Time for the first trip of the week to the World Grand Prix at Citywest, where delightfully I was on the guestlist thanks to my travelling officialdom over the past couple of years. Accompanying me this evening were brother Austin amd Mark "The Spark" Delaney, who joined me on the Luas at St. James' and Belgard tram stops respectively. With time to spare upon arrival, we moseyed up to the Players Lounge where the sole remaining Irish representative in the competition Brendan Dolan was in the process of getting his game face on, through the gentle gradual sipping of bottles of finest American rice-juice. (that would be Budweiser)
We then headed down to the auditorium itself, where the audience numbered about 400 and enjoyed a quartet of matches, the highlight of which was Brendan's 3-1 win over former World Champion John Part, putting him into the quarter-finals and guaranteeing him £10,000. Nice work!
Despite the action not finising until 11.40pm, there were still LUASes running back into town, so we hopped on one and disembarked at various points, me going to the complete other end of the line, bar one station. Handy out!
Contentment : 16 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15
Overall Score : 48% (48th out of 278)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Day 277 - Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
The sheer joyousness of Tuesday Night Golf Club manifested itself once again this evening, with Neil "Dutchy" Holland streaking away with the title by a margin of 6 points. Traditionally of late, I played utterly appallingly, garnering a mere 16 points, but the ache of last place was soothed away magically by cold frosted beer from the Netherlands, and luscious Irish stout in the post-event reception at The Oarsman. I hosted another impromptu Academy Awards Nominees quiz which went down a storm, and if memory serves me correctly young Conquer de Conch-Shell emerged triumphant over The Dutch One.
So sue me, Academy....
Contentment : 15 / 25
Excitement : 2.5 / 10
Memorability : 3.5 / 15
Overall Score : 42% (104th out of 277)
So sue me, Academy....
Contentment : 15 / 25
Excitement : 2.5 / 10
Memorability : 3.5 / 15
Overall Score : 42% (104th out of 277)
Day 276 - Monday, October 3rd, 2011
A change of pace this evening, with the annual delivery of the first of two Introductory Fund Accounting lectures to the 150 or so students of University College Dublin & the Institute of Bankers' Investment Fund Certificate. Caroline and Shane from work are taking the course this year, so there was company for the half-hour walk to the lecture theatre. Yapping incessantly for 3 hours is deceptively hard work, and I was exhausted and hoarse-throated afterwards!
Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 2.5 / 15
Overall Score : 37% (141st out of 276)
Day 275 - Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
Another record was broken today, travelling from Lighthouse pillar to PDC tournament post in a record time of 21 minutes thanks to Al The Almera, the Dublin Port Tunnel and the M50. The stars of today's board were Wes Newton, strolling to comfortable wins over Michael van Gerwen (6-1), Roland Scholten (6-3) and Andy Simth (6-2) with phenomenal scoring, and Roland, who edged out Andy Hamilton (6-5) and comfortably accounted for Stephanie Luck (6-0) before losing to Wes. In the first game of the day, MVG beat Kirk Shepherd 6-4 in a game that was even closer than the score suggests.
There was delight for Chizzy Rascal, who was well rewarded for his travels by marking Barney's 9-darter against Phil Taylor - he'll get the signed dart-board for that. Today's winner was Justin "Speedy" Pipe, whose advancement through the ranks continues in leaps and bounds. People focus on his pace, but it is his scoring and finishing which is doing all the talking. The Top 16 beckons for him next year, without doubt.
Afterwards, I brought Scott (Gibling) and Andrew (Davis) into town for a guided pub tour. After callously dumping off Al The Almera, the first port-of-call was the ship-turned-pub the Cill Airne (Irish for Killarney, fact-fans). After a brace of finest ales there, we perambulated leisurely along the Liffey down to the Oktoberfest, which bizarrely was shutting down already, at 8pm. Far from crushed with disappointment, we hopped on a LUAS and took an ale at TP Smith's before corssing the river into Temple Bar and Fitzsimons' pub, which was very busy for a Sunday night. Next liquid port of call was The Foggy Dew, where a rather good SKA band were playing, before a final brew at Pravda before calling in to Supermac's for a Smokey Bacon Burger and curried chipped potatoes.
