Dublin again

Ah, we've just come back from Dublin. I got the classic lurgy just as I started to relax, and felt pretty unwell for two days, but enjoyed myself immensely in spite of it all.
We checked into the Harcourt, oh yes, our home from home in Dublin, on Wednesday night, and as I went to reception to ask for something or other, the phone rang there and it was Sean! we arranged a couple of things for us all to do involving music, eating and drinking and went next door for food. Straight to bed dosed up with paracetamol, and off to Bray the next morning. A lovely ride out on the Dart past Black Rock and Dalkey, great evocative names and landscapes. We reach Bray and the Esplanade Hotel. We look at our rooms, and Jake immediately jealous of the sea view from our room, unfortunately I feel too unwell to enjoy it properly.
Bravely we decide to walk along the cliffs to Greystones. Stunning and precarious in parts. People coming in the opposite direction greet us warmly, some stop to chat. Phil tells me that he and the Cute Hoors used to walk that way after a gig in Bray, musical instruments, alcohol, darkness and all. I'm impressed.
A medicinal brandy later in the hotel bar later and I'm revived enough to force down some dinner. We had a lovely time at the Martello, reasonable, too. I went to bed really early and Phil and Jake stayed up to chat and have another drink in the bar. Felt much better on Friday morning, and ready for all that Dublin was to throw at me.

St Faith's barn dance, a doddle

As I had hoped, after Whitby ceilidhs etc, and the more recent rigours of Ealing Country Dance Club, it was a cinch at St Faiths. Brilliant live music, what a joy that is, and very easy dances. I couldn't believe that I could actually 'strip the willow' without too much stress. People were coming up t me and saying I seemed to know wht I was doing...what's happeneing! Must have been because I'd got into the 'this is easy' frame of mind! I feel almost ready for whatever Whitby throws at me next summer.

back up North

Well, I'm off again tomorrow, up to Scarborough, a special little in between fix of North Sea to keep me going 'til next Summer. It's the NAPO (probation staff union) agm, and I'm going with my friend Ann, and someone she knows better than I do, called Eleanor. It will be good on many levels. The journey up together, a day early, time to relax and be in Scarborough before the conference chaos begins...being by the wild North Sea, in my favourite season; crashing waves and frosty sunshine. Having a break from everything else, being back with my friends from the probation mothership, especially Ann. Oh, how we suffered together and how much she helped me through the training, particularly in talking sense into me when I nearly gave up! It will also be good not having to persuade and threaten the malingering teenager to school in the morning. it will be good not stressing about my dad and having a break from the dad rota, and...there will be dancing!!!! On Friday night there'll be a group teaching ceroc and jive, with a live band. I've packed my dancing shoes! Another live band plays on Saturday. It will be hard stopping myself jumping on a bus to Whitby while I'm there. Not forgetting lots of debate. I think particularly this year on the future of probation and the current state of a service originally designed to 'advise assist and befriend' offfenders in the hope that they wouldn't do it again!
It will be brilliant, but I'll miss home in its last few days before building chaos begins!

St Faith's barn dance

Off to a barn dance tonight. That will be weird after the quite intense but enjoyable nature of things at Whitby and at Ealing country dance club! hopefully will be relaxed and energetic. I'm in the mood for that tonight. I wonder if I'll find it easier than I used to after so much hard concentration in my dance activities over the past two months. Had a good time at the country dancing in Ealing on Monday. Each dance brings a new anxiety, and you have to concentrate really hard, but there were only two out of about eight dances that completely defeated me. The slow ones can be lovely, and at the end of Monday, I felt really proud of myself when the caller told me afterwards that I appeared to have a really understanding of the music, and moved really gracefully! That is definitely a first in my entire life, having been encouraged to abandon ballet at about eight years old due to lack of grace.
Anyway, tonight will be different, I can go back to my pre-Whitby ways of skipping about in an energetic and slightly clumsy way, bashing into people as I go..., not on purpose of course. Time to get my glad rags on.