laughing 12 October 2008
Meself and Himself travelled to London’s Glittering West End to see David O’Doherty do his award-winning Edinburgh show. If there is a better laugh out there, I don’t know it. If there is a nicer more wonderful mind to be in for an hour or so, I don’t know it. Do check him out if he is adjacent to you in any way over the next while – you will thank me for this advice. And for those of you who cannot ‘get’ him live in the UK check him out on You Tube…magical, whimsical, FUNNY stuff. And a bit mad.
Other than that, and speaking of tubes, I am on an economy drive so I insisted on taking the Tube from Heathrow and Himself took the fast train to Paddington and then the Tube from there – he was only in a few moments ahead of me and considerably lighter of the pocket. We had done it as a scientific experiment though he was glad to get his side of the bargain BUT I think we’ll acknowledge that I was the Winner there! And if I’d had an Oyster card I would be CROWING now…guess what Pauline is getting tomorrow?
better 11 October 2008
Saturday was a much better day. I think it helped that I didn’t wake up in a tearing fury with it from the get-go. After that every little helped, to paraphrase a supermarket who have employed me to give their catchphrase to the general public from time to time (and bless ‘em for it – it has paid many’s the bill). The rain stayed away. A few minor things got done, as was the case yesterday, but today that was somehow enough, as opposed to the feeling of a wasted life yesterday. Yup, got out the right side of the bed today. Which helped. Now, if only I could remember the side…
Not a lot to report, therefore.
It did occur to me today, though, that we have a budget coming next Tuesday in Ireland and ALSO that’s the night of the Booker and we are in with a chance of winning on the coat-tails of Sebastian Barry. So, a Budget and a Booker – Big Day for The Irish.
Packed more stuff away as the invasion truly begins next week…The worst of it all is that we are managing perfectly well without everything that’s been in boxes for the last 4 months, proving we have TOO MUCH STUFF…but some of it is very beautiful and from time to time also useful…I’ll not jettison the contents of those boxes till they are unpacked…probably some time in 2009 the way things are going…
friday nights 10 October 2008
There is no doubt in my mind that Friday night tv is largely SHITE. And I am usually in to see it, which probably makes me a saddo – yet, I will say that anyone I text about a programme is also watching it so perhaps it’s a generational thing (not an idea that fills me with joy). I must admit straight off that we only have a handful of terrestrial stations in the house so that limits the choice even further. There is also a strange and unwelcome ticking noise coming from the ancient set at the moment. I kinda fancy there’s a bad electrical ‘thing’ happening because it seemed to flicker with each tick for a while after it was turned on this evening. Knowing us, it’ll have to actually die/explode before we turn it on and off a few times, decide it’s beyond repair and replace it. And then we are going to have to go digital too. It all seems way too technical for a luddite like me. So, I found myself sitting in front of an ailing tv watching nothing much and praying for 9 o’clock to come around so that I could start thinking about going to bed. That’s how much of a washout this day has been.
It was a vague disaster from start to finish – from finding the beautiful wool scarf that had been boiled in the wash and RUINED, to the news that the building work is getting even more steadily behind and would we mind if the heating and water were turned off from now until Christmas? (very much so, being the answer to that). And it LASHED rain all day. I couldn’t get an ounce of motivation together to read the books that must be done for the Costa Award judging (and which are wonderful) or the tax return that the accountant is now baying for. If there had been drink in the house I’d‘ve been well tempted to lash into it and hang the consequences. Instead, I somehow muddled through and a few minor things got done and a dinner made and off to bed early. I give up on this day and hope that tomorrow is a better one.
Oh, and I still don;t know why Friday tv is so bad – do the stations not expect people to be watching or what?
crime 9 October 2008
It seems a close (elderly, though she won’t thank me for saying that) relative of mine has turned to crime. The Fraud Squad are on the case. Apparently she bought a high definition television last Saturday on her credit card to the value of 969 euro…in Thailand…Furthermore, the Squad aren’t just going to take her word for it that she didn’t do that and was in Ireland all along. Proof will be needed. She’s 72 years old and I guess they get a bit frisky at that age, eh? She SAYS she wasn’t in Thailand last weekend…but…well, if the cops aren’t quite convinced I don’t know why I should believe her – though on balance I’d have to say I do think she’s telling the truth. We shall see. Until the matter is cleared up the debt and all interest accrued is hers – I’m glad it hasn’t phased her a bit as I would go nuts if I thought she was losing sleep over what is not (at least according to herself) her purchase. Mind you, if I go to her house and see a fine new tv in situ there’ll be questions asked…
Myself and Richard have long thought that a cab company called Silent Taxis would be a good thing and would certainly get our business. Imagine my delight, then, to get into a lovely Mercedes home from the airport tonight and not a peep out of the driver…BUT the whack of BO off him was only woeful. I guess you could say he honked, but in a silent way.
pronouncing 8 October 2008
In the midst of all the financial mayhem Ian Paisley has raised himself up off the cot and declared
‘I trust the whole nation will turn in repentance and cry to God for an intervention so that calamity will not come on our children and on the babes in their cots.’
You gotta love the guy!
