Christmas (week 1)

13 Hectic Days in Ireland, thats what Christmas was. The first half made us want to never come back (traffic, driving, weather etc), but thankfully Christmas itself was great, mainly spent with our families, giving Ireland a second chance!
The day we left was a bit mad. We checked into the airport once Jill had finished work, around 3:30, securing ourselves emergency exit seats together. I then went back to work, and Jill went to drop the dogs to the kennels. As she left them off, Toby decided to give Jill a parting gift by peeing on her jeans! Jill then came to pick me up from work, still in her pee jeans as we had no time to go home again, and we headed back to the airport to check through to the departures lounge.
Just before we were due to board the flight, it started bucketing rain. In Cayman, they arent really prepared for this, so to get you to your plane, all you have are airport staff with umbrellas. Needless to say Jill was completely soaked by the time we go to the plane. Any traces of Toby's pee was long gone, but the prospect of an 11 hour flight in soaking clothes wasnt exactly making either of us jump up and down for joy!
The flight was grand. One of the cabin crew befriended us and mad sure we never ran out of wine! We were also seated beside a plug socket allowing us to keep the laptop charged so we could watch our own TV programs and films!
We arrived back in Dublin around 4pm, via London, and picked up the hire car. The M50 was fun to say the least, but we eventually made it to my mothers house where Jill's mum and brother had also just arrived. My sis and her two kids were only a half hour behind, so it was a great reunion. Three hours of tea, coffee, Roses, and Afternoon Tea biscuits later, Jill was on her way back to Athy, and I headed back to Graham and Aisling's house, which was to serve as kind of a base for us for the next two weeks.
We had dinner down in Mao in Dundrum, a couple of drinks in that god awful pub in the Town Centre, and back to the house for wine until 4 in the morning! Memories of similar nights when I first arrived in Cayman came flooding back!
The next day, with hangovers, myself and Graham headed into town to pick out my wedding suits. First stop was Aston Suit Rental. We tried our best to mix and match some suits and waistcoats but nothing was jumping out at us. Over the road in Black Tie, we were much more impressed. An hour later we left with 8 suits booked, job done.
That night (Friday) Graham headed off to his Christmas party, and Ais cooked myself and my mother dinner. My dad was just dropping my mum off, but stayed for two hours, before dropping me up to the Step Inn to meet the lads.
After initial pats on the backs etc, it was like I had never left. The slagging was back with a vengeance, and talk of Club 92 was quickly on the tongues of Simon and Jay. Thankfully the lads left me to get a cab with the two lads who had no intention of going near 92, Hubb and Baz, so I was able to resist the temptation to go clubbing, and called it a night at 1:30.
I was up at 8 the next morning and came down to a fry cooked up by Aisling (great stuff indeed!). I was on the road soon after 8:30, to face a four and a half hour drive to Clifden, Renvyle House to be precise, where Jill and her mother had been since the previous evening, for Gail and Ross's wedding.
The service was at 2 in Clifden, and I arrived at the hotel just in time at 1pm.
Sure enough, I was ready 15 mins later, and Jill still wasnt ready!
We all bailed into Clifden and waited the appropriate 20 mins or so for the fashionable late bride. As expected, Gail looked fantastic (check out the wedding photos on Flickr). Thankfully, being an oul Proddy services, it was bosh bosh, job done after only half an hour.
There was no messing around outside the church, it being 1 degree celsius and all, and we were all into the nearest pub two minutes later to catch the Leinster game.
An hour or so later and we were all back in the hotel getting the drinks and photos in before the meal. Our table was great craic, with all of Jill's closest mates and partners (save the wedding party of course), and before long we were into the next room for dancing.
There was a great swing band, followed by an appropriately wedding style DJ (he was great, I take it all back). We partied until around 4, heading to bed long before the last of the gang who went to bed around 8am!
Next day, sure enough we were nearly last to check out of the hotel. We were spending the next night in Clifden itself. We arrived at lunch and couldnt find anyone. We checked every pub, rung every mobile, but nothing. Turns out most of them had checked into the new hotel and gone to sleep!
Two hours later we had started our drinking session in the bar that we had all watched the rugby in the previous day, and by 10 o'clock everyone was there, with raffle tickets in hand, trying to win tins of Roses at the weekly local lotto and raffle!
We succeeded in winning a bottle of whisky, a bottle of wine, and most importantly one box and one tin of Roses! (we were bleedin starving at this point!)
The bed was hit around one, for a much needed sleep.
After breakfast the next morning we hit the road for Athy, trailing about 20 minutes behind Jill's mum. We arrived back in Jill's house about half an hour before the Bishop was due to arrive to go through our order of service for the wedding.
Bishop Empy was great, not batting an eyelid at my obvious atheism.
After he left, I hit the road for my sister's house, leaving Jill behind.
Jen had prepared a lovely dinner for me, and the two boys were busy running around the house. Myself, Jen, and Clive enjoyed a nice bottle of wine before hitting the hay early, around 11.
