Happy New Year!

Highlights from 2011

Positive - My teeth are in great shape.  The number of times I visited the dentist became a running joke in work (20+ visits) and I now have 3 shiney gold teeth (not a joke!) - apparently they are more durable.


Negative - I need to work 3 more years than originally planned to pay off my dentist


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Positive - I am no longer dependent on public transport


Negative - I only have a bicycle


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Positive - The bike only cost u$d100


Negative - The lock and 4 punctures (burst tire) have already cost me u$d300


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Positive - My Dad turned 80 years old


Negative - He still kicks my arse at golf


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Positive - My wife got her Green card


Negative - It was actually pink in color?


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Positive - I live 2 blocks from a huge German style beerhall :-)


Negative - I live 2 blocks from a huge German style beerhall :-(


Happy New Year!

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Tags: .Happy New Year 2012!..

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Lunch with Johnathan Ross

So me and the missus have been driving around East Florida for the holidays and today we stopped into an organic cafe called 'The Jungle' for lunch in the middle of a no name town called Melbourne cos' herself is a part time vegan when she's not tossin' a cow on a barbie.  It was hard not to notice the family at the table next to us, what with each of them having hair color a different shade of the rainbow and more body piercings than 'The Sex Pistols'.  The missus says to me in a low whisper - "Do they not know Halloween is over?!"


We paid little attention to them after that and it was only when they were leaving that I caught a glimpse of the head of the group and I thought he looked familiar.  That looks like Jonathan Ross, I said.  - Who? - said the missus. Nah can't be I said. Why would he (a UK celeb) be hanging out with a bunch of pierced neon hair drop outs in Florida? Out of curiosity I decided to google "Jonathan Ross Family" and guess what I found..(taken a few years before the body 'art' I reckon)...

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Tags: ..Lunch with Johnathon Ross family dyed hair pink orange..

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Driving in Dublin in 1974

Nice blast from the past of my roots aka Dublin back before the rise and demise of the Celtic Tiger.  Some interesting Irish 70's fashion for good measure. Enjoy! Hat Tip Bobby Mckane
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Tags: ..Driving in Dublin in 1974..

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Best Time to Travel to Bermuda

I have been lucky enough to visit Bermuda twice and consider it one of my favourite island destinations. It's not your typical tropical island paradise in that it's not really tropical weather like you get in the Caribbean.  There is a great laid back / safe vibe about the place (unlike many Caribbean islands.) It's hot (85F) but not sizzling in summer and mostly mild / cool in Winter except hurricane season (Oct-Nov). It's only a 2 hour flight from New York but can cost you a small fortune to visit in peak season (April-September).  Flights can cost u$d500+ with beach front hotels costing up to u$d1,000 per night.

If you want to experience an amazing island with beautiful pink sand beaches you can do it for a fraction of the price in low season (November-March).  I scored weekend flights for u$d150 in March and stayed at a waterfront B&B for u$d150 a night. There wasn't a great deal of WiFi when I was there so I'd recommend phone cards for calling home.  Taxis are also very expensive but difficult to avoid on arrival at the airport.  There are no car rentals allowed but there is a great and cheap bus service (not at airport) and you can rent a scooter/moped reasonably near the beaches.

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Tags: .when to go to Bermuda, off-season low season, cheap Bermuda ..

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The Office

I was browsing some old photos and found these pics which were taken when I worked in midtown Manhattan in 2004.  I brought my missus to check it out.  Not a bad view from my office back then.  Now I have a windowless cube between the pantry and toilet in New Jersey.  Where did it all go wrong?

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Tags: ..The Office..

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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas..Anarchy!

The day after Thanksgiving in the USA is called Black Friday where bargains are to be had in the stores. Long lines of people, some queuing for days and sleeping in tents wait to snag that special bargain for that special someone.  This year has seen a little more drama with one woman using pepper spray on people in the line and this little kerfuffle in Walmart (see vid below)  

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Tags: ..It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas MAYHEM..

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3 in 1 Camera Lens Kit for Apple iPhone

I've been playing around with some iPhone lens attachments which snap on over the lens via a magnetic ring you stick onto the phone first.  I'm pretty happy with the results and for USD $20 you can't go wrong.  Google "3 in 1 Camera Lens Kit for Apple iPhone" if you want to get your own. Click each individual image below to get a better idea of the difference.

