the rocky road to Dublin
In the merry month of May from my home I started,
Left the girls of Tuam nearly broken hearted,
Saluted father dear, kissed my darlin' mother,
Drank a pint of beer, my grief and tears to smother,
Then off to reap the corn and leave where I was born,
I cut a stout blackthorn to banish ghost and goblin,
In a brand new pair of brogues I rattled o'er the bogs,
And frightened all the dogs, on the rocky road to Dublin.
One, two, three, four five, hunt the hare and turn her
Down the rocky road and all the ways to Dublin,
Whack-fol-lol-de-ra.
Sorry, it's in my head, but it's a good tune so it's okay. I recommend Gaelic Storm's version.
Yeah, so last night was a bit of a bust. I was too worn out and frazzled to really plan it out properly, and I didn't know that Dublin bars have bouncers. What the fuck! Who decide if you get in! At a frickin' BAR! They have bouncers at the dyke bars in Paris but they're just for keeping men out. The hell. So I made a bit of an ass of myself at the Front Lounge, failing to get in the front door, and just said fuck it. It's a bit too swank and la di da for my tastes anyway, and all my innate shyness suddenly overwhelmed me. So I spent the night stone cold sober, wandering Dublin, slightly forlorn. I'm trying to think of it as a recon mission. It sucks though, there are two gay bars on my street, but they're for men. GRRRR. ARGH. I need a Smithwicks.
But, I cannot believe I forgot to mention the coolest thing about arriving in Dublin yesterday. Our bus was trying to turn on the street of the hostel/tour offices, but there was a bit of a hold up. I'm looking out the window and there are carriages and horses, men in top hats and breeches, women dressed circa 1810, just standing around on the sidewalk. Jenny asks what's going on, and finds out we've stumbled on the set of Becoming Jane. And I positively SQUEAL with delight, and everyone turns around and stares at me because usually I'm pretty quiet and keep to myself. I grab my camera and I get this great picture of a woman in an absolutely fucking gorgeous scarlet pelisse, sitting on some steps, smoking a cigarrette. I'll post it as soon as I get a chance, but I don't know when that will be.
But what are they doing in Dublin? Unless they made up a lot of shit with the Tom Lefroy affair, which I hear is likely. Hm. Or possibly using Dublin to substitute for another location.
Right. Off to check out the Book of Kells and find the Dublin Writer's Museum.
1 Comments:
Gah!! I just left Dublin on the 11th!! Where was the Becoming Jane filming??? bah, figures I'd miss all the good stuff. Anyway, after driving around Ireland, Dublin was a frustrating let-down. I found it dirty and utterly lacking in character, except what it tried to borrow from London in the form of chain stores. Maybe I was just burned out and homesick, I dunno. The book of Kells exhibit was pretty cool, and the library at Trinity College-- oh my god that was awesome! I stopped dead in my tracks, looked up and started drooling. That, and breathing in deeply of the smell of old books. My husband had to drag me out... I was disappointed not to be able to take pictures--that spiral staircase, with the bust of Shakespeare nearby--too cool! Luckily they had a photo for sale at the shop, just of the staircase & books though. Trinitly College was definitely the high point of Dublin for me!
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