Hire Lucy

Ah go on, you know you want to!

Unfortunately I do not know the names of these two charming ladies. We were busy discussing the temperature variations between last winter and the current one (which is technically spring now) when their bus appeared and they disappeared in a shuffle of scarves, gloves, shopping trolleys and comfy shoes.

I wasn't fast enough to ask for their names or inquire whether they "give a f***" about me posting this happy picture of the two of them at the bus stop. A bus stop them is not usually a place known for its happiness. What with the anxiety of never knowing if one will actually turn up.

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting with Dublin Shooter for a "Sip 'n Chat" session (or Guzzle 'n Mutter in my case).
As has happened before on the few occasions when I have met fellow blippers in real life, there was no need for introductions (having read each other's journal for the last four years does not require any...), no awkward moment (except perhaps when it was my turn to go to the bar and order a pint of Guinness and... cough cough... a Smirnoff Ice). We did not spend an obscene amount of time comparing the size of our cameras but chatted about topics as varied as the obvious stabilisation properties of concrete in audio speakers, dinner parties and menu selection, Charlie Haughey's last journey through Donnycarney, asking permission before or after taking someone's photograph, Tulsa Oklahoma, the necessity to wear bulletproof vests in Kilbarrack, the potential for embarrassment when ordering alcopops in "real men's" pubs, public transports, the Irish Health system and cancer treatment in particular, the earning potential of blackmail photographs taken in the James Joyce pub in Bangkok, people who breathe too hard at the opera and the average speed at which I demolish a pint of stout (in fairness these were the first ones to pass my lips in 2012).