belgianwaffle

More Weekend


Posted in: Dublin, Family, Ireland

After mass this morning we zoomed back to the house for lunch and then went off to our interactive theatre or, bus tour, as the less imaginative might characterise it.

Mr. Waffle and I have been to a couple of Anú productions before and this was definitely the least scary one ever. Things started off tensely enough though. Despite our speedy early lunch we left the house a bit late and floundered around trying to find parking.

I took the children and left Mr. Waffle to park the car. The website describes the route of the tour thus:

Starting from Dublin Bus Head Office, 59 Upper O’Connell Street, this 90 minute adventure will travel through the city stopping at major sites including City Hall, Dublin Castle, St. Stephen’s Green, Four Courts, North King Street and the GPO.

Was there any sign of the bus when I got to 59 Upper O’Connell Street? There was not. Was Dublin Bus head office open? It was not. Fortunately, some idly milling people told me that a woman had just gathered up bus tour people and taken them to Cathal Brugha street which is not far away but not exactly round the corner either – good luck with finding it tourists. We managed to get on the bus. But O’Connell Street was essentially closed (the Luas tram works continue – possibly the centre of Dublin will just be dug up forever) so no GPO stop. No North King Street stop or Four Courts stop either. We survived without.

It didn’t really do it for me but the children enjoyed it – it was very interactive and herself and Michael love interactive. I’m not sure that Daniel is so keen but he seems to like theatre a lot anyhow so he was pleased too.

But with the late start and everything else, the tour took longer than we expected and pitched us up in a different location from where we had started. Daniel and I immediately peeled off to see “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. We quite enjoyed it and Daniel showed an impressive ability to guess all the plot twists. I did not and mocked his predictions until they turned out to be true.

Meanwhile, Mr. Waffle and the others went to Eason’s to spend some vouchers and get a cup of tea. Mr. Waffle’s parents were coming over for dinner but due to a misunderstanding turned up at 5.40 and ended up spending 20 minutes waiting patiently in the car outside our door until Mr. Waffle turned up and let them in and fed them. Slightly tense times in the Waffle household but Daniel and I missed it as we were safely cocooned in the cinema with a family size pack of Malteasers.

By the time Daniel and I got home, the grandparents had, unfortunately, fled the coop. Happily, some Yorkshire puddings were saved for us.

As I type, I am conscious that not a solitary word of my 1,500 word essay has been typed and my enthusiasm levels for beginning are very low indeed. I note that this post is about 500 words and I feel some puritanical motto might apply. I think I will start tomorrow. No really, definitely tomorrow.

Busy Weekend 


Posted in: Family

Mr.Waffle drove Daniel to his GAA match this morning (he won). I cycled into town with herself to drop her to a day long workshop for this representative organisation for young people to which she has been elected. Michael and I leafleted all the neighbours about the residents’ association agm (the chair lives with us, it brings responsibilities).

This afternoon Daniel sang in the choir at the church Christmas Fair. Mr. Waffle and I manned the poinsettia stall (completely sold out, thanks for asking). Midway through the afternoon, I went back to town to collect herself (it went fine, next meeting in January) and she came back to the plant stall with me. We released Mr Waffle who went to visit his parents. The Princess got a free muffin from the cake stall (only fair as she had supplied the sold out brownies). I got it free because they said I was a great reader.” “What did it say? Muffins for sale?” “No,” she snorted, “for my reading at mass.” It’s a small pond but among elderly, religious ladies in the area she is a star.

As I write I am on the bus into town. We are going to dinner with friends and I am meeting Mr. Waffle there. Unfortunately, he was unable to make it back to our house from the distant suburb where his parents live and I am getting there under my own steam. It’s a bit surrendered wife of me but I feel quite daring negotiating new public transport routes on my own in the evening. So far, it’s been fine, you’ll be relieved to hear.

Tomorrow, we are going to some interactive theatre and Daniel and I are going to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (his sister has already seen it with friends, his father and brother have no interest, so it’s just the two of us). And at some point I need to produce a 1,500 word essay for this course I’m doing. Mild sigh.

Also, unrelated, thanks for the good wishes for my aunt – I told her, she was pleased- she got a new hip today so I hope things will start to improve.

Context Clues


Posted in: Dublin, Princess

In geography (which seems a lot more interesting than it was when I was at school), the Princess’s class are doing a case study.

It was about housing and the teacher showed them a number of pictures of a place she called “Fatima“.  As the Princess looked at these gloomy pictures, she thought, “I had no idea Portugal was so rainy.”

The motto must be, if you’re a teacher assume nothing.

An Inconvenient Truth


Posted in: Princess

Herself: Superhero comics are sexist.  Female characters wear ludicrous costumes.  Name a male character who  dresses  up in a swimsuit.

Her Friend: Aquaman wears a swimsuit.

Alas, Alack


Posted in: Cork, Family, Ireland

My favourite aunt is 87 and lives next door to my parents. She is well in pretty much every way and is still driving around and going out for lunch and looks fantastic. But she fell today. She just tripped when going from the pavement on to the road. Even as I write she is being x-rayed but it looks like a broken hip. Sadly. Oh dear. I spoke to her on the phone and she sounded cheerful but it is not very cheerful. She said that people were very kind; they helped her up and when it became apparent that she wasn’t going to be able to get up, fetched a seat from a nearby pub, got her a cup of tea and sat with her until my saintly sister and the ambulance arrived, in that order. Send cheerful thoughts towards Cork, please.

It’s Earlier It’s Getting


Posted in: Ireland

I have just completed the shopping online and bought all of the ingredients to make Christmas pudding (including brandy, my God, the cost of brandy). These will be delivered on Thursday. Now, I will begin the annual hunt for pudding bowls and lids which always fails and sees me scurrying round the shops trying to find lids/bowls to match our orphans.

Despite feeling that I am well ahead of the game here – next Sunday being the first Sunday of Advent – I note, to my chagrin, that I should have begun the Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent. Next year, perhaps.

Let me give thanks that I am not from the US because I think, if we had this whole Thanksgiving thing, it would utterly tip me over the edge.