Post-Galway Comedown

Just had a wonderful 2 weeks in Galway for the family wedding and Arts Festival. Most days I'd have a swim at Blackrock followed by hours of coffee drinking and theatre attendance.

Working for a living is highly over-rated...

Firebirds on High St during the Festival

Peter Crawley does a good job of summing up the festival in the Irish Times here: Disquiet on the Western Front

My own personal highlights were:
- Decadent's production of Blackbird - a gripping two-hander about a convicted paedophile being confronted by his victim with many unexpected twists,
- David O'Doherty's lunchtime show at the King's Head - extreme hilarity without offense or discomfort
- Bon Iver's haunting melodies at the Big Top...despite it not being an ideal venue for such intimate music the songs were captivating and Justin Vernon's obvious affection for Galway gave the show a special edge
- Propeller's all-male production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - hilarious, spirited and utterly magical.

Circa's show Furioso was disappointing. The performers displayed their acrobatic skills without a shred of humour, excitement or charisma. There was no narrative, no character - nothing to engage the audience. Having heard such good things about previous shows it was a real let-down.

The Macnas parade too was somewhat anti-climactic appearing shambolic and pathetically small due to miscommunication about its layout. The crowd were not aware that the show was really the finale at the Cathedral and not the parade through the town. We had talked up the Parade hugely to all the wedding guests over from Scotland but most looked decidedly unimpressed on the night. I realise that budgets were greatly tightened this year but decent communication and marshalling doesn't cost a dime - it just involves better organisation.

I have to admit - the Ghost horse was pretty cool though:



And so the Arts Festival is over for another year. I'm boycotting the Races due to lack of energy/funds but will meet up with the gang in Galway for the Bank Holiday weekend.

As long as I can spend most of my summers in Galway...I think I'll be happy.

Good Morning

Festival season is upon once more and it's time I awoke from the summer stupor I've been in for the past 6 weeks. The Film Fleadh is on this weekend and will be closely followed by the Arts Festival and the Races...and more importantly the Wedding of the Century takes place on the 18th July - if the Dobbyns can survive this they can survive anything.


I shouldn't imply that I've been doing nothing for the last while - I've been doing nothing only most of time. The rest of the time I've been super busy. Festival season in Galway actually kicked off early this year with the wonderful Volvo Ocean Race in June. Two weeks of free concerts, a festival village, shiny boats and gorgeous sunny, warm weather made it a great time to be unemployed in Galway.

I had a chance to hang out with my Galway buds, soak up lots of sunshine and engage in my favourite past-time - talking about how great Galway is. The Californian beau got completely sunburned on the day of the airshow in Salthill . He no longer laughs at belobstered Irish people.

The much stressed-about and heralded Hen Night also took place in June and was quite successful if I do say so myself. We enjoyed High Tea at the Balmoral on the Saturday afternoon to start things off. My photo album of amusing snaps of the bride-to-be went down a treat as did the yummy cakes and several divine gingerbread lattes (possibly the most delicious drink I've ever had).

We adjourned to Lorna's flat for hen games and final alterations to our bras for the Moonwalk we were doing that night in aid of Breast Cancer charities. Mark had submitted some hilarious answers to the Mr & Mrs game questionnaire and despite the challenge Lorna still managed to score 75% overall. She also won all the prizes in the pass the parcel game which included a dashing apron, rubber gloves and a dustpan. Oh the merriment.

We finalised our preparations for the 13 mile walk due to start at midnight and were most proud of our fringed, floral, sparkley bras. See here:


And off we headed to Inverleith Park to walk the walk along with around 10,000 other people - mostly women but quite a few men participating also. The craic was mighty in the giant pink tent and we sat and gawped at the inventive costumes and brassieres parading around us...nuns with hands grabbing their breasts, superheroes and animal themed outfits abounded. After waiting around a little longer than desirable we hit the road at midnight.

I was fairly confident that walking 13 miles would be no bother to be so didn't bother with the vaseline all over the feet and failed to pack any bandaids. Sure I'd ran a half-marathon last year - this would be a doddle.

