The last pre-Christmas Bank Holiday of the year was seized with vigour, with a rigorous regime of vegetation the order of the day! As I couch-surfed, I toasted (with toast, not booze) the thousands of energetic souls that ran 26 miles around the city today in the Dublin City Marathon. Good on yiz!
The joy of apartment living meant that there were no trick-or-treaters darkening the door on this, Hallowe'en night, although the night air resounded with Baghdadian booms for many an hour.
Contentment : 12.5 / 25
Excitement : 0 / 10
Memorability : 0.5 / 15
Overall Score : 26%
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Day 303 - Sunday, October 30th, 2011
Mum and Dad were up from Cavan for the day so we had a very pleasant lunch in a restaurant whose name escapes me (gasp!) where the service was slow but the food was d'lish. Nephew Adam is now a quarter-year old, and is getting more alert and cute by the day.
Later in the evening, I met up with some of my old friends from DCU, on the occasion of the Bank Holiday Sunday, but more importantly to remember the 10th anniversary of the death of Denis McCarthy, who was lost to us 10 years ago in a car accident. Outrageously-good banter and copious pints of Heineken were enjoyed in his honour for several hours at Bruxelles Drinking Emporium off Grafton Street, which was stuffed to the gills with revellers in yet another sign of the devastating effect that this recession continues to have on us all. The streets were lively and awash with boisterous young ones, bedecked in Hallowe'en finery. All wonderful examples of the enjoyment that life gives, life that Denis sadly no longer possesses on this earth, but life which he continues to inspire in others.
Contentment : 16.5 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 6 / 15
Overall Score : 52% (28th out of 303)
Later in the evening, I met up with some of my old friends from DCU, on the occasion of the Bank Holiday Sunday, but more importantly to remember the 10th anniversary of the death of Denis McCarthy, who was lost to us 10 years ago in a car accident. Outrageously-good banter and copious pints of Heineken were enjoyed in his honour for several hours at Bruxelles Drinking Emporium off Grafton Street, which was stuffed to the gills with revellers in yet another sign of the devastating effect that this recession continues to have on us all. The streets were lively and awash with boisterous young ones, bedecked in Hallowe'en finery. All wonderful examples of the enjoyment that life gives, life that Denis sadly no longer possesses on this earth, but life which he continues to inspire in others.
Contentment : 16.5 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 6 / 15
Overall Score : 52% (28th out of 303)
Day 302 - Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Given the arduous early-hour socializing of the previous two nights/mornings, it was entirely fitting that today be decreed a Day Of Vegetation. On the glorious bill of fare was The Couch, Trashy Food (hash browns with lashings of hot sauce for breakfast, Bombay Pantry take-away for dejeuner) and Sporty TV with accompanying sports investment punts. Truly heavenly ingredients.
Contentment : 14 / 25
Excitement : 1.5 / 10
Memorability : 1.5 / 15
Overall Score : 34% (202nd out of 302)
Contentment : 14 / 25
Excitement : 1.5 / 10
Memorability : 1.5 / 15
Overall Score : 34% (202nd out of 302)
Day 301 - Friday, October 28th, 2011
Firstly, Happy Birthday (sister) Olivia!
The day snailed by but along came the evening and time to visit The Ally Pally for the second night in a row, this time for TNDC 104, where no less than 11 athletes turned up to vie for the title and for precious TNDC World Championship and World Trophy points. In mid-December the Top 12 seeds will make it through to the final stages of the World Championships, with Seeds 13-16 entering the first round of the World Trophy. Trophies and prizes to the value of €300 will be competed for, thanks to generous sponsorship and the players paying a whopping supplement of €1 per week attended.
On the night, John "The Equaliser" Delaney garnered another title, whilst "English" Niall English (who isn't English) catapulted himself into the World Championship ranking positions. Action continued until after 1am, at which point a mouth-watering curried chips and quarter-pounder with cheese was summonsed from the Roma II chippy, before swiftly hailing a taxi.
