A night to remember - Clapton in Concert and Dublin's Docklands

The O2/Point Depot

A couple of weeks ago we had a real treat as we went to see rock legend and guitar hero supreme Eric Clapton in concert in the O2/Point Depot (can't use these commercially driven sponsorship product-placement names without a ton of cynicism and the original name) in Dublin. It was hubby Jan's birthday treat as he has been a fan since forever, and has some of his old vinyl LPs (remember those?!) which must surely be collectors' items by now.

Birthday boy and me!

We went up to Dublin in the early afternoon as we had some business to attend to - and then we called out to see middle son Martin in Drumcondra. We had a lovely early bird meal at the best pizzeria in Dublin - in my humble opinion - The Independent Pizza Company on Dorset Street, beside Drumcondra Railway Station. This was my first time in its current location as it used to be a few doors up the road above Quinn's pub, an iconic landmark, along with nearby McGraths pub, particularly for punters going to Croke Park to the hurling and football All-Ireland qualifiers and finals. I had a delicious Caesar Salad and Chorizo pizza while Jan had a Calzone closed pizza, something I first encountered on our Italian honeymoon almost thirty years ago! Along with a few glasses of house red, we were ready for the road.

Martin and Mammy

Scrummy Caesar Salad

 Chorizo Pizza

We walked over to the venue at the end of the Dublin Docklands at the old Point Depot which has undergone a transformation in recent years to become the O2, a nod to telecoms sponsorship and an anodyne ubiquity which irks me as I loved the uniqueness of the old Point - it meant something and referenced its original incarnation as the depot at the point where the River Liffey meets the sea and where goods were offloaded and stored.

We walked down long-familiar streets which were a trip down memory lane in itself as we lived in Dublin many years ago, at the start of our lives together. I spent six happy carefree student years there, living in flatland Rathmines and Rathgar, as well as the house in Drumcondra where our son is now staying. So I have many fond memories of Dublin and there are many landmarks that have a resonance for me. Down Belvedere Road, Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square, and onto Custom House Quay past Busáras bus depot which housed the Eblana Theatre in the basement - I went to many plays there in my student days.

Jeannie Johnston Famine Memorial Ship

The evening was lovely, and the IFSC, birthplace (probably) of the Celtic Tiger, looked suitably impressive, if not majestic like the Custom House. The Jeannie Johnston seems to be permanently berthed around here and it looks lovely, but the highlights of the walk had to be the harp-like Samuel Beckett Bridge and the "Pringle Box" Convention Centre, so-called because of its backwards-tilting circular glass wall. They are beautiful architectural landmarks of the modern city, and have made the Docklands the vibrant place it is today. The Famine Memorial on Custom House Quay is a recent sculpture and is very haunting and evocative of our darkest days. I was taken with the World Poverty Stone, a UN commemorative stone.

Samuel Beckett Bridge

The Concert was wonderful even if Clapton isn't the most communicative singer around - as Jan said we are there to enjoy the music, and that was great. He sang lots of songs I didn't know as I'm not as diehard a fan as hubby, but the perennial faves like I Shot the Sherriff and Layla and Wonderful Tonight raised the roof of the revamped O2. He looked well for his 66 years and I hope we all wear as well given the hell-raising life he led in his young rock years - he has had his share of tragedy as well with his 4 yr old son falling from a 54th floor apartment in 2002. That inspired Tears in Heaven which he didn't sing - there wouldn't have been a dry eye in the house.

Claption in action on the big screen

I loved the people watching before the gig started and decided that ageing rockers attract a certain demographic - ageing rock fans! We had good seats and the big screens captured the detail we couldn't see from our dizzy heights. Clapton's crew was terrific, with backing singers, keyboard and piano players, and drummer and bass player.

Revolver by night

The crowd at the concert

He was supported for the first hour by Andy Fairweather-Low and the Low Riders - and I hadn't a clue who he was as we'd no programme - but the lighting was dire for that hour and he was like a skeletal underlit shadow - though I loved the two hits he sang - (If Paradise was) Half as Nice and Wide Eyed and Legless - I don't thing the setting did him justice. Eric played for over 2 hours and came back for an encore, which helped us forgive his being detached. There was a great atmosphere in the O2 but we were constantly being trodden on by people in and out for booze - I will never understand why people go to concerts and spend their time there in and out to the bar. Dublin's Big Wheel, Revolver, beckoned temptingly but I couldn't persuade hubby to overcome his vertigo to give it a go and see Dublin by night. That's something for the bucket list.

