Archive for June 23rd, 2007

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be

Grandad June 23rd, 2007

So what kind of holiday did I have?

A quiet one.

It was a very nice hotel. For some strange reason it was full of people from Norn Iron [for you foreigners, that's Northern Ireland, but that's the way they pronounce it and who am I to argue?]. Maybe they were all trying to escape their new smoking ban? We were all of a respectable age. There were a few children in their thirties, but they behaved themselves.

On the first night, when the locals had been thrown out, about thirty of us got a little merry and started on about the Good Old Days. Someone put some Beatles on the CD player and someone else brought out a huge stash of Mary Jane and soon the entire pub was awash with nostalgia and the smell of pot.

Do you honestly think that we older folk spend our time moaning about arthritis and pretending we can’t hear anything? That’s just an act to get you younger folk to run around and fetch and carry for us. We know how to enjoy ourselves once you are in bed.

I think it was Megan from Belfast who was the first to get carried away, in the middle of Strawberry Fields. Off came the clothes and the next thing we were celebrating the Sixties in style. Anyone who wasn’t p*ss*d was high. And anyone who wasn’t high was p*ss*d. and a few of us were both.

The following morning was a bit confusing, as quite a few woke up in strange bedrooms and had trouble finding the breakfast room. No one minded because we all put it down to failing memory [hah!].

As the young people were around again, we had to revert to the walking sticks, and the limps and the hard-of-hearing act, but we didn’t mind. We had the evening to look forward to again.

You young people haven’t a clue how to enjoy yourselves.

Charity links

Grandad June 23rd, 2007

I have been tagged again.

Cormac has asked me to nominate 5 charities of my choice, which is a hell of a lot better than asking for “a list of five things I wouldn’t do in front of Herself”, or whatever.

This Charity Link Meme was started by SEORefuge on May 16th.

The rules are simple, copy the list of charities and links (grab it from whomever tags you) and add your 5 favourite charities or non-profit organizations to the end (link to their sites with anchor text of the causes they champion). Of course finish things off by tagging 5 other webmasters/bloggers and then publishing the post or the webpage.

-oOo-

The big problem is that he nominated my charity of choice as his number one, which leaves me in a quandary. So what I will do is list my charities and say why I think they are deserving, even if they are already on the list below.

My first choice has to be the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation. They do great work for that forgotten niche in society – the parents of severely handicapped children. If you have a handicapped child, it is frequently a 24 hour job looking after him or her, and that is a very isolating experience. You get no respite, and damn little help from the government [the governments attitude is that there is no point in providing aid for a child under two, as it will probably die anyway. That's pushing bureaucracy a bit far].

When our Sean [my grandson] was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy they were a lifeline for our K8. They provided invaluable help and advice, but most of all, they provided respite care, so that K8 and TAT could have a day or a night off from time to time.

I have persuaded Ron to host their web site and to look after it, as their previous hoster was actually charging them for hosting [and for their domain name, which should have been free because they are a charity]. Ron didn’t take much persuading.

Another, which is already on the list is the Irish Cancer Society. Again I had the misfortune to have close experience with their work, as my father died of cancer over thirty years ago.

Yet another, which is already there is the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. This is another charity I would love to work for, but I don’t have the patience for training dogs. If I can’t get our Sandy to behave, then what chance would I have training these marvellous dogs that are a lifeline for so many.

One charity I think gets a hard time is the RNLI. The lifeboats save so many lives a year, yet it is all done on a voluntary basis. All the crews literally put their lives on the line to save others. I think the ‘Royal’ in the title tends to put people off in this country, but the RNLI make no distinction as to nationality.

Another one I admire is the Barretstown Castle [Hole in the Wall] Camp. This is the one set up by Paul Newman. This provides a break for children with cancer, and if anyone deserves a break, then they do.

So that’s my five. I’m afraid I have only actually added two, but the others are so important to me [especially Jack and Jill] that I had to give them some emphasis.

Here is the full list so far….

Now I have to find five more people to annoy.

So here goes -

  • Michele Neylon, because he is loaded and hates these tags.
  • Richard in Red Cardinal, because I haven’t heard from him in a while.
  • Ian, because if anyone knows about charity, then he does.
  • IrishFlirtySomething, to take her mind off men for five minutes
  • And finally, to prove that there is a glimmer of humanity underneath that crusty exterior [and I'm taking my life in my hands here] – Twenty Major. Come on Twenty. I know you have a rule about these things but it’s for charity!!

And if anyone wants it, here is the latest list – updatedcharitylinks.txt