Day 296 - Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

Despite the late retirement to quarters last night, breakfast was successfully negotiated, and with aplomb. The Newgrange offered a host of buffeted delights, with swathes of cereals, fruits, breads and freshly-fried slaughted meats to enjoy. After check-out, we sped to nearby Moor Park Golf Club - a basic but hilly and pleasant course for a round that started out pleasantly but soon turned inclement, with lashings of rain pouring down upon us. After 11 holes of penance, three of the four athletes decided that they had had enough, much to the fury of Daniels, who was having his best round of the year. There was little sympathy for him though, as he had prised over €30 from us by that stage. And as it turned out, the rain just got heavier and heavier.

Home by 4pm, the rest of the day was spent in an utterly splendid state of vegetation.

Contentment : 13.5 / 25
Excitement :    2 / 10
Memorability : 4 / 15

Overall Score : 39% (123rd out of 296)

Day 295 - Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

At 9.30am, Al The Almera was summonsed from motorised slumber to whisk myself, Conch-Shell, Daniels and English to the Metropolis of Navan for another epic golfing mini-break. After a warm-up on the driving range and restrained negotiation of George The Cantankerous American Club Pro, we were off and running down the 18 holes of Navan Golf Club - a longer-than-most racecourse-side affair. Thanks to magnificent play from Conquer, Team Trance notched up a magnificent and recently-rare win over a battling Team Ski. Conditions towards the end of the round were utterly vile, but this intensified the lustfulness for Guinness, which were wolfed down at our lodgings for the evening, the Newgrange Hotel. Dominoes were naturally the order of the early evening, and Team Trance reorded a sensational double victory on the day.

Eager to explore our environs, we moseyed outside and down to Smith's very fine tavern, which was in possession of a dartboard, ensuring hours of fun. Whilst at the bar, I missed out on 70th Birthday Cake that had kindly been distributed by the concelebrants in a nearby area, and took out my absolute fury on repeated wins at the oche. Smith's apparently are in no hurry to close of an evening, it would seem, for it was 3am when we returned to the Newgrange Residents' Bar for a nightcap.

Contentment : 17.5 / 25
Excitement :    5 / 10
Memorability : 6.5 / 15

Overall Score : 58% (10th out of 295)

Day 294 - Friday, October 21st, 2011

It's always nice to have an alcohol-free Friday evening, now and then, and today fulfilled this category, aided by a duet of cinematic offerings at Cineworld. First up was the utterly dire Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (3 out of 10) with paper-thin continuity, hammy acting and a nonsense plot. Unbelievable that Guy Pearce would allow himself to be involved in such muck, and the child actor deserves repeated slapping, regardless of whether she was acting or not.

Thankfully cinematic redemption was close at hand with the opening-night viewing of Contagion (7.5 out of 10), an excellently-constructed disaster/epidemic movie about a flu virus that kills millions. The all-star cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne, were all excellent, with the exception of Jude Law, who wasn't quite believable in his role as a world-renowned blogger / excrement-stirrer. Although made by people who seem to believe that anywhere outside of the USA must be completely backward (especially China), the ability to create a believable scene of total chaos and disaster was very impressive.

Dinner afterwards of Big Mac & fries for €3.80 was utterly lush!


Poor Gwynny, under the weather

Contentment :  13.5 / 25
Excitement :     1.5 / 10
Memorability :  2.5 / 15

Overall Score : 35% (183rd out of 294)

Day 293 - Thursday, October 20th, 2011

This evening Doolan's simply witnessed a feast of athleticism, with no less than 14 competitors deciding to tog out for TNDC 103, the highest number since April of this year. John "The Equaliser" Delaney proved that his recently brush with the professinal ranks in Killarney has done him the power of good, with a 2nd title in a row, and another maximum 180 score, matched by Dean "The Dinosaur" Brennan. There were exciting scoring debuts for young Italian talent Daniele "Cornetto" Olmetto and the Pride of Kilnaleck, Garda Martin "G-Force" Donohoe.

The evening also saw the return of Austin "The Iceman" McEvoy after extensive paternity leave, and he brushed off the tungsten cobwebs with ease to gain 4th place on the night.

Contentment : 15 / 25
Excitement :    3 / 10
Memorability : 4 / 15

Overall Score : 44% (99th out of 293)

Day 292 - Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

In this new era of refreshing blog brevity, it is entirely sufficient to tell you that I woke, I worked, I walked home.

Contentment : 12.5 / 25
Excitement :    0 / 10
Memorability : 0 / 15

Overall Score : 25% (258th out of 292)

Day 291 - Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Today I forayed to Dublin City University to facilitate some follow-up sessions for the strategic review of the Office Of Student Life, which oversees all of the clubs and societies in DCU as well as its Students Union. With its Student Centre, leisure complex, and any other relatively-new facilities, the campus is virtually unreconisable from those of us who frequented it in previous decades. Huzzah for progress!