We were on a high after it and got a taxi back to Drumcondra where we'd left the car. We were back home by 3am - I slept for most of the journey and had the Tuesday off to recover. I went to the morning session of my knitting circle, and enjoyed the company of a bunch of formidable women with good chat and tea and cakes enhancing the quality of the knitting.

There are a few  more gigs I'd have on my bucket list, Springsteen being tops and one I hope to fulfill this on his next Irish visit. 

A Historic Week - and Conference Craic in Kilkenny

Having a laugh with colleagues from the Waterford Branch

Getting ready to party at the Gala Dinner

This past week has been memorable for many reasons - it was a bit of a rollercoaster as Friday saw the Royal Wedding where all commentators suspended reasoned judgement and went into sycophancy overdrive. In Ireland where we scorn such monarchic shenanigans as unworthy of a republic there was a dip in ESB Electricity usage for the duration of the broadcasting - indicating that the only appliance in use was the TV - nary a kettle or a cooker in sight! Seems they can monitor such things, and it reflects our ADLs (as in the Barthel Index used in nursing assessment) - our Activities of Daily Living! Despite that little aside - I did watch what was on view in the various homes I visited and saw the bride's arrival at the altar. Kate did look good, but her sister Pippa looked better. True to form, within hours there was a Facebook fan page set up for her rear-end attributes. The sheath dress she wore called for a total ban on any surplus adipose tissue (=fat) or cellulite - or the Spanx-type compression undies that haven't been seen since Victorian corsetry and wasp-waists were the order of the day and which many of my generation can't live without at functions and weddings. I have refused thus far to be reined in by such a garment and WYSIWYG in my gladrags. Comfort rules above convention and at my age I will endeavour to look good but to enjoy myself as well.

Minister for Health Dr. James O'Reilly's Address

 Which brings me on to the social events that went with the Annual Delegate Conference of the INMO - tge Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (some day they'll have to put in apostrophes - I know, it pains my inner grammar geek). This was held in Kilkenny and we had a busy 3 days of motions, debate, addresses, keynote speakers (the new Minister for Health, Dr. James O'Reilly) and lots of card-waving to pass or reject motions. That was by day - come evening and we let our hair down as only nurses know how - and we partied into the night. It always amazes me that regardless of how much partying nurses get up to they are fresh and ready the following morning - whether for duty or for another round of debates.

I had a motion to speak to from our PHN (Public Health Nursing) section and unfortunately it didn't get an airing until late on the last day by which point everyone's motioned out and there was no time for debate - just voting. It was carried unanimously so there was no problems bar my difficulty in limiting my address to the requisite max of 3 minutes - even after judicious editing I was timed out by the bell.

Claire and Mary (with the Gobnait O'Connell Award for Outstanding Service to the Branch) with Liam Doran Gen. Sec. INMO

Me and my new Twitter friend Dean

 On a lighter note, I was tweeting a bit during the lulls in the debates and between speakers and discovered another tweeter at the conference - a young student nurse from the Sligo branch. We met up at the Gala Dinner on the final evening and had a bit of a laugh at the joys of Twitter, as he had been chatting with Fergal Bowers, the RTE Health Correspondent, who was reporting on the Minister's address. The media got a hammering over their negative reporting on the public sector - we have been so vilified in recent years that you'd  think we were responsible for all the woes in the country.

Nicholas Mosse Pottery Shop, Bennettsbridge

Kilkenny is a lovely small city with narrow streets and a lot of lovely old buildings. It rained almost incessantly for the duration of the conference but on our free afternoon the sun appeared so I went to see the Nicholas Mosse pottery in Bennettsbridge and the gallery in Kilkenny Castle. The Kilkenny Craft Exhibition was on and had some lovely pieces on display. Unfortunately I was too late to see inside the Castle and one of the main galleries, the Butler, was closed but I enjoyed the bit of culture - there were lots of ceramics on display.

Dessert mmmm.....!

As is now the norm at these conferences we had a Table Quiz for local charities on the opening night, which was a good laugh even though we didn't win. The following night we were entertained by the Kilkenny Gospel Choir which was upbeat and uplifting. That was followed by an Irish Dance troupe who were brilliant - none of the wigs and fake tan that's become synonymous with Irish Dancing Championships like the recent World Championships in Dublin which brought down the wrath of the public over the homogenisation of the dancers - like Oompah-loompahs with mop heads, all distracting from the marvellous skills they have. Thankfully our troupe were more Riverdance than St. Tropez and their elegance was matched by their expertise. To everyone's delight, one of the student midwives, Danny Oakes from Alaska and Dundalk put on a spontaneous show of spectacular skill. You can enjoy the video clip below. Michael Flatley won't want for a successor if this guy decides to do a nixer from the labour ward.