The next morning, I was up in time for Kalvin to come back from pre-school, had lunch, and hit the road for Gary and Dara's, to see the lovely Megan, who was born a week after I left Ireland for Cayman, and Jack. Jill had spent the day in Dublin with her mum having her wedding dress fitting, and dropped into Gary's on her way home.
It wasnt long before we were on the road again, heading back to Athy to change cars and hit the road again, this time with Jill's mum Joyce, over to the Heritage for our tastings.
We could barely see in front of us with the pee souper of a fog that had descended on the entire country several days prior to that. An edge of your seat crawl across winding fog drenched country roads later, and we arrived in the Heritage, where the staff had prepared our table, with our own personalised menu.
Once again, we were treated like royalty as we munched our way through several starters, meals, and deserts, sipping wine from numerous different bottles like Egon Ronay reviewers!
Dicks and all as we may have seemed, it was lovely. The food was amazing, you will all (hopefully) love it come July when we all get to have it at the wedding.
Another treacherous drive back to Athy later, we shared another couple of bottles of wine before again hitting the hay (I need a new expression at this point for "going to bed"!).
The next morning we were on the road again, back to the Heritage to meet the wedding coordinator to finalise some of the wedding day plans.
Soon we were heading back to Dublin, stopping off in my mother's for a gorgeous traditional Irish dinner, before arriving back to base Graham and Ais!
Jill, in no mood to head out again, settled in for the night, whilst I headed out again, into town on my own to meet Gavin, who had dragged some friend of his cousins from Boston, Milton (like the disinfectant) with him. We more or less did a pub crawl of Dawson Street, meeting up with Daz for a while, and also bumping into Vinnie Campbell and his Mrs, as well as Madge from HRM.
Facing a choice of Boomerangs or Coppers, I chose the Harcourt Street direction, with ideas of making a last minute detour to the Drink Link Tram. My plans were thwarted by pressure from Gav and Milton to stay out, although Coppers was rammed, so we headed for D2 instead (a kip below the Harcourt Hotel).
Whilst it was certainly enjoyable to watch Gavin chatting up the many ladies, I called it a night around 2:30, finally getting to take the Luas home!
The next day (Thursday) I had a dental appointment that overran, and met Shay for lunch. Jill was meant to take the car and head to Dave and Karen's in Kilcock but the damn car rental agency wouldnt put her on the insurance, so I had to cancel plans to visit the old crew in Accreate (sorry lads, really disappointed I couldnt get in to see you all), and cut my lunch short with Shay to drive myself and Jill down to Kilcock where we were (eventually) going to be spending the night.
Myself and Dave took the train into town where all of the lads were meeting up in Vicar Street to watch Christy Moore (with the exception of Hubb and Scats). Christy was great. Despite a slow start, he had the entire crowd going, and gave a fantastic performance.
We all headed on to Dame Lame, with some surprisingly early exits by a few of the lads.
Myself, Dave, and Jay headed to Eddie Rockets to kill time (i.e. get fed) before we were picked up by the cab that Dave had pre-arranged. Thank god for it aswell, as there wasnt a cab to be had. We were driven in a brand new, huge luxury Merc to Ratharnham, and then on to Kilcock.
The next day I helped Dave hook up his new Mini Mac, and then we hit the road, de-touring to make a stop in our house in Ballycullen to check up on the place and have a word with the tenant regarding the complaints we had the previous month.
Graham had organise a pass for me for the gym, which was badly needed to give me some more energy. We then picked up a quick Chinese before heading off to meet Hubb and Louise to head into the Point to see Snow Patrol.
The Point will serve you as much drink as you want, but wont let you bring it to your seat. That is unless you have a huge coat like me, that can store 17 small bottles of wine (over three trips).
The gig was amazing. Definitely worth seeing live, and a brilliant album (Eyes Open), but no more reviews here on the blog, I took enough abuse for that when I got home this year!
Needless to say we were locked leaving the gig. We walked to Slatterys in Ringsend, thinking we were still in Cayman by sitting outside in the smoking areas with our drinks. Next thing we knew, the girls had a taxi, en route to meet Simon and Jay in 92.
92 was a bit of a blur, and didnt last long as our legs gave way and we needed to head home. Great night though!

If you have managed to exactly read that whole blog, fair play to you. This is our diary, and therefore at times is going to bore you to death, but get over it! I'll finish this in a few days. Heading to the ice cream store for some Haagen Dazs. More later...

Christmas, New Years, Hubb & Louise

Its been ages......since our last post. No broadband for most of the time that we were back home in Ireland, and simply no time to write it!
Hubb & Louise left this morning, and we were really really sad to see them go. But Graham and Ais booked their flights to come visit again in mid March, so a great end to anotherwise sad day.
Heading out the door for drinks as its one of the lads here's birthdays, Cormac.
Apart from tonight we are definitely in need of a quiet weekend, so more from us on Christmas in Ireland, New Years on Seven Mile Beach, and Hubb & Louise's visit to come........
Happy New Year!