La Vie en Rose a Galway

So my fantastic new blog was meant to be totally anonymous and abstract and thought-provoking but frankly I've already run out of ideas so I think I'll just write about what's happening in my life right now....

I'm back living in Galway and, aside from the weather, it's great. Enjoying, as I am, ridiculously long secondary teacher holidays I've lots of free time for meeting people for coffee, lunch, sushi, whatever's going really. The streets buzz with buskers, shoppers, loungers and posers; everyone's open and friendly and already I've signed up to volunteer at all the festivals, perform in the Macnas parade and have been made the City Arts Officer (Ok I'm kidding in that last part-note to self-don't joke about the dream job). It's so different to Drogheda I can't even begin to explain to Galway people just how much of a contrast there is.

I lived in Drogheda for 3 years and when I first moved there I emailed every theatre company and arts group volunteering to get involved--nobody ever took me up. The only professional theatre company there does all it's rehearsals in Dublin because that's where the actors live. It's a thriving, developing town but it has no soul; at least not one I could grasp.* If you said you were from Galway to a Drogheda person they'd look at you sideways wondering what could have brought you there; in Galway if you meet a person from Timbuktu at a party you're a) not surprised and b)usually somehow related to them......They came to study for a semester 5 years ago and wound up staying, getting married and now have an Irish accent. I don't know what it is that makes one town so different from another but I'm really questioning whether I could/should ever go back to Drogheda, job or no job.

In the meanwhile my swing dancing is coming along nicely and I'm keenly looking forward to my upcoming trip to Swing Camp in Sweden. Yes you heard me, swing camp. In Sweden. Joke and snigger all you like but I'm going, I'm going to dance many pairs of socks off and meet many good-looking men (with rhythm) some of whom might even be straight. Herrang is a tiny village somewhere near Stockholm that's only claim to fame is a once a year one month long Dance Camp featuring lessons in Lindy Hop, Boogie-Woogie, Balboa, Jazz steps - basically it's the world's biggest Swing Dance Camp and since it was founded in 1982 it's expanded enormously. This year being the 25th Anniversary it's attracting massive crowds from all over the world esp America, Australia and Europe. The legendary Frankie Manning (aged 92) will be along as a teacher. Check out the video bar to the right to see him in action.

Next report from Herrang Home for Loony Lindy-Hoppers :)





*Before all Drogheda people write in to correct me let me amend by saying that there were elements of Drogheda I loved: Clarke's Bar, Carberry's, Monk's cafe, the crazy back lanes and steps to secret valleys, the Drogheda sense of humour, the accent (Shakes-pee-yur...you haven't lived till you've heard Macbeth in a Louth accent), Bettystown strand. If you've grown up in Drogheda it's probably a great place to live but it's a hard place to crack into as an outsider.