Contentment : 17 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15
Overall Score : 49% (41st out of 275)
There was delight for Chizzy Rascal, who was well rewarded for his travels by marking Barney's 9-darter against Phil Taylor - he'll get the signed dart-board for that. Today's winner was Justin "Speedy" Pipe, whose advancement through the ranks continues in leaps and bounds. People focus on his pace, but it is his scoring and finishing which is doing all the talking. The Top 16 beckons for him next year, without doubt.
Afterwards, I brought Scott (Gibling) and Andrew (Davis) into town for a guided pub tour. After callously dumping off Al The Almera, the first port-of-call was the ship-turned-pub the Cill Airne (Irish for Killarney, fact-fans). After a brace of finest ales there, we perambulated leisurely along the Liffey down to the Oktoberfest, which bizarrely was shutting down already, at 8pm. Far from crushed with disappointment, we hopped on a LUAS and took an ale at TP Smith's before corssing the river into Temple Bar and Fitzsimons' pub, which was very busy for a Sunday night. Next liquid port of call was The Foggy Dew, where a rather good SKA band were playing, before a final brew at Pravda before calling in to Supermac's for a Smokey Bacon Burger and curried chipped potatoes.
Contentment : 17 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15
Overall Score : 49% (41st out of 275)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Day 274 - Saturday, October 1st, 2011
An early start to the day and at 9.30 I walked for 7 minutes to Spencer Dock LUAS stop and boarded the tram to Saggart, and an hour later had reached a Darts Players Championship venue in the quickest time ever on public transport - huzzah! Along the wa I was joined by my good friends Johnny Delaney (an avid darts fan and up-and-coming player) and Mike "Chizzy" Chisnall, who became only the 2nd person to "do a Damo" and travel across the pond to mark a PC event - fair play to ya Chizzy!
It was good to be inside in the Citywest, particularly as the weather outside was apocalyptic, with the nearby golf greens and bunkers resembling duck ponds. Myself, Chizzy and 10 other volunteer markers headed to the boards at 12 noon upon Baron Thomas Cox's beckoning, and the action was underway. In my first round matches, Darren Johnson fought off a spirited challenge from Reece Robinson to win 6-4. A top bloke is Darren, taking the time to compliment my marking and offer a pint. Reece was once again graceful in defeat, and I hope his record of Won 1 Lost 3 on my boards soon improves. Next up was a full-of-chat Peter Manley against Ali Powell, who joined the world-famous No-Mr.-Shakey-Hands Club after his 6-3 defeat, although most local players don't seem to know to observe the practice.
Next up, Mark Webster was in high-scoring form in his 6-1 win over Darren, whilst the years were rolled back with the clash between Terry Jenkins and Peter Manley, and a very tight contest it was, resulting in Terry winning in the deciding leg. Before the contest began, Terry chortled : "We've got Paul Nicholson marking for us!" He wouldn't be the first to say this, but it's AOK, as The Asset is a good-looking bloke!
In the Board Final, Mark beat Terry 6-3 and had many missed double chances in his 6-4 defeat to Michael van Gerwen. Match of the day for me was MVG's 6-5 win over Gary Anderson, which had it all - phenomenal scoring, finishing and excitement. My marking duties now done, it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy many pints of Heineken (even if they were €4.95, which had Kirk Shepherd absolutely fuming). Phil was back in imperious form as he claimed the title with a 6-3 win over MVG.
We stayed on to watch some of the youth games, the highlight of which was MVG's narrow 3-2 win over Paddy Meaney, where Paddy had a couple of darts to win the match and stake a serious claim for a spot in the World Youth Championships next month.
Time to hit the town, so Coynedexter, Chizzy, JD and I summonsed an 8-20-20-20 taxi which arrived in no time, and whisked us to the city centre for a mere €22 in total, including their fantastic 20% discount. We headed to the magnificent Bliss restaurant, who were still offering their 2-course-meal with tea or coffee for just €9.99. For me, their divine soup and brown-bread followed by Chicken Piri-Piri, washed down with half-a-bottle of Tempranillo. Chizzy, a hungry lad, went for 2 starters and 2 main courses and polished them off with ease, although shamefully he left a grain of rice behind on his Malaysian chicken dish, as the photographic evidence below clearly shows.
