Family Weekend 2007

I'm back in ol' Dublin after a lovely weekend in Denmark with lots of beer and chocolate. Someone had had the fantastic idea of getting a 3 kilo thingy of little chocolates (pictured) for our family weekend (paternal side including aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins' kids, but not dogs).


We did not manage to finish it, but I think everyone got a few to take home? I know I did :) I'm sure people in the office will be very very grateful when I bring them in tomorrow (I can already hear some of you screaming, 'aargh, no more chocolate! We've had enough!' To that I just say 'MUAAHAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAA! I am not eating it all by myself!')

Anyways, the weather was beautiful (at least on Saturday), so the Viking Games (there were two copies) came out, and while some people were thrashing other people at Kubb (another name for the Viking Game), some other people went to the beach to play with a wee wellspring that was there. It was very curious - a freshwater wellspring about 2 feet from the edge of the sea. I don't have pictures of that, but it was very cute.

P.S. More info on Kubb here

Update on the hockey match

So, it ended 11 - 0 to Ireland - not surprising!

Looking at the penalty stats, it is also not surprising to see the top scorers are all from either Ireland or Mongolia..... Tsk tsk tsk.. :)

Ireland v. Mongolia - Ice Hockey World Championships, Division III

This was the opening match of the championships, and took place in the fairly new Ice Dome in Dundalk, 1 1/2 hours bus drive from Dublin. First impression of the place: impressive. Then we went inside. The ice itself is an okay size, for for some unfathomable reason they only put in tiered seats on one side of the rink. The other side only has a wee tower for the press, