The tale of a christening (lovely) and a fire (not so lovely)...

I have a penchant for nostalgic posts, and this one is no different. But before I get into that, I must quickly talk about my awesome weekend in the UK.

Last weekend was the christening of Zoë and Richard's youngest child. Zoë is my oldest friend, we’ve known each other since we were 14. Zoë and I haven’t lived near each other since 2000, but it’s one of those friendships that doesn’t require close proximity, or even super frequent contact to thrive.

Zoë and I have shared a lot in the last 17 years (17 bloody years!!) and she’s now happily married with 2 beautiful kids. I was honoured to be her Maid of Honour last year, and was equally honoured to be asked to be Godmother to her youngest child.

This weekend was his christening and it was a great weekend. I headed over to Zoë’s parents on Saturday afternoon to be able to see the kids, and spend some time with Zoë and her folks, before heading out for some food that night with her, Richard and her brother Leon.

Sunday was the christening itself, and although I’m not a religious person, I do like Bradford Cathedral and its services. I went with Zoë a few times before the wedding, then the actual wedding, plus the two christenings. It’s probably my most frequented religious establishment! The christening was done by the same Canon who married Zoë and Richard, so there was a nice personal touch to the whole event. It was also a bit of a farewell as they moved to Cambridge the day after the christening.

Once the service was complete, we all headed back to Zoë’s family home for some food etc. Zoë, her mum & her future sister in law had spent all of Sat making a delicious spread and it went down a storm. There was previously a tradition of an August Bank Holiday weekend BBQ at the Severn house due to the close proximity in birthdays of Zoë and her dad, and her parents wedding anniversary. These BBQs ended for good a few years back, but they’d run for nigh on 10 yrs previous to that (maybe longer!). It was partly due to this fact that I had absolutely no issues about heading to the christening on my own, sans companion. As I mentioned before, I’ve known Zoë 17 years, so by association I know her family well. From attendance at the annual BBQs I’ve gotten to know a wide range of their friends too, supplemented by the wedding and a christening last year.

I got home at 10.30pm, having been picked up at 9.30am. I ate, I drank, I played with the kids (responsibly of course!), I laughed till I cried and I got to spend a lovely time with Zoë, Richard, the kids, and everyone else there. So, thanks again to Zoë and Richard for their decision to make me Godmother to their son, and for a wonderful weekend. See you both in your new home in Cambridge!

Now onto the nostalgia….

Given that Zoë’s parents home is only a 5 min drive away from my parents house, it made sense for me to stay with Dad and Lesley (my stepmum) for the weekend. They're moving to Wetherby once their current house sells, and chatting about this on Friday caused us to realise that the next day was the 17yr anniversary of us moving to that house. I actually moved out of the house when I was 19 but it is the longest family home I’ve ever had. It’ll be bloody weird when they sell it and I will miss it. I have many many memories in that house, some good, and some not so good…I was a teen in the house, it was fraught time! I’m not going to recount every memory, obviously. But there is one that deserves special mention owing to its spectacular nature. It involves me, and a chip pan…

It was April 1997, I was 15 years old. Lesley and Dad were out for the evening at a corporate thing and I was trusted to be on my own. Normally not an issue. We’d recently acquired a chip pan, but not an electric one, just a big pan with oil in it. Before I go any further I need to say something about the layout of the house. It’s a 3 storey house, with the kitchen and separate dining room on the level as you walk in, then downstairs is the lounge and study (with a door at the top of the stairs), and then the bedrooms upstairs.

I did my homework in the study downstairs as I had access to a computer and a desk. I’d started my homework, and then headed upstairs to the kitchen to put dinner on. I’d opted for chicken nuggets and put the chip pan on the gas hob before nipping downstairs to turn off the music and come back up to supervise the food. This was genuinely my intention. I can be a total ditz at times but I didn’t walk away with the intention of being away for long. In the 2 mins whilst I was downstairs to turn the music off, the phone rang and it was my school friend Emma ringing to ask about one of the bits of homework. This distraction meant that my original intention of being away from the kitchen for a few mins was now non existent. And I’d closed the door as I came downstairs, so I didn’t hear the smoke alarm going off. It must have been a good 20/25 mins (maybe less) before mid conversation with Emma, I decided to go back up to the kitchen.