The final evening's Gala Dinner was good fun though everyone was pretty exhausted by that stage. We had lovely food and danced if off afterwards, and the camaraderie and craic made it an enjoyable few days which has become a bit of an annual reunion for the nursing diaspora of Ireland.
 
Given the goings on in the rest of the world - Osama taken out by Obama - what a difference a letter makes!- and the triumphal euphoria of the West being slowly replaced by cautious optimism as the radicals threaten revenge, it  has been a strange week of polarisation. Ireland awoke on Saturday morning to the prophet of doom Morgan Kelly's diatribe against the Central Bank director Patrick Honohan over the bank bailout - he predicted bankruptcy for Ireland in the coming year or two as we struggle to bring our head above water let alone keep it there. It was so vitriolic and personal that I wondered - as did most of the Twitterati - what agenda is being played out.

Today hubby and me are heading to Dublin to see Eric Clapton at the O2 - a birthday treat for Jan who loves Clapton forever. I'm looking forward to it too, one of the rock stars I'll enjoy seeing before he hangs up his Stratocaster.

Immrama 2011 Launch - An Evening of Anticipation in Lismore Castle

Lismore Castle in evening shadows

Last Tuesday saw the launch of the Immrama 2011 - the 9th Lismore Festival of Travel Writing - in Lismore Castle's renowned Pugin Room. As in previous years, the launch is a much anticipated event as people wait to see what the lineup for this year will be. As ever it didn't disappoint and while the names may not be as familiar to everyone as in other years it still promises to be a great weekend. It has become a tradition for me to blog about the launch and the fundraising events like Devonshire Day and the Table Quiz, so I'll continue that with this short post and some photos.

If you click on the link to the Immrama blog on the website here,  you will see the entire programme on a page - and the revamped website hosted as usual by Déise Design (see, the Deise name - with or without the fada - keeps cropping up in Waterford!) from Dungarvan. There is no point in repeating everything that you can read from that blog; suffice to say that there is already a surge in bookings and there will be as good a following as in previous years - the brand alone inspires such loyalty that people book from year to year without even knowing the line-up.

Jan and me at the launch (thanks to David Clynch, Photographer)

Conor O'Clery, the peripatetic former Irish Times correspondent, is the keynote speaker on the Saturday afternoon, and he should be an entertaining and riveting speaker, with his 33 years of foreign correspondence and his books to draw on for inspiration. What I also like about this year's Immrama is the recognition of blogging in travel writing with the presence of Rolf Potts and a conversation forum on blogging with veteran friend of Immrama and former literary breakfast speaker Manchán Magan facilitating. He will include couchsurfing, a terrific phenomenon I wish had been there in my backpacking youth and which is embraced by one friend here in Lismore with great enthusiasm - go Jane! Social media in this era of Twitter and Facebook can't be ignored and it is good to elevate the oft-maligned world of blogging to give it some parity with the published hard-copy written word.

Ed Lynch, MC for the evening

Other speakers include Alex Von Tunzelmann and Sara Wheeler, Irish Poet Theo Dorgan, and Anthony Sattin and William Blacker, whose book inspired the theme title for Immrama 2011 - Along the Enchanted Way...Travellers Past and Present.Of course there's a nod to On Raglan Road, that wonderful Irish poem by Patrick Kavanagh turned hit ballad by Luke Kelly of The Dubliners, which includes the line Along the Enchanted Way.

Peter Dowd, Immrama President

A large part of the attraction is the venue of Lismore as a beautiful town with its own charms and this has been documented far and wide by previous Immrama visitors and speakers. This includes luminaries like the aforementioned  Manchán Magan, the eccentric Irish writer, eclectic traveller to far-flung parts and intrepid house-builder of an eco-dwelling extraordinaire in the Irish midlands which has earned him the soubriquet of an Irish Hermit by John Murray in a recent Radio One programme on people who chose to live outside society as we have come to know it! He's written glowingly on Lismore here in his Irish Times Travel Supplement - there's a whole archive of his articles but many of the older ones are subscription only (which is really stingy of the Times).

More internationally, Michael Shapiro, who visited Lismore last year for Immrama with his fiancée Jacqueline Yao, wrote a great piece on Lismore and Immrama that has a lovly romantic twist at the end! There's an audio link here to an interview he did recently for Arthur Frommer's Travel Show He's interviewed Dervla Murphy, our own Lismore travel writer of acclaim, and she has lent her illustrious name to Teen Travel Writing Award, a new venture for Immrama supported by the County Library. Fitting, as Dervla's Lismore roots began when her father arrived here to take up the County Librarian post a few months before she was born in 1931.