 Without Lens Attachment

 Macro Lens Attachment 

 Fish-Eye Lens Attachment

Tags: .Sample photo images 3 in 1 Camera Lens Kit for Apple iPhone 4 in 1, 5 in 1 , 2 in 1..

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Hong Kong Timelapse

This brings back some fantastic memories of 15 months in Hong Kong


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Tags: .Hong Kong Timelapse..

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What the 'F' is Murmuration?

I had no idea what it was until today but now thanks to Paddy in BA - here's the official laymans explanation. Murmuration = Loads of birds (starlings) flying in formation like a swarm of very fast bees - Catch the amazing video after the break.

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Tags: .What the 'F' is Murmuration?..

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iPad Halloween Horror

Just in time for the snowy Halloween in New York/New Jersey, this is some pretty slick sleight of hand


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Tags: .iPad Halloween Horror..

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UNDERCITY New York City urban exploration

This is without doubt a side of New York you have not explored before. I read about this a while back but seeing it on film is 'believing'.. 
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Tags: ..expore illegal New York sewer subway underground climb Williamsburg bridge UNDERCITY New York City urban exploration w STEVE DUNCAN, dir. Andrew Wonder..

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Travel to Maine for a weekend

We decided to do a spur of the moment weekend trip to Maine to catch the Fall foliage and sample the famous seafood.

I scored some cheap w/e special flights with Continental for $139 and rented a car from Hertz using a corporate discount for $35 per day. After touchdown in Portland on Saturday a.m. we headed 30 miles north to the historic old town of Bath. A tip from a review on tripadvisor about a coupon on roomsaver reduced the hotel price from $189 to $89.

We spent Saturday and most of Sunday exploring the picturesque coastal inlets before heading back to Portland for the night.

Food highlights included haddock chowder, wood oven roasted whole sea bass, oysters with cranberry and garlic mussels. Beer highlights included a mandatory stop at the Shipyard brewery with free samples. The IPA is a personal favorite.

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eBay Madness

I'm a man gone MAD on eBay in the last 48 hours.  I have bought from eBay in the past (several times) but never sold before. I decided to 'bid' farewell to my ol' pride and joy iPhone 3G on eBay yesterday and got the reasonable sum of u$d179.  I don't even want to tell you what I paid for it 30 months ago (factory unlocked and without a contract) but it did me proud for the time I had it. 


I've added another 5 electronic bargains on eBay today so it remains to be seen if they'll be snapped up as quick as the iPhone. I somehow doubt it :-(


Update: I got busted by the eBay police / Apple for selling a fake iPhone I had picked up in China. They forcibly withdrew the item even though I only wanted $20 for it.  I only managed to sell a camera for $25 - everything else went unwanted / unbid on :-((


meanwhile on eBay - WTF?

Tags: .eBay Madness..

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My Blackberry Is Not Working!

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Tags: .My Blackberry Is Not Working!..

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Ode to Steve Jobs - RIP

Love him or hate him, he was a visionary and genius at delivering innovation - RIP Steve Jobs

(click to enlarge - maybe click 2 times!)

Tags: .Ode to Steve Jobs - RIP..

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GIVE me a RAISE..or...

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Tags: ..Razor..

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Remembering..

Sunset at Ground Zero on the eve of 10 year anniversary.  MSNBC.com Photojournalist Jon Woods

.8:30pm 9/11 2011.

Tags: .9-11 Twin Towers, Ground Zero, Memorial..

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NETFLIX vs CUEVANA (TV / MOVIES)

Update: Now that MegaUpload.com has been taken down Cuevana is not working as smoothly as before. Most of the content that Cuevana.tv points to was stored on MegaUpload.com

Netflix which is already a market leader for movie streaming in the USA is now available in Latin America.  I believe it will NOT be successful in the developing world for 2 main reasons.

