Friday 17 July 2009

Felt in very good fettle this morning. Watered the flowers, exercised, dressed in grey check 44" trousers, blue barred Kartel short-sleeved shirt, blue Argyle socks, tan John Evan Chelsea boots. Wrote a letter to Sinead Lally in Louth County Council and enclosed a completed form to register Greenore-Cooley Fisherman’s Association with the county forum. Filled out the Toyota questionnaire which came in the post the other day. Posted both of these items driving Aisling’s Toyota Corolla 1999 down to the shop and around the block. "I drove that car to the shop. It did not cut out," I told Gary Morgan on the phone after lunch. I had rung him in the morning. When I was taking my siesta I missed calls from Aisling and also one from the Archbishop - I had tried to contact him this morning about the mistake in Anne’s telephone number in the IMPERO and CEHG registration forms which we handed in on Wednesday night. Aisling wants to me to bring her car up to the airport because she has to pick someone up in RTE at 9.00 tomorrow and go to Cavan. I agreed. She is due to arrive from Madrid at 22.00. Rang Lisa for back-up in case I had to stay the night in Dublin. She was agreeable and Sean Og rang later. "Why don’t you make up your mind now to stay here tonight and tell us now," he suggested/instructed. "Your mother will be on her own and I may be able to catch the 23.20 train? So I don’t know," I explained. In the event I was in loads of time for the train. Aisling dropped me near Bus Aras around 22.25. I withdrew €100 from the service till in Bellurgan Service Station and got €20 of petrol at 19.55 on my way to Dublin. Paul left the keys under a smooth stone at the bottom of a lamp post inside the gate of Warrenmount Convent. That arrangement worried me all evening but when I rang Aisling at 23.10 as I sat down in the train she assured me she had been able "to get in" without any undue difficulty. "Take it easy tomorrow," I counselled. She has to use equipment tomorrow that she does not know how to use. "Aisling seems to be in very bad form," Rosanna remarked at 00.45 as she drove me home from the station. "She’s looking well, anyway," I commented. She wore a black flared dress and her shoulders were deeply tanned wheeling a smallish bag behind her when I shouted "Aisling" at her as she came round the bend in Arrivals. I ate weetabix and milk when I got home and unsatisfied went on to make a processed cheese and chutney white bread sandwich which I ate with a mug of tea. Rosanna finished off a small bottle of red. My head was not painful today - at least it was a lot better than it has been. I got the feeling on the motorway up near Drogheda the same as I used to get waiting for my Father to come home from work so that I could glide on his bike down to Mary Rose’s house. A sort of mild and happy summer elation. It cost €3 to park the Corolla at level 2 in Block C. The young official at the checkout in Connolly wrote out a €10 ticket for me. He said the return ticket which I purchased for €10 last Friday and which I had with me had "expired." I felt like writing a letter to CIE to see if they would make any kind of restitution to me. I washed my teeth and got to bed before 2.00. Aisling had a dual reason for coming home. Evelyn’s father is at death’s door, and the work she was offered yesterday for tomorrow should pay her ticket. But she has a room in Madrid booked until the end of August and she intends to go back later on for the rest of the summer. Two baked pork chops, baked parsnip, baked onion, fried/baked potato, large microwaved old potato with salt and lots of "butter," for lunch.

Monday 27 October 2008

A bank holiday Monday so Rosanna and I decided to go to Newry.  Traffic jam soon after the Cloghogue Roundabout.  Eventually, before Rosanna parked the car, I jumped out as we passed the main door of the Quayside Shopping Centre to go in for a piss to the toilet at Sainsbury’s.  "I’ll meet you at the main door," I shouted rather ambiguously as I banged the door of the car shut.  Anyway I spent nearly half and hour standing in the cold with an open-necked shirt and jacket at the door of Sainsbury’s.  It turned out that Rosanna was forty or fifty yards away at the main door of the shopping centre.  Anyway, after a few mobile calls, we met at Sainsbury’s door and sat in the coffee shop inside while I let my temper cool.  We walked as far as James Kelly’s drapery and looked around the shop.  Rosanna has a penchant for handling the goods.  I kept my cool and kept my distance.  We walked on to the square and looked in a "woolen" shop which had a sale on.  Low-priced shirts - but they were short-sleeved.  In a small café/deli beside the woolen shop we had lunch.  I did not allow Rosanna’s fussing to get on my nerves and I was eventually served with a massive plate of chicken-and-bacon pie, chips, coleslaw, vinegary salad.  I ate every morsel, except for a few chips which I gave Rosanna, and drank a cup of coffee and my mood and sense of well-being improved.  £6.20 for my main dish.  Rosanna paid all £12 I think costing her €16 (I think).  We walked across the canal to The Canal Court Hotel back entrance.  Both of us went in to the toilet in the hotel but we did not tarry and walked on to TK Maxx where I bought a Calvin Klein T-shirt for £9.99 and a collared shirt for £19.99.  The second shirt was 16 ½" and when I got home I realized my collar size is 17 ½" so I did not take the shirt out of the wrapping.  The T-shirt, an L size, proved tomorrow to be an ideal fit.  I also looked at all the designer jackets and saw some nice ones including a navy velvet one with small champagne dots in a regular pattern by Pierre Cardin.  Unfortunately there was nothing in my size.  Rosanna, after much huffing and puffing bought a Rosetta handbag for about £22.  There was a massive shower of rain while we were in TK Maxx but it had stopped by the time we left to walk past the Buttercrane back to where Rosanna had her car parked outside the main entrance of the Quayside shopping centre.  I went for another piss in Sainsbury’s toilet before we pulled out the back way from the car-park to travel on through Omeath.  I went in to the toilet in the golf club but was annoyed see no result posted in the locker-room of Sunday last’s competition.  However I noticed that 42 points were 1st, 2nd, 3rd in a competition on Sunday 28 September 2008.  I formed the impression that Og and I had won and perhaps Ciaran Rafferty, in the background, by ringing up had created some difficulty about our card.  We will just have to wait and see.  Text from Kevin McGeough to say he cannot play golf on Tuesday or Wednesday.  I lit the fire in the WEL.  It was cold.  Picked Eamonn up at 9.40 p.m. in Clarke Station on his way back from Cootehall.  He was in good form.  When I asked him how the weekend went he remarked, "I got a good sleep."  I ate corn-flakes and milk around 9.00 p.m. and Rosanna gave me a small fried beefburgher when I came home with Eamonn.  Washed my teeth, flossed, brushed my dentures, did exercises before retiring to bed around 11.00 p.m.  I think I also did exercises before I performed my ablutions this morning.  Felt a bit stiff and sore during the day but light.