

told how being a midwife isthe rewarding job he alwaysdreamed of.

He said: “I thought build-ing was tough until I wentinto midwifery. It’s longhours and it’s hard work —but I absolutely love it.

“It’s an extraordinary privi-lege to be there when a babyis born. I don’t think I deliverbabies, women deliver babies.I’m there as a cheerleader.”

Although being a malemidwife has brought itschallenges, Paul insisted thathe doesn’t take it personallywhen patients ask to be seenby a female midwife instead.

He said: “Sexism isn’t justgender-based, it can comefrom men and women.

“I’m not a man in my job,I’m just a healthcare profes-sional. My gender, the colourof my skin, all those thingsare irrelevant.

“I just tell patients ‘My jobis to make sure you’re OK’.But I also get mistaken for a

doctor a lot because I’mmale and older so that’ssomething I have to be con-scious of. People can mistak-enly assume experience.”

Paul, from Sandyford inDublin, originally left schoolafter fifth year and went intoroofing, as his dad was aroofing contractor.

After his accident, Paulrealised that he wouldn’t beable to continue roofing andreckons that it was a bless-ing in disguise.

He said: “When I had theaccident, I was still grievingand it was the only way Iwas letting people care forme. We all have our chal-lenges. It’s what you do withthem that counts. I was for-tunate in that I had tremen-dous support from familyand friends.”

Now engaged to Dublin-based Sheila, Paul commutesback and forth between theUK and Ireland.

He said: “It depends onjobs but I would hope tocome back at some point.”

I thought building was tough until I tried midwifery...

ROOFER ON RADICAL CAREER CHANGE

By AOIFE BANNON

THE MIDWIFE LIFE . . . Paul at hospital