Off to what we in Ireland call The Ally Pally - The Palace in Camden Street, which is one of the rare establishments in the city centre that houses a dartboard. Coynedexter and Chizzy were introduced to the staple game delights of Thursday Night Darts Club (TNDC), such as Lives, Reverse Lives, Highest Score Out, Lowest Score Out, and such-and-such, all over several delicious pints of the finest Guinness, retailing at €4 a pint. Dave emerged as champion but JD was a respectable 2nd, Chizzy a distant 3rd and me 4th. :-)
The time is 12.30am now, so time to show the tourists (shamefully it was Dave's first night out in Dublin as well as Chizzy) some more of the Fair City's nightlife. Across the road then, to Flannery's, both of whose floors were heaving with the loveliest of ladies, including some Canadians who caught our attentive eyes for much banter, none of which I remember. This may possibly be due to the copious amounts of pints, Super-Splits (Captai Morgan and Fanta) and Cointreau consumed.
3.15am now, and we make it up the street to Dublin's finest kebab shop, Zaytoon, where the queues are long but the end-produce is sublime.
It was good to be inside in the Citywest, particularly as the weather outside was apocalyptic, with the nearby golf greens and bunkers resembling duck ponds. Myself, Chizzy and 10 other volunteer markers headed to the boards at 12 noon upon Baron Thomas Cox's beckoning, and the action was underway. In my first round matches, Darren Johnson fought off a spirited challenge from Reece Robinson to win 6-4. A top bloke is Darren, taking the time to compliment my marking and offer a pint. Reece was once again graceful in defeat, and I hope his record of Won 1 Lost 3 on my boards soon improves. Next up was a full-of-chat Peter Manley against Ali Powell, who joined the world-famous No-Mr.-Shakey-Hands Club after his 6-3 defeat, although most local players don't seem to know to observe the practice.
Next up, Mark Webster was in high-scoring form in his 6-1 win over Darren, whilst the years were rolled back with the clash between Terry Jenkins and Peter Manley, and a very tight contest it was, resulting in Terry winning in the deciding leg. Before the contest began, Terry chortled : "We've got Paul Nicholson marking for us!" He wouldn't be the first to say this, but it's AOK, as The Asset is a good-looking bloke!
In the Board Final, Mark beat Terry 6-3 and had many missed double chances in his 6-4 defeat to Michael van Gerwen. Match of the day for me was MVG's 6-5 win over Gary Anderson, which had it all - phenomenal scoring, finishing and excitement. My marking duties now done, it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy many pints of Heineken (even if they were €4.95, which had Kirk Shepherd absolutely fuming). Phil was back in imperious form as he claimed the title with a 6-3 win over MVG.
We stayed on to watch some of the youth games, the highlight of which was MVG's narrow 3-2 win over Paddy Meaney, where Paddy had a couple of darts to win the match and stake a serious claim for a spot in the World Youth Championships next month.
Time to hit the town, so Coynedexter, Chizzy, JD and I summonsed an 8-20-20-20 taxi which arrived in no time, and whisked us to the city centre for a mere €22 in total, including their fantastic 20% discount. We headed to the magnificent Bliss restaurant, who were still offering their 2-course-meal with tea or coffee for just €9.99. For me, their divine soup and brown-bread followed by Chicken Piri-Piri, washed down with half-a-bottle of Tempranillo. Chizzy, a hungry lad, went for 2 starters and 2 main courses and polished them off with ease, although shamefully he left a grain of rice behind on his Malaysian chicken dish, as the photographic evidence below clearly shows.
