“Everyone is trying to get to the bar
The name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven
The band in Heaven, they play my favorite song
Play it one more time, play it all night long
Oh, Heaven
Heaven is the place
A place where nothing
Nothing ever happens”
( Byrne / Harrison)
In the olden olden days the day after a big gig you could get bootleg tapes of the concert in Dublin on Liffey Street and O’Connell Bridge. They were sold by ‘Heads’ who would have them displayed on a large bread board. They would usually have tapes of all the recent big gigs and we bought loads of them. The quality was poor, but you would get a real sense of the atmosphere, and listening back the hairs on the back of your neck would prickle as forgotten moments flooded back.
I only mention this because I was at Fontaines DC last night in The Point, and boy, would I love to get a tape of that gig.
But we’ll come back to that….
Last Saturday should have been Ray’s return to running with me. He’d spent the past few weeks campaigning for the Soldiers of Destiny and said that he was looking forward to a run after the election. I told him that my Soulmate and I were planning on running around Sliabh Beagh, Bragan, and he decided against joining us , using a distinctly Ango-Saxon expression to emphasise the fact. So I toddled out to Rossmore to set up Parkrun with Dominic. Cheered everyone on, had coffee afterwards and then went home to get ready for our two loop trek around the mountain.
My Soulmate is much fitter and faster than I am. She waits at the top of each hill for me to catch up. It’s very like any disagreement we ever have. She waits patiently for me to catch up with the points she’s already rationalised, and eventually I arrive to where she’s got to.
Sliabh Beagh is the highest point in Monaghan, and in the oldest written history of Ireland , The Annals of The Four Masters, on the very first page, it is the second place mentioned. In the Annals , the first people to arrive in Ireland were a happy bunch denied access to Noah’s Ark, and advised to go West.
The Age of the World, to this Year of the Deluge, 2242.
Forty days before the Deluge, Ceasair came to Ireland with fifty girls and three men; Bith, Ladhra, and Fintain, their names. Ladhra died at Ard Ladhrann, and from him it is named. He was the first that died in Ireland. Bith died at Sliabh Beatha, and was interred in the carn of Sliabh Beatha, and from him the mountain is named.
There are various versions of the story, but Cesair’s lady friends seemed to be an insatiable lot, and Bith died of exhaustion and is buried on Sliabh Beagh. After running 14 k around it , I knew how he felt. We went home and I had a bath, listening to election results…and dozed off.
Eileen called me to remind me that I was due to go up to St.Macartan’s College, where Michael Mcmahon, and Sean ‘Spreadsheet’ McElvaney, had organised a meet up of lads that had attended the school between 1979-1984. It was a different group to our annual ‘Not Dead Yet Dinner’ , some people were common to both, this was more formal, but in a friendly informal way. Coffee and buns were provided by the school , and the visit and tour were facilitated by the principal , David McCague, who is the nephew of the principal when we were there, and the son of my primary school teacher. He was very generous with his time. I met a couple of classmates, Pearse, and Liam, that I hadn’t seen or spoken to in 30 or more years. It was a brief, but wonderful catch up.
Monday was hectic. In our other , other business we’ve launched a new brand, ‘Stage Legend’, a selection of DJ equipment, the brainchild of my brother John, and we were all busy and excited with it.
Tuesday morning Ray did finally return to running ! We had a nice 5k wander around Rossmore. I then had to head to Dublin for my six-monthly CT scans. I get a chest, and abdominal scan. The whole process takes about 30 minutes. They scan you, then inject you with a slightly radioactive gunge which shows up nothing, hopefully. This gunge gives a funny warming sensation as it travels around. You’re conveyed in and out of the scanner, or the scanner moves over and back over you, I’m never entirely sure which. You’re told to breath in…hold…breath out , several times. I’m always distracted by a tiny little hole in the top of the scanner which wouldn’t attract the slightest attention , other than the fact that right beside it there is a little sign, 10 times bigger than the hole, which says “Do Not Look In This Hole “.
Wednesday was busy at work again, with the helpful distraction of Spotify’s annual ‘Wrapped’ lists coming out and being shared around by muso friends. My top 5 , was as usual, the most erudite, eclectic, and wonderful.
Starburster – Fontaines DC
Friend Of A Friend – The Smile
Whatever’s Inconvenient – CMAT
Adore Adore Adore – Sprints
Wild God – Nick Cave
Thursday we got up at 5am, left home at 6, to be in Dublin again for my consultation with Ms.Little, the lady who saved my life. Sitting in the waiting room, Eileen squeezes my hand, “You’ll be fine. Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m grand. You’re nervous.”
She smiled at me and squeezed my hand again.
My name was called and we went to Ms.Little’s office. We exchanged pleasantries, and then she mentioned my marathon medal, which I’d sent to her. This is the second one I’d sent. She wanted me to have it back.
“Oh no. I want you to have it, I don’t keep them, they just clutter up the place.”
