Comfort

Monday, 12 July 1999
"Nut" takes a break in green, green Ireland, Escaping bits, bytes and Smalltalk. For an extended weekend I'm hiding in the land of Green, Gealic and above all: Guinness (www.guinness.com). The only way to reach me is through email. I've left the mobile phone at home, redirected to the Voice Mail.

Ireland is much warmer than expected. I should have left my raincoat at home. In the Botanical Garden of Dublin I take a nap (www.irelandseye.com/...) and wake up with a sunburned face. Get a taint in Ireland, who would have expected that?

Kinnitty Castle, Ireland. Picture by Paul Dowling (PDowling@visa.com) The reason for my visit is a wedding in Kinnitty Castle (.../kinnittycastle.com). It's a happy set up, here in tropical Ireland. The Irish know how to party. The wedding ends with a party, full of Irish music, some traditional dances and a surplus of Guinness. It reminds me of an old wisdom from Australia: "The most important thing is to live a comfortable life. And the most important thing of a comfortable life is comfortable drinking." Hmm, the Irish influence down under must have been huge.

The music is quite fast. My big body is just able to keep up with the beat. The warm weather makes the sweat pour down my head. A few minutes later, just when I'm recovering my breath, a wide bellied Irishman addresses me. He watches my sweating forehead, inspects my abundant quantity of biological insulation, looks at the bacon behind his own belly button and concludes: "You'rr just like me. We'rr built forr comforrt, not forr speed."

The sun is rising when I head for my bed at the High Pine Farm, a B&B (Bed and Breakfast) in the green fields (phone +353-509-37029). Only a few hours later I am just in time for the full Irish Breakfast. The Cereal, Bacon & Eggs, warm sausages and toast plump into the fresh Guinness. It's well received, amazing. I even lack a hangover. My head is a bit clouded, but that must be due to lack of sleep. Yeah, these Irish aren't too bad.

My planning for the days to come is wide open, but one thing for sure: I'll take it easy. This Nut's Weekly appeared a few hours later than normal. Well, you know my excuse already: I wasn't built for speed.

Till next week!
Nut