I opened the door at the top of the stairs and was greeted by the noise of the smoke alarm, a fair bit of smoke and our rather terrified looking dog, Jenny, hurtling towards me down the hallway. I told Emma my kitchen was on fire and then accidentally cut her off. I looked into the kitchen to see the chip pan on fire, and it was on fire a lot. I did what I’d always been taught, I got a tea towel from the dining room and I wet it in the sink but as I turned I realised I couldn’t get anywhere near the fire. It was much too big for a wet tea towel to handle. I panicked. I grabbed my keys and the dog and I ran outside. I didn’t think to call 999, I was in a blind panic. I ran next door to Sue and told her what was going on and she rang the fire brigade. In the meantime, a random car had stopped. The window opposite the cooker in the kitchen faces the road meaning the driver had seen the fire and stopped. He had an extinguisher in his car, and using my school jumper as a makeshift mask, he went inside and put the fire out.

I’m not entirely sure how long the fire brigade took to arrive, but because the cooker hood was wooden, had been alight and so was smouldering and the gas hob was still on; the fire re-ignited, but only a few mins before the fire brigade arrived. They went in and did their bit, and I was given oxygen partly to calm me down and partly to cover me for any smoke inhalation.

Whilst I’m sat on the wall with an oxygen mask on, 3 of my mates (one of whom was my boyfriend at the time) walk round the corner on their way to my house anyway. They’re rather taken aback to see all the commotion. I don’t remember how long the fire brigade were there for, but they left at some point. My neighbour was there so must have vouched for me being ok without my parents being there, but like I say I don’t remember exactly. It’s a bit of a panicky blur. I do remember Mark (then boyf) and other mates coming into the house to try and clean up a bit. Bless them, it was a fruitless exercise. The kitchen was ruined. The cooker and cooker hood was a burnt and melted mess. The rest of the kitchen was black with soot and there was smoke damage throughout the dining room, and the rest of the house smelt of it too. I also remember my then best mate Jo phoning her parents who came up to get me. They left a note for my parents (days before mobiles!) to say I was with them, and I spent the night at theirs. I didn’t go to school the next day and headed home to face the music.

My timing couldn’t have been better really….we’d just had the kitchen refitted and the decorator was coming to next day to finish the final bits off. My parents had to phone him to tell him there was no point in coming. I don’t remember much about the next few days/weeks to be honest, I think I’ve blocked them out.

One thing I do know is that I’ve never been more terrified in my life as I was upon opening that door and seeing the smoke. I also know that had it not been for the dude driving past stopping and putting the fire out, the whole house would have gone up. The 5 mins or so that the fire was out for before re-igniting made a massive amount of difference. I’ve never owned a chip pan since, either manual or electric. Although if I ever were to own one, it’d be an electric one. Significantly cuts down the chances of such an incident.

I remember the exact song that was playing on the stereo as I paused it to answer the phone to Emma: Patrick Swayze She’s Like the Wind. Unfortunately Emma is no longer with us, having passed away after a short battle with Leukaemia in 2002. But she used to mention that night occasionally. The last she heard from me on the phone was “Shit, the kitchen’s on fire!” before the line went dead. She had no idea what was going on and whether I was ok or not until the next day.

It’s an experience I never want to relive, and one that I’ll remember vividly for a long time to come. But, it just goes to show that I paid attention to those fire safety thingies in school. I knew what to do…I just couldn’t do it.

It’s easy to see those fire safety adverts and think “It’ll never happen to me”. It can, and believe me you never want it to. Always make sure your smoke alarms are functional, and never ever leave a pan of oil unattended, even if you have every intention of coming back. You never know what could happen in the meantime.

So, a rather serious one this time folks. Not much else I can say!

Until next time, much love.