Not so sadly - turns out walking for 4 and a half hours is actually pretty tough. Especially when it's around the rather hilly city of Edinburgh. By mile 9 my feet were starting to seriously blister and if it wasn't for the compedes generously donated by more organised walkers (ie Mark's Mum) I would have been a gonner.

As it was I was thoroughly wrecked by the time we finished in broad daylight back at Inverleith park. How the other half of the crowd kept going for another 13 miles to do the full marathon I have no idea. Getting into bed at 5am was one of the happiest memories I have in recent times--following only the memory of getting into a hot bath the following day. Bliss.

We finished off the hen with a glorious 4 hour dunch (that meal between lunch and dinner) in the wonderful Brown's on George's St in Edinburgh on the Sunday. Exhausted but happy we wore our yellow medals boastfully only to be out done when a another table of women arrived in wearing the pink medals of the full marathoners. If anyone deserved a good meal that day those ladies did.

After several weeks lazing about Dublin, Galway beckons once again - the Scots invade this weekend and thus the epic 2 week long wedding commences. Don't say the Dobbyns do things by halves.

I intend to soak up as much Arts Festival merriment as possible while still playing the dutiful bridesmaid. Tickets for Bon Iver, Furioso and A Midsummer Night's Dream have already been procured.

Will attempt to report/review when time allows.

The Secret Gardens

The girls and I are moving out of the House of Fun in Inchicore soon. I'm preparing to return to teaching in Drogheda in September so want to move Northside, as does my housemate who works in Swords. The 'Core is no longer where it's at.

To be honest the 'Core was never where it was at. I tried to like the place but the village itself is not the most charming in Dublin. There's little sense of community, no cafés to speak of and limited shopping opportunities. The house was a charming, cosy place to live (apart from being drafty as hell) and I have many happy memories here but the time is nigh to bid adieu.

My favourite aspect of living here was getting to discover and fall in love with the War Memorial Gardens by Islandbridge and I will seriously miss the daily walk to work in Chapelizod through it. It's a secret oasis of elegance and calm in a busy part of the city with rose gardens, tree lined paths, benches by the river Liffey and for me was a little taste of Paris in dear old dirty Dublin.

First mooted in 1919 as a commemoration to all who died in the Great War, The Irish National War Memorial Gardens weren't built till the 1930s. An official opening was planned for 1939 but then World War II broke out and it was shelved.

The Gardens were neglected during the 70s and 80s and even became a halting site for several years. Restoration work took place in the 80s but it wasn't finally and officially dedicated until 2006!





The park consists of two beautifully maintained sunken rose gardens (left) surrounding a central memorial area with two fountains (see above), a War Stone of Irish granite and a Great Cross of Sacrifice.


Outside of the main Gardens the park stretches to the Liffey and a walk-way by the river continues all the way into Chapelizod.



This stretch of river is home to all the major rowing clubs in Dublin and sees individuals and teams of rowers demonstrating their prowess with oars at all times of the day.

It's also home to an array of wildlife including stately herons, sun-bathing cormorants, elegant swans, not-so-elegant ducks and occasional groups of exhausted looking brent geese on the way to warmer or cooler climes.




There are currently several families of adorable fluffy ducklings and cygnets who've made the river bank their home and I would advise any broody females out there to pay a visit to ooh and aah over the squeeze-them-in-the-cheek cute balls of fluff. There are two mama ducks, one with seven ducklings, the other with five and two swan families, one with one cygnet and the other with nine! The family of nine cygnets is beyond cute. It's especially nice to see swan daddies being so devoted to their young...unlike daddy ducks who are useless articles who force poor female ducks into submission then abandon them to raise the ducklings alone. Hmph.

The park is also a favourite with local dog-walkers and unlike Phoenix Park it's possible to see the same faces (and the same dogs) walking the same route every day. There's a loyal community of Memorial Garden walkers out there and once in the park everyone is friendly and genial towards one another. People know each others dogs names, discuss the progress of the duckling and cygnet broods and share broad smiles at being happy to be out in the throes of nature no matter what the weather.

