So yesterday, then. It was a pleasant enough day, which ended with a rather inebriated stagger around the garden. Let me explain: I had to do my ‘popping to another country’ trick as Hubby’s Mate J (not to be confused with My Mate J) needed me to wait in for BT in his new flat while he was doing large wasp impressions up and down to Dublin. So off I tootled to Northern Ireland, and very happy I was too. Firstly, I love the journey. It’s all blazing yellow gorse which looks like the hills are on fire, and lakes and cows and stuff, and secondly I love Northern Ireland. Nothing makes me happier than popping to a shop and paying with real pounds (snaffled from Hubby’s pockets every time he goes home). Plus, Enniskillen has the largest Tesco in christendom which is good for upstocking (groceries are terribly expensive in Southern Ireland), and there’s a shopping centre containing such treasures as Next and Monsoon next door. What’s not to love?
Even happilyer (ahem) when I got there, Mr BT was waiting. A quick cup of tea, a brief read of OK Magazine (Jordan’s died her hair black, Posh and Becks went to a basketball game and Becks got papped checking out one of the cheerleaders’ arses, some bird from Corrie got married and Cheryl is considering taking Ashley back - there, you don’t have to buy it now) and he was done. And yes, of course I had a nose round. Well, you have to don’t you. It’s a lovely flat: penthouse, dahling, with three bedrooms (master with balcony and stunning views), cream carpets, leather sofas, nice kitchen, wet towels on the bathroom floor (tsk, he’s such a boy) and more technology than you can shake a stick at.
When I’d finished poking about, I had a quick unintelligible chat with the BT man (I never have been able to understand that accent; it all sounds like ‘dirdledirdledirdle to me) who eventually got sick of me going ‘pardon?’ every five minutes and wandered off, and headed off to Tesco. And there, joy of joys, I found Banrock Station’s Sparkling Shiraz is being discontinued (are they mad?) and was on special offer at half price!! Hence the fact that I opened a bottle once the kids had gone to bed, and spent a happy evening in front of the TV. The trouble is I had to take Bert out for his evening constitutional and once the fresh air hit me, I found myself feeling somewhat befuddled. This manifested itself in a very ungainly stagger around the garden. At one stage I walked straight into our potted Christmas tree (Bert walked straight into it too - and he calls himself a sighthound?). I just hope D next door wasn’t looking out the window. Tsk. What a lush.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
April 29th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
April 29th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
I think sighthounds look past things and then bump into them. The Pirate has this week managed to bump into a glass door while turning round in his bed, a lamp-post, and the instrument trolley belonging to the opthalmologist he was being examined by. She then added an ultrasound of his eyeballs into the steadily ascending invoice, but his sight is apparently just dandy for a dog of his age (he’s being treated for episcleritis which is basically just inflammation).
So what kind of accent goes ‘dirdledirdledirdle’?
April 30th, 2008 at 12:12 am
April 30th, 2008 at 12:46 am
I hate when someone tries to engage me in conversation then!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:04 am
April 30th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Fun though.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:24 am
June: Good ol’ British Telecom. When they’re installing a line they say ‘we’ll be there between 12 and 5pm’ which is pretty useless if you’re working. An no, I didn’t. I just sent him a text telling him he’s a slob :0)
Medbh:You too eh? My speech and balance seem to deteriorate in equal measures. It’s a bit of a pain if I’m socialising - I have to drink a soft drink in between each alcoholic one otherwise I’m under the table in five minutes.
Sleepy: Ah well, sweetie, at least we’re a cheap date!!!
April 30th, 2008 at 8:25 am
April 30th, 2008 at 10:02 am
So, you’ve stocked up on nice plonk? So now would be a good time to visit, hmmmm?
April 30th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Strung together in sentences it sounds like dirdledirdledirdle and it’s just Gorgeous!
Oh! They also make up adjectives for the hell of it! Instead of a ‘bloody’ cold day, an ‘awful’ lot of work to do or a ‘fine’ big boy; they have a ‘brave’ cold day a ‘brave’ lot of work to do and a ‘brave’ big boy! Fantastic!
Also, they can’t say words like ‘Hugh’. It sounds like ‘Queue’ from Norn Irish lips. If you can get them to say ‘Hugh queued outside ‘Hughes and Hughes’ it’s worth the row.
Damn! I miss living on the Border! The accent is brave and flat here in the bog… erm… midlands.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
One glass of wine and I’m off with the fairies. It’s disgraceful…
April 30th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
April 30th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
J: Mi casa es su casa, you know that. Mind you, you’d better hurry ;0)
And have you ever heard 98FM’s Toll Trolls doing a Nordy accent? Dead funny.
Wee One: Aw I miss Sainsbury’s. Where is there one, then? I like having a low alcohol threshold. A bottle of wine will last me all week. Heh.
Aidan: White Lightning eh? That’s some serious student partying! Staggering definitely counts. And that odd sideways thing that you do when you can’t quite get your balance.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
White Lightning huh? Remember Thunderbirds? That was revolting stuff. Yuk!
April 30th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
April 30th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Thunderbird, even the word makes me gag. The lst time I had that I was 19 and I took my ex-gal to visit my brother in Loughborough. We went to the park to have a student picnic (crisps and two bottles of thunderbird). And the rest as they say is forgotten history.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
April 30th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Aussie: You ARE part of the gang!! I’ll pop over very soon. Loving your frogs, by the way xx
Aidan: Sheesh, and I thought MY past was chequered!!!
Moon: Oops!! Maybe it improved your game. Heh.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
May 1st, 2008 at 10:59 am
I just love booze that gets you drunk from the feet-up
May 1st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
And yes, I have the same trouble listening to some accents. We have a Norn Irn (did I get that right?) newsreader and I listen but find I didn’t retain any actual info, I’ve just been listening to the dirdledirdledirdle! LOL! It is a very attractive accent though.
Jennynib - “Damn! I miss living on the Border! The accent is brave and flat here in the bog… erm… midlands.”
Ah, are you in the fens? We’re just on the edge. Brave and flat indeed, both accent and landscape. I miss the hills…
May 1st, 2008 at 1:23 pm
K8: Funny thing is, if you walk past it you get this beautiful whiff of tropical/sun cream/coconut/almonds, but when you pick a bit and smell it, it goes ‘bugger off’ and smells like nothing. Plant with attitude. I like.
Jay: Ahh, bless him. What a brave boy. Yes, I love hills. Cavan has spoiled me with hills, gorse, lakes and..er..wind turbines (what? I like them). xx
May 1st, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Sheesh! And I thought I could get by on English and Irish!