Daniel has written to our new President, Michael Daniel Higgins asking him to visit the children’s school:
“Dear Michael D. Higgins, Our names are Michael and Daniel. Please could you come to [our school]. Mary McAleese [his very popular predecessor] didn’t.”
Do you think that this will convince the great man?
The Princess and I were cycling in the Phoenix Park at the weekend when we saw a man walking with a large flag. On closer examination, it was a flag with a picture of a wolf. We stopped to ask him why he was walking through the park flying a flag of a wolf. “Is it to encourage the re-introduction of the wolf to Ireland?” I asked nervously. Apparently not. We kept on guessing. It turned out that it was art. He had walked from the West of Ireland and he was going to walk all the way across Europe (he’d covered Iceland earlier) carrying his wolf flag. I was charmed by the idea and thought that it was a nice, if slightly odd, way to spend a warm November. He had no website. He gave us a card.
On one side was a picture of a wolf. On the other was the word resistance and, in Irish and English, instructions to write to a PO Box in Israel (he sounded like he was from Northern Ireland, so I’m unclear why Israel), “and tell of a woman soldier/a woman who has taken up arms/a woman who has gone to war”. The Princess and I intend to turn our minds to this matter, but if you had any suggestions to make in the comments, that would be welcome. Come on, it’s for art; we’ll acknowledge your input.
Every year my husband’s family do this secret Santa thing and every year I get an anguished email from one of his close relatives asking what would be a good present for him.
This year, however, all is well. We carried out the draw and everyone put the piece of paper with the lucky recipient’s name on it in a pocket. Mr. Waffle looked at his some time after the event and only then, too late, alas, discovered that he’s got himself.
Herself: I’ve been reading this comic “X-men, First Class”.
Me: Oh yeah?
Her: It’s highly unsuitable for Daniel. There are lots of people in bed together. I assume Daniel doesn’t know what they do under the blankets, at his age, but it’s only a question of time before he finds out. And it’s also very violent.
Me: I’d say he focuses more on the violence.
The boys stuck this up on their door today:
The Irish Times has a column in the magazine every Saturday with the above title. Generally, it seems to be a series of one liners on what junior journalists have been doing that week. So, for example, first item under “What’s Hot” today was: “Motor Tax Office: They phone you up when you’ve stupidly given the wrong Laser card number.” I’m not making this up. Item 2 was: “Amphibian King: Great fitting service for running shoes, or, our favourite, trail shoes, which are running shoes for people who don’t like running. On the Dargle Road as you come into Bray.” By no stretch of the imagination are either of these items hot. However, they both beat what remains my favourite “What’s Hot” entry from a couple of months ago: “[My local Dublin] shopping centre which had cheap vegetables when I went there on Monday night”.
Needless to say the items have a very strong Dublin bent unless the young journalist has been away for the week. You can tell this as they tend to say things like “What’s Hot?” “Some trendy spot in London.” “What’s Not?” “Long queues at Dublin airport”.
No byline, no wonder.
Do you think it’s a parody? Do you want more next week?