1. Price - e.g. Argentina (unlimited streaming) - arg$39 pesos = approx u$d10 per month is too expensive i.e. where the average household income is a fraction (approx 1/5th) of the USA equivalent.
2. Competition - Cuevana.tv (unlimited streaming) has a better selection and is FREE! (albeit not quite legit)


Both services offer streaming movies and TV programs.  Netflix has some more bells and whistles and can be added to some of your existing home entertainment systems (WII, XBOX etc).  Interestingly Cuevana has been available globally since 2009 and is the brainchild of 3 twenty-something year old Argentinians.


Which service do you use and how much do you pay to watch movies at home?


UPDATE: CNN interview with Cuevana founder Tomas Escobar
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Tags: .HOW DOES CUEVANA WORK, IS IT LEGAL, HULU VS CINEMA NOW VS NETFLIX vs CUEVANA TV MOVIES Google TV, Boxee, Roku, Apple TV, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Crackle, torrent, EZTV, ViaAmerica.

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There's a FLOOD in my Hood

So we survived Hurricane Irene and even though the first two floors in our building were evacuated, we stayed put on the 5th floor and watched as the rain poured down like never before. By 9am, after a solid 12 hours of rain the floods were pretty severe. At noon we ventured out for a stroll and took some video and photos below. - Check out the 360 Panoramic too - Enjoy!

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Flood aftermath in our hood from PaddyinBA Quickroute on Vimeo.
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Tags: ..Hurricane Irene floods New York, New Jersey..

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Come on Irene

Ever had that moment of mixing up the lyrics for a famous song and when you sing it to somebody and then they look at you like you are .......dumb...nah me neither except for this...doh! As we await the onslaught on Hurricane Irene after the earthquake on east coast USA a few days ago, I started to sing the following lyrics to peeps in work but got some funny looks and couldn't figure out why?!

Come on Irene, oh I swear what he means   /   At this moment, you mean everything   /   With you in that dress my thoughts I confess   /   Verge on dirty, ah come on Irene   /   Come on Irene / Toora loora toora loo rye aye. 


OK - your turn - famous song - lyrics you misinterpreted - spill it?


Update: Was just sent this - Hat tip to Jack  


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Tags: ..Come on Irene..

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Twitter is DEAD, R.I.P. - Enter Google+ (plus) - Facebook Beware!

I've never been at the forefront of technology but I've never been too far behind the ol' techie-8-ball either. I was an early adopter of BBS (Bulletin Boards) for chatting / idea / file swapping back in the late 80's.  I was also an early adopter of FREE MONEY promotions on Amazon, eBay, PayPal, eTrade at the turn of the millenium when many scorned me as naive (aka there's no such thing as FREE! - Suckers were WRONG!).  I embraced blogging, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin before most.  I believe Google+ will eventually blow many social network sites out of the water.  Why?  Listen up..

1. Google size and reach - they already have a huge user base and finally have a viable product (Google Wave/Buzz sucked!) - this is the bulk of the reason they will be 'WINNING' - it's simple - it works - it integrates well
2. Features - ease of use - everything every other social network has and much more user friendly
3. Customization - Privacy settings - Easy to configure - Unlike Facebook
4. Financing - Google has so much cash on hand - they can swallow / incorporate new innovation / talent with ease
5. Less restrictive than twitters 140 character limit and less susceptible to spam bots


Facebook is safe for now because it will be hard to knock them off their pedestal with a 3 year jump start of gathering a user base but they better stay sharp cos' Google+ will come a knockin'


p.s. Ya See cuz Brendan, I'm not such a die-hard Apple FanBoy afterall! 

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Tags: .Twitter is DEAD, R.I.P. - Enter Google+ (plus)..

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Las Vegas

Having arrived in New York with a lottery green card in 1995, I soon began my wandering ways  and ended up in Las Vegas on my first US vacation.  I still vividly remember the sight and sound of the slots in the airport terminal.  Just in case you couldn't wait to get to your hotel, you had the option of pumping coins in the 'one arm bandits' immediately after touch down or before take-off as you were leaving.  

Three Irish lads and a Scot explored all the brights lights and big city had to offer and then some.  We expected our entertainment would be slightly limited since one of our group, my wee brother, was only 18.  Vegas has always been considered a 'tolerant' city however, so luckily we were still able to do pretty much whatever we pleased. We partied and gambled the night away.  One of our group (who shall remain anonymous - let's just call him Junior) partied harder and gambled more at the casino games than the rest of us combined. When I awoke the next morning, he was AWOL only to be found a while later still at the black jack table at 9am.  His initial lucky streak had fizzled out in the wee hours and he would now need a loan from one of our group (who shall remain anonymous - let's just call him Senior) to subsidise him for the remainder of the trip.  