S

x

Bride of Spatula debut gig

In my last post I mentioned that I was heading to the debut show of comedy improvisation troupe called Bride of Spatula. I promised a bit of a write up, so here goes. This is my first review thingy so I'd be interested to know if you find this useful/pointless/entertaining etc!

Until yesterday morning I'd heard nothing of Bride of Spatula, but thanks to Dublin Event Guide, and the mild panic ensuing from needing something to do that evening, I found their Facebook page and heard about their first ever gig, happening in Against The Grain on Wexford St. 

I'm no stranger to comedy improvisation shows. I watched Whose Line is it Anyway as a teen, have seen the live show twice (one of which resulting in two nights drinking with the awesomeness that is Mr Phill Jupitus, but that's a different story) and have also seen the Monday night improvisation show in The International Bar. They're always good fun, it's not your general run of the mill comedy, it's a real hotch potch of themes and outbursts, but under it all is the real cleverness of a group of people, collectively and individually being able to be funny consistently, with no real prep or idea what's about to happen. It's incredible to watch. And if you've never been to an improvisation show, I'd highly recommend it.

And what better way to start than with a newly formed troupe?! Although Bride of Spatula maybe new in their formation, as Sean at Krank informed me, collectively they have a LOT of comedy circuit experience. I must admit when I decided to go to the gig I was slightly sceptical that it wouldn't be any good, that they wouldn't be funny. The Krank article helped allay that fear, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I did think it slightly odd that the gig hadn't really been advertised (or not that I'd seen anyway), but I'll come to that later. 

The gig started at 9pm but we headed to the venue for 7.45pm to have a drink and a chat. The venue itself, Against the Grain, is lovely. Based at the bottom of Wexford Street it's penned as a Gastropub and gets some good food reviews from what I've seen on Menu Pages. I can't speak for that as we didn't eat, but I can say that they have a very very extensive and impressive beer menu. It prides itself on its selection of craft beers, including the Galway Bay range, alongside a serious amount of Belgian, German and other continental beers.
Now, I maybe a girl, and I may enjoy a Heineken every now and then. But my father is massive Belgian beer fan, and he has over 20 varieties of Belgian beer in his house at any one time. One of the reasons I love going home. "Fancy a drink love?" "Oh go on then. Surprise me, you know what I like". And he does, and he delivers every time. His love of the different varieties has rubbed off on me and I enjoy them when I can. Which is why The Porterhouse on Parliament Street is my favourite pub in Dublin. 

But, I digress slightly. The range at Against The Grain is not to be sniffed at. You won't find Heineken, Guinness, Bulmers or any of those stock 'favourites' on tap, but you will find delicious alternatives. And then there's the range of bottled beers, you'd be there all day choosing if you had the inclination. 

There's a nice relaxed atomosphere also, I honestly can't remember if there was music playing or not, my companion and I were so busy chatting that it didn't factor into my consciousness. 

At about 8pm a guy came round with a poster of the gig telling people it was taking place at 9pm upstairs and it was free. Now we were there to go to the gig, but I'd say most of the other people weren't. But it was a great idea for him to go round and let people know, especially as there was no other advertisement of the gig in the pub. 

We headed upstairs just before 9pm to a fairly small area with some tables set out and some stools at the side. We joined the 10 or so other people up there and sat on the sidelines. 

We were informed that the pieces of paper on the tables were for us to put quotes on, be it film, song, poem, fridge magnet etc. Just scribble something down as they'd be used later in the gig. We obliged and handed in our submissions. 

The gig started at 9 as advised and one of the troupe, Diane, was acting as MC and chatted with the audience to break down some barriers. One of the key things about improvisational comedy is audience participation. The whole act falls on its arse without a willing audience, so it's key to get them on side and interacting from the word go. Diane did well at this, but I felt for her as she asked where people were from and got no response. However, myself and my companion were vocal enough and I'd like to think we helped with the interaction. She introduced her fellow comedians; Declan, Maria, Brian and Conor. She gave a bit of background to the group in that this was their first gig and we as the audience were all very welcome, she explained some key concepts, e.g shouting "DIE!" when someone stumbles over a sentence etc, and the gig started. 