All in all we had a pleasant couple of hours in the Pugin Room of the castle. There was a nice crowd there, a mix of Immrama organisers and committee members, officials from the Co. Council who have seconded some staff to the festival, and the many friends and supporters of Immrama over the years, without whom the festival just wouldn't happen as their goodwill as well as financial sponsorship is crucial for the ongoing success of such a community venture. We are very proud here in Lismore of Immrama's commitment to maintaining its community core - long may it continue well into its second decade. As the Chairman of Immrama said at the launch - it would only work in Lismore - take it out of this location and it just wouldn't be the same.

Orla Russell, Mayor of Lismore

Ger Barron, Deputy County Mayor

Ray O'Dwyer County Manager

Margaret O'Sullivan, Immrama programmer

Bernard Leddy Immrama Chairman

Audience at Immrama Launch

Attentive Audience

I hope you enjoy the photos and get a sense of the launch atmosphere - it wasn't just all speeches, there was a lot of chatting and cheese and wine - and afterwards we repaired to Foley's on The Mall for a few scoops, as they say. It wasn't great to have such an event in the midweek with work the next day but I was very prudent, and was home not too long after midnight!

Ladies who Launch - At the Lismore Castle Arts Summer 2011 Exhibition

 Last Friday evening I went to Lismore Castle Arts to the
opening of the Summer Exhibition 2011 - Still Life is the name of the exhibition and it has paintings on the walls again - a far cry from last year's way too avant-garde video installations in a blacked-out gallery. I took some nice photos and met some friends there - like any gallery opening it was an eclectic and diverse group with a lot of quite plummy posh people from the art world who stood around knowingly stroking their beards/chins - while I wandered around looking like a lady who launches for a living!

I love the opening events at the castle as there is a good buzz around and plenty of people milling about genteelly. With the setting sun casting slanting shadows across the gardens the atmosphere was magical. I was here about a month earlier at Devonshire Day and it was amazing to see the change in the gardens in such a short time; the tulips and wallflowers were in full bloom and the daffodils were starting to straggle. The blossom on the trees was at various stages of bloom, with some early cherry trees already past their prime and shedding.

The gallery housed the majority of the works on display and after the glass of wine and the wander around, I wallked through the gardens to the only outdoor exhibit - the Monkey Tower, which had a makeover from 2009 Turner Prizewinner Richard Wright that was delightfully quirky. The walls of this circular tower at the corner of the Lower Gardens were stamped with a series of symmetrical triangles on a white background, and it was very pop-arty with a trompe l'oeil effect incorporating the window recesses and the doorframe. That was one of my favourite pieces. Another one that I liked was the video installation of the robot reflecting the room on a continuous 20 minute loop, called Made in 'Eaven, 2004, by Mark Leckey. Weird but pretty cool, like a Philip Starck kitchen gadget - it's been in the Tate and he was the Turner Prizewinner in 2008

There were a lot of floral paintings by Gillian Carnegie, you can see the photos above. The photos of the Open Book series by Anne Collier were nice, if a bit I-could-have-done-that-myself -ish! But that's modern art for you - and at least it was aesthetically pleasing, even if I didn't quite get it - is it art or photography as art? Oh dear, I'm just such a philistine when it comes to the whole art thing.

This year I missed my favourite exhibition of the year in the Castle, the Sotheby's Irish Sale Preview - it was on in early March and I didn't check the dates, expecting it to be in April as in other years. A missed blog opportunity as well as a wander through history. I'll not be so remiss next year!

Another exhibit were three plasticised polystyrene bomber jackets by Seth Price - one of them was slightly in meltdown, and they didn't really do it for me as they were just vacuum packed reliefs of bomber jackets in the plastic. Probably technically great but art? I dunno!

Aspens in Flagstaff made an impact from a distance - it was clever as they were all pictures of the same image of aspen trees - a photo in a large frame - all placed on the wall to make one big exhibit. Sherrie Levine was the artist, and again you could say I-could-have-done-that. And probably add - why-didn't-I? and that would be because I'm not an artist and wouldn't have thought of it!

There is a video installation in another venue in Lismore, St. Carthage's Hall, which has served as a satellite gallery for the Castle Arts last year as well. I haven't yet been, so that will be for another weekend. I enjoyed the stroll through the lovely gardens, and we are very lucky in Lismore to have easy access to the beautiful castle and its gardens, and the boundaries between the aristocracy and the locals have become very blurred, in that the castle incumbent, Lord William Burlington, is a very pleasant chap who doesn't put on any airs and graces and is as friendly and chatty as the next person, as is his wife Laura. They have two little kids, and they spend a lot of time in Lismore, and our son has played cricket with Lismore over in Chatsworth, the main gaff of the Devonshires.