This was to be the first of numerous adventurous 'Lads Trips' in the following years. I've mentioned a few on this blog before but if my memory allows, I'll try and share some more snippits of those trips here in the near future.


Have you been to Vegas? - How was it? - Share your experience in the comments below.

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USA, Las Vegas, 1995 from Paddy Quickroute on Vimeo.

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Tags: ..Las Vegas..

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How you can STILL Bulk Unfollow and Auto Follow on Twitter (tips, tricks)

Twitter has banned or severely limited most third party apps that used to allow auto twitter follow/unfollow.  Google+ (Google Plus) has the potential to seriously undermine Twitter in my humble opinion but for now I think I will cross post on both Google+ and Twitter.  Here is how you can trim down / remove all those Twitter spam bots you may have ended up following without having to click hundreds / thousands of times.

Update: Step 1 and 2 no longer necessary as ManageFlitter now has a Fast Select option


1. Use the Google Chrome Browser
2. Add the Chrome Extension - Check Them All
3. While already logged into Twitter - Goto this web Address - ManageFlitter - Click Start and authorize the app for your Twitter id
4. Click on the 'Unfollow' tab (up top) and 'Show All' (left border) - this will load the first 100 of the people you follow
5. Click the 'Check them All' button chrome extension - looks like a check mark (top right of your browser) - this will select all 100 people on the page - Uncheck those you wish to still follow
Note: the unfollow counter won't update to show you have selected all 100 users but once you click 'Unfollow x Selected' - all checked users will be unfollowed. (a message will confirm this)
6. Advance to the next page and continue / repeat as necessary (daily restriction = 1,000 unfollows)


Update: TwitCleaner is also worth a look as it analzes who you follow and bulk unfollows 


To auto follow people who follow you, you can sign up for Socialoomph and tweak the config options to auto-follow


Easy as 1-2-3-ish

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Tags: ..How you can STILL Bulk Unfollow and Auto Follow on Twitter (tips, tricks)..

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I'm black and I'm proud

There is a line in the movie the Commitments that goes like this "Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud!".


 I think the same could now be said of River Plate football supporters in relation to South America, Argentina, Buenos Aires, River Plate. This is one passionate River Plate supporter watching as his team gets relegated to the second division for the first time in it's 110 year history. Enjoy!

p.s hat tip to Duncan F. for link  

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Tags: .River Plate relegation..

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Road Trip - East Coast, USA

Recent photos (not in order!) from short road trip Red Bank & Long Branch, New Jersey - aka Jersey Shore, then onto Atlantic City for some gambling (won all of $25 but lasted 2 hours on the poker table) then west to Wilmington, Delaware, home of my wife's ex-boss Du Pont, then Annapolis, Maryland for a bbq with good friends, then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finally Princeton, New Jersey - enjoy!

Tags: ..Road Trip - East Coast, USA..

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Happy July 4th, Independence Day, USA

Almost everyone in the USA gets a day off work and they celebrate with fireworks because way back in 1996, Will Smith fought off alien invaders.

Tags: .July 4th, Independence Day..

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HELP!!!

I'm still here - alive and well.  I seem to be somewhat distracted from the blogosphere of late.  I cant believe I used to update this blog two or three times a week. Where the hell did I find the time? ...oh yeah, that's right, I was jobless and/or globetrotting at the time.  My travels of late have been very limited.  I went to Wilmington, North Carolina for a weekend and...em..err.. that's it for 2011.  I recently celebrated a 1 year anniversary of being back in the land of the employed and an 8 year anniversary of being married.  No regrets on either of those - thankfully!  I was told recently at work that I had 30 days vacation remaining for 2011.  This turned out to be untrue.  I only have 25 days excluding bank holidays :-((

My dilemma is this: - Should I....

A.) dye my hair with blue rinse now and retire to a trailer park in Florida?

 or 


B.) get my nipples pierced and flip a coin to see what happens next?

You decide! 