As much as improvisational comedy is different in every gig you go to (purely by the nature of how it's done), there are a certain number of 'skits' that you'll see used a commonality theme across different gigs. These are stock favourites that are almost guaranteed to deliver laughs and randomness. Last night was no different, but again, purely by the nature of how these shows are done, every single skit is different, and even if a theme comes up twice in one evening (which is rare), it'll be treated totally differently the second or third time round. 

Our audience were a little cagey at first but soon opened up and were interacting well, which must have been a relief for the guys on stage. 

The 5 guys held an interesting dynamic, because even though as the Krank article highlights, they're all individually experienced in various comedy circuits, I'd hazard a guess and say that they hadn't worked together as 5some much before. Not because they were rubbish, but because at certain points one genuinely didn't seem to know where the other would take the item, which is always interesting to see. I've seen improv gigs with people who've worked together lots before and I've seen ones where the combination of people is totally new. I think this was a mixture of the two. But, they were obviously comfortable working together and there was a great dynamic between them, which fed out to us guys watching in the audience. 

During the interval one of the guys (Chris) who was part of the troupe but not performing that night, came up to us for a chat. He remembered I was the "girl from Leeds" and managed to convince me for a few mins that he was also from Yorkshire, before lapsing into his own accent. He was interested to see what we thought of the gig and where we'd heard about it. I commented on the lack of advertising and he admitted that the venue itself hadn't put any of the posters they'd provided up, so they'd got their audience pretty much through the Facebook page and from the few write ups of people knowing the formation etc. He told us their background in that most of them were from Ha'Penny Laughs and that they were trying to get their own gigs going now, rather than sharing stage time with stand ups (with no offence to stand ups, but everyone wants their own stage time!). It was a nice touch for him to come over and interact and added a real personality to the evening, we felt appreciated as an audience anyway but even more so after that. 

The gig itself ran to nearly two hours, with a 15 min interval. It was just the right length of time and I laughed lots, and lots. At some points I laughed when no-one else did, but then that's my sense of humour! And although the gig was free, we were invited to make a donation of how ever much we wanted if we felt the gig warranted it. There was no pressure for a donation, but as Diane pointed out, any donations would help them with printing fliers and getting themselves 'out there' to deliver more awesome comedy. We did, of course, make a donation. I'd cried laughing, the least I could do was show my appreciation!

We signed up for their mailing list and I've liked them on Facebook. As far as I can tell the next gig is on Sept 18th in Phibsborough (but do not take my word for this, check their Facebook page out yourself!). Not entirely sure I can make that, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for other gigs & movements of Bride of Spatula. 

I'd recommend anyone to go and see them, they're fun, incredibly clever and have the great ability to make a room full of strangers laugh a lot, which, lets face it is pretty bloody crucial for a comedy gig. I only hope they go from strength and strength and get the following they deserve. 

Thanks for reading folks, any feedback is most welcome!

Much love. 

Another wedding, another awesome weekend

Afternoon! I had a heavy weekend with 2 very late nights and enough alcohol to sink a ship. I’m wrecked, but boy was it fun.

On Friday, two friends, Nic & Simon, got married in Co. Wicklow. Some of the girls were at the day do and I and a few others were heading to the evening do and sticking around for the second days events. I’d never been to a 2 day wedding until I came to Ireland, and it seems to be the norm here. So, word in your ear, if you’re invited to an Irish wedding, expect to make a weekend of it. The second day will generally be a BBQ or something and will a lot less formal, but they’re always worth sticking around for!

I’ve known Nic for a good few years now, we used to work for the same company, and got to know each other through work nights with mutual friends. She’s great craic and her and Simon are a perfect match. It’s always an honour to be invited to share someone’s wedding with them, and this one was no exception. 

