Derwent Water looking south towards Borrowdale

Derwent Water looking south towards Borrowdale Originally uploaded by Mr Clive.

Found this on Flickr today - Fantastic

Christmas Festival Racing at Leopardstown

Senan and Martin went racing at Leopardstown with Greg, Jack and Christopher. We didn't make a profit, but we managed to collect from the bookies a couple of times. Overall a very pleasant way to burn off some Christmas Turkey!

Happy Christmas 2005

We had a lovely relaxing day - ate too much and drank a little.

New Gift Grub Song

Today FM's Gift Grub team have a new Roy Keane song. To the tune of "I have walked 500 hundred miles" by The Proclaimers. They have promised to play it again to-morrow morning at 7.20. I plan to record it and load it on this blog to-morrow. Come back to-morrow for a laugh

FINALLY HERE IS THE LINK Listen and have a laugh

Katy is Eighteen

Today is Katy's Birthday. She is eighteen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATY - I know you had a lovely day.

Katy is in the middle of her Christamas exams, so we will have a proper celebration on Wednesday - 2 birthdays in one year - hey how does that work!

Keano Signs for Celtic

"I'm not coming here for an ego trip or to unwind" Celtic midfielder Roy Keane

Recommended Reading - The Bookseller of Kabul

While I recommend this book, I must say, that it took me a while to finish it. It is a very good insight into post Taliban Afganistan, but the unusual approach of the author made it feel inconclusive. Although it reads like fiction, it is based on real people. Seierstad uses a fly on the wall, journlistic approach. When I think about it, the "unsatisfactory" feeling I had while reading the book came from the way that real life has a habit of not having neat conclusions! In the epilogue we do get some story endings. In the final 3 pages we are given a brief update on a number of the incidents. This is quite effective in bringing some sort of closure. It is well written and the insights are subtle and complete. There is a very real sense of place and culture that is completely alien to us in the Western world, even after the Taliban. Seierstad is a Norwegian journaist and has written a book on life in Serbia and another on life in Baghdad. The bookseller has made me curious enough to try "With Their Backs to the World" - the Serbian book.

Panoramic Clue

Here's a Clue to the location of the Panoramic

JCB Song by Nizlopi

Watch the Video Here X

Panoramic Quiz

Can you correctly identify this view. Post a comment with suggestions

Küssnachter Klausjagen

Shephard & sheep whip Originally uploaded by M+MD.

Tonight in Kussnacht am Rigi - near Luzern, Switzerland, the Klausjagen (chasing of St Nikolaus) takes place. The town will be in complete darkness. The locals dress in the traditional shephards smock. They will crack bullwhips in the dark: CRACK CRACK like gun fire.

Bishop Mitres Originally uploaded by M+MD.

Then come the Bishops Mitres. These are enormous structures carried on the head with designs cut out and covered with coloured paper. Inside are candles, so the whole effect is like walking stained glass giant bishops’ mitres. There are well over 100 of these dancing and spinning down the streets.

The dancing mitres are followed by St Nikalaus, with his assistants (Schmutzils) dressed in black. Next comes 180 trumpeters who play the haunting "Klausenmelodie".

All in pitch darkness. Then come the 900 cowbell ringers. Each carry the enormous cowbells that they swing in time and produce an ominous monotonous rhythm.Bringing up the rear are the cow horn blowers. They blast in unison SHORT SHORT LOOOONG...SHORT SHORT LOOOONG Then the party starts - the beer drinking is interrupted from time to time by trains of bell-ringing shephards. It goes on to the early hours, most un-swiss like!

I've been there twice - the video on this page gives some sense of what its like - but you really have to be there to feel the whole tingling, medieval Christmas sensation.