‘Tis the season to be jolly,
Lots of reason for acts of folly,
Turkey and ham, Brandy and wine,
Presents so wham, Gifts so fine,
T-shirts and socks, Handcreams and clocks.

Family and friends gather round,
United in blood by ties that bound,
Celebrate whats Yours…Ours…Mine,
Those past times, those past Father Times,
We remember where our loyalties lie.

To you and yours. Cheers everyone!!

Anyway, Guillamene is just outside Tramore in Co Waterford and they’re ‘NO’ signs everywhere. Needless to say, there’s a committee who look after the place.

Originally, it was a men-only swimming area so NO women were allowed. The sign is still there but it’s just a reminder of times past. Now, there’s NO fishing, NO radios, NO diving, NO dogs and more that I can’t remember now.

Strange place, anyway. A stone’s throw away is Newtown Cove which is much nicer. Though I wouldn’t throw a stone because it’s probably not allowed! Newtown Cove holds one special memory for me.

One time, when I was younger and drove cars like the Toyota Starlet (oh, the shame), I used to visit friends in the area. One warm evening, I drove very enthusiastically down the boreen (small road) to this beach.

I’d just bought The Stone Roses’ Second Coming and their first song, Breaking into Heaven, burst out of the speakers as my car flashed underneath the overhanging trees lining the road.

And then, just as the intro crescendoed into the main body of the song, my car burst out of the tree’s shadows and into the sunlight. It was a magical moment as the music, the (car) speed, the location and the weather all combined to create an experience that was more than the sum of their parts. It was only later that I discovered that the song was called Breaking into Heaven. Years later, I now have bigger cars but I’ll always remember that day.

I’m still trying to recreate that moment (with music!) and break into heaven.

A few years ago, he (+ 1 wife, +1 child) got a ‘great’ (cancellation) deal on a 4 bed detached family house with 1 parking space and no front garden. There’s no visitor parking apparently. Both him and his missus have cars so he’d normally just park on the grass verge opposite his house.

All seemed to be going well until his management company painted double yellow lines on the street outside his home. Well, you can guess what happened next. He got clamped outside his own house one night! So that was it, they were moving. He wasn’t going to put up with this shite no more. Anyway, all their friends had houses on 1/2 an acre in the ‘countryside’ (Rathoath) anyway.

Yesterday it was announced that the new Metro line to the Airport and Swords would effectively run past the front of his estate. Now his house is going to be worth megabucks. The metro line doesn’t mean anything to him personally since he’s got a 4×4. Turns out he won’t be moving afterall.

However, he’s just had a second baby. Once the ‘shock’ of that wears off, I suspect they’ll move upwardly mobile to rural Rathoath and rent out the original house. He works in a cash business (not drugs!) so it’ll all work out in the end.

It’s a funny old world, innit.

And yes, that is a floral bouquet bouncing off your nasal passage.

Against my better judgement, I watched the Ireland v Argentina rugby game this afternoon. In the final quarter of the game, the Setanta commentator made a pithy comment that ultimately was a damning judgement on Ireland’s performance. ‘Oh’, I thought to myself, ‘I should write that down so I won’t forget it’. Sadly, the Sunday afternoon stupor meant I was too lazy to rouse myself to find pen and paper.

It was a two-word phrase – easy enough to remember? All I had to do was remember the first word (homeopathic) and the second word would spring forth. But now I can’t remember!

It was something like, ‘homeopathic aggression’, homeopathic defence’, or even ‘homepathic gameplan’. Actually, they all apply.

It’s also my birthday tomorrow so I’ve also lost another year. I really am losing it.

Speaking of swimming pools, is there nothing more pathetic than a grown man naked except for his socks and underwear/swimming togs?

Add beer paunch and/or hairy back for complete mental horror.

Eventually, after a quick jaunt up the Royal Canal, I ended up in the Phoenix Park. Once there, I thought I’d have a look at Farmleigh House and see what all the fuss was about. However, on the approach road to Farmleigh, the heavens opened and it started to really rain. I took shelter in the trees at the back of the OSI. The ‘shower’ lasted a bit longer than five minutes and I started to worry that I’d be stranded for the evening!

In the end though, it all worked out. The rain started to penetrate the tree cover and drop on a little ‘meadow’ of nettles that were growing under the trees. It was like watching a silent dance. To my bored mind, it was quite rhythmic as individual raindrops dropped on different nettles seemingly every second. I couldn’t see the raindrops as they descended but, second by second, I’d see a different nettle shiver and shake as the raindrop energised it. It was captivating.