Off to what we in Ireland call The Ally Pally - The Palace in Camden Street, which is one of the rare establishments in the city centre that houses a dartboard. Coynedexter and Chizzy were introduced to the staple game delights of Thursday Night Darts Club (TNDC), such as Lives, Reverse Lives, Highest Score Out, Lowest Score Out, and such-and-such, all over several delicious pints of the finest Guinness, retailing at €4 a pint. Dave emerged as champion but JD was a respectable 2nd, Chizzy a distant 3rd and me 4th. :-)
The time is 12.30am now, so time to show the tourists (shamefully it was Dave's first night out in Dublin as well as Chizzy) some more of the Fair City's nightlife. Across the road then, to Flannery's, both of whose floors were heaving with the loveliest of ladies, including some Canadians who caught our attentive eyes for much banter, none of which I remember. This may possibly be due to the copious amounts of pints, Super-Splits (Captai Morgan and Fanta) and Cointreau consumed.
3.15am now, and we make it up the street to Dublin's finest kebab shop, Zaytoon, where the queues are long but the end-produce is sublime.
Shameful wastage as Chizzy leaves at least 3 grains of rice behind
Merriment Personified
A jam-packed Flannery's
Contentment : 18 / 25
Excitement : 5 / 10
Memorability : 8 / 15
Overall Score : 62% (3rd out of 274)
Day 273 - Friday, September 30th, 2011
Our Summer Swelter for 2011 seems to be at an end, with blue skies turning grey this evening and torrents of rain pouring down on the walk from work to the bus home to the Lighthouse, for yet another relaxing Friday evening, although no doubt a highly sage move ahead of expected buoyant magnificence in the Citywest this weekend and during the week ahead.
Earlier, lunch was enjoyed in Dicey's Garden, where more and more hordes seem to hearing about their €6.25 carvery special, judging by the long but fast-moving queues at the food counter. Course of choice today was the lasagne, with lashings of vegetables, potatoes and chips. Outstanding!
Delightful torrentz
Contentment : 11.5 / 25
Excitement : 0.5 / 10
Memorability : 1 / 15
Overall Score : 26% (221st out of 365)
Earlier, lunch was enjoyed in Dicey's Garden, where more and more hordes seem to hearing about their €6.25 carvery special, judging by the long but fast-moving queues at the food counter. Course of choice today was the lasagne, with lashings of vegetables, potatoes and chips. Outstanding!
Delightful torrentz
Contentment : 11.5 / 25
Excitement : 0.5 / 10
Memorability : 1 / 15
Overall Score : 26% (221st out of 365)
Monday, October 17, 2011
Day 272 - Thursday, September 29th, 2011
Nine athletes went to post at Thursday Night Darts Club 101 in Doolan's where its pints of Tuborg at €3.30 went down a particular storm. In top form was Gar "Milky Bar" Kiernan, who romped to the title with a magnificent tally of 54 points, which means he is a mere 2 points away from gaining the Number 2 Ranking in the TNDC from yours truly, who amassed the grand total of zero points this evening - an historic first!
Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement : 2 / 10
Memorability : 2.5 / 15
Overall Score : 35% (146th out of 272)
Day 271 - Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
Incredibly, today was the hottest day of the year (so far) in Dublin, with the mercury rising to 25.9 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). Spirits were noticeably high in the city centre at lunch-time, and luckily I had the forsight to prepare some incredible home-made ham, cheese, tomato, coleslaw and scallion sandwiches that were thoroughly enjoyed in the St. Stephen's Green sunshine.
After work, I CityBiked and strolled along the canal to Mount Argus for a visit to Joanne, Austin and Adam, who intensely eyed up his present of Sully from Toy Story (in teddy form) and will likely make a decision in due course on whether he likes it or not but the signs are good. He is growing and getting ever-alert, and was in great form all evening. Austin cooked up a Chilli Con Carne storm and highly delicious it was too.
After work, I CityBiked and strolled along the canal to Mount Argus for a visit to Joanne, Austin and Adam, who intensely eyed up his present of Sully from Toy Story (in teddy form) and will likely make a decision in due course on whether he likes it or not but the signs are good. He is growing and getting ever-alert, and was in great form all evening. Austin cooked up a Chilli Con Carne storm and highly delicious it was too.
