Weekend in Dublin

Starting with a teetotal early night this was not one of THOSE weekends in Dublin.
One of the peculiarities of running as a hobby is that completing a long run makes you want to immediately sign up for another.
On 31 October 2011 Adrian and I completed the Great South Run for the first time and while the old legs were still wobbling I looked for our next opportunity and came across the Great Ireland Run, 15 April in Dublin.  As neither of us had visited Ireland we signed up and added a couple of days afterwards for recovery deciding that if Dublin was not for us we could sit about, drink Guinness and read.
We needn't have worried because even for those not on a stag or hen weekend Dublin is a great city to visit.
The run in Phoenix Park (twice the size of NY Central Park!) had more hills than I would have chosen but the rain held off and we both completed 10k in times were were happy with, along with 11,000 others.  The winner (neither of us) completed the course in an eye watering 27 minutes - fastest 10k this year so far.  After the brief period of abstinence for training purposes we didn't have to look very far for our first pint of Guinness.  There are not many things more delicious than a pint of Guinness to replace the calories and minerals lost during a run.
Dublin is an interesting city, signs of the Celtic Tiger and its recent taming are evident all over the city and some of these are quite sad.  On the up side we didn't find it extraordinarily expensive, meals and drinks were reasonably priced.  We stayed in O'Connell St opposite the Spire, a 121m spike sticking up into the sky.  This monument, winner in a sculpture competition, was erected in 2001 on the site of Nelson's Pillar which had been blown up in 1966.  It's not popular with Dubliners but we found it a very useful tool for getting back to our hotel as you can see it from miles away.

On Monday, following the run we went on a coach tour out of the city to Wicklow, the Garden of Ireland and source of the water used to make Guinness.  We visited a place known as the Meeting of the Waters where the Avonmor (Abhainn Mhór, meaning "Big River") and the Avonbeg (Abhainn Bheag, meaning "Small River"). As you can see Guinness even starts its life looking good.

Not only is the water good to look at but the area must have some magic in it as we visited a monastery where we saw the headstone of Walter Byrne, who died in 1750 - aged 106!
On our way out of the city for this tour we went past the National Concert Hall and our guide talked about the events that take place there.  Pub crawling not being an activity best undertaken with one's spouse we decided to give the concert hall a try and on Tuesday afternoon we strolled there on the off chance there would be something on that evening and that tickets would be available.
Well we got lucky although the booking clerk had tickets available she did express some doubt about whether that night's concert would be our 'cup of tea'. We took a chance and Sharon Shannon with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in an evening of what she described as 'posh diddly i' was brilliant.
On Wednesday morning before heading back to the airport we visited the most interesting General Post Office.  In most cities the post office is a bit of a non event, not in Dublin.  The building is a neo Classical beauty and the interior does not disappoint either.  It reminded me of Grand Central station in New York in being far to grand for its rather mundane function.  Not only is the post office a visual feast its also the site of events that shook Ireland to its core and the restored building houses a museum both to the Irish postal service and this major political event.  I won't describe this here because I think you should visit Dublin and have a look for yourself - you won't be disappointed.

World Book Night 2012

I'm not quite bold enough to accost complete strangers in the street and grill them about their reading habits before offering them a copy of A Tale of Two Cities but as you can see I was brazen enough to ask Peter James to appear with me in a photograph.
Horsham Library arranged for Peter to come and talk to local book lovers (and promote his latest book) as a WBN2012 event.  I didn't know about the event as I am a little afraid of libraries.  My past experiences being expensive occasions when I've ended up paying for a book (fines) but having to give it back as well.  Once (not in the UK) I paid for a library book via the local equivalent of council tax and that was very costly.  Anyway after having a cuddle with Mr James I am now a firm fan of the library and might even try borrowing a book again.  Thanks to my lovely neighbour Cheryl for telling me about the event and organising our tickets.  I repaid her act of generosity by taking a photo of her with the writer but not being gifted as a photographer I managed to omit her head from the picture.  Sorry Cheryl.
There were a few WBN2012 Givers at the event and quite a lot of books were given away.  Peter James was interesting, funny and a bit gory at times and very patiently signed lots of books and chatted to fans.  I am delighted to hear that Roy Grace is being dramatised and might even venture to the cinema to see the film when it is released.  Anyone who knows me will know that the cinema is not usually more than an annual event for me but I will make the effort for the detective who drives past my place of work in the same car I drive.  Perhaps in future he could turn up our driveway and involve us in one of his cases.
Congratulations to Jamie Byng both for completing the London Marathon and for starting WBN, please  keep it going.
Far from being a detriment to booksellers (claimed by Vanessa Robertson of the Edinburgh Book Shop according to the Guardian website) it has been an inspiration for many.  My own experience as one of the thousands of Givers has been brilliant.  I've got to know my neighbours and we now have a reading group up and running.

Good Friday? Yes I think it was

So many people in Horsham on a sunny bank holiday afternoon.  What can possibly be the attraction?
The opera singers on the bandstand were quite popular.
The olives and cheese and delicious Italian comestibles were more popular.
But the most popular by far were the, I kid you not, something between 40 and 70 Ferraris.

They were a pretty spectacular sight and these pictures are not really representative of the cars because at least 90% of them were red.  I've included the yellow one because its my favourite colour.
I know nothing about cars they all look more or less them same to me.  You can tell the newer ones because they are much bigger (like all modern cars too wide for your garage) but this bunch were all equally shiny and quite clearly the much loved treasures of their drivers.
And the drivers had an astonishing similarity too.  To a man (and I didn't see one female driver) they were all middle aged.  It sort of made the parade seem like a series of mid life crises.  How very Horsham.

After the excitement died down and the smoke cleared Adrian and I went for a drink at the Anchor Hotel where the barman made a special concession and mixed a cocktail for me.  We took our drinks outside to find that a brand new cocktail bar, Octopvs, had opened next door.  So we were forced to go there for a proper cocktail.

Octopvs is the second branch of what is probably destined to become a chain.  The first branch is in Crawley and it shows.  The free bar snacks are miniature scotch eggs cut in half, small sausage rolls cut into 3, cocktail sausages cut on the bias and a few peanuts.  The cocktail menu is quite extensive and I had an odd but pleasant mixture of Amaretto, Southern Comfort, Red Bull and something else I can't remember.  

On a cocktail run we decided to go to the other end of the cocktail bar spectrum and for the first time we went to Wabi, the Japanese restaurant that replaced the bar shut down by the drug squad some time ago.  One thing (including a James Bond style martini) led to another and we stayed for dinner too.  So much delicious food we had to ask for the sushi selection in a doggy bag and its in the fridge now.  I do hope James Bond didn't ever get behind the wheel of his Aston Martin after a vodka martini, it was very strong, almost pure alcohol.  Wabi do a ladies night on a Tuesday, I look forward to trying that.

Need Cheering Up?

I was feeling a bit glum yesterday morning, a return to wintery conditions and still recovering from my bout of Sheffieldism I was trudging towards Harcourt St when I passed this graffito.

I was listening to my ipod and fighting my way around a group of tourists on the pavement but it caught my eye and made me smile so I went back to take a picture and hope it will make someone else smile.

Thanks to the artist - the thought of someone sneaking around in the dead of night with a paintbrush and paint doing this makes it even better.