Sunday 5 July 2009

Up around 8.30, ate muesli and milk, watered the flowers, made my bed, washed, applied 1 Million, dressed the same as yesterday. Got a few coins off Rosanna and put €5 in the envelope for the priest. Attended 11.30 mass in Ravensdale sitting in the inside corner of the back seat in the Jenkinstown aisle. No choir. A recording of Be Still was played at communion. Second anniversary for Paula Connor. Joe Carroll in attendance. Went in to the vestry after mass and gave Fr. Padraig Murphy PP the book by Ben Barnes, Plays and Controversies. "I meant to bring you up something the last night when I was in your house," I explained. He asked me about photos of the mission for some Redemptorist publication. "I have one presentable photo!" I told him. He promised to ring me tomorrow with the e-mail address to send the photo to. A happy, mobile atmosphere in the vestry. Prepared lunch for myself - the remnants of some salad, two smallish soft apples, a piece of Wensleydale. Visited Jimmy O’Neill. Had bought for €4.95 a small container of Cadbury’s Roses in Bellurgan Service Station. "Is there a girl called Markey working in this shop?" I asked. "Carol," the young assistant replied. "Karl Marx." Jimmy was awake. "I’m all gummed up!" he remarked as he lounged in his chair. His eyes, too, were gooey. He did not know me and I think, really, he was a bit paranoid about me and was relieved when I got up to go. "He did not know me? Is he on medication or what?" I asked as I left. The young assistant (a Latvian?) withheld her opinion and gestured towards a short dark Irish charge hand. "It’s his condition," the other one said confidently, "Some days he knows people - some days he doesn’t." "He’s better than the last day I was here," I continued, "He was asleep that day and wouldn’t waken up." "If you had come a few minutes later he would be asleep today too," the short one elaborated. "The spuds!" she remarked with knowing certitude. Travelled without error to and from Ashgrove Nursing Home via the M1 and the by-pass in my black 2007 Toyota Yaris Strata. Followed some of the Wimbledon men’s final on Yahoo. Eventually retired for a long siesta - my head beginning to act up again. It turned out Federer beat Roddick 16 - 14 in the fifth set - his record 15th grand slam victory. I was pleased because I like Fed. Got up at 21.10 and ate muesli and milk and wrote up the last two days of this journal in my New York Yankees leisure-wear, black robe, Lotus slippers. Downloaded in the afternoon some of the pictures I took yesterday in Og’s in Greenore from my Fuji FinePix 9500 S onto the computer and uploaded a few pics onto Sean’s space. Rosanna went in to No 13 Oaklawns in the afternoon and did a little shopping. I ate before my siesta some of the apple-tart she brought home with her.

Thursday 18 June 2009

Tom Daly’s letter arrived including a £25 cheque for IMPERO which I later lodged with Pat Greene in Ulster Bank. I withdrew €50 from the IMPERO account to pay for expenses associated with last Saturday’s meeting. Dressed as yesterday except for tan John Evan Chelsea boots and navy cardy. Bought 2 litres of milk, €1.49; 2 boxes of firelighters, 2 x €1.35; 6 baguettes, €2; in Tesco Long Walk Shopping Centre. Bought 4 large oranges in the vegetable shop in LWSC for €2. Later bought ham in Conlon’s Food Hall. "Do you want boiled ham or baked ham? The baked was done with honey and cloves," the young assistant discussed my options with me. "I’ll take the baked ham," I concluded, "six slices." It cost a little over €5 which I thought was a cheaper rate than ham costs in McCrystal’s. The first thing I bought in LWSC was a cream hot-water bottle for Rosanna - in Leavy’s chemist. It cost a little over €6 and was smaller than a cheaper blue one. "I’ll probably get down-the-glen when I go home!" I warned the petite assistant. "You can change it if it is not suitable," she said handing me my receipt. "That’s a good bargain," I concluded. Fire lit all day. Blow downs go fluirseach. Fidelis Rice in the White Elephant Lounge talking to Rosanna on one occasion when I came "up" out of the sittingroom. I said "Hello" but did not tarry and returned to the sittingroom and got on with my business. Gerard Crawley serviced Rosanna’s 2004 Hyundai Accent replacing a broken plug lead and two bulbs - the back brake light on the right and the front parking light on the right. "Someone told me the bulb was not working," Rosanna volunteered to Gerard when he returned with her car, "But I forgot about it." €130. I found my small golf pencil in a plastic bag in the boot of my Yaris. I missed it since yesterday evening but tracked it down only today. I taxed on-line my 2007 Black Toyota Yaris Strata (998 cc) for a year for €172 and was agreeably surprised to get the tax disc in the post first thing tomorrow morning. I ate a "ham-roll" for my lunch made from a sliced baguette well buttered with two slices of baked ham inserted and a mug of tea. I had the same again in the evening and I think I also ate an orange. I think I ate corn flakes sliced banana and milk for my breakfast and I think I ate muesli and milk later in the evening. Unusually I did all my eating in the livingroom - maybe because the chimney was smoking in the White Elephant Lounge? I exercised this morning fully but only swung my arms and revolved my wrists at bedtime at 00.00. However I washed my six remaining teeth and flossed. Brushed my dentures which, again, have become a little sore on the back top right. Rang Dessie and then the COC about the "free" breakfast on 1 July 2009. Catherine told me Brenda or Fiona would ring me tomorrow. I was agreeably surprised when Brenda rang me on my mobile as I was getting up out of bed and going to the toilet tomorrow morning. "You can go if you want to." I gave her two names - my own and "Archbishop Hynes." Rosanna gave me two €5 notes going to Town this morning. I brought her home no change. I think she liked the hot-water bottle.

