Thursday was the day that I had planned to travel to Latvia and Lithuania for the first time. With the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic running amok, my plans were altered last week as soon as Ryanair announced that it would not be charging passengers to rebook flights for later in the year. Here’s hoping that by August this incredibly weird, semi-lockdown experience might have passed. Continue reading From a distance – Day 8: The Coronavirus Diaries and a trip to the theatre
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From a distance, Day 3: The Coronavirus Diary
On Thursday an email was circulated at work, advising all staff that they would be required to work from home until April 1st at the earliest. It coincided with the request from the government for people to socially distance from each other; to avoid crowded places; for schools, creches, museums, theatres, sports events to close and for people to be extra diligent in washing their hands. All to combat the spread of the virus named after a Mexican beer. Continue reading From a distance, Day 3: The Coronavirus Diary
Theatrical: ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by Harold Pinter
Judder Theatre’s latest production is Harold Pinter’s one act play ‘The Dumb Waiter’. It premiered in Chaplin’s Pub on Hawkins Street last night. I was in attendance.
Pub theatre – long a means of staging theatre in the UK – seems to be expanding in Ireland. It makes sense considering how prohibitively expensive theatre rental has become, coupled with the fact that most bars have an empty upstairs room that can house productions, and allows the audience to enjoy a few sociables after the show. Judder began life upstairs from Doyles on College Green. The new location in Chaplins is a more comfortable space and a pleasant place to catch a show. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by Harold Pinter
Theatrical: ‘The Fall of the Second Republic’ at the Abbey Theatre
‘The Fall of the Second Republic’ by the Corn Exchange officially opens on the main stage of the Abbey Theatre this Thursday. I have already seen it twice.
Late last year I purchased an ‘early bird’ preview ticket for a tenner for the Tuesday performance. On Monday however, as I was walking past the Abbey on my way home I noticed a queue winding its way down the street beside the theatre. That meant one thing only – the ‘first free preview’. The time was 6.15pm. Like a hot snot I darted across the road to inquire whether there were still free tickets available when they would be distributed shortly. The news was good. I had no plans that evening and watching the Monday performance would enable me to attend the ‘intimidating and bullying’ public meeting by Sinn Fein in Liberty Hall around the corner the following night. (This bizarre description of the Sinn Fein meeting was given by acting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who apparently believes that politicians and their parties must only engage with the public at very specific times before elections – maybe that’s why Fine Gael lost a quarter of its seats two weeks ago). Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Fall of the Second Republic’ at the Abbey Theatre
Fianna Gael or Fine Fáil – the toxic twosome
I’ve been watching the hideous charade of Irish political posturing over the past fortnight since the general election. It is enough to make you feel nauseous. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael need to get the finger out and start their coalition talks in public, as the entire country knows that they are negotiating in the background already. These parties’ pretence that this is not happening is a charade, and insults the intelligence of the electorate. Continue reading Fianna Gael or Fine Fáil – the toxic twosome
Dublin decoded – a guided tour about love
Some months ago I was invited on a guided tour of Dublin being organised by a group called ‘Dublin Decoded’. I didn’t investigate the event too much. As the people who invited me have impeccable taste, and I’m weak for guided tours, I suspected I would be in safe hands. Well yesterday was the date of the event. I glanced at the ticket. It was called ‘Dublin’s Great Lovers and Romantics: A walking tour of art and of history’, which seemed appropriate given that Valentine’s Day had occurred a couple of days earlier. Despite my devil-may-care-Texas-playboy demeanour, I would be able to enjoy such an excursion. Further details revealed that the two hour walking tour would be split into halves. The first hour would be inside the National Gallery of Ireland (the congregation point). The second hour would be in the streets outside. Continue reading Dublin decoded – a guided tour about love
Theatrical: ‘Two minutes’ by Breda McCann at the Civic
On Tuesday night I made my first visit of the week to my old homeplace of Tallaght to see a play at the Civic Theatre. The show I was attending is called ‘Two Minutes’ by Breda McCann, which is running all week at the Civic Studio (the upstairs black box space that has been the laboratory for much great theatre – including ‘Class’ which I saw in its updated form in the main space last year). Continue reading Theatrical: ‘Two minutes’ by Breda McCann at the Civic
Brand Limerick – Atlantic edge, European embrace
People who regularly read my musings will know that I have limited patience for marketing and PR guff. For example I make a point to avoid any food establishment that styles itself as an ‘eatery’. Adding an ‘-ery’ to the end of a verb does not a noun make. Likewise a food venue advertising ‘street food’ should – by definition – cook and serve the food outdoors. My little OCD heart demands this. When I saw that a new deli was proclaiming itself part of the ‘rotisserie revolution’ my blood boiled as I pictured the cocaine addled PR hack in some advertising agency coming up with this ‘concept’.
Which brings me to today’s launch of ‘Brand Limerick’ – a €1 million campaign by Limerick City and County Council is to promote the city’s reputation on an international scale. The PR firm M&C Saatchi will be overseeing the campaign with input from the students of the Limerick School for Art and Design. This company has previously done branding campaigns for New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Georgia and others. Continue reading Brand Limerick – Atlantic edge, European embrace
‘Please alight for the diabetes asylum’
The alarm clock this morning resembled a blood-curdling shriek. Hauling myself from my pit at the regular time of 7.30am is bad enough; but today my day began an hour earlier. Having suffered from the drearily unglamourous condition of Type 1 diabetes for forty years now; on a fairly regular basis I attend the diabetes clinic, where the doctors and nurses hum and haw at my file, make some suggestions to me and send me on my way to injection happiness. Some days before each appointment I present myself at the hospital for bloods to be extracted for analysis in time for the real appointment. Continue reading ‘Please alight for the diabetes asylum’
Irish General Election 2020 – vote early; vote often
Ireland has a general election on Saturday, February 8th. This will be the first time since I have been able to vote that I have missed one. Instead I shall be in Rome on a holiday I booked six months ago, long before the vote was a serious consideration. As Ireland only allows postal voting under very strict criteria – which I don’t meet – my choice is to either cancel my first trip to the Eternal City or to abstain. Abstention is my decision. Continue reading Irish General Election 2020 – vote early; vote often
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