A weekend in Dublin

Dublin is a great city. Yes, on the surface it looks a lot like London with Irish flags, but as I've stressed so many times on this blog, the Irish are a people all of their own. By virtue of the fact that they are a small island they exist apart from the rest of the world, and for the most part uninfluenced by them. That is of course changing, the fact that they've joined Europe has not only seen a massive amount of money and infrastructure pour into the place, but it has seen immigration levels rise to previously unheard of levels.

But, it is still very easy to talk to a random Irishman or woman. Go into any pub and ask a question. However, as the following conversation illustrates, the conversation is not always a straight forward affair. I went out on Saturday with some cousins and ended up crashing at their hotel. Woke up, waved goodbye to Steven and Andrew, before taking off in the direction of where I assumed Landsdowne Road train station was.

10 minutes later, hopelessly lost with the first signs of a dawning hangover. Stop at a newsagent. Whilst purchasing a red bull, I asked 'Can you please tell me how to get to Lansdowne Road train station'?

His response, without batting an eyelid, 'Well, it is Sunday. What you need to do is head down that road there'...etc

Of course, this isn't the funniest thing in the world when I write it down sober. Quite clearly he was attempting to alert me to the fact that Ireland takes the sabbath very seriously, no one does anything on Sunday. Including the trains, had to wait for close to an hour in the end. But at the time, whilst still struggling for consciousness, all I could think about was which direction he would have sent me on a Thursday.

The trip of course ended in complete disaster when the Irish were beaten by Argentina and eliminated from the World Cup. They played like a team without a brain and suffered at the hands of a disciplined Pumas side with a point to prove. The upside was that I got to watch the game in a pub packed full of Irish fans in a pub around the corner from where I used to live as a kid, which was very special. Many thanks to Carl for sorting that out.

Mum was there. It was great to see her on her home patch so to speak. It was great to see Wendy, Carl, Adam, Toby, Anne, Mona, Chris, Steven, Andrew, many thanks to them all for super break. Many thanks also to the cow that provided me with one of the best steaks I've ever eaten in Malahide on Saturday night.

Going home in a week for Nigel's wedding. Last time was 9 months ago, might be a little different this time. We'll see.