tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post7422280335598141741..comments2023-10-26T10:41:27.682+01:00Comments on Dispatches from the Deise: Barbecue Days - Reflections on the Irish SummerCatherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16116884676266268214noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-53404481905481513472009-07-09T01:48:56.122+01:002009-07-09T01:48:56.122+01:00NIAMH - thanks for the comment, too true, we never...NIAMH - thanks for the comment, too true, we never learn but sunshine causes a memory block on all the bad weather we had and the likely side-effects of excessive sun - hence the man-tan and sunburn. I recall seeing it at its best in Tanzania when sun-virginal (male)flesh fresh from Ireland was exposed to the equatorial sun for the first time - it was not a pretty sight and I often had to deal with the fallout and administer large doses of TLC and calamine lotion, not to mention rehydration as the sun indulgence often coincided with over-indulgence in alcohol, a few beers by the pool or the beach, never mind the consequences! <br />I will have a look over at your blog and get my thinking cap on for my guest slot! <br />CatherineCatherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116884676266268214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-53913800703339398272009-07-09T01:44:27.181+01:002009-07-09T01:44:27.181+01:00CAROLINE - glad you liked this post, of course Aus...CAROLINE - glad you liked this post, of course Aussies do barbies like no-one else, born with the bbq gene! And they have the tinnies and tans to go with it- of course they are probably too cool for the slip-slap-slop mantra I always associated with Aussie friends when we lived in SE Asia! Yet in Ireland we have to make hay when the sun shines, so to speak, substitute barbie for hay! I have been away from blogging for too long, in that I haven't had much time to read and comment as much as I would like to. I loved the photos of your kids on horseback. and to read of the cold weather you have, probably like our Irish summer! Have a good one, <br />CatherineCatherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116884676266268214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-32027601752434593672009-07-08T22:55:46.970+01:002009-07-08T22:55:46.970+01:00It's funny how everyone comments on the sunbur...It's funny how everyone comments on the sunburns and man-tans but we go out and do it again anyhow! Great read Catherine - your bbq looks great too, I really hope you'll get to take it out again soon :)Niamh Griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05711002998015670698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-23336998285847735232009-07-07T22:40:52.837+01:002009-07-07T22:40:52.837+01:00Ha Ha laughed & laughed when I read this post....Ha Ha laughed & laughed when I read this post. You know our Aussie guys love to BBQ & do it fantastic. Oh and they are so tanned as well!! I mean where else but Australia.... Skin Cancer capital of the world....Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04051199337399668370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-61278904947022579302009-07-06T00:54:37.189+01:002009-07-06T00:54:37.189+01:00PEGGY - ha the secret life of the Irish BBQ - cook...PEGGY - ha the secret life of the Irish BBQ - cook in any weather condition but be prepared to eat in the kitchen! We have some great photos (as yet unscanned) of a BBQ some years back with friends just back from a summer in his home country of Bosnia - with tons of sunshine - where both hubbys are huddled under enormous golf umbrellas to keep the torrential rain off the charcoal while they struggle to get the sausages cooked! Admitting defeat to the vagaries of the elements just isn't part of the male make-up where BBQ-ing is concerned! They will never let the weather come between them and a good nosh-up, and it would be the antithesis of manliness to be stymied by a drop of rain! This week has certainly challenged our hopes for a bit of summer at last after the years of hellish weather. Thankfully I am off to Spain with guaranteed sun mid-next week! <br />We might get more bbq-ing meanwhile though I won't hold my breath! <br />Hope all is well, sorry I haven't replied to your comment on my last post on the Ryan report - I will do so.<br />Catherine<br />CatherineCatherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116884676266268214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-70478108906484473632009-07-06T00:47:19.242+01:002009-07-06T00:47:19.242+01:00JO - Thanks for the nice comment, glad to be back ...JO - Thanks for the nice comment, glad to be back blogging if not bbq-ing - the weather is foul right now with heavy downpours daily - showers they laughingly call them as they occur sporadically and totally unpredictably and invariably catch you out with a drenching. Also you can be in the middle of said shower while a half mile away the sun can shine and not a drop of rain fall. I travelled to Dublin this weekend and it was like this, rain so heavy the wipers could hardly manage, and then sun and dry road a bit further on. <br />As for the shopping bit , it can be traumatic at times to deal with as it goes against the grain and I can imagine my indecisiveness is equally frustrating to the men in my life! I am definitely more of an impulse shopper as the thought of setting off to buy something specific is anathema to me and my favourite things are generally "finds" when I wasn't looking! Although I got a nice evening "frock" in M&S last year which I actually went looking for as I needed a party dress for mayoral gigs during hubby's Mayor year where I was invited along - not too many as there's nothing more infuriating to the public than the thought that the taxpayer might be funding junkets for the elected member and their partner, so any gigs tend to be things like Chamber of Commerce where they give tickets to the Mayor and it isn't a junket, or some awards charity event with sponsors who can afford it. I always ensure any conference I went to with him was "cost-neutral" - ie. we paid our hotel costs. <br />So that's why I am not fashionable according to teenage daughter! <br />CatherineCatherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116884676266268214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-79394535577153210742009-07-06T00:34:57.288+01:002009-07-06T00:34:57.288+01:00Hi all and thanks a million for the kind comments....Hi all and thanks a million for the kind comments. Always nice to get feedback and I feel then I'm not blogging into an empty cyberspace! <br /><br />IRENE - glad you enjoyed the post, and laughed that you said it read like a train as it was written at pretty much the same tempo. I don't do editing and I just write better when I sit down and write from the heart. This was one of those posts! I guess I wander all over the shop with my tangents and digressing. Is the man-tan a particularly Irish trait? I think so as it goes with the psyche - Irish men don't do tanning like their olive skinned Mediterranean cousins but they sure like to think they do! Hence the often hilarious results. The women are as bad, generally style, taste and dress codes take a holiday as women will wear totally unsuitable and unflattering gear in the sun- think halter tops, boob tubes where there is way too much boob for the tube to contain, and shorts and miniskirts displaying legs better kept under wraps. I favour bermuda length and crop pants myself! Perhaps I should have continued the post along those lines! <br />Have been very busy lately with blogging taking a back seat so it's nice to see you all again! <br />CatherineCatherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116884676266268214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-14629359210874950362009-07-04T18:40:51.976+01:002009-07-04T18:40:51.976+01:00The joys of Irish BBQ, there must always be plan B...The joys of Irish BBQ, there must always be plan B, eat in the house.That week in June was summer as it should be, warm and wind less.Peggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16336168195436906219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-86970113240972511192009-07-04T10:20:35.230+01:002009-07-04T10:20:35.230+01:00Hi Catherine;) I've missed your blog. I loved ...Hi Catherine;) I've missed your blog. I loved this post. Had a good chuckle and how men can decide on an item, pay for it and walk out! Thanks for sharing this wonderful week of good weather and bbq-ing.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11666316882168582862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72554791720527032.post-86203162644454468252009-07-04T07:59:49.314+01:002009-07-04T07:59:49.314+01:00Hi Catherine, I really enjoyed this post and your ...Hi Catherine, I really enjoyed this post and your description of all your barbecues and the kinds of tans in Ireland. It read like a train and I was ready for more when I came to the end. I always like it when you write about your home life and the ordinary every day things. Anything specifically Irish is enormously appreciated. Like the 'man tan.' <br /><br />XOX<br />IreneIrenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05043376053971475659noreply@blogger.com