Right place for the left handed

Dear sir - Did you know that one in 10 people are left handed in the world today? And if you are in this minority you know that the world around you is designed for right handers, from power tools to stationary. From birth, left handers are forced to conform and adjust to a world that is not designed for them. Up to 20 years ago in this country the word 'citog' (which means "the strange one" in Gaelic) meant you were less and thought to be sub-par. Many people will tell you of horrific stories of being in school as a left hander, and being forced to write with their right hand as using the left was seen as being unholy as religions like the Jewish and Christian traditions are strongly right-handed in their nature and practices. For Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, and other denominations, the priest must present the communion wafer with the right hand, and the communicant accepts it with the right hand. All benedictions must be made with the right hand, and a priest symbolises the "strong right hand of God." Of course there are many every inconveniences to being left handed from using tin openers that don't open the tin all the way around, scissors that chew up paper, and smudging your work when writing. Children especially can find writing hard and it takes them longer to get it then right handers. Many resource teachers will tell you if a child holds a pencil in the correct tripod posture they have 90 per cent of the work to get children to have perfect hand writing in the future. On the other hand, being left handed has always had its advantages, such as greater intelligence and creativity, for example 20 per cent of Mensa members report to be left handed and around the world many left handers become captains of industry and leaders of men, such as Barack Obama, President of America; Bill Gates, Microsoft founder; Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company; Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach. Now there is somewhere you can get products that are designed for you and your style in Ireland. At 'On The Other Hand' we know that being left handed can be a chore and we specialise in offering products that are designed for ease of use and reduce strain, with products for home and garden, work and school to suit any needs and any age. We opened store www.ontheotherhand.ie to coincide with International Left Handers Day on 13th August around the world if you would like more Information on 'On The Other Hand' you can also find us on twitter and Facebook. See www.ontheotherhand.ie. Yours, James Gogarty 'On The Other Hand' 3 Cedarfield Close, Donore Road, Drogheda.