The venue was a stunning house near Newtownmountkennedy (yes, really all one word and the name of a town!), called Trudder Lodge. It’s a fabulous house with some real character. The reception room was in a permanent marquee out the back, the bar was a small hatch on one side of the marquee and then the smoking area was in a lovely wooded bit round the other side. Very simple, but wonderfully set and organised. I drank, I danced, I caught up with people I’d not seen in a while and I met new people (love weddings for that!), and I got to bed at 5am.

The back of Trudder Lodge, BBQ in progress!

 Saturday consisted of a much needed fry for breakfast before heading back to the venue for the BBQ. This time we were on a different side of the house, with a big lawn overlooking the farmland. The sun was shining and it was lovely. The second day was bring your own alcohol so we commandeered a tub with some ice to put our stuff in, as everyone else had done. Everyone was a bit subdued at first and a bit worse for wear but we soon perked up with the help of the games (Giant Jenga, Kerplunk, Fussball, draughts, Connect 4), the alcohol, the dogs and some rolling down hills…what?! I’m 31 yes, but I’m still a big kid at heart, and anyway, it was Sinead’s idea. I’m totally faultless. Honest.

This is Branson, Simon & Nic's dog. He's awesome. But VERY persistant with his ball. Take it away from him and he will find anything else for you to throw, and I mean anything! He will also put the ball right in your crotch if you ignore him when he brings it back to you...! 

Give a group of lads a ball and just watch them go!

As the night drew in we retired inside, had a good old sing along with Con on the keyboard, drank some more, and reconnected with the people we’d met the day before. It’s times like these that you realise how small Dublin is. One of the lads at the wedding is the cousin of someone I used to work with, and knows 4 people I work with now.  I think bed beckoned at just before 4am on Sunday morning.
Needless to say Sunday was a washout, once we’d driven home I sat on the sofa and barely moved, retiring to bed rather early and sleeping for what felt like an eternity.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend, spent with some lovely people, celebrating the marriage of two lovely people, and meeting some new lovely people. It was just, well, bloody lovely!

As much as last weekend was wonderful, I am looking forward to doing very little this weekend. It’s my first weekend since 5^th July in which I’ve not had something planned, and I love that. Don’t get me wrong, I love my social life, of course I do. But when you’ve had 5 weekends constantly on the go, you relish a quiet weekend. But, I best not say that, my last quiet weekend didn’t work out quite as planned.

As is my norm my mid weeks are generally quiet, although tonight I’m going to see the debut show of a new Comedy Improv group, Bride of Spatula. I’ve planned to do something tonight for a few weeks now, but had a total panic this morning when I hadn’t actually organised anything to do (kind of crucial when doing things!). Help came in the wonderful form of http://www.dublineventguide.com/, and I found a good few options for tonight. I’d heard about this site before but had never had cause to put it to use. It’s great in that it’s organised by day, and contains stuff that you may not otherwise hear about. Like the gig I’m going to tonight, I knew nothing about them, but picked it as the thing to do, then googled them and found this great write up on Krank.ie. I’m now super excited about the gig. I love a bit of comedy me! I’ll report back, I promise.

I'm also super super super excited about Breaking Bad being back on my TV screen. If you've not seen it you haven't lived. I'm not joking. It. Is. Excellent. In my opinion it's one of the best things on TV since The Sopranos. The casting, character progression, writing, research, humour and overall concept are all just excellent. I got into it quite late and ended up watching Seasons 1-4 in very quick succession  Then Season 5 was announced as the last ever season and I cried a little inside. Episodes 1-8 aired last year, with the mid season break ending on a rather "Oh f!ck!" moment and a massively pivotal cliffhanger. I had to wait almost a full year for the second part of Season 5, but it returned this weekend. And it delivered. I have Jesse and Walt back in my life and I am one happy bunny. I will not be doing anything on a Monday for the next 7 weeks. 
Seriously, if you've not seen it, get your grubby mitts on it (Netflix has it). It's rather dark in its humour and it's far from nice and cuddly, but it's bloody brilliant. 

That’s my ramblings for the time being. Oh, I’m still in love with Absolute Radio, it makes my working day go so much quicker…although maybe not for my colleagues as I tend to sing to myself. Voice of an angel me. Really.

