Friday, 25. December 2009, 18:55:33
Christmas day in the Hebrides. Great dinner at the Caber with mum and dad - first time mum hasn't cooked. While out for a walk round the town I snapped this chessman outside the ferry terminal, if only to try out blogging via my new mobile. (Present to self).
Saturday, 19. December 2009, 15:27:13
Språk
I midtbyen i dag tittet jeg litt på DVDer, i håp om at jeg kunne finne noe til nevoene mine og niesen min. På DVD-esken til mange barnefilmer står det "Vi snakker norsk" eller "Alle snakker norsk" eller noe sånt. Og det er bra, selvfølgelig; vi er jo i Norge. I dag så jeg en DVD hvor det sto "Noen snakker trøndersk". Jeg må anta at i dette tilfelle var det ikke noe salgsargument, men et varsel om den ugjennomtrengelige dialekten.
Tuesday, 15. December 2009, 17:07:13
Good: at last a little snow here
Bad: Puncture on bicycle yesterday, obtained only a third of the way home, in the rain, on a shitty section of Norwegian roadworks, which, as usual, have no signs, no diversions, no warning that the path you're on is going to suddenly end in a ditch or a pile of earth; no warnings that when you turn a corner, there'll be a digger blocking the path, swinging its full bucket over pedestrian walkways.
The journey to work each day is an adventure...
Saturday, 5. December 2009, 23:01:53
The journey to the below-mentioned gig was mixed - the outward leg went perfectly well (plus on arrival in Belfast I was able to catch up with my brother and Jason), but the way back was less smooth. The SAS Dublin-Oslo flight was cancelled, meaning an early evening flight to Copenhagen, and then onward to Oslo where I'd have to stay overnight at the airport before getting home at lunchtime the next day.
All the more frustrating seeing as I got up so early to reach the Dublin flight - a long lie after the gig in Belfast (and a few more beers the evening before) would have been nice. SAS were a bit poor at explaining what was going on - it was around 3.30 pm before we knew what was happening with our 12.10pm flight - prior to that we just kept getting 'next info at' signs on the monitor. The time would get put back an hour or half hour from the previous one, but no info was forthcoming.
Sitting waiting for more news, with the paper already read, and wanting to give my book a rest, I fancied a crack at the Guardian crossword. But I'd made the mistake of packing my pen in the hold luggage, and the cheapest pen I could find in the whole airport was a €5.99 souvenir Guinness bottle-opener pen - do you know they have entire shop in the airport, and quite a big one too, selling similar Guinness tatt? All I wanted was a cheap biro, so I wasn't going to part with 6 euros - the crossword could wait. But after a couple more hours sitting around, boredom got the better of me and I purchased said pen. I must have managed all of 4 clues in the crossword.
I'd only packed for one night; my newly-purchased (and only worn outside my shirt) Tàin t-shirt would come in handy then, but I was forced to buy a pair of novelty Irish socks with leprechauns and shamrocks. I pictured myself having to take my shoes off at security the next day, and everyone
pointing and laughing at me for having leprechaun socks, but they were the soberest ones I could find.
I was very glad to hit the sack in the airport hotel around 1am. They got us home in the end, albeit 20 hours later than planned, and nobody saw my socks.
Saturday, 5. December 2009, 19:55:12
Horslips, music
Just back from a superb gig in Belfast, watching Horslips at the Odyssey in the first of their 2 reunion concerts, the second taking place tonight in Dublin. It's strange watching one of your musical heroes for the first time, many years after their heyday (too young to have been aware of them when they actually existed first time round). Maybe these sort of gigs don't have the same excitement you get when you're discovering an artist for the first time. You know what to expect in a way, and you're a little afraid of the disappointment of them not living up to the status you've given them over the years.
But there was no disappointment; they played a 'best of' selection for over 2 hours - perhaps nearer 2 and a half - to a packed Odyssey. I even had the pleasure of 'meeting' (well, shaking hands and briefly and saying hello to) two of them beforehand. One of them being drummer Eamonn Carr, who sadly didn't take part in the concert, but whose place was taken by the very capable and enthusiastic Ray Fean, Johnny's brother, and who delighted in much jumping and fist-shaking and drum-stick throwing. He also had funny spirally symbols on his kit.
Everyone will have their own ideal set-list in their mind. If I was being really picky I'd like to have heard "Guests of the nation" and "The snow it melts the soonest", but that would be...well, really picky.
In the unlikely event of anyone actually caring, here's the set list, as best as I remember, with gaping omissions, and in a highly muddled-up order:
- King of the faeries
- Mad Pat
- Blind man
- Sword of Light
- Piper in the meadow straying
- Furniture
- Charolais
- Faster than the hound
- a bunch of stuff from the book of invasions.... now which ones?
- Rescue me
- I'll be waiting
- The High Reel
- Wrath of the rain ( which isn't on Treasury... honestly, I ask you, what amadan put that together?)
- Speed the plough
- Sure the boy was green
- Ghosts
- The man who built America
- Trouble
- Dearg doom
Encore:
- New York
- something else...
2nd encore:
- what the heck did they play last???
It was Shakin' all over! (thanks to DunRingle....)
Then it was off to McHugh's, Tàin T-shirt on back, and concert programme in hand, for a couple of beers before the next day's early start forced us to call it a night, and a very good one at that.
WIDGETIZE