Work continues to be hectic and very stressful. On short notice, our interim director’s last day was announced to be last Friday. Meanwhile, our regular director who has been out on medical leave for the past few months is returning. Each morning I dread logging into inbox to see more and more emails piling up. I’m sure it has contributed to me getting sick.
For Thanksgiving this year, I was invited to a “Yanksgiving” dinner party hosted by some American expats who’ve been living in Dublin for awhile. I was wavering about whether to go or not, given my cold symptoms had not improved much over the last week. I did a couple of self-administered antigen tests that turned out negative, so I figured at least there was a low risk of me giving anyone with COVID if I had been infected. I decided to go. The hosts lived in one of the new high rise apartment buildings in Kilmainham to the west of Dublin City centre near Phoenix Park. I took a taxi to get there and back. It was a very informal potluck style dinner. There were about eight of us total, some sitting on the couch while the rest of sitting on dining room chairs arranged around the living room. The menu featured traditional Thanksgiving dishes that turned out to be quite tasty — turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams. The pecan pie I brought for the dessert course was a hit, although there was also pumpkin pie, an apple crumble, and homemade holiday-spiced ice cream. After dinner, we played a board game loosely based on a haunted house scenario that had very complicated instructions, various tokens, multiple card decks, and other parts. It was an entertaining and fun group activity, although by the time we finished the game it was after 11:00pm so I was ready to head home.
On Friday, I took a train from Dublin out to Dromod in County Leitrim to spend the weekend with S., the guy I’ve been dating over the last six weeks. I arrived in time to settle in and have dinner before the annual Late Late Toy Show was scheduled to air at 9:35pm. S. had put up his Christmas tree and other decorations, which along with the fireplace, made for a very cosy environment on a chilly night.
What is the Late Late Toy Show, you ask? It is an annual Christmas-themed special episode of the long-running Irish TV talk show, the Late Late Show. And it’s not just any old Christmas special, it is a cultural phenomenon in Ireland that has aired since 1975. Of all the viewers watching TV in Ireland on Friday night, 81% tuned in to watch this year’s Late Late Toy show. The theme was based on Disney’s The Lion King and featured host Ryan Tubridy and a cast of children dressed in various animal costumes. The programme consisted of choreographed dance numbers, performances by children musicians and singers, and of course, toys that were showcased in largely improvised interactions between the host and ridiculously cute young children. Notable guests included singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and Olympic gold-medalist Kellie Harrington. The show also included a fundraising appeal that brought in more than €6 million in contributions for children’s charity organisations.
Saturday was very relaxed. S. made us a nice breakfast, then we ran some errands and stopped by a supermarket to pick up some ingredients for a simple dinner of pasta with pesto sauce and tomatoes. In the evening, we made dinner at the house then we went to a cinema in the town of Carrick-on-Shannon (a 20-30 min. drive away) to see “The House of Gucci,” starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. It wouldn’t normally be a movie that would interest me, but S. really wanted to see it. The costuming and sets were fun, but I rolled my eyes at all the fake Italian accents. We slept late on Sunday, then I headed back to Dublin on an afternoon train that was almost completely full of mostly young people — lots of students were returning to the city after spending the weekends with their families. The city continues to be in full Christmas mode despite the surge in COVID cases. In light of the new “omicron” variant, all travelers arriving to Ireland (whether vaccinated or not) will be required to present COVID test results as of this Friday. Antigen tests must be professionally administered within 48 hours of departure (self-tests won’t cut it), while PCR tests will have a longer pre-travel window of 72 hours.
Until next time….