Thursday 30 April 2009

My stars on Yahoo predicted I would win a sporting contest today. "Your opponent will underestimate your ability, etc." Not knowing what to think in a match that started at 16.50 I ran out a 4&3 winner over Peter McEneaney in the first round of the gold medal. I did not lose my ball and won all the par three holes. Most of the other holes were exchanged - we halved only one hole, the 9th. Martin McGrath dormie 2 playing Frank McKay failed to get a par on either of the last two holes and lost his match on the 20th. Frank chipped in on that hole. I walked in from the 15th and took a shower. Ate chicken goujons, chips, coleslaw, salad: profiteroles: coffee. Doreen in very pleasant mood charged me €13.90 which I paid with my prepayment card. I drank a pint of iced water before my meal. Rosanna and Mary McGoey won at home 4&2 in their Miele 4xball match v Ardglass and Greenore turned out overall winners of the tie. David Dunne exclaimed, "You just beat me to it, Sean!" as I pissed in the toilet behind Ravensdale Church after his mother’s funeral mass. I took so long and he was so short taken that he found another facility - inside somewhere? Fr. Larkin the celebrant did a solid job. The music from Catherine Elmore and Olivia Finnegan was a bit slow and maudlin. Catherine stood up at the microphone on the lectern to sing. Olivia sang some harmony (without amplification) from the organ. Jim McCartan in a fairly heavy overcoat sat conspicuously in the front seat of the side aisle where Joe Carroll, I, Rosanna, Fidelis, were situated in the back seat. Jim McCartan, 51, told me in Greenore later in the day that his more famous namesake had not been that well and had a bypass operation done recently. I parked at the graveyard at 10.40 and Rosanna walked ahead of me as I strolled with my umbrella in leisurely fashion down to St. Mary’s Church. I piddled at 10.45 and barely "lasted" until the end of mass. Well I had drunk, as is my wont, two mugs of coffee and a half litre of milk this morning. "Is it working?" I enquired from Breege Treanor when she mentioned the pen I gave her, "I forgot to check that out myself." "It is working," she reassured me. "You could do a lot of damage with that," I advised her, "Did you ever hear the saying, ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’?" Tom Goslin as we walked slowly behind the hearse up to the graveyard enquired how the "young girl" who built the house beside me was getting on? I ate two boiled eggs for lunch and a few slices of brown bread and butter. Later ate the last of the Moroccan oranges I bought in Tesco the other day. As I was lining up my long putt on the Pig’s Back Brendan Halpenny, playing the 11th, shouted at me. He has arranged our 4xball match for 7.40 on Saturday. "Is that all right?" I sent at 23.00 a text to Og about it. No reply? Did my exercises before bed having washed my six remaining teeth and flossed. Rosanna and I talked a bit about golf earlier and sat on either side of the fire with the heat on. The fire was never cleaned out today at all - the first time that happened in living memory?

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.

Thursday 23 October 2008

Did my exercises in the morning and evening and washed my six remaining teeth before bed.  Took no siesta.  Left Eamonn in to DkIT for 8.30 a.m.  Ate tagliatelle reheated with a "green" sauce and also salad complete with a vinegary dressing - for lunch.  Later in the evening I had grilled salmon, soy sauce, spinach, broccoli, mixed vegetables, a microwaved Rooster with lots of "real" butter.  I discovered how to save images in cooleyehg.com and paste them into the body of the pages.  Put 3 thumbnails up on the homepage and three thumbnails onto latest news page.  Added yesterday’s journal as a blog on my stumble site and also uploaded three images - scenes of the Lough, Ardaghy, Dessie.  Rose of SitesToGo returned in the afternoon on my mobile a call I recorded in the morning - or maybe it was a response to the card I included with the cheque I sent to STG on Monday.  She said the pictures on the site were "too big."  In the morning I wrote an article "Warm Recital in Anaverna" and uploaded it onto indymedia around 10.30 a.m.  Lit the WEL fire in the afternoon.  A windy wet day.  Corn flakes and milk for supper and for breakfast.  Eamonn rang me in the afternoon.  He missed the 4.00 p.m. bus so I went in to DkIT and collected him.  He was waiting at the back gate.  I spent a lot of time on the computer today.