“OK, but now my drawer is filling with them.”
We laughed, but she clearly does not want any more of my sentimentality …or clutter.
All was good, scans hadn’t shown anything…to be hopping up and down about.” Which was positive from her, but I’d still rather that she would say there is ABSOLUTELY nothing to worry about. She said we’d do scans again in six months. She went to type up the scan request and asked “Do you have any allergies ?”
“Yes. Cheap red wine.”
She didn’t laugh, but I could see that she smiled.
We all wished each other well.
Eileen and I decided to have a wee potter about Dublin. It was still early and lots of the shops were only getting ready, not opening until 10. Eileen mentioned an aftershave that I used to like , so we went into BT’s to get it. We found the tester bottle , but couldn’t see any for sale, so I went to ask a lady at a counter nearby.
“Excuse me…”
As soon as she looked up , she said “Paul !” then she spotted Eileen and put her hand to her mouth. She hugged me first , as I was closest. It was a hug and a half. She then hugged Eileen and the two of them started crying. Then I cried.
Linda gave out to us for ruining her make up. She asked what were we up for. Eileen said my appointment, and we all started snivelling again. Linda follows the blog , so was aware. But we hadn’t actually seen each other in donkey’s years.
We had all had a lot of great times together back in the day. ( In the P.S. I mention one of our adventures ). Linda and Sean are both remarried now. She talked about her boys and we told her about our Monkees. It was cathartic.
Super hugs were exchanged as we parted.
I think it was only after that chance meeting with an old dear friend that we both realised how much stress we were carrying, and denying.
We went home. I lit a fire and then Eileen went to collect Jake from the bus, and I made tea. Jake was home for a study/work thing the following day. We had dinner together. We had wine. We laughed a lot.
Got up early on Friday with the intention of writing the blog. Made a cup of tea and took it back to bed. Met John and Stephen for our weekly fry in the Screaming Bean, went to work, left work, took Jake to his thing, took him back to the bus, and then headed off to collect Robyn and Dundalk John, who’d flown in from Edinburgh to go to the Fontaines DC gig.
By this stage it had been a long week, and if had been any other band, and if I wasn’t going with Baz, Robyn and Dundalk John, I’d have cancelled.
I am so glad I didn’t.
It was an epic evening.
Baz and I had the kind of chat you can only have with someone who you’ve been through it all with, who you don’t pretend with, who knows absolutely everything about you and still likes you. He also has great taste in music.
Fontaines opened with ‘Romance’ and finished with ‘Starburster’ and in between there was a frantic blur of classics that we couldn’t believe was over so soon. I’d love a poorly recorded bootleg tape of it.
Sometimes I think it would be Heaven to have a week where nothing happens.
But then again… I wouldn’t.
Toodles,
Paul
P.S. For Linda , this is ‘favourite’ by that Monaghan band.
P.P.S One Sunday afternoon in Dublin
On an infamous Sunday afternoon my Soulmate and I met our friends , and her work colleagues, Stephen, and Linda, for brunch in the Boulevard Café on Exchequer St. in that Dublin, to celebrate Linda’s birthday. It started off in civilised fashion until Stephen ordered a bottle of Moet. When we’d finished that, my Soulmate ordered one, then Linda , and then me. At 4pm Linda’s partner Sean arrived, he was playing for Shamrock Rovers at the time and caught up with us after his match. He ordered 2 bottles of Moet.
At 6pm we sidled over to the Chocolate Bar, which at the time , was the early evening part of The POD, again, at the time, Dublin’s most exclusive nightclub.
It had just opened for the evening and we were the only patrons. We ordered cocktails called Mississippi Mud Pies. Sean and I decided to play a game of Pool on the orange baize pool table. Linda and my Soulmate thought that this was incredibly boring and took to draping themselves seductively on the table to distract us from our game. When this didn’t work they ordered another round of Mississippi Mud Pies and then proceeded to randomly pick up balls from the table and either put them in pockets or throw them to each other. Linda and my Soulmate were both great throwers, but terrible catchers and balls from the pool table started to clatter around the wonderfully exclusive Chocolate Bar. By way of apology , we ordered another round of Mississippi Mud Pies.
At this point the bar staff realised that none of the empty glasses from the previous cocktails had made their way back to the bar. Glances were cast at Linda and my Soulmates incredibly fashionable , and incredibly large leather handbags. But , this being an exclusive ‘Do you know who I am ?’ place no one said anything.
It was only 7pm, but my Soulmate and I had had enough. We wished Stephen ‘Happy Birthday !’ one last time and staggered up the stairs to daylight, my Soulmates incredibly fashionable , and incredibly large leather handbag clinking with the sound of a baker’s dozen Mississipi Mud Pie cocktail glasses, the bouncer knew. We knew.
“I never want to see you again !” He said, smiling.
“Preaching to the choir Boss !” My Soulmate and I chimed.
I think we have two of those glasses left….