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Tags: ..HELP!!!..

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PaddyinBA on Facebook

I've been a tad quiet here on the ol' blog recently but I'm still pumping out lot's of drivel on my new-ish Facebook page PaddyinBA.  Same ol' Irish half-wit humour - Same price (free).  Be sure to click the link PaddyinBA and click 'Like'    

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Tags: .PaddyinBA on Facebook page, Paddy in BA..

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Ireland for Dummies - Lessons #1 to 10

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - lesson #1: 'Culchies' are people from the rural areas aka NOT Dublin whereas 'Jackeens' are from the 'Big Smoke' aka Dublin. They tend not to like each other unless Ireland are playing England in any sport at which point they form an alliance which typically lasts until last orders in the pub.

PaddyinBA

Irish for Dummies - Lesson #2: Drink Beer {repeat as necessary}

PaddyinBA

Irish for Dummies - Lesson #3: Not all Irish people have red hair. We blame Vikings for that.

PaddyinBA

Irish for Dummies - Lesson #4: It's a long way to Tipperary unless you happen to live in Tipperary in which case it's a long way from anywhere

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - lesson #5: If offered a cup of tea, it's pointless to refuse but beware as tea is a gateway refreshment which leads to biscuits and sandwiches and cake. You have been warned.

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - lesson #6: Vitamin 'G' = Guinness = Good for you..

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - lesson #7: When you give someone directions in Ireland you MUST include at least one pub e.g. To reach the Post Office - "Go to the end of the street and take a left at Kitty O'Shea's then go past the Blarney Stone and you'll see the Post Office opposite the Stags Head.

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - lesson #8: Saint Patrick was an impostor. The patron saint of Ireland is actually Father Ted

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - lesson #9: Do not take offence when Irish people use words like 'feck' and 'shite'. We often use these as terms of endearment.

PaddyinBA

Ireland for Dummies - Lesson #10: Don't be too excited when your Irish friend invites you for a 7 course meal. It's just a 6 pack of beer + a pack of crisps (potato chips)

Click the pic (above) for more.....

Tags: ..Irish Ireland for Dummies..

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What Doesn't Kill You, Keeps You Alive

[cont'd from here] - I arrived in Victoria Bus Station in London on a September Saturday evening after a marathon three day bus/boat trip from Greece. I hadn't saved much money from my summer job and I blew what little I had in Greece, so I was now down to just enough for the train and ferry back to Dublin.  My parents would be none too pleased about the sorry state of my finances which were supposed to go part way to pay my fees. I must have been feeling fairly foolhardy or just plain dumb, since I decided to try and track down my cousin who was working in London for the summer between college semesters. I poured  some coins into a pay-phone (remember no mobile phones in these days) and called his home in Dublin and got his address from his brother.  I bid my college buddies farewell and headed off to try and navigate the London public transport system. I was now a seasoned traveller and had survived Denmark and Greece, so what could possibly go wrong?


By 10pm, I had finally arrived at the address of a very 'ethnic' neighbourhood in Hackney, East London and knocked on the door of the house.  I was wearing shorts and tee-shirt with a backpack and was sporting my newly acquired pink tan.  The door finally opened and I asked if Patrick was at home. The Carribean woman looked me up and down and must have put 2 and 2 together. This pasty pink Irish git must be a friend of the other pasty white Irish git that moved out 2 months ago. With a thick Carribean accent she said - "He no be livin' here no more, but me gotts' him address he be wantin' his mail sent to".  I wasn't too happy to have to head off to the far side of London - Brixton, but at least I had the details.


As I started to make my way back to the tube (subway) station, I noticed a dodgy geeza' (a rough looking individual) who seemed to be following me. There was no one else on the street and it was now dark.  He started to quicken his pace so I quickened mine. I had a heavy backpack on so had difficulty picking up much speed. I could hear he was gaining on me so I fumbled around in my pocket and took out my pen knife. He was now running after me so I ran as fast as I could.  When I realized I couldn't out run him, I turned around and warded him off with my knife (all 2 inches of the blade) and shouted "Keep the f#ck away, I have a knife!" .  He slowed down at first but then to my horror raised a brick he had in his hand above his head and with a muffled slurred voice said - "I'm gonna f#ckin' kill ya!"