Friday 3 October 2008

Rather stressed out and restless in the later morning and went to bed for an hour but this did not really help matters.  Left Eamonn in to DkIT for 8.30 a.m.  Wrote yesterday’s journal.  Rang Sorley in The Strand.  Pringle will be there on Sunday morning at 11.00 a.m.  I suggested to Sorley that Dessie and I would like a fried breakfast then.  "No problem!" Sorley replied rather expansively.  Dressed as yesterday except that I swapped my Manchester United grey tie for a rather loud yellow one with a psychedelic pattern in brown and blue.  Rosanna drove in to Clarke Station where we met Eamonn and she gave him the charger for his laptop.  He had left it behind him this morning.  The three of us traveled in the same carriage on the 3.20 p.m. Enterprise to Connolly.  Rosanna’s "social welfare" pass meant a free ticket for me too.  Rosanna and I traveled on the Luas to the Jervis stop.  Went in to Arnott’s on Henry Street and looked at shoes.  €200 is not the dearest for a pair of Barker shoes.  Could not find Lotts Café so we continued on to IFI where we sat down for a minute and I went to the toilet.  Walked on searching for Dublin Castle.  A girl rang the doorbell of the main hall and the caretaker emerged to confirm that that was the door to come to at 7.00 p.m. for the Irish Austrian Society reception.  When we returned at 7.00 p.m. he remembered us, "You’re back again."  In the interval I had a meal of chips and mussels ("Moules frites") and Rosanna a goat’s cheese and salad starter.  She had two glasses of house red.  Aisling who joined us around 6.15 p.m. had a latté and Paul a coffee.  I had also two small bottles of Perrier water and a coffee.  The total charged to my MBNA card was ~ €53 including a tip of €5.  The waiters were very different in personality.  French.  The blonde girl who approached us first got up Rosanna’s nose.  She was getting thick and wanted to leave.  In Chez Max you get the mussels in their shells with a white liquid cream sauce.  Rosanna’s mood mellowed as the meal wore on and she was delighted when Aisling and Paul turned up.  Paul told me he is able to play a few Beethoven Sonatas on the piano.  At the reception in Dublin Castle Rosanna and I sat at the side and did not get involved.  I had an interesting conversation with Kevin Farrelly a retired engineer living in North County Dublin.  He had spent most of his career abroad in different parts of the world including in "the white man’s grave" in Africa.  His wife - a French woman in bouffant hairstyle and long coat - was doing a little circulating with friends.  I had an orange juice and Rosanna had two glasses of sparkling wine.  At the interval in the concert I went out to the reception room and sourced a glass of red for her.  Hugh Tinney and Ensemble Wien played Dvorak Piano Quintet No 2 in the first half starting at 8.00 p.m.  The piano (a new Steinway?) was heard to good effect and also the viola.  The cello opened sweetly.  In the second half Tinney took a rest and sat down in the other end of the back row where we were sitting.  He is almost as good a clapper as I am!  Brahms Hungarian Dances 1, 4, 7.  Joseph Lanner Die Mozartisten and then five pieces by various members of the Strauss family including two encores.  In the second half I listened fairly intently to the lead violin.  A 1714 Stradivarius I thought it had a bright tone with a little "cry."  My impression of the Steinway was something the same - a bright forward tone with clarity and no huskiness.  Or maybe it was the key of the music or the way it was played?  I thought Hugh Tinney got on well with Ensemble Wien.  There was an appealing passage for the piano near the end of the Dvorak - a sort of hesitant, accompanied cadenza - and Tinney got the utmost support as he milked the passage quite beautifully.  In the second half the cello player was substituted by a double-bass player and, with a very light touch, he seemed to me to dominate the ensemble - and this is not just because he was standing up.  The optics were better in the second half.  I could see each performer clearly from the extreme back left corner of St. Patrick’s Hall whereas before the interval the first violin, the second violin, Hugh Tinney and his page-turner were all in a line from my point of view.  So I could see only the first of these and had a poor view of the rest particularly Hugh Tinney.  Rosanna had a glass of sparkling wine at her foot in the first half and added to this a glass of red for the second half.  We caught a taxi to Connolly.  €10 including a €1.50 tip.  The program cost me €5.  Hugh Tinney was celebrating his 50th birthday.  He was talking to a dark haired young woman as we walked towards the stairs so I did not approach him although I was longing to do so.  I was feeling starved with the hunger on the train which left Connolly at 11.20 p.m. and after a multitude of stops reached Clarke Station around 12.35 a.m.  Rosanna drove home without incident.  The house cold.  I ate corn-flakes and milk, washed my teeth, eschewed exercise and was delighted to get to bed.  I think Rosanna stayed up a little longer than me eating sausage rolls - I had one, too, before I got ready for bed.