I haven't yet captioned the photos - just have a look and see whether you can match them up from the descriptions I've given. Most are pretty self-explanatory.

Next week I'll be back (like Arnie) for the launch of Immrama 2011 in the Pugin Room and will report on that illustrious event in Dispatches from the Deise. Watch this space!

A Wonderful Event - Livia, our new Granddaughter is born!

Livia's first car journey

There's been a lot happening in the past fortnight and I am only now catching up on sharing the good news. Before I start to sound like a tent revivalist preaching to the converted - this isn't a polemic or a sermon! On March 26th our beautiful second granddaughter, Livia Lena Martina, was born to Jany and Shayne in Cork University Maternity Hospital, where Sofia, her big sister, was born over a year ago. I had planned a week's leave from work to be on hand to babysit Sofia, so the timing was perfect as Jany went into labour on first day of my holidays - broken waters, and off to the hospital in the middle of the night. I headed of to Cork where Jany was already admitted to CUMH.

The first photo of Livia in CUMH

The next day was the waiting game, as Jany started regular contractions that evening and little Livia was born at 11:19p.m., weighing in at 8lbs 10ozs. or for the metric among you 3.9kg. I was delighted and relived when the call from Shayne came through and I spent half the night on the phone with the family, and went to see Jany the next afternoon. Unfortunately Livia had some fluid on her lungs and rapid breathing at delivery so she went to the Neonatal Unit for observation, and was given antibiotics. She was kept there for longer than expected at first, as she had a raised blood test that could have indicated infection, even though she was fine in every way. The end result was none of the family except Shayne and Jany saw her until she was six days old, as only parents were allowed into the neonatal unit. It was really weird watching the popular TV series From Here to Maternity which looks at birth stories from CUMH, from the human interest perspective, when your own grandchild is in there.

Livia home at last

She is a real beauty with a head of hair exceeding Sofia's and she is settling into life in Cork with her big sister and her doting parents! I came home after 5 days in Cork once Jany got home on Wednesday, and then I went back to bring her home on Friday.

On Saturday her granddad Jan and me went to Tralee for the funeral of a cousin, Tom, who lived to the ripe old age of 97, and on the way home we called to see the family in Cork.

Sunday was Shayne's birthday so we spent the afternoon and evening in Cork celebrating, and I baked a nice fruity cake. Graphic Design son Martin designed the birth cards which are like a film flyer - I love it! What do you think? It's a very Dutch institution, personalised birth announcement cards, and it is catching on here more and more.

Livia in Neonatal Unit CUMH

Coffee on the terrace in CUMH - waiting day!

Meeting Granddad/Opa

Proud Granny with Livia

Proud dad feeding Livia!

The other big event is that Shayne got a new job, and will start on Monday, in a customer services centre in Cork, and our youngest son William also starts there next week. It is great that they have jobs after intermittent work, and Shayne's been doing a back-to-education course for the past six months. It's very timely now as he finishes the course just as he starts the new job

Jany with her little beauty!

With middle son Martin in Dublin working in the Westbury Hotel for the past month or so, they are all gainfully employed, albeit not in their field. They're pretty well over-qualified for the work they're doing now but in this recession it's great to have a job, and selfishly I am glad they'll be in the country and not have to emigrate just yet. As you need savings to go to Australia or Canada or N. Zealand, this will be a stepping stone to that end if they so decide. When I was their ages I had been and gone and come back from Bangladesh, so I can't really come over all Irish Mammy on them and guilt-trip them into staying here just to keep me happy!

Sofia the Jaffa Cake Kid!

Sofia playing Incy Wincy Spider!

Birth Announcement Card!

I am back at work this week, and enjoying the lovely spring weather - tomorrow the forecast is for 21C - high summer temps - so if this is global warming it's hard to complain! I love that we had a BBQ this evening and could sit out till nearly 9p.m. with the stretch in the evenings since the clocks went forward last Saturday week - just after Livia's birth. There was a great piece in the Irish Times  recently which I'll link - Ireland in 100 Euphemisms - and certainly you could add "There's a great stretch in the evenings" to that list if it's not in there already!

Fruity Birthday Cake

I'll post a few photos of Livia and Sofia - and random stuff - and more posts will keep you updated on Livia's progress through the first year, as with Sofia. We are so happy that she is well and healthy and good luck to them all in their new journey!