His eyes were red and glazed over and he looked like he was off his head on drugs but he seemed hell bent on pounding me to a pulp with a brick. I was beyond scared.  I was terrified, so I took off as fast as I could running in the middle of the street with the psychopath giving chase.  A car was approaching, so as I ran towards it, I waved it to stop. The driver was a big Rastafarian and rolled down the window to ask "What the heck be goin' on man? " The brick wielding lunatic was still hot on my heels and was now chasing me in circles around the car.


Rasta dude got out of the car to intervene.  Thankfully, he was built like a ox and in a flash grabbed the drug crazed nut job, pushed him up against a wall, knocked the brick out of his hand and shouted "Get the f#ck outta my turf man!"  I didn't wait around to thank my Rasta saviour. I simply turned and fled.  I saw a bus pulling up at a bus stop and jumped on.  It didn't matter where it was going.  I was back among people - safety in numbers and all that.


Once I was well clear of the scene of the crime, I splurged on KFC for dinner and then a taxi to reach my cousins new abode in Brixton and got there around midnight.  It turned out to be a grafitti riddled squatted council flat.  The neighbourhood was not at all inviting.  Gangs of kids were hanging out on the corners smashing bottles.  I knocked on the door several times but no one answered so I sat on the front step and wondered WTF was I going to do now. I was already short of the money needed for the train / boat back to Dublin. Western Union didn't exist in those days and even if it did, I was going to get a 'boat' load of grief asking to be bailed out after 'working' all summer, so I was rightly up shite creek without a paddle.  At 2am an unfamiliar body drunkenly stumbled up to the door and asked in an Irish brogue "who de feck are you?"  I'm looking for my cousin Patrick" - I explained. "Ah yeah, Patrick moved out a few weeks ago - Not sure if he's still in London" - he said.  He could probably tell I hadn't had the best of evenings.  "You can stay here if you want, but just for tonight."  "Thanks" - I said. All I wanted was the safety of 4 walls and some sleep. Hopefully I'd  figure something out in the morning.

I slept late the next morning and finally woke up when my host turned on the TV. It turned out I went to high school with his younger brother so we chatted about what each of us had done for the summer and I told him of my adventures the previous night.  "So you have no idea where my cousin is? - I asked. "No, he was due to go back to college soon so he may be back in Dublin already" - he replied.  There was a knock at the door so he went to answer it.  "Ah it's yerself!" - I heard him greet the visitor.  And there, drunk as a skunk, wobbled in my long lost cousin Patrick.  He greeted me with indifference in his intoxicated state.  "Ah it's yerself!" - he said, immediately followed with "Jaezuz - I'm burstin' for a pish!..is there any beer in the fridge?"


He eventually sobered up enough to realize it was no small feat of chance and adventure that we had managed to meet up at all.  He had only showed up at his old temporary abode by chance to pick up his forwarded mail. We recounted our summer adventures over beers that evening (as the Irish do) and we headed back to Dublin the next day on the 24 hour journey of train and boat.  It was one of the roughest vomit comet ferry crossings I have been on, but just a small chink in the armour of this road weary traveller. This had been a summer, I would never ever forget.  They say what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. I now have a much better appreciation and understanding of that expression and a strange but understandable affinity for Bob Marley's music .



     

Tags: ..Ugly Mugger Fugger..

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Jason Days wife Ellie Harvey Day is Smokin' Hot!

The US Masters golf just finished up with South African Charl Schwartzel emerging from the closest scramble to the finish in years and unfortunately 21 year old Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy who had led for 3 days, faltered at the last hour to drop far behind.

The buzz on Twitter, which I tuned into in the final few holes was not about the golf, but rather about Aussie golfer Jason Day's wife (Ellie Day). She was shown waiting anxiously on the 18th green and the cameraman and producer seemed to take a shine to her as they kept zooming in on her again and again.  Apparently Jason met the Ohio beauty in an Irish pub called Mavis Winkles where she was a waitress.

I find it interesting that social media is changing the way we interact with more traditional media like TV. Your thoughts?

Here's some more pics of Ellie below

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Tags: ..Jason Day's wife Ellie Harvey Day is Smokin' Hot! Photo Pics..

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