I was part of this community for a short period and I would recommend to any Dublin resident to take a stroll in these Gardens some summer's eve. The roses are coming out and soon there will be a sea of colour in the sunken gardens, the cygnets and ducklings are growing in confidence every day and Suzy the border collie wants you to play tug-o-war with her.

Leave the sqalid bedsit behind and pretend that Dublin is Paris for a while.

Meanwhile I'm away to Galway to soak up some sunshine and Volvo Ocean Race craic - c'est beau la vie.

Quittin' Time

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I realise I haven't posted in the longest of whiles - sincerest apologies but I should start to post far more regularly after May 1st as I'm....

Quitting work!!!!

Yipee!

I'm embarking on a 4 month break from paid employment before I return to the teaching sphere in September. I'll be broke but freeeee...

I've known that I was going to do this for a few months now but it appears to have just hit me here and now at my desk in the office.

*Giddy grinning*

I would have done it like this guy except I actually quite like my co-workers and boss here. Still how much fun would that have been?! Is there anything more satisfying in the world then quitting a job?

No more of this...


or this...


No more alarm clocks, deadlines, meetings, being chained to a desk all day, waiting for other staff members to finish their work before you can get started....No more 'touching base', looking at projects 'going forward' or any office jargon of any type.

No more office.

I realise that celebrating the merits of joblessness is strange right now considering how much unemployment has risen in the past few months and what a desperate situation many young familes with large mortgages are in. My heart goes out to those poor sods who bought houses in the last few years and have recently suffered pay cuts/redundencies/tax hikes etc. Both the banks and the Fianna Fáil government have a lot to answer for with regards to letting the economy run out of control in the boom years.

I'm just in the rare and fortunate position of not having a mortgage, knowing I have a job in September and having enough money saved to tide me over till then. I know I'm being a smug git right now but to hell with it - I'm off to eat me a slice of quitting cake:

What would your album cover look like?

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar imaging software to put it all together.

5 - Post it with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.


And yes I am both bored and uninspired...but this be fun :)

100 Minutes 2009 - Ten New Plays About Now

100 Minutes 2009 opened at the Samuel Beckett Theatre in TCD last night - it runs till the 28th March so plenty of time to get in and see it! Here's the promo:

100 Minutes 2009 brings together some of the freshest acting and directing talent in Ireland today to work with emerging playwrights from around the globe to stage 'ten new plays about now'.

Painted Filly created 100 Minutes, a powerful and exciting format of theatre in which ten new plays by ten international writers are performed by ten actors in a single night. Fast-paced and entertaining, this ensemble production will deliver ten bold new texts in its distinctive 'elemental' style, aggressively focusing on the body, the voice and the empty space.

From fame to fear, foreign policy to flirting, hedge-funds to hunger and a generous dollop of rhubarb and custard along the way, 100 Minutes 2009 gives you ten distinct stories in rapid-fire succession, ten moments snatched from 'credit-crunch' Ireland and beyond.

The production features the acting talents of Sophie Campbell, Hilary Cotter, Mark Gordon, Yare Jegbefume, Aidan Jordan, Mark McCabe, Brenda Meaney, Robert O'Connor, Lorna Quinn, and Claudia Schwartz. It will be directed by Will Irvine, Louise Lowe, Gemma McGill, Bush Moukarzel, Sophie Motley, and Tara Robinson. Design is by Katherine Graham, and Nick Johnson serves as Artistic Director of 100 Minutes 2009.

Painted Filly Theatre is running 100 Minutes for its fourth successive year and gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council for this production. Book your tickets here: www.paintedfilly.com or (01) 896 2461.

World pieces

Not the wildest Saturday evening I've ever had... But we had fun :)

And now I know where the Solomon Islands are...

Stepping Back

Due to excessive levels of stress and anxiety in my life of late, I've decided to take things slow for a while, to switch pace from insane, adrenalin fueled rat to mellow-easy-going snail.

