Ireland v Scotland

We'll get to that (the six nations women's rugby final). This is the first of two posts about a marathon weekend--in more than one sense. Monday is a bank holiday so this post is Fri-Sat. Next will be Sun-Mon. I'm glad we got that straight.

I walked Paddy at 6:30 Friday morning so I could by in Carryduff for a 7:30 a.m. golf lesson. My coach has teaching privileges on Rockmount Golf Course, so we played 5 or 6 holes on the back nine. I learned A LOT. As usual, unsure how much I will retain in competition, but I haven't had a lesson since January and needed the maintenance. Worked from 10-4:30 (although 'worked' is a strong verb for what I did--most of my projects have been delayed). I had a hair cut at 4:45, which I really enjoyed--I love my hairdresser. She's a really interesting woman and I learn something new about her every time I'm in her chair.

Home, Paddy out for a quick walk, then to Shandon Golf Club for dinner followed by a quiz. The questions were hard and our team didn't do great. (How many keys on a piano? What does S in Harry S Truman stand for? Name various footballers/soap opera stars I wouldn't know.) Each team came up with a team name. The best was: "They put the wrong Boris in jail." Becuase Boris Becker is in jail and Boris Johnson isn't. I left around 10pm--quiz still underway--because I was knackered.

Saturday morning out with the Stormont dog walkers. I brought one of my birthday cakes for tea and buns after the walk and was delighted to distribute most of it. Then into town to meet Marek for more tea and buns. He brought me a lovely box of chocolates from Poland, from where he has just returned. He leaves shortly for conferences in Berlin and Lisbon. He is serving on panels with government ministers due to his comprehensive grasp of the application of competition law in multiple jurisdictions. We mostly talked about the war in Ukraine. He reads German media and has a firm grasp on European history, so offerned a few new perspectives. Home for a bit then off to Kingspan Stadium to see Ireland's women play the Scottish team. Ireland won in overtime, so it was very exciting. My niece used to play for the University of Edinburgh, so I sent her a few videos. She knows some of the Scottish players. The Shandon golfers were in a suite, courtesy of a Shandon member who works for Ulster Rugby, so we had a great view.

April 29-30