Contentment : 16 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 4 / 15
Overall Score : 47% (71st out of 301)
The day snailed by but along came the evening and time to visit The Ally Pally for the second night in a row, this time for TNDC 104, where no less than 11 athletes turned up to vie for the title and for precious TNDC World Championship and World Trophy points. In mid-December the Top 12 seeds will make it through to the final stages of the World Championships, with Seeds 13-16 entering the first round of the World Trophy. Trophies and prizes to the value of €300 will be competed for, thanks to generous sponsorship and the players paying a whopping supplement of €1 per week attended.
On the night, John "The Equaliser" Delaney garnered another title, whilst "English" Niall English (who isn't English) catapulted himself into the World Championship ranking positions. Action continued until after 1am, at which point a mouth-watering curried chips and quarter-pounder with cheese was summonsed from the Roma II chippy, before swiftly hailing a taxi.
Contentment : 16 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 4 / 15
Overall Score : 47% (71st out of 301)
Friday, December 2, 2011
Day 300 - Thursday, October 27th, 2011
300 days a-blogging! It feels like every one of those days, if truth be told - this blog is a slog!
This evening saw the staging of the 2011 Maples Pool Championship, and after a pre-event reception in Harry's On The Green, we ventured to The Ally Pally on Camden Street, which had been anointed as venue for this magnificent event. 8 athletes participated and after everyone played everyone else, it turned out that I had squeezed into the semi-final, where I disposed of young Ronan, before agonisingly losing out to Dr. Nick Watson in the Grand Final. I had won many frames by cheekily looking at my opponent whilst potting the black, and this was performed unsuccessfully in the final!
After introducing the athletes to the skilled art of darts, a few of us headed upstairs, complementarily, to the wonders of The Palace nightclub, where Jagerbombs, Supersplits and other delightful concoctions were enjoyed until the wee hours!
Contentment : 16 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 5 / 15
Overall Score : 49% (53rd out of 300)
This evening saw the staging of the 2011 Maples Pool Championship, and after a pre-event reception in Harry's On The Green, we ventured to The Ally Pally on Camden Street, which had been anointed as venue for this magnificent event. 8 athletes participated and after everyone played everyone else, it turned out that I had squeezed into the semi-final, where I disposed of young Ronan, before agonisingly losing out to Dr. Nick Watson in the Grand Final. I had won many frames by cheekily looking at my opponent whilst potting the black, and this was performed unsuccessfully in the final!
After introducing the athletes to the skilled art of darts, a few of us headed upstairs, complementarily, to the wonders of The Palace nightclub, where Jagerbombs, Supersplits and other delightful concoctions were enjoyed until the wee hours!
Contentment : 16 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 5 / 15
Overall Score : 49% (53rd out of 300)
Day 299 - Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
Pleasant as it was, today had no distinguishing features to it, so time to have a brief word about the delicious Chicken Fillet Baguettes (€2.29) from Dunnes Stores that have become a luinch staple of late, together with a soft-drink-cup full of wedges (€1.70). That is all.
Contentment : 12 / 25
Excitement : 0 / 10
Memorability : 0 / 10
Overall Score : 24% (266th out of 299)
Contentment : 12 / 25
Excitement : 0 / 10
Memorability : 0 / 10
Overall Score : 24% (266th out of 299)
Day 298 - Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
There was only one topic of conversation in the city today - yesterday's liquid tempest. The journey to and from work was negotiated with ease though, and the evening consisted of a duet of cinematic pleasures. First up was We Need To Talk About Kevin (7 / 10). A couple of years ago, I tried to read the book, but failed after about 20 pages as I found it interminably boring, but the film was great, with Tilda Swinton surely deserving an Oscar nominee nod come January time. Surprisingly good too was Footloose (7.5 out of 10), a remake of the 80s classic that is very possibly better than the original!
Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement : 1.5 / 10
Memorability : 2 / 15
Overall Score : 33% (209th out of 298)
Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement : 1.5 / 10
Memorability : 2 / 15
Overall Score : 33% (209th out of 298)
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