Contentment : 15.5 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15
Overall Score : 46% (68th out of 271)
Day 270 - Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
September's usual Indian Summer did not materialise - until today, when decent sunshine and blue skies were the order of the day. Lunch of Vegetable Soup and Spaghetti Meatballs was enjoyed in The Clarendon, with entertainment provided in reading form, by the "i" newspaper - a UK compact tabloid which costs only 30 cents (20p in the UK), and provides a fantastic summary of international news, entertainment, business, sport and puzzles. Try it if you reside on These Isles!
Contentment : 12.5 / 25
Excitement : 0.5 / 10
Memorability : 0.5 / 15
Overall Score : 27% (215th out of 270)
Contentment : 12.5 / 25
Excitement : 0.5 / 10
Memorability : 0.5 / 15
Overall Score : 27% (215th out of 270)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Day 269 - Monday, September 26th, 2011
The autumn is in full swing and the nights of winter approacheth, meaning that cinema attendance is likely to return to levels previously enjoyed earlier in the year. For the moment though, it remains sporadic, but this evening saw a visit to see Warrior (6.5 out of 10), doing what The Wrestler did for wrestling and what The Fighter did for boxing. Jolly enjoyable it was too - even if the background story was highly far-fetched, the fight action was superbly done, and there were superb performances from the two main leads (Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton). Bryan Dennehy, not so much.
Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement : 1 / 10
Memorability : 1 / 15
Overall Score : 30% (178th out of 269)
Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement : 1 / 10
Memorability : 1 / 15
Overall Score : 30% (178th out of 269)
Day 268 - Sunday, September 25th, 2011
Unusually fresh as a daisy for a Sunday morning, I was up with the lark before setting off in Al The Almera to the homestead of Gallonbawn, diverting slightly to Glasnevin to collect my aunt Stella, who was diagnosed with leukaemia over 5 years ago and has battled it fantastically well. It was her first time to meet her new grand-niece Rihanna who was brought over by her parents, including birthday-boy Shane. Rihanna was in great form at first, but ultimately succumbed to trapped wind - an affliction of practically all 4-6 week old babies. Poor lil' mite! As ever, the return trip has some welcome additional home-produced goods in the guise of scallions, tomatoes and lasagne - huzzah!
Contentment : 14 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 3 / 15
Overall Score : 40% (110th out of 268)
Contentment : 14 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 3 / 15
Overall Score : 40% (110th out of 268)
Day 267 - Saturday, September 24th, 2011
Every now and then I convince myself that a banal weekend must be had, to recharge batteries and increase Soul Power. Well, today certainly fits into that category, indulging in exciting tasks such as washing clothes and hanging them out to dry, depositing suits at the dry cleaners, filling up with petrol, and such-and-such. Outlandish rebellious behaviour!
On the bill of entertainment fare this evening was a rare viewing of a DVD, and the film in question was Son Of Rambow (6.5 / 10), an endearing tale about two lil' squirts who make a home Rambo movie, engaging in many jolly japes and scrapes upon the way.
Contentment : 11 / 25
Excitement : 0.5 / 10
Memorability : 1 / 15
Overall Score : 25% (230th out of 267)
On the bill of entertainment fare this evening was a rare viewing of a DVD, and the film in question was Son Of Rambow (6.5 / 10), an endearing tale about two lil' squirts who make a home Rambo movie, engaging in many jolly japes and scrapes upon the way.
Contentment : 11 / 25
Excitement : 0.5 / 10
Memorability : 1 / 15
Overall Score : 25% (230th out of 267)
Day 266 - Friday, September 23rd, 2011
Lordy, this daily blogging is getting mighty hard to do - I'm falling way behind. There are 100 days left, and I'll be struggling to complete it I can tells ya. Not helping matters is that today was utterly dull and the weekend as a whole promises similar fare. No social invitations were issued or received this evening, ensuring a night cooped up in The Lighthouse, playing Bejeweled Blitz, to which I have become entirely addicted. Gaaah!
Contentment : 11 / 25
Excitement : 0 / 10
Memorability : 0 / 15
Overall Score : 22% (248th out of 266)
Contentment : 11 / 25
Excitement : 0 / 10
Memorability : 0 / 15
Overall Score : 22% (248th out of 266)
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