Ok. So I know, ridiculously late. Again. As usual. But this
time I have a very legitimate excuse. My boyfriend, the famous Irishman, told
me not to write yet because he wanted me to wait till I met his new nephew.
Yeah, blame the boyfriend. I’ll probably be in trouble for that later. Oh well.
Admittedly I did meet the new nephew last week so I am still
at fault, I suppose. The baby is adorable and tiny. So tiny. I have never seen
a baby so young before and I couldn’t help but squeal over how tiny he was. And
adorable. I held him which initially made me incredibly anxious because what do
you do with such a tiny thing? I am sure all the mothers out there (especially
mine) are laughing but really, they are so tiny! And adorable. I think I’ve
made my point.
In my last post I was perhaps a bit morose, or bored, or
depressed. This gray weather is really getting to me. But I’ve had an exciting
week so that has made things better.
About two weeks ago, or whenever I last blogged, I saw a
performance by junk ensemble called Five Ways to Drown. They are a modern dance
company but their style incorporates singing, sign language, theatre and in
this particular piece, spouting water from their mouths. It was amazing.
Then I went to the festival with the Irishman’s family in
his hometown. It was quaint in that Irish hometown sort of way. I impressed his
father by speaking the very little amount of Irish that I know and he regaled
me with tales of rabbit hunting in his youth. Ah, the good old days.
On Wednesday a friend of mine asked if I could be an extra
for a short film she was working on and the next thing I knew I found myself in
the company of Aidan Gillen. You may recognize him from The Wire. He is in fact
Irish, which I am embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know.
Ok now on to this week’s main event. Are you ready? I met
the President of Ireland. Actually I went to his house. For a garden party. The
theatre company was invited for a special event recognizing organizations that
work to promote peace between the North and Ireland. So we got all dressed up
and shuttled over to the President’s house which is called Aras an Uachtarain and apparently
the White House is modeled after it. We were greeted by a soldier in full fancy
uniform who said “Welcome to the President’s home” and then we went inside and
hung up our coats and waited in line to meet the President and get our photo
taken with him. I must admit I was quite awkward when it came to formal
introductions. Nobody told us what we were supposed to do or say. Was I
supposed to curtsy? No I didn’t actually do that, that would be silly.
Then we were led through the garden and into a large
building for refreshments. There were many choices. Tea or coffee? (Coffee,
obviously).Apple or pear juice? Mini éclairs, profiteroles, tea sandwiches,
fancy chocolates with glitter and countless savory hor d’vours, though one
worth mentioning was what looked like a tiny ice cream cone filled with creamed
avocado. I know.
On the way we saw a tree, not just any tree, the tree planted by President Barack Obama when he visited Ireland last year!
Next there was the entertainment in an outdoor marquee in
the gardens. Again, more choices, this time white or red wine or Guinness? I
chose red wine. There was a great traditional Irish band, a mother and daughter
duo playing harps, a Bob Dylan-esque man playing the guitar and harmonica
whilst singing, and then a strange man who played the keyboard and was really
into slamming the keys and shaking his head about. Then the President made a
lovely, eloquent speech. As we were leaving we were presented with chocolate
covered strawberries, tiny cupcakes covered in glitter and more of the glittery
chocolates. And more wine. Oh, what is a girl to do?
Finally we were given a tour of the public wing of the
house. It was built in the 18th century and even has some furniture
as a gift from Versailles. It is a very gorgeous house. What a lovely day, eh?
Also I have been volunteering in an arts centre and there is a very incredible exhibit on. I
really like it, anyways. It includes work by Turner prizewinner Susan Phillipsz
and a stunningly beautiful peace by Sam Keogh that includes a giant mountain
and “rocks” made artificially and exhibited as though they were excavated from
the mountain. It’s super cool.
Well that about sums it up. Thanks for reading! And waiting
patiently for my sporadic posts.