Till next time folks, take her handy.
Mwah!

xx

This and that!

Hola you lovely people, how the devil are you?

Today’s post may be a bit of a hot potch of various things, so hang on in there with me.

I’ve just had a lovely August Bank Holiday weekend with friends in the UK. Yes, we in Ireland have our August Bank Hol the first weekend in August, not the last weekend like you in the UK. As it happens I’m using the UK one this year as a long weekend for me too, but that’s another story.

I was with two of my best friends near Reading. Haven’t seen them both for a good while so it was great to catch up. Also got to spend time with my godson, who’s 5 today. Happy birthday sweetheart. My godson is autistic and I’m always conscious that although he knows who I am, thanks to frequent visits and his mum keeping my presence alive with various pics etc, because he doesn’t see me all that regularly, he is likely to be a little shy with me at first. This was exactly the case on Sunday, but I’ve been around enough children to know that there’s no point in forcing them to interact with you. Kids aren’t stupid, they’ll soon work out you’re ok. To that effect I was very pleased when my godson gradually came out of his shell with me and we spent some lovely time playing in the garden. The best bit was when his mum came back from a toilet trip with him and told me that he’d turned round to her and said “You know what I just realised Mummy? Auntie Sandra isn’t scary at all”. We laughed, but I was overjoyed by this. The last time I saw him was Christmas, and a number of factors in this visit meant it was a stressful time for him, and so it figured that that was his association with me. I hope the fun we had this weekend has superseded that. I love spending time with him, he’s a real character and often blows me away with the facts he comes out with. I learnt more about wild flowers and farm equipment this weekend than I’ve ever learnt in my 31 years previously! I’ve bought him a Space Hopper for his birthday, but thanks to the wonders of online ordering, it didn’t arrive in time for my visit. He’ll get it in the next few days and I’m hoping he’ll love it.

This time last year was a bit of a tense time for me, so I’m happy to say that this year is much better. They say things happen in 3s and last year they certainly did. A friends mum passed away after a long illness at the end of July then Jo’s nan passed away suddenly at the end of July also. I’ve told you about Jo before, and her family are almost like my adopted family. I was on a works do when I got the call from Jo and I was primarily devastated for her and her family, but I was also upset, having known Kath quite well and spent some lovely time with her over the last 8 years or so. I was able to travel back for the funeral which I was glad of, again primarily to be there for Jo but also so say a little goodbye to Kath myself.

And then the third thing involved my own mother. I don’t talk about my mum on here a lot, for reasons those who know me personally will understand. I may expand further one day, not fully decided yet. For those that don’t know me at that level, it’s a long and convoluted story. I love my mother, but our relationship isn’t straight forward. She isn’t straightforward. And last year she was very ill and spent a fair amount of time in hospital. It was a worrying time for me and my sisters, and unknown territory for me, in that I can deal with the ‘norm’ of my mum, anything outside that throws me terribly. This was the same. But, we came through it, as did she. We’re 12 months on now, which is a bit of a milestone. The future remains to be seen.

As for other little bits with me, have a wedding this weekend in Co. Wicklow, not too far from where I live. Looking forward to that! The sun continues to shine (most of the time!) which is great, feel like we’ve had a real summer this year.

I’ve also discovered Absolute Radio. When I was away with college friends the other weekend, the radio was always on and I noticed the great mix of songs. Very much like listening to my iPod, but with a bit of “Why don’t I own this song?!” thrown in there too. Since being back at work I’ve listened to Absolute most days, and am listening to Absolute 90s now. It’s not the shit 90s stuff either, it’s the good stuff; Cast, Oasis, Prodigy, Daft Punk etc. Oh, they did play Vanilla Ice earlier, we’ll let them off for that!

Anyways, I’m off shopping now. Normally I abhor shopping, but I’m in the mood for it today. Want to get something with spots on. I love spots!

A short post for you this time, aren’t you the lucky ones?!

Until next time, much love.

Sandra

xx