That was quite a handy shop for fuel, I’ll have you know. And do I really want Beaujolais nouveau which Mr. Waffle says always tastes of bananas?
Notions or Gentrification is Continuing Apace
Ireland
A Grand Day Out
To be honest, I thought I would be a bit older before this happened; I mean that I would regard a funeral as a social occasion but look, there were extenuating circumstances. My sister came up from Cork late last night. Good and early this morning, we drove out of Dublin to Wicklow to attend the funeral of the wife of my father’s oldest living friend (96 and very sprightly – he and my father were friends for nearly 80 years). The funeral was, of course, very sad for the immediate family. It was a lovely service and both sons gave great speeches.
I was surprised to see a couple I knew in the congregation. It turned out that they were neighbours of one of the dead woman’s sons and, this being Ireland, the husband discovered during the course of the service, that she had actually taught him in school.
We sympathised, we chatted and then it was 11.30 on a beautiful day and my sister and I were both on a day off work and in Wicklow (the garden of Ireland, I’ll have you know). So we went to Powerscourt for a look round and a nice lunch and a long chat. God, I was delighted. You will recall that I was supposed to be in Cork at the weekend but my trip was cancelled due to a late Covid test result. I really didn’t think I would be seeing my sister so soon and for such a pleasant day out.
She dropped me home, tried (and failed) to light the Aga and headed back to Cork. I welcomed the boys home from school and sat down to read the paper. A friend from work called with news that a re-organisation is imminent. He, alas, is being moved and maybe me too for all I know, I will find out more tomorrow. Mildly unsettling.
And in Covid news, it looks like things are going backwards again and case numbers are up. And antigen tests are in. And nightclubs and bars are to close at midnight (to be honest, not a huge deal for me). Alas.
Dealing with Uncertainty
Lads, still no sign of my Covid test result. I was supposed to be getting on the Cork train at 3 this afternoon to go for a birthday dinner with my sister. I’ve pushed out the booking to 5 and am checking my phone at 2 second intervals to see are the results in. It’s going really well for me. I mean, even if I have it, knowing would be better than the uncertainty.
Anyway, I feel a bit better than I did yesterday so that’s something. Hold on to your hats and prepare for exciting updates.
Continuing Our Ongoing Diary Entries
Wednesday October 20, 2021
It lashed rain. Despite my elaborate rain gear, the wind drove the rain up the arms of my coat leading to damp cuffs. Alas. There is no better way to get wet than on a bicycle.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
My sister-in-law and her husband and daughter arrive from England. Who would have thought that when they moved back to London in October 2019, it would be two full years before they came back to Ireland? I was pretty excited to see my now four year old niece in the flesh as opposed to on Skype.
Friday, October 22, 2021
The school sent a message notifying us that we need to avoid jelly cannabis. I have so many questions. The boys dressed up for Halloween and went into school as Mr. Potato Head and a man in black. I like the potato peeler which doubles as a memory eraser but you can understand why Mr. Potato Head looks nervous.
The in-laws came around. The absolute thrill. I was so pleased to see them. It made me a bit sad that they had been away for so long. We took in an exciting trip to the local playground. All go. My brother-in-law, surveying the range of outfits, asked whether Irish children always dressed up for Halloween on the last day before the mid-term break. “They do,” I confirmed, “do they not in England?” Apparently not. “It’s racism awareness fortnight,” he offered but it’s really not the same.
I had another dental appointment to deal with the bit that fell off my tooth. I am sick of the dentist and he may well be sick of me.
The boys and I watched a quite complicated but rather delightful Studio Ghibli film on Netflix. Thomas, their favourite childminder made them watch loads of Studio Ghibli films as he said that they were an indispensable part of childhood. He was a great childminder.
Mr. Waffle had tickets to the football league of Ireland semi-final but Dan didn’t feel like going and although I offered to go in his stead, Mr. Waffle said no one would believe that I was an under 18 season ticket holder. Alas. On many levels.
We were supposed to more or less be going back to normal post-October 22 but the Covid figures are on the up so no return to normal just yet.
Saturday, October 23, 2021
It was my father-in-law’s anniversary. I’m sure he would have been delighted to see his three children and their spouses and children gathered together. Probably would not have been delighted that his eldest son had come down with some kind of vomiting bug. Poor Mr. Waffle, he sat hunched miserably in the corner of the room like a ghost at the feast.
