Today I worked. Having been allowed to ‘work from home’ this week I decided that a day’s labour would be good for me. I don’t want to use up too much holiday time in my quest for a lovely smile. At about 4pm, I looked bleakly at my computer screen and logged off. Seven hours of toil is enough for anyone when in a beautiful foreign city. Continue reading The train to Lidl
A little summary of my activities since I left you. Continue reading Passing the time, Baltic style
Last Christmas I cooked a delicious ham for the family feast, into which I inserted cloves for flavour. Upon biting into it, I felt a stabbing pain to the roof of my mouth. I already had a dental holiday to Poland booked for root canal surgery three weeks later. So when the dentist saw this new tooth disaster he extracted said tooth. It had split in half. He inserted a root implant and told me to return in six months – this time lapse was required to allow the bone to grow around the implant. After this he could install a shiny brand new tooth. Continue reading Metal mouth
The trip did not start well. Getting to Dublin Airport was fine – I was in plenty of time. Upon arrival however, the airport resembled the seventh circle of hell. There were so many people. All security gates and check in areas were open. I guess it just means that Dublin Airport is too small for purpose. I took a deep breath and decided to remain calm. No point in getting stressed. Going through security my 125 ml tube of toothpaste was confiscated for being oversize. Naturally I was randomly selected for a search by a security guard. This is almost inevitable for me at this point. I never carry contraband, but for some reason I always inwardly panic at this point. Out with anger, in with love. Continue reading The root-canal of all evil
The weekend just passed was a maelstrom of activity. I was collected from work in a motorcar on Friday afternoon, from the depths of the wastelands. Across the country we drove. The destination was Limerick. Owing to roadworks on the Naas road we took an alternative route. As a result we were denied the opportunity to stop for caffeine-infused refreshment at the Barack Obama Plaza – a service area, at Junction 23 of the M7 on the edge of the village of Moneygall. Luckily in the West there is a chain of such service stops, all identical to each other. We had a coffee at the less glamourously named Galway Plaza. I resisted the overwhelming urge for chips with garlic sauce and grated cheese at Supermacs. I am a man of resolve. Continue reading Limerick: the rocks that I got
Some weeks ago, I wrote about my attendance at a protest in Summerhill Parade (read about it HERE ). Slum landlords – the O’Donnell Family from county Clare – had evicted 120 tenants without warning, where they had been living six to a room in five terraced houses. Anti-homelessness campaign group ‘Take back the city’ occupied the houses in retaliation to protest government inaction in addressing the housing crisis. The activists were evicted and, immediately occupied another city centre building – 34 North Frederick Street. This property is a Georgian building owned by the McGreal Family. This family are not slum landlords – they are property hoarders. The building has been lying empty for over three years. They are waiting to sell it for development at the maximum price – presumably. Continue reading ‘Homes for need, not for greed’ and other matters.
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. I had a vague notion to visit Marsh’s Library in town as I had never previously been there. I put a comment on Facebook to ask the internet if it had any other suggestions for me. Lo and behold, a friend was going to the seaside – and wanted to know if I was interested in joining. I didn’t need asking twice. I sprinted to Connolly station and we boarded the train to Dun Laoghaire. Continue reading By the sea
With ‘Mother’s little treasure’ on hiatus I have much more free time. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than on an exploratory walk through my neighbourhood. This has been an ongoing project of mine for several years now – to properly explore the city I live in. Considering the size of Dublin, I will never be finished. It remains a satisfying pursuit nonetheless. Continue reading Saturday in Dublin
Yesterday evening was a quite horrific experience. I had an appointment at 7.30pm. An employment opportunity – in reality more a chance to talk about potential, future opportunities. I was in attendance at an event called ‘Move West’ which was a meet and greet with an agency to discuss employment possibilities in the west of Ireland. Continue reading My dystopian nightmare
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