Suits you sir

Posted on October 3, 2006
Filed Under bureaucracy, chancers, money, photography, Politics, Rant | 1 Comment

Since I’ve taken a few days off, I went into Dublin city centre yesterday to do a bit of shopping and have a wander. A clothes salesman in St Stephen’s Green shopping centre actually said, ‘suits you, sir‘, without irony. Here’s some photo’s I took:

I was tempted to go into town again today. I was thinking of visiting a criminal court to see what happens in a court case or maybe going to visit the Dail to see today’s demonstrations. As it turned out, it probably would have been the same experience – It wasn’t me, guv. Honest! The money was just resting in my account.’

Two groups were planning demonstrations outside the Dail (parliament) and it might have made for some good photo’s if the crowd had started rioting. But having heard what happened in Mayo yesterday with the Shell to Sea protest, I decided against it. Why? In Mayo, the group of protesters started milling around outside the entrance to the Shell compound and prevented the workers from getting in. Eventually, the police turned up and told the protesters to leave. On hearing this command, they all sat down and started reciting prayers. The police left! I’ve heard of ‘God-fearing’ people but this is ridiculous. Today, around 200 police turned up and started carrying away the protestors. Maybe the police bought in an emergency ration of earplugs? Maybe there’s a crack squad of deaf Gardai somewhere?

I wonder if this is a new way to protest? You don’t have to worry about police batons, tear gas, water cannons, police on horse, police video-tapes as evidence in court. All you have to do is say your prayers and the police will turn and run away.

Lots of people seem to be concerned about the current Bertie ‘scandal’. Others will comment better than me but I would just paraphrase a recent letter-writer to the Irish Times.

The ‘debt of honour‘ has become the ‘death of honour‘.

Having listened to the debate in the Dail, I quite liked Pat Rabbitte’s contribution where he noted that when friends give you money, it’s a gift but when strangers give you money, it’s called a loan. Bertie seems to have gotten the two mixed up, i.e., his Irish friends gave him money as a loan which he didn’t pay back (he has now that it’s come into the public domain). And because it was a loan, there was no gift tax to pay. In Manchester, strangers gave him money as a gift, and not as a loan. And because the gift happened outside the State, it did not attract gift tax.

I wasn’t convinced by Bertie. He said he had a joint bank account with his wife but no bank account for a long time after he separated from his wife. He accumulated savings of IR£50,000 in the years up to this period and he didn’t have a bank account. He was the Irish Minister of Finance at the time (and a qualified accountant to boot).

Suits you, sir.

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