Sunday October 24, 2021
Dan had his last match with his current GAA team. They have been together since they were 6** so he was pretty sad. Still, minor play beckons (the next level up).
In the afternoon we headed to Mount Usher where we met the cousins and attempted to recreate the photo we took the last time we were there two years ago. Sadly herself wasn’t there being off in England but otherwise, I was quite pleased with the recreation of the picture. It is not easy being archivist in chief; for one thing your children tend to mercilessly mock you.
As Monday was the bank holiday, we all stayed overnight in a local hotel. The four teenagers had dinner before the adults and they sat and ordered together. I am very pleased that the cousins know each other so well. Cousins are a bit different from friends, it’s much easier to chat with them even if you haven’t seen each other for weeks and there is a shared understanding of family which makes it more relaxing to be together, I think. My niece has turned into an extraordinarily pretty teenager and I said as much to the boys to which Daniel replied, “Maybe that’s how you roll in Cork but I can’t say, I’d noticed.” On balance, a good thing, I suppose though, naturally I resent the anti-Cork slur.
Monday October 25, 2021
Daniel had arranged to meet a friend in town at lunch time so we went back to Dublin quite promptly. “Any idea what you and your friend are going to be doing in town?” I asked. “Yes,” said he. Mysterious. Anyhow he seems to have had a good time and stayed away from the cannabis jelly. Michael rather revelled at being the only child in the car once we had dropped off his brother.
I went into Dunnes Stores with a coat I had bought for Dan which proved to be faulty (problem with a seam, since you ask). I had no receipt but I stood my ground politely but firmly and (for the first time ever) asked to see a manager who confirmed that yes it was faulty and they would exchange it or refund me the cost. I emerged dizzy with relief and excitement. Middle aged achievement level unlocked.
I had a distinctly Sunday night feeling on Monday whereas the lucky children were just beginning their mid-term and, while sympathetic, could not really enter into my feelings.
Stay tuned all month for more fascinating content of a very similar nature.
**Updated to add, Mr. Waffle says since he was 3 but that surely can’t be right. You would think with my complete blog and photographic archive I might be able to find out but no, look, certainly since he was very young.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Monday, September 20, 2021
I had lunch with a friend whose Dutch mother-in-law had saved for me a copy of Royals magazine which had a special on Máxima’s 50th birthday. It was saved for me through Covid, flown in specially from the Netherlands by my friend and then I left it behind me in the pub where we met for lunch. Gutted.
I stepped down as treasurer of the parents’ council. I am ecstatic.
I saw on the internet that Françoise Bernard has died (at the ripe old age of 100). My mother loved her book “Les Recettes Faciles” and used it all the time. Someone posted a picture of it on the internet and it really brought me back to my childhood. As far as I know, it is still in my parents’ house. Like everything else.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 – Autumn Equinox
My sister is anxious that the boys, whose 16th birthday is on Monday, send her some indication of what they might like as presents. Michael is particularly hard to buy for. He sends her an email saying: “I appreciate that it must be very difficult to shop for someone with few material desires.” Where to begin?
As a lockdown project, Mr. Waffle started sending birthday greetings into a whatsapp group of people he did a European masters with in Belgium many years ago. He has their year book in hard copy (that was the only kind of year book available in the early 90s). One of the surprising things to emerge is a man who says that he lied about his birthday because he wanted to celebrate during term time. People are odd. Anyhow, lockdown is over but Mr. Waffle’s work as the pan-European birthday fairy continues.
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Our new French conversation woman came to the house. She was greeted with resignation rather than enthusiasm by the boys but look, good enough. I hope that it works out. At least it will be in person rather than online so I hope it goes a bit better than last year. I’m quite pleased with my wheeze of putting up paper ads in the student accommodation and local shops to find someone even though it felt very 20th century.
Over dinner I said when linking two fascinating items of conversation, “to segue seamlessly”. “Did you just pronounce that ‘seg‘?” asked herself. “I did,” I said. “It’s an Italian word not a French one, it’s pronounced “segway” like the yoke,” she said while laughing hysterically. I am flabbergasted. I have checked since with friends and colleagues; I am the only one who has fallen into this error. Alas. Still I am now among the enlightened. As my Nana used to say, “you are never too old to learn”.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Dan and Michael got their second vaccine dose. Daniels’s bike gave up. We had rescued it from the shed in Cork during lockdown when bikes were hard to come by but it was always a bit sub-optimal. I think it might possibly have been my father’s last bike before he gave up cycling in his 80s.
