CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Marty]

2 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

I was wondering the same thing  

Me too, initially. I finally assumed he'd either floated in a swimming pool, a lake, or the sea.

It'll probably turn out that none of us have guessed right!

[Marty]

9 minutes ago, clochette said:

You mean red hair everywhere and strong tights in kilts huh 

I'm suspecting you meant strong thighs in kilt's there, clo... 

Kilts are not really worn nowadays. Not by guys. Just for formal occasions - weddings and the like.

[clochette]

21 minutes ago, Marty said:

I'm suspecting you meant strong thighs in kilt's there, clo... 

Kilts are not really worn nowadays. Not by guys. Just for formal occasions - weddings and the like.

Ugh yeah autocorrect

Don't ruin our fantasy Marty!

[Marty]

4 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

@Marty I was going through more boxes of stuff and came across my "Ireland Box".  I started it when I was a freshman in high school.  It contains a couple of National Geographics with articles on Ireland, tourist information, newspaper articles about Ireland, maps, and a report I wrote in 1986 about the history of Ireland.  I wrote it for extra credit because I was obsessed with all things Irish and wanted to show off my knowledge  One day, I will visit there.    

Oddly enough, although I considered myself at least half-Irish (dad was from Ireland) as a child growing up in the north of England, I never actually managed to get to Ireland until 1979 when I was almost 32 years old. There simply hadn't been enough money in the house for distant holidays like that. Most years the best we could hope for was a week in a cramped caravan at the seaside in north Wales.

Mind you, dad did take two of my older siblings to Ireland in the summer of 1956. I would have been 8 at the time, but I still felt jealous not to be going with them. Apparently dad's brother (my Uncle John - whom I sadly never met) only had room to accommodate dad and 2 children, as he had 4 kids of his own. Initially it was to have been the 2 oldest who would go, but my oldest brother wasn't keen on the idea for some reason. So dad invited the next in age, my older brother. Had he declined, I would have been next in line. But he accepted, and he and my eldest sister had the holiday of a lifetime (their words - even to this day). Mum and dad split the following year, and I didn't actually see dad again for around 10 years (but that's another story). So my dreams of visiting Ireland were put on the back-burner.

Sometime towards the end of 1971 a girlfriend and myself were talking about having a holiday in Ireland the following summer. (Yes, I was 24 years old and still denying my sexuality, even to myself.) I'd written to Bord Fáilte (the then Irish Tourist Board) and they had sent me a large thick envelope with brochures and information about campsites and hostels, and other cheap forms of accommodation. I was even planning to contact dad and get details of where my relatives actually lived, as all I knew was that he was from a farm somewhere outside a certain town in County Roscommon. As 1972 ushered itself in, I was getting more and more excited about the idea of fulfilling my dream.

And then, on the 30th of January 1972, British Troops shot 26 unarmed civilians in Derry (aka Londonderry) in Northern Ireland during a protest march against Internment Without Trial, which had been introduced in August 1971. Fourteen civilians were killed by British Soldiers on that day, a day that is still remembered as "Bloody Sunday". Things rapidly went downhill in Northern Ireland as a result. And, even though we had no plans to go anywhere near the North, my girlfriend decided she didn't want to go ahead with the holiday. I was devastated, but had no-one else who wanted to go with me. So I was forced, one again, to shelve my dream of seeing Ireland.

Fast forward to 1979, and myself and my then boyfriend (although we never admitted that fact to anyone else) decided to spend two weeks in Ireland, mainly climbing mountains (which was our big passion at the time). We did worry as to whether we might experience any problems over the fact that we had English accents and were driving a car with English registration plates, as "The Troubles" were still raging in the North. But we had none whatsoever. I even visited my relatives, again worrying that they might not make me welcome, due to the fact that my Protestant English mother had divorced their Catholic Irish relative. They welcomed me with open arms, with the first words from my Auntie Maggie (a sister of my dad's) being: "Welcome home!"

And the rest, as they say, is history!  

There's actually a short story of mine here on GA, that is basically an account of that first visit.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Marty

[dughlas]

4 hours ago, clochette said:

You mean red hair everywhere and strong tights in kilts huh 

Uhm, Clo dear those might be Scots ...

[dughlas]

3 hours ago, clochette said:

Don't ruin our fantasy Marty!

