I did listen to Joe's keynote speech at the Mansion House last night , it went out live over the national airwaves .
Towards the end he mentioned the stutter which for years prevented him speaking the words he wanted to say and how in the end he managed to overcome it ,
Ive always had the abillity to project my voice forward , say exactly what I'm thinking ,but at the same time I did connect with what the guy said .
I think he was able to express a vulnerabillity in a way Donald Trump couldnt or wouldnt ever do .
Trumps only Interest in Ireland is the piece of it he owns , a golf course and high end hotel in the county Clare . He attempted to erect a fence cutting off public access to the beach front , which extended well beyond the low water mark , I think the local authority over ruled his attempt to draw a line in the sand ,so to speak , so there was no fence in the end , when he couldnt bully the local authority into allowing him to do what he wanted he soon lost interest in the Doonbeg project .
I cant say I ever heard of a pint of Black and Tan ordered in a bar here . If an American tourist rocked up to the average workingmans pub and asked for it they'd get a few funny looks, they might just fill your pint from the slops tray, over charge you and have a good laugh about it afterwards .
Theres few other expressions we use here relating to strange combinations of drink jumbled up in a glass , a 'Donkeys bollocks' is one , 'Snakebite' is the other , its typically a mix of cider and beer .
The combination of the two drinks is more than the sum of its parts in terms of the effect ,
I sometimes finish up with a cider on ice after a few rounds of beer , not in the same glass though , the mixing is done onboard . Theres a strange feeling when the two liquids mix in the stomach ,
if your not used to it you could easily give your self the 'gawks'
,
Ive definately seen a few people turn green and spew up on it over the years .
I used have a buddy here from Brooklyn ,sadly he passed away a martyr to the drink by the age of 39 , it was funny to hear him speak the local bar room lingo with the heavy New York accent,
Played a mean blues guitar also ,life and soul of the party but it caught up with him in the end and we had to lay him to rest in his ancestoral home in Co, Tipperary .
Im dreaming up a musical concept at the moment ,
Its a special collection of Irish drinking songs ,
Not the usual flag waving stuff that has everyone with tears streaming down their faces into their pints
but more light hearted , with cautionary tales of what the excesses of drink can bring along with it ,
Hopefully a little message to a newer generation of musicians starting out on the road ,
I have at least three really good songs already , and I'll be putting out the feelers on a few more hidden gems from my friends .
As Ive mentioned in a few other musical based posts were in a bit of a golden moment here as far as folk is concerned , true to form ,Irish music has come out of the corner covid had us all painted into fighting , not with fists or insults , but words that connect us, not words that set us apart .
Just about time for my afternoon coffee ,
'good luck whatever' as my grandad used to say .
