Mr. Waffle bought Bobble pictures for my birthday and they are gorgeous. He explained that matters were fraught as poor Bobble has moved house and job and broken her toe but today they arrived – just in time and inscribed for me – is this not fabulous? Happy birthday to me indeed.
Mr. Waffle
Ancient hatreds
I realised today though, that other people may not be as aware of the issues in contemporary Ireland as I am. I was chatting to this
very nice and very young Welsh woman and she asked where I was from and I explained that I was from Cork and that Cork was Ireland’s second city. I talked a bit about our fierce independence and our chip on the shoulder about Dublin and all its works. I told her how,
when I first met my husband, I was living in Brussels and I told my mother I had met a nice man. And my mother said “not a foreigner,
I hope” (she was terrified that if I married some foreigner, I would stay away from Ireland forever, which is a little ironic in the circumstances, but I digress). And I said “no, no”. And she said “ah, he’s from Cork”. I smiled winningly at Ms. Wales and said “you see, Cork people regard themselves as an independent nation really”
My Welsh companion pondered this for a moment and asked “so she was upset because you’re a catholic and he’s a protestant?”
on 17 February 2005 at 12:29
I had no idea you were Irish. I’ll have to start reading this blog with an Irish accent.
Your explaining made perfect sense to me. I think your Welsh friend was perhaps just a little slow that day.
on 17 February 2005 at 22:30
Funky, talented, a touch of class when it come to wordsmithing, laconic and worldly-wise.
What do you mean you had no idea she was Irish?
on 20 February 2005 at 15:21
Jack, quite. Cookie, not an Irish accent but a Cork accent (i.e. at high speed and half an octave higher than anyone else in Ireland). What can I say Jack, you’re always right. Um, yes pog, you too.
on 04 April 2005 at 14:19
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON ABOUT
on 04 April 2005 at 15:28
(
Comment Modified) Perhaps Lilite lacks the local knowledge to understand the entry? Which if taken out of context could prove pretty weird…
And also the patience to do the required joined up thinking.
on 05 April 2005 at 08:39
Lilite, couldn’t face explaining again, you’ll just have to visit Cork or ask pog, she seems to have a good grasp of things Irish. Jack, I guess you’re right, oh well.
on 05 April 2005 at 10:07
Oh ….. I wish ….
(Hang on a minute – I think I may have slightly misunderstood what you meant by ‘grasp’. Ahem.)
on 06 April 2005 at 10:04
He’s protesting rather a lot, don’t you think, waffle? You’d think a man in a filthy tee-shirt would be flattered …..
Rugby
With one thing and another, we decided to video the second half and take her out for some cultural excitement. Of course, the fact
that the BBC in its ultimate wisdom decided to cover the first half of the match on BBC 1 and the second half on BBC 2 meant that didn’t work very well. Mr. Waffle was much chagrined especially since, inevitably, we were much better in the second half.
Comments
on 17 February 2005 at 00:41
Clearly a future sports woman.
Have you bought her trainers and a hurley yet?
on 20 February 2005 at 15:22
No, although there is hurling available in Brussels, you’ll be delighted to hear.
Oliver James in the Observer
Mr. Waffle says he will write to him and ask him to stop torturing me. Otherwise Mr. Waffle will horsewhip him. My hero.
on 14 February 2005 at 05:13
He’s obviously a momma’s boy.
BTW, great two-liner.
on 16 February 2005 at 21:35
Mr. Waffle still hasn’t written to Mr. James. But I have bought him a horsewhip. And maybe we should get a dog..
Working across enemy lines
on 08 February 2005 at 20:17
The way I see it, the tail isn’t the one at fault. It’s just doing its job.
Kudos to Princess for negotiating this tricky moral minefield without breaking a sweat.
🙂
on 08 February 2005 at 23:26
We may have a place for Princess. Please complete the attached documents and return them to me. We’ll be calling for an interview later.
on 09 February 2005 at 17:44
Well, pog, Princess has several things in common with the current occupant of the throne. She occasionally drools, wears a diaper, and furthermore**ZAP**
*sizzle*
on 09 February 2005 at 17:54
Don’t you worry. Princess will save you from the nasty man by kissing it better.
on 09 February 2005 at 19:57
Menace, Mike, you are funny. FT, pog really, she’s going to be the next pope? And by the by, FT that’s a nappy. Princess will, of course, save you.
on 10 February 2005 at 04:02
Of course it is, dear.
The war cry of the bureaucrat
What do we want?
Reasonable change within an acceptable legal framework as negotiated and agreed by all parties.
When do we want it?
In a reasonable timeframe as appropriate going forward.
on 02 February 2005 at 17:42
You’d need a lawyer’s lung power for that.
on 05 February 2005 at 14:57
I’m glad you all like it. FT, I presume that’s a compliment.
on 08 February 2005 at 19:53
Ha ha. Recall Gordon Brown’s budget soundbite during the heyday of the Spice Girls:I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want: measured, sustainable growth.