For me it's not a fantasy. Though truth be told, there will be no kilting for me this year.

[dughlas]

1 hour ago, Marty said:

Fast forward to 1979, and myself and my then boyfriend (although we never admitted that fact to anyone else) decided to spend two weeks in Ireland, mainly climbing mountains (which was our big passion at the time).

Hmmm, don't know as I ever heard it referred to as "climbing mountains" though I can understand it being a big passion for healthy young males. Must be an Irish thing.

[Marty]

7 minutes ago, dughlas said:

Uhm, Clo dear those might be Scots ...

The Ginger Gene is probably as common amongst the Irish as the Scots. They're both members of the Gaelic branch of the Celtic race.   

[dughlas]

Got my dad home and settled and the car sanitized with Lysol. Mum says I am not to take any chances/risks.

[dughlas]

Just now, Marty said:

The Ginger Gene is probably as common amongst the Irish as the Scots. They're both members of the Gaelic branch of the Celtic race.   

Oh, I know, it was more the kilt thing than the ginger hair. Though even that is shared.

[Marty]

3 minutes ago, dughlas said:

Oh, I know, it was more the kilt thing than the ginger hair. Though even that is shared.

Yea, bro.  I knew you were really talking about the kilts.

But allow me to have my ginger fantasies.

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Marty

[dughlas]

Just now, Marty said:

Yea, bro.  I knew you were really talking about the kilts.

But allow me to have my ginger fantasies.

 

I most certainly would not deprive you of ginger anymore than I deprive myself.

[clochette]

47 minutes ago, dughlas said:

Uhm, Clo dear those might be Scots ...

I don't discriminate

[Marty]

After my earlier reminiscence about my first ever trip to Ireland, I remembered I had a copy of an old blurry black and white photo my sister still has from the holiday in 1956. It shows my dad and my two siblings, along with Uncle John and his four children, and Uncle Jim and two of my cousins, Michael and Francis, who were actually two of my Uncle Paddy's brood. I don't know why Uncle Paddy didn't go on that holiday himself; and I don't remember ever meeting Uncle Jim, although my mum did once tell me that I had been at his wedding when I was a baby. I think he went to America shortly after his wedding. Uncles Jim and Paddy were another two of dad's brothers. A cousin told me a few years back that dad was the youngest of fourteen children. I think I only ever met four of his siblings. I believe many of them finished up in America, and the same cousin told me that I have first and and second cousins scattered about the USA.

I must ask my sister whether she still has the original of that photo, and if it is clearer than the copy she shared with our Siblings WhatsApp Group a while back. That copy looked as though she had photographed the original with her phone, so hopefully the original really is a lot clearer. If she has, I might arrange to scan a higher resolution of it when I hope to travel to England for her 80th birthday celebrations towards the end of October (covid-19 restrictions permitting).  

 

[Albert1434]

Aloha All 

[Marty]

13 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Aloha All 

Hi there, young man. 

Hope all's well in Albertsville.  

[Albert1434]

Things here are ok and Aloha Marty

[Bucket1]

23 hours ago, Headstall said:

A float in the bath, or ice cream dropped in soda pop?   Either way, I'm glad you're relaxed.  

In a super concentrated salt solution in pod out of science fiction. You float in darkness and silence, just you and your heartbeat. It is very relaxing

[Bucket1]

20 hours ago, Marty said:

It'll probably turn out that none of us have guessed right!

 

[Bucket1]

22 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

I was wondering the same thing  

Not me in a vat of soda and ice cream. Way too sticky

[Bucket1]

20 hours ago, Marty said:

Kilts are not really worn nowadays

You are all nude? Hmmmmm not really warm enough for me but if that’s what you do I bet it improves tourism

[Headstall]

Happy Friday, all! I won't mention the Leafs.   Have a great day.  

[Marty]

8 minutes ago, Bucket1 said:

You are all nude? Hmmmmm not really warm enough for me but if that’s what you do I bet it improves tourism

Erm, no...  

(Not outdoors, anyway)

[Marty]

6 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Happy Friday, all! I won't mention the Leafs.   Have a great day.  

Hey,  bro!

I hope you have a great day, as well, buddy.  

[Marty]

8 minutes ago, Headstall said:

I won't mention the Leafs.

In which case, I won't mention the fact that you actually did mention them.