The past fortnight has been a whirlwind of airports, flights, alcohol and hangovers. And along the way there has been several “blog moments” and I’d say there’s a few people out there with sweaty palms hoping that they’re not going to be the next blog sensation. . . They’ll just have to wait and see 🙂
Last weekend, I was one of the droves of people who went #hometovote. I managed to get the last seat on the last flight and couldn’t wait to get back on Irish soil to be a part of Irish history. My flight, of course, got delayed but thankfully by not too much. We disembarked our flight and there was a quiet feeling of excitement amongst the passengers which was echoed when we entered the arrivals halls to banners and hugs.
When my vote was cast on Friday, there was little more that I could do except to hope that the rest of the country had voted as I had.
The rest of the weekend was spent on a boat for the 50th anniversary Erne Boat Rally. Over 5 days, I laughed and drank more than I had in years. The only time that I didn’t have a bottle of Coors Light in my hand was when it was replaced by a gin and tonic. I celebrated my birthday surrounded by some of the funniest people I have ever met and I even took up fishing for the weekend and despite some initial success  – It turned out that he was a slippery little bugger and jumped straight back in for a bite of someone else’s rod.
Finally though on Tuesday morning, the party had to end. By the time I reached London I was in the depths of the horrors which lasted for the rest of the week. Alcohol sweats, the shakes, night terrors, every possibly hangover symptom you could possibly name – I had it! By Friday afternoon I was absolutely done in. The thoughts of another weekend of drinking filled me with dread and my hands shook as I printed out my boarding pass for my Saturday afternoon flight to Dublin.
This visit was short and sweet. Just hitting a full 24 hours in Dublin for my friends’ Jen and Nicola’s leaving party before they head off to Canada. Before I new it, I was back on the Coors light and my hands were significantly steadier! Like every sophisticated party there was a bouncy castle out in the garden and the rain didn’t stop us from making full use of it. Throughout the night there were some spectacular falls; both on and off the bouncy castle!
By 6am it was time to fall onto an air bed and get some sleep before Sunday crept in and it was time to return to London again.
The two trips in quick succession made me realise what a great country Ireland is. The euphoria of the Yes Vote and just getting to spend time with people who are on the exact same wavelength. No fronts, just good, honest craic. For the first time in a long time it really make me take stock of how lucky I am to have so many faithful friends! 😉
anitamaguire 