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Although as a denizen of what we call the modern era I have it in me to appreciate the virtues of both town and country, I can't help noticing, as a result of encountering both of these domains anew in the company of my now 1,000-day-old daughter, that they are not of equal virtue.

When we pass through the countryside, she says things like: "The birds are singing", or, in Irish, "The sun is shining today"; or, in either language, "The moon is asleep." When we pass through a streetscape, she says to me, "Daddy, I love McDonald's."