Tonight I had a director’s workshop to get some pointers for the play I am going to direct at the end of next month. Basically I want to learn how to be despotic and tyrannical. I guess I will have to try harder as rage and hysteria does not come that easily to me. It was enjoyable and I gained some good tips I hope.

The plan afterwards was to walk home to my tastefully appointed home where the unfinished IKEA table still lurks in the corner sneering at my laziness.

The problem with that healthy plan was Ireland – or more specifically Irish weather. After about 2o minutes the rain had seeped through my waterproof jacket and I could barely see through my spectacles.

Screw this I thought to myself – I’m getting the tram. So I made my way to the tram stop and went to the machine to load my card with some credit to allow me to pay. There was a teenager in front of the machine who turned to me and stated that there was absolutely no need to put money into the machine – why didn’t I simply cut out the middle machine and pay him directly.

I weighed up my options – now he may only have been about 18, but he looked like he had witnessed some bad things in his life, and had ingested some substances that may have had an effect on the body and brain, and may not have been entirely legal or permissible to buy over the counter. And in actual fact he may have been under the influence of those same substances at that very moment. Now he didn’t seem threatening but I wasn’t going to give him a tenner out of the goodness of my heart.

The tram pulled in. I made a split decision and boarded without paying, thinking ‘Oh well I’ll load some money when I get off’. I sat down. I looked up. The teenager was sitting in front of me.

Oh shite. He’ll be the talkative type. He continued his efforts to convince me to pay him. I continued to refuse. He offered me ‘4 blueys for a score’. I was not sure what that meant. I think it meant 4 blue pills for 20 euro. I wasn’t going to let on I didn’t know what that meant so I casually refused. He called me a 4-eyed c*nt. I looked at him coldly and said ‘Rude’.

At the next stop 2 girls about his age got on. They were very lightly dressed for the weather, and wore impractical shoes that would lead one day to an ankle injury. He lost interest in me and turned his charm on them. They were having none of it.

I got off at the next stop, came upstairs, turned on my computer, and went to Google.

4 blueys for a score does indeed mean 4 pills for 20. The pills being Diazepam.

So now I know.