Contentment : 13.5 / 25
Excitement :    2.5 / 10
Memorability : 3 / 15

Overall Score : 38% (161st out of 291)

Day 290 - Monday, October 17th, 2011

Interesting note of the day is that a major Bollywood film was filming up the road from my place of work at lunchtime today. In the particular scene that I caught a glimpse of, dozens of spritely young extras, full of the joys of spring, were performing an elaborate Bollywood-style street dance. Good luck to them!

Contentment : 12.5 / 25
Excitement :    0.5 / 10
Memorability : 0.5 / 15

Overall Score : 27% (247th out of 290)

Day 289 - Sunday, October 16th, 2011

Off it was to the INEC again after another splendiferous breakfast for The Big Event - the £35,000 PDC Players Championship. The board that I was marking had a vast range of players in terms of ability, from the nervous duo who produced a leg that was won in 47 darts (with 95 darts thrown in the leg, counting both players), to the sublime Gary Anderson who raced through his matches with high-scoring ease. Gary very kindly offered to buy me a drink (the ultimate honour from a Scotsman!) on more than one occasion but as I had driving duties later, I politely declined.

Once again, I was kindly invited to take to the stage to mark the semi-finals and final, where Justin Pipe pipped Gary to win the title and the £6,000 first prize, and it was a fantastic thrill as ever.

Matters concluded, it was time to make the 3 and a half hour journey back to The Lighthouse, reaching there on the stroke of midnight.

Contentment : 16 / 25
Excitement :    4 / 10
Memorability : 5.5 / 15

Overall Score : 51% (33rd out of 289)

Day 288 - Saturday, October 15th, 2011

After a very splendid fried breakfast, we headed back to the Killarney International Exhibition Centre for the Ladbrokes.com John McEvoy tournament, which featured over 300 competitors. As an official for the day, my main task early on was to find players and get them to their dart-board to play (there were 32 boards in total in order to whittle down the players down from 320 to 1).

The semi-finals and final were played on the stage, and I was one of the 2 markers, which is always a great honour and thrill. In the final, Mark Walsh won the €5,000 first prize, beating Paul Nicholson.

We moseyed into town again afterwards, but as it was after 10pm, the choice of restaurants was poor. A rancid starers platter was followed by vaguely passible spaghetti meatballs, washed down with a vile house red. Uninspired by the cuisine, we walked back to the B&B without troubling any further alehouses and had a relatively early night (if 1am is to be considered as early).

Contentment : 15.5 / 25
Excitement :     3.5 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15

Overall Score : 47% (67th out of 288)

Day 287 - Friday, October 14th, 2011

A day off work today, in order to head down to Killarney for their annual Darts Festival, accompanied by TNDC's top athletic talent, Mr. John Delaney. The four-hour drive passed without incident, except for a stop in the surprisingly-large Limerick town of Abbeyfeale, where a very enjoyable Lasagne and chips was hoovered up with relish. Onward to our bed and breakfast lodgings for the weekend - central, highly adequate, and a steal at €25 per person per night.

On our walk to the venue, we met my visual twin, Paul "The Asset" Nicholson and his girlfriend. Tonight saw a qualifying competition where the Top 32 get through to Sunday's main £35,000 event. John came up against Pat Molyneaux - a fiendishly tough draw, but he managed to register some good scoring in his 5-0 defeat, and amass excellent experience for the future.

The tournament was over by 9pm, so we headed into the lively town centre and enjoyed ales in many an establishment, all of whose names now escape me. The evening finished off at a chippery where the finest beef patties and chipped potatoes were enjoyed in the company of Antipodean ladies.

Contentment : 15 / 25
Excitement :    3 / 10
Memorability : 4 / 15

Overall Score : 44% (96th out of 287)

Day 286 - Thursday, October 13th, 2011

High excitement during lunchtime where I came across a galaxy of famous and semi-famours people, including Presidential Candidate and Eurovision Song Contest winner Dana, out campaigning on Grafton Street. Then whilst browsing in Top Shop, who should also be present but Chatty Man TV show host and comedian Alan Carr, relaxing ahead of his sell-out show at the O2 this evening. We exchanged "Hello"s but I spared him having to engage in any further small-talk or photography sessions. Completing the gala list of stars (snigger) was Aongus McAnally,  former TV snooker and Saturday youth programme host, now working as a DJ on Lyric FM methinks. He was outside the Gaiety Theatre hosting a live open broadcast.

At Thursday Night Darts Club 102, a moderate attendance of six athletes battled it out, with John "The Equaliser" Delaney notching up another title, scoring a maximum 180 in the process.

Contentment : 14.5 / 25
Excitement :    2.5 / 10
Memorability : 3 / 15

Overall Score : 40% (142nd out of 365)

Day 285 - Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

As the autumn is upon us, so increases the number of films viewed at Cineworld, and today, it was a double cinematic treat. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (6.5 out of 10) was enjoyable, but was hard (for me) to follow at times. Next up was Drive (8.5 out of 10), which is the best film that I have seen in years - frsh, brilliantly stylish and with an incredible performance from Ryan Gosling, who is fast becoming the De Niro / Pacino of our time. He was backed up by a very strong cast too, with Casey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston (Hal from Malcom in the Middle) particularly good. Film Of The Year, methinks!



Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement :    2 / 10
Memorability : 2.5 / 15

Overall Score : 35% (177th out of 365)

Day 284 - Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Today's major event was the qualification of the Republic of Ireland soccer team for the play-off stages of the European Championships after a nervy win over Armenia. Win the play-off and we qualify for the Finals in Poland and the Ukraine next summer, which would be fantastic, and which I will be very tempted to attend in some shape or form.

Contentment : 13.5 / 25
Excitement :    2 / 10
Memorability : 2 / 15

Overall Score : 35% (177th out of 284)

Day 283 - Monday, October 10th, 2011

Lunch was enjoyed in The Clarendon, fortifying me for my 2nd and final bout of lecturing at the Institute of Bankers, where a captivated audience of 150 people or so hung on my every word regarding the concepts and conventions of accounting. Truthfully though, they were very participative and cooperative, with absolute no-one spending any time whatsoever on the naughty step!

Contentment : 15.5 / 25
Excitement :    3 / 10
Memorabililty : 3.5 / 15

Overall Score : 44% (96th out of 283)

Day 282 - Sunday, October 9th, 2011

A lazy day which got slightly more active when I drove out to the Citywest Convention Centre for the final of the World Darts Grand Prix, betwixt Phil "The Power" Taylor and Brendan "No Nickname" Dolan, the latter of whom was the first Irishman to have achieved a place in the final. Although he didn't triumph, losing by 6 sets to 3, he did pick up a cheque for £45,000 - not a bad week's work! The atmosphere was good at the start, even though the crowd size was disappointing, numbering about 500.

Contentment : 14 / 25
Excitement :    3 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15

Overall Score : 43% (104th out of 282)

Day 281 - Saturday, October 8th, 2011

A wondrous day of leisurely pursuits today, starting with a number of pints in the recently re-opened Cassidy's in O'Connell Bridge - a hostelry that comes under the category of "proper boozer". There in accompaniment were Conch-Shell, JD and Danny Son Of Hoon, and an Oscar-nominee quiz courtesy of Wikipedia provided the entertainment.

From there, a taxi to the RDS where Leinster were playing Connaught - walking in, we met the isolated forlorn figure of presidential candidate Gay Mitchell who decided to look the other way rather than greet us, even though no-one else was around. Tool.

The rugby game was highly entertaining, with Leinster overcoming a half-time loss to win comfortably. We then headed back to Conch-Shell's apartment in Bloodbank House for a Vacating Party, for indeed he is being evicted from there soon. Before the B-Listers arrived, we enjoyed some cannery and also witnessed Brendan Dolan's 9-darter at the World Grand Prix - the first double-start 9-darter ever seen on live TV!

The guest list for the Eviction Party was gigantic, judging by the number of attendees, which packed out the reception, kitchen and hall chambers, leading me to the discovery that I am quite claustrophobic, for their is no other reason that I would leave a party at 1.20am!

Contentment : 17.5 / 25
Excitement :    4 / 10
Memorability : 7.5 / 15

Overall Score : 58% (10th out of 281)

Day 280 - Friday, October 7th, 2011

Holiday! Celebrate! Even if it is just a solitary day. The afternoon's festivities commenced at the Dark Horse Inn, where the Guinness wasn't great and one of the two customers apart from myself and John was the habitual drunkard who apparently lives there. He had a giant Elastoplast on top of his head, and his face in his hands - not the prettiest sight in the world. Onwards to the Sub Lounge, where the €3.20 black porter was eminently more tasty, the clientele more eye-pleasing. Next stop - MacTurcaills, for more porter, and their rather excellent €5 beef bourgignon special. Joined there by Danny Son Of Hoon and Conquer von Concacaf, our party was now fully assembled and ready to taxi it out to the CityWest for World Grand Prix Quarter Finals night.

The crowd was bigger (about 2,000) ensuring an excellent atmosphere, and the €15 pitchers of Coors Light were emptied with aplomb. First up was Brendan Dolan who got the home crowd going with victory over John Henderson (kind provider of my 9-darter dartboard) to become the first Irishman to reach the Semi-Finals of a Darts Major. The evening also saw wins for James Wade, Phil Taylor and Richie Burnett.

Another taxi back into town, where we headed for the cocktail delights of Lafayette, and we were joined by Gar von Milky Bar and his advancely-refreshed brother-in-law for magnificent banter.

Conquer and Son of Hoon clutch a picture of their beloved Andy "Pieman" Smith

Contentment : 18 / 25

Excitement :    4 / 10

Memorability : 5.5 / 15

Overall Score : 55% (16th out of 280)

Day 279 - Thursday, October 6th, 2011

In a new zero-tolerance approach to verbal faff, I'm going to restrict my blogs if diddley-squat happens. So let me reveal that today, pleasant as it was, saw the making of a large omelette as its most notable event. Nuff said!

Contentment : 13 / 25
Excitement :    0.5 / 10
Memorability : 0.5 / 15

Overall Score : 28% (165th out of 279)