Friday, September 24, 2021
Poor Michael was sick as a dog after his vaccine and stayed home from school but Dan was fine. Herself got her hair cut.
I found myself at a bit of a loose end on Friday evening for the first time in as long as I can remember. Michael was sick in bed. Daniel and his father had gone to a football match.
Herself was packing for her weekend in Edinburgh (she’s visiting a friend). She was singing “La Vie en Rose” to herself and as the house was so uncharacteristically silent, it floated clearly down the stairs. I will miss hearing her sing around the house.
My brother revealed that he will be in Dublin a day or two a week from October and will be staying with us unless that doesn’t suit. I said that we will give it a go and see how it goes; I am a little dubious. I am tidy, he is not. If I arrive down in the morning to find his dirty dishes in the sink, this may not work for us. However, I suspect it will be temporary as either he will move to Dublin full time or find another job in Cork. We will see. I believe my sister thinks I might go insane. She might be right.
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Mr. Waffle took herself to the airport at the crack of dawn. Michael was recovered, in celebration, I took him to the Beuys exhibition in the Hugh Lane gallery. To be honest, neither of us loved it. Daniel had a football match. Apple season continues unabated.
Having announced to the family that it is impossible to make apple jelly that doesn’t set, I proceeded to make a batch that failed to set. Pride comes before a fall etc.
My sister drove to Valentia in Kerry with a friend with a view to taking a long-planned trip to Skellig Michael on the following day. The boat was cancelled due to inclement weather, alas. Still she sent me a nice photo from Valentia.
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Another sermon about climate change at mass which also touched on the 7 deadly sins, haven’t heard about them in a good while. The archbishop has written a pastoral letter (on climate change rather than the 7 deadly sins) which we are encouraged to buy for €2.50. I’m unsure about that investment. My attention drifted during the prayers of the faithful and I was startled to hear the priest expressing gratitude for teapots. I mean, I am grateful, more practically grateful than for other things that we may be grateful for during the prayers of the faithful but it struck me as… unusual. The priest remarked that he worked in England for 30 years, perhaps this was part of it?
Daniel and Michael had a couple of friends over to eat pizza and play board games to celebrate their birthday. Daniel managed to use the projector to put an x-box game on the big screen. We have been using the projector for film night for 18 months or so at this stage. We bring in a whole shelf of dictionaries to stand the projector on. Daniel put it at an angle on one small paperback and it projected perfectly. As his father said, “That light and optics physics course we sent him on was definitely worth it.” I feel a bit foolish.
Mr. Waffle and I went off to the other side of the city where we had a cup of tea, visited his mother and went for a mild walk in the rain. More appealing than it sounds.
I can’t believe that Angela Merkel is leaving us. The boys weren’t even 2 months old when she first became Chancellor and they will be 16 tomorrow. She has been there all their lives. I know politicians are often more popular abroad than at home but I thought she was amazing and I am sorry to see her go; it’s truly the end of an era.
Just Another Day for You and Me in Paradise*
Monday, September 13, 2021
So I booked myself a Covid test online even though I am double vaccinated. I was unnerved by my colleague (also double vaccinated) and his wife (ditto) getting sick. In fairness, to the HSE, it’s really easy to do. I’ve had to give far more data booking a restaurant.
Parents’ council is back. I tried very hard to step down from my role as treasurer at this meeting but failed.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
I had my Covid test. The whole thing was stupendously efficient. I was in and out in 5 minutes. “Have you had one before?” asked the man with the cotton bud on a long stick. “No,” I said. “You’ve done well,” he said. I was slightly dreading it but after 18 months of constantly swabbing, they seem to have really refined the technique. It was a little ticklish but very fast and not painful.
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
We had salmon for dinner and I rescued my hollandaise from the freezer. It thawed beautifully. I was delighted with myself. I thought it might be nice if it was a bit warmer and plunged my plastic bowl of hollandaise into a pot boiling water because I am an idiot. Of course, it instantly split but I shoved in an ice cube and started beating frantically and it came back together. I felt like a cordon bleu genius. It was a bit cool mind when we put it on the fish but I’m definitely still counting this as a win.
Also my Covid test came back negative and I felt like a bit foolish for going at all. But still, nice to be reassured.