Sadly, due to bad light and the absence of a tripod, I couldn’t capture any decent images but I eventually got this photograph of a thornbush that was growing through the nettles.

You must know how I’m going to finish this post?

Every (rain) cloud has a silver lining! (although I didn’t get to see Farmleigh)

As I mentioned in my last entry, I came down here to Dungarvan last Friday to collect a painting I’d bought recently. I travelled here on my own as I only intended to stay a day or two. But, a week later, I’m still here and, oddly enough, I’m having the time of my life.

Previously, Dungarvan would have failed my ‘Wet Wednesday in November’ test. By that, I mean I would have despaired at the unavailability of the newspapers before 9am, or the lack of cultural activities, and the shortage of good food (The Tannery being a notable exception). The local ‘O’Briens Sandwich Bar’ doesn’t open until ‘shortly’ after the official 10am opening. The urban-dweller in me couldn’t understand how the locals managed without their morning take-out coffee!

But this time it’s different. It’s still the same town, with the same expensive prices and shoddy customer service (Lady Belle excepted), but there’s an energy about the place that’s infectious. The local shops are getting touched up in anticipation of the tourist season. The €10 ‘meat and two veg’ restaurants are abuzz with activity as their new furniture is delivered. Even one of the local bookshops is shut temporarily as, I dunno. they dust their shelves? As far as I know, school is still ongoing. But there can’t be too long to go to summer holidays and the teenagers are itching to be set free. They’re itching to get going in other ways as well. The local public parks are virtual no-go area’s in the early evenings as the teenagers have a roll around ‘in the hay’ before their school buses take them home to their (presumably) unsuspecting parents.

Spring is definitely in the air and I’ve a spring in my step as the long weekend approaches. Think I’ll grab another pint.

Had a lie-in this morning before going to the gym. I spent so long in the jacuzzi that I started to feel a bit sea-sick! But it was worth it because it’s so relaxing and calming. Then it was into town to do a bit of shopping. I got the bus into town since Dublin is such a nightmare for parking these days.

I pressed the button at the traffic lights to cross the road to get the bus stop. Normally there’s an interminable wait for the bus drivers to finish their tea and drive their buses. But today, the lights changed just in time to stop an approaching bus so I had an easy stroll to the bus. Once in town, I found another art of asbestos sticker on Fade street. It’s a bit blurry because I used my camera phone but it reads, I’ve lost my English-Japanese dictionary. Now finding it hard to buy cheap whiskey in Tokyo. If you find it mail me at…’

First stop was Conn’s Camera Shop to buy a new monopod for my camera. I’m really growing fond of the place because of the pleasant staff and the keen prices. And they always have what I want in stock (hello Berminghams!!). A short stroll brought me to the bookshop and, hallelujah, the new Lee Child (Jack Reacher) book, Bad Luck and Trouble, was in stock. I also bought Niall McCullough’s tome, ‘Dublin, an Urban History: The plan of the city‘. The latter one could be heavy going but there’s lots of pictures so that’s alright!

On the way home, I decided to do something vaguely healthy so I got off the bus a couple of stops before I needed to. The bright idea was to walk that little bit extra so I could call it exercise. Of course, that all went out the window when I spotted a man walking out of a shop with a 99 ice-cream. It’s a bit like admitting an addiction but I had to get an ice-cream as well. Ice-cream before noon – what would the neighbours say if they found out!

Once home, I bought new CD’s by Maria McKee and Wilco from CDwow.ie. I don’t know why anyone would buy music from High St shops anymore. They were €12 each on the internet. Some wag will surely point out that Maria McKee isn’t worth a penny but €12 is a big saving over the sticker price in shops.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an exhibition by Kilkenny-based William Watson in Dungarvan’s Old Market House Arts Centre and put a deposit on one of his paintings. He co-exhibited with his father (Tom) because William couldn’t come up with enough work in time for the exhibition. Artists are such a temperamental bunch. Still, I get to collect it this Friday and I hope I still like it!

Finally, I get to go to the pub tonight to watch a football match. Liverpool are playing in some final in Greece. I think they beat the same opponents in the same competition a couple of years ago and tonight is revenge-time. It was kinda funny when they won the last final because Liverpool could say they were European Champions (just like the English rugby team claiming to be the World Champions a few years ago) and, since then, they’ve lost loads of matches. Still, I get to go the pub, yippee!!

Seeing as how well my day has gone so far, I bought a lotto ticket because there’s a big jackpot tonight.

Today could end up being a very good day indeed! A very good day indeed.

Feile na Deise