Final score

I need about three or four blog entries to cover everything, but I will try and nail it in one without you, dear reader, giving up the will to live…

Ireland was great, we won 55-12 in what was a really good match to watch and certainly not as one-sided as the scoreline suggests. The Warriors are a lovely bunch of lads, and always make us feel welcome. They have an ‘official’ sponsor pub, so we spent most of our drinking time in there (fantastic place, if you’re ever in the ‘hood, check out the Dragon – only a few doors away from the George, also gay.) They organised a “big magic gay bus” to take us to and from the match out to the west of the city. It was in fact just an ordinary double decker (one of the Warriors is a bus driver) but they had put a sign in front saying “Warriors vs. Steelers” and filled it with balloons!

After the match, I was asked by the Bingham Cup 08 team whether I would like a tour of the university and I jumped at the chance. So I was whisked off – in a BMW no less – to see the fantastic campus that will be the home of BC08. What great facilities! Didn’t get to see in the accommodation because students were in residence, but it will be like all (pretty new) student accommodation I would imagine: en suite, small but perfectly formed, nice and clean and of course very, very convenient. (They also have ‘luxury’ rooms which are currently used for special guests, visiting lecturers etc., so if you do want something a bit extra, you won’t have to go to a hotel to get it.)

The pitches are good (and they are spending money on making them better). There are two campus bars, a very impressive theatre, a swimming pool, Jacuzzi and sauna, restaurant, shops and a cash point. You could actually spend the whole tournament not leaving the campus. So much so I questioned whether BC would ever now be able to do anything other than a campus format because you can just imagine the atmosphere of probably around 700 + rugby players and supporters all in one place for three days. At the same time as managing to cater for those on a low budget, as well as those that want to have better rooms etc. So the BC team have already done an amazing job, which is so encouraging after the fiasco of NY 06.

We decided to minimise our carbon footprint by travelling to Dublin by train, ferry and then another train as I mentioned in another entry. I think in future I would prefer car, ferry, car because I found the whole thing very tiring but actually, despite people being horrified and asking us whether we were a bit mad, it was actually not a bad way to travel. The company was good, we could drink, chat, enjoy the scenery and the ferry itself took less than 2 hrs. The reason I say about the car is that, my knees did hurt. And on the way back we had to do platform changes and at one stage run (yes, really run) for a train, which is hard on bad knees, but add luggage and you can see why I’m sore today. If you’re in a rush, it’s not really an option, if you’re with a group of mates however, or seriously want to give up or cut down on air travel, it’s really fun and surprisingly convenient. Oh and did I say cheap, £84 for train and ferry, there and back.

You know the really nice thing about the weekend? I had a great time, laughed a lot and enjoyed the company of the boys, but I really, really loved coming back home to my partner and the dog who were, I’m delighted to say, thrilled to see me.

(I also discovered that painkillers and a lot of Guinness meant for the first time in over a week my shoulder felt OK! Actually one of the players also gave me an amazing massage which helped.)

Final note, and I don’t wish to sound mysterious but as I writer I can’t tell you how many people find my work “interesting” and promise to do something with it but who then turn out to be wannabes and losers and couldn’t greenlight a script even if they were a set of traffic lights (I’m sorry did that sound bitter?!). But I met a producer on the weekend – a very good producer with a very good track record – who asked to see a particular script of my mine, which I sent yesterday. He asked me to do a pitch and normally I’m lousy at pitching, but the Guinness made me much better. He listened, said the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and asked how quickly I could send him the script. Of course, he may think it’s rubbish, so we’ll just have to see now, won’t we…

You have failed your test

Had a lovely back rub last night and then undid all the good work when the bloody alarm went off this morning and I turned over too quickly to switch it off and wrenched my shoulder again. I couldn’t even bend down to pick up the dog bowl (don’t worry he has been fed, despite my disability!)
So I’m a bit fed up with it all to be honest with you. I realise my discomfort is minimal in the big scheme of things, but that doesn’t stop me feeling miserable after the fourth day of intense pain and interrupted sleep.

There were some crazy mo fo’s on the road last night. One car pulled right in front of me and literally missed scraping the side of the car by cm’s – not even inches, cm’s! I almost wet myself. The scum bag had two kids in the car as well, obviously their safety is negotiable. And then, almost home (and so grateful because traffic was hell and the devil was in every other car), I went to turn right. The road was clear, but there was a jogger so I stopped and smiled to let him know that if he wanted to dash across the road I wasn’t about to mow him down (they get stuck in the grill), he smiled back and indicated that I should go. So I did, and then a car pulled right in front of me, screeched to a halt, and this woman started giving me abuse. To which the jogger swung round, pointed at me and shouted, “you were in the right, you were in the right!” I wearily just indicated that she should get her stupid car, her stupid self and yes, her poor kids who were probably relying on getting home in one piece (get a bus) out of my way because although I wasn’t about to scream abuse, I was prepared to get out of the car, take her kids out of the way, get back into my car and then go straight over the top of her. To indicate that YES, I was in the right…

So here’s a serious question… what can you do? If something is weaving all over the road and you suspect they are drunk, you call the police. If a commercial vehicle is driving like a maniac, there may be a number on the van or car you can call. But what about a private vehicle, driven by someone who should not have a licence (although apparently these days, you don’t even need a chuffing licence!) – what do you do to complain about their driving? And if they don’t then, mark my words, they will go on to cause an accident somewhere else, because quite simply they don’t care. They assume their car will protect them from everyone else on the road, not realising the painful irony that it is us that needs protecting. If you’re involved in an incident a ‘near miss’ should you call the police… is there any point? Who the fuck knows.

I have a reflexology appointment this evening and the friend that is doing it, is staying for dinner and then I need to pack my bag for Dublin. Early start tomorrow; 08:30 at Euston to meet a load of bleary eyed but excitable Steelers, lol… can’t wait!

Nothing comes to mind

Shoulder still bad. I did sleep a little better last night though. Hope I am more mobile and the very painful spasms have stopped by Friday when I’ve got a lot of travelling in front of me to get to Dublin emitting the lowest carbon emissions possible: train, ferry, train...
I wish I could find pain killers that worked. Some I can’t take because I am an asthmatic, and the ones I can, even really strong codeine, don’t seem to do much except make me a bit woozy…
Anyway, moaning won’t help. Although it does make me feel temporarily a bit better :0)

I’ve been dropping in and out of the BBC website transfixed by the horrific events at Virginia Tech two days ago. Surely now something must be done about private gun ownership in the US? It is hideously easy to get hold of a gun and pro-gun people were even calling for the laws to be relaxed yesterday, reasoning that if some of the students were able to carry guns, one could have shot the gunman before he killed so many people. Or… as sensible people would reason, if you didn’t make it so easy to buy lethal weapons in the first instance, those that are unstable enough to want to commit murderous acts, would not find it so easy to walk into a gun store and then weeks later, walk into schools and universities tooled up like Rambo. I actually don’t think it’s the right time for this kind of debate yet. It needs to happen. There needs to be a thorough investigation, but right now, it’s just unseemly to blame US domestic policy as if that alone were responsible. But I would question, what message do young people in particular get about the society in which they live where guns proliferate and violence is celebrated, not just in the US, but everywhere?
I wish all of those people that were injured a speedy recovery, and I hope everyone that lost loved ones get the answers and the support they need to get through each day…