It was one of those days where I had a plan. Mutts walked bright and early and grocery shopping done before work - I was feeling smug. The plan was to be in my secret office in Athy at 9am (if I told you where it was, I'd have to kill you). I would work until 11.50am and get the train to Dublin for a Very Important Meeting this afternoon. I would do a spot of catch up reading on the train. Sorted.
When I got to the secret office before 9am, I realised that the locks had been changed. On a Tuesday, other staff are on a late shift. I couldn't catch anyone on the phone. I waited, hoping that someone would come in early. In the meantime, I had a look around the Athy Market, which takes place every Tuesday. It is the strangest thing. An excellent people watching opportunity. There was fair amount of bling for 9.30am on a Tuesday. I was thinking that we should have shot some of our film 'All About Eva' there. It would have had NO relevance whatsoever to the storyline, but would have looked fantastic.
I eventually got into the office after 10am, with a sense of determination. But someone had been using my PC and had locked the password. A call to the IT Dept and another half hour gone, I set down to work.
It was soon time for the train. I sat across from a guy in his early twenties, who had a baby carrier beside him, with an infant boy. 'How lovely ... father and son !', I thought. Twentysomething made a phone call to Damo. It didn't take long for Twentysomething to tell Damo that he was going up to the flats to 'reef the fucking head off Anto'. It seems that Anto went up to Danielle's Nanny's flat and tried to 'wreck the gaff'. Poor Danielle's Nanny is 75 and dying of cancer and Twentysomething had to come back from his holidays in Tramore because of that. He is going to 'shoot the fucker' and knows that Anto won't attack him back, because 'Anto has no bleedin' weapons, the gee bag muppet'. Similar conversations took place over the next hour, while Twentysomething fed his baby a bottle, still in his baby carrier. None of the other train passengers knew where to look. Twentysomething offered to give Damo some 'yokes' when he seen him. He is obviously a generous lad at heart because he offered me his Star newspaper as he headed off the train, with his beautiful baby boy. I felt like asking him if I could have some of his yokes instead.
The Luas was pretty uneventful. When I got to Trinity College, there was a sense of mayhem. The street, already full with tourists and roadworks, had three fire engines and crowds of lookers-on. I looked up, where everyone else was looking. It looked like a young boy, but it was a man, on the roof of a building, six floors high. It appears he was going to jump. There was a sense of anticipation. The scene was reminiscent of people watching the tightrope on Colum Mc Cann's 'Let The Great World Spin'. Apparently the guy has been topless earlier in the day, but had a hoodie on him when I seen him. I thought it would be ironic if it was an Abercrombie and Fitch top, as he was on their rooftop.
.http://colummccann.com/books/let-the-great-world-spin/
I pushed through the crowds and around the hoards of Spanish students. I edged softly by an older man. Without warning, he swung his arm out and punched me in the stomach. Not a bad effort for an auld lad. He didn't exactly hurt me, but an impressive attempt all the same.
If was a relief to be behind the confines of an office building for my Very Important Meeting. It was one of those multi-partner meetings where all parties were given plenty of time to speak' meetings, that went around the houses and back again, but went nowhere. The thing we really needed to discuss wasn't discussed and the meeting was drawn to a close. I smiled politely and we all agreed that it was a good meeting. Back in two weeks for more of the same.
I couldn't wait to get out of the heat of the city. Everyone had eaten tea before I got home, so it was a quickie frozen pizza for me. With salad, to make it all healthy. Then the kids came in with their friends and pretty much scoffed the lot on me. I got one miserable slice. Too tired to make anything else, I decided to have a scone with jam instead. 'Oooohhh, jam !', said Mya. 'Can I have that ?'. 'Go on', sez I. I got another one. 'Oooohhh, jam !', said Leon. 'Can I have that ?'. 'Go on', sez I.
Friends called around. Realising that we had no tea bags, I opened a bottle of Cava, a pressie from my 40th (can't believe I am still milking the birthday gifts all these months later). Twas lovely. But I was a little tiddley (I didn't have much to eat remember !).
The kids are thrilled with themselves with their new found cyling skills sans stabilisers. They pleaded with me to go for a cycle. My bike is punctured, so I went for the big boy bike. Not used to the bike, and slightly tipsy, I pulled the front brake and bashed my unmentionables against the bike frame. Ow, ow, ow ... OW ! Won't be doing that again ...
I' ll try to get out of the bed the other side tomorrow.
News reports this evening say that Abercrombie and Fitch roof guy got down safely.
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