I still don’t quite understand what is going on and I REALLY don’t know why so many people who have driven the world’s economy and economies into this mess are being rewarded for it – well, it don’t look like punishment to me from here…
dream 8 October 2008
I had the weirdest dream last night which featured the term ‘subcutaneous massage’ – nope, not a normal one at all, unless you are some sort of physio, I’m guessing, and even then you need to get out more if you are dreaming such stuff. Not quite sure where my cutaneous is let alone the underneath part of it.
There is an Irish movie coming called A Film With Me In It and I went to the premiere last night (not a mention of the dream theme, see above, so still dunno why it arose). It’s is SO funny and dark and when it comes to your cinema you must elbow people out of the way to get in. It stars Dylan Moran – that’s MORan to us Irish and morAN to everyone else in the world – and Mark Doherty, who wrote and starred in it. It revolves around a lot of unfortunate coincidences and is really good. Mark told me towards the end of the night, in the gentlest way he could without slapping me, that I call his girlfriend, Sylvie, Sophie 8 out of 10 times and it must stop. Well, at least I am GENERALLY consistent and it’s a nice name…I have been called so much worse…though I hope Sylvie hasn’t (or do I mean Sophie? EEK)
shiraz 6 October 2008
I ran out of tea today, or so I thought. Believe me this is not a situation I let happen often. I go into a decline if I think I can’t have random and regular cuppas. I have made myself a little tea station on the landing by the bedrooms so that when the builders’ invasion of the house is complete (I hear that could be next week) I will still have the wherewithal to make a brew, and also do coffee also of which I am also very fond indeed (that includes instant). Anyhow I needn’t have fretted because I had a good half a pack of teabags in a cupboard downstairs. I haven’t tasted these ones in a while and they were very distinctive. They are a Robert Roberts organic and fairtrade blend and they are quite peppery, which leads me to now think of them as the Shiraz of tea. And that thought also leads to the notion that when people describe wines as having ‘old sock’ overtones and so on, maybe it ain’t so whimsical…
Here’s a strange one, though. When we were dining out in London last week there was a dish of monkfish cheeks offered on the menu…WHAT? Is that a particular ‘cut’ of fish, cos I rather think you’d need a good few monkfish involved if you were using only part of their faces. And I can’t imagine they’d be that tender – surely the scalier side of things? I’d be grateful to hear from any monkfish experts out there re same.
too old 5 October 2008
Ah here now, I am getting too old to party. Myself and Himself were out to friends for dinner last night and today has nearly been cancelled as a result – which is a great reason to stay abed reading novels and the papers. All such gloomy news in the latter so I have abandoned the cot. Richard also tells me that lots of Irish bankers bought up shares in their banks forseeing the government would guarantee the institutions and those self same BANKERS are now sitting on further personal riches – shocking. I’ll have to leave the house now for a while as a) the weather is lovely, b) we have no food in and c) having spent last night in a neat, clean and finished house our current mess is getting me down. Will it EVER be finished? Also there is the matter of a very vocal pussycat who wants SOMETHING today but cannot decide what and feels complaint is in order by way of protest. Oh lord, I have just had a flashback of me picking my dinner up in my hands to eat it last night – a poulet, since you ask…that’s not great manners when in someone else’s house, is it?
freedom 4 October 2008
Had a great London night with the Hubby and mum in law – we went to a play at the Royal Court – given the fact that I had scored only one hour’s sleep the night before it was fortunate that said play was 90 minutes through without an interval. It was also very good – smart and thoughtful. Basically about how one man’s protest or joke, even, is another’s deadly insult and how the individual has responsibilities beyond himself, and also taking in the whole right to freedom of speech. Splendid.
Then, on to THE IVY no less – the mammy in law hadn’t been there since she was in her teens. Lovely meal and a stroll home through Soho. We met a fabulous Boston Terrier called Bibi and I fell a little in love (again). Don’t tell the G – she really wouldn’t understand…
The reason for the Thursday night letting off of steam, by the way, was that we were shown a (second-last) cut of Hell’s Pavement – the movie I made earlier in the year here in London. It looks very well and Connor Byrne is walking off with it (damn him). I was a bit disappointed in my own performance – yes, I know I will always be the most critical of that but I do think that some of the things I attempted didn’t quite work though probably they won’t bother other people as much if at all. It’s mostly to do with the delivery of awkward and stilted lines (there were a few still in there when we filmed and there’s quite a bit of technical stuff about fostering in there that’s hard to make sound truly natural) but the scenes where myself and Connor improvised are magical so I am proud of those.
the wagon 3 October 2008
Fell off it quite badly last night and had one of those London experiences where you realise this place ain’t a 24 hour town. There is nowhere to get a drink late at night…so a few of us ended up having coca cola and a burger in a little place on Old Compton Street. Then me and a mate had a huge heart to heart and I didn;t get to bed as a result till after 6!!!! shriek – at my age??? In tatters now with the head hoppin and the thirst RAGIN and the mammy-in-law about to walk in the door with Himself looking for a good time in this godforsaken city. I can only pray for a swift death later..and a few solpadeine…