I drove herself out to a party. We passed a neighbour’s house dense in foliage. “Their creeper is out of control,” I said. “It’s more like a stalker at this point,” said herself. She’s hilarious. How will I manage when she is off in godless England? She pointed out that Ireland is pretty godless as well at this stage. Not the point.
Thursday, September 16, 2021
I have to say that work continues to be demanding. I am exhausted from it. I arrived home to a surprise from Mr. Waffle who had been in a bookshop and picked me up two books as a present in view of my general exhaustion. God, I was thrilled. Is there anything better than an unexpected present?
Friday, September 17, 2021
It was lashing. I regretted my choice of an outdoor play for our evening’s entertainment. It was culture night and we booked ourselves into Milano’s for a festive start to the evening. Daniel hurt his shoulder so instead of cycling in as we would normally do, we took the car. There must be some kind of mathematical relationship between how smug a cyclist you are and how awful things will be when you drive, because it took us 40 traffic choked minutes to get into town and find parking. Herself who was travelling under her own steam took 10 minutes to cycle in.
On the plus side, the weather cleared up. We could only book in pods of four for the play. I offered not to go but that was unnecessary as there was an unseemly clamour among the children to be the one who would not go to the play. Herself won.
It was in the grounds of Dublin Castle. The Castle was busy for culture night and, as always, it was nice to be herded off into a blocked off area where something exciting was happening.
There were picnic tables for each pod to sit at and it worked quite well. We had to keep our masks on for the duration which seemed a bit excessive as we were outdoors. I was very relieved that there were seats though as I had been worried we might have to stand. The setting was lovely.
Someone started waving from a table behind us. It was the woman who did French language conversation with the children (alas, she is leaving us this year). Then someone called my name from the table directly behind us – it was some friends from book club. We did more in person socialising before the start of the performance than we have done in 18 months. Thrilled.
The play itself was fine. It was a musical, heavy on folk music. Michael actively liked it and, as ever, indifferent to the views of others, leapt up at the end and gave a standing ovation. Michael loves a standing ovation. It was good to be out. I am going to chalk it up as one of my successes.
On our way back to the car, we passed by Christchurch. I said to the boys, “What church is that?” “We know, we know,” said Michael, “Christchurch where they keep Fintan O’Toole’s heart.” Look, close enough.
Saturday, September 18, 2021
Herself has gone to Cork to say farewell to the Cork relatives before emigrating. My sister bought her new boots in Cork. I cannot speak about the outrageous expense of this. Knee high boots from Carl Scarpa bought at full price in September. What an excellent aunt.
I made more apple jelly and stuck the posters I got at the Fringe festival on my jam jars. I mean, what else am I to do with them? I now have trendy preserves. I have to confess that it’s a bit unlikely my jar of plum jam actually could be an art space but I am spreading the message.
I stuck up posters around the place looking for a new person to do French conversation with the boys. I felt very old, sticking up posters rather than going online. We will see what comes of it.
I, very cravenly, resigned from the parents’ council treasurer role by texting the group chat. I think I have achieved escape velocity.
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Mr. Waffle and I cycled to Chapelizod, then we went and looked at the art in the Irish Museum of Modern Art. I’m not sure I am able for it. It’s been open 30 years and they had a poster on the wall showing all their exhibitions from 1991. The only one I can remember is this one. The little man bangs his head on the bell at one point and it made a very memorable ding. Of the rest, alas, absolutely no memory remains.
I quite liked some slightly weird portraits by an artist called Alice Maher but doubtless I will forget all about them like everything else I have ever seen there.
We went for a restorative cup of tea afterwards.
Meanwhile herself went to Dungarvan with her uncle where they were due to cycle 70kms. I await hearing about developments. Last update was at 4.30 when her uncle said, “Finally stopped for lunch after two punctures and numerous setbacks. Turns out herself isn’t that keen on 4.30 lunch either Anne [I refer you to my last lunch date with my brother], must run in the family, that plus being continually exhorted to admire the views of the UNESCO geothermal copper coast has resulted in the a less than happy [girl] but she has been stoic.”
Not sure how much of their 70kms they achieved but at least she’s fed.
And that’s it for another exciting week.
At this point I am still trying to put off the work I brought home and did not do all weekend. I also have to do the parents’ council accounts before the AGM tomorrow night when (be still my beating heart) I will step down from the role. Oh Sunday night delights.
*Will Phil Collins ever become fashionable do you think? Will the young people some day love him unironically like they do Dolly Parton?
Updated to add: they did 68kms of their 70. Not bad!