No more having 5 windows open on my laptop at work all day,
no more compulsively checking gmail/facebook/twitter etc etc,
no more listening to/watching the radio/tv and reading the newspaper at the same time,
no more trying to keep up with all the latest movies and theatre,
no more sitting in Dublin traffic,
no more social occasions that I'm only attending out of obligation,
no more rushing,
no more taking on more than I can handle,
no more incessant planning of tomorrow, next week, next month, next year...
no more feeling like I'm running out of time,
no more unnecessary panic,
no more irrational worry,

Yes to more time writing,
yes to more time reading literature as opposed to journalism,
yes to listening to really good music and maybe playing some,
yes to slow meandering walks in the park/the hills/by the sea,
yes to meeting friends over coffee and having a really good chat,
yes to taking time to shop for and cook nice meals,
yes to nights in,
yes to walking to get to my destination,
yes to talking about how I'm really feeling instead of pretending everything is fine,
yes to yoga,
yes to getting and giving massages,
yes to doing one thing at a time and doing it well,
yes to relaxation,
yes to a realistic appraisal of how good my life actually is,


yes to the simple life...

Dimension Tension

I'm not proud of this but I somehow managed to let myself be coerced into going to see My Bloody Valentine 3D at the weekend.

I'm not a big fan of horror at the best of times - I just don't see the point of making yourself deliberately anxious and scared for 2 hours - I can ring my mother for that sort of emotional trauma. The last time I watched scary movies with friends I managed to fling a glass of red wine over the beau who unwisely chose to sit beside me during Dawn of the Dead.

I was not allowed a drink at this movie.

The whole 3D thing did make it an entertaining experience - to look over your shoulder and see a cinema full of people wearing rayban style glasses was amusing and at certain points in the movie it made the goriness pretty dramatic. Mostly I just giggled with my companions over whether it was the mistress or the smouldering ex-boyfriend who was the masked miner pickaxing the poor innocent townspeople.

We also had the added entertainment value of some extremely drunk Dublin scumbags sitting right beside us - it would seem from their willingness to shout at the screen and inability to stay in their seats for more than 5 minutes that the 3D had them really fooled. They were part of the movie as far as they were concerned and even added a 4 dimension to proceedings with their foul odour.

Ah Parnell St...

I was glad by the end that I wasn't watching Revolutionary Road as I had wanted - luckily any interruption of My Bloody Valentine was most welcome.

There were 4 or 5 trailers for other 3D movies which would indicate a strong resurgence in the format - mostly they were animated movies and the trailer for the new Pixar movie Bolt looked really good. The headache that accompanies the use of 3D glasses is not all that pleasant though - feels like you've had your eyes crossed for 2 hours and €15 is a staggering amount to pay for a movie (especially one of My Bloody Valentine's woeful calibre). Being in 3D is not enough--a good script or some decent actors are also necessary.

Speaking of Valentine's Day...It's coming up soon and for the first time in ages I have someone to share it with! Huzzah! Ok, ok it's a Hallmark holiday that is artificially constructed to make couples buy cards and chocolates and flowers etc but...but I'm going out with someone for once so who cares!

Romance and rose petals and chocolate hearts for all!

Resuming Transmission

Apologies for the lengthy break in posting blogs. I have no real excuse for it - apart from the fact that work has actually been quite busy (what's that all about?) and the trip to California was busier than expected...but to be honest I haven't been all that motivated to post - I'm hoping this is about to change.

Barack Obama will be inaugurated as President today - oh really you'd already heard about this? Yup this chap:



Still it's undeniably a day to celebrate and celebrate I will at the Democrats Abroad ball at the Davenport Hotel tonight. Maureen finally convinced myself and Alex to go a few days ago..."it's historic occasion...blah blah etc". Bob and Martina are also going so it should be a good night.

Poor Maureen got dragged on the immensely tedious Questions and Answers last night to represent Democrats Abroad. Just looking at the panel of Irish politicians and listening to their tired excuses for the state of the economy was enough to depress even the most cheerful Irish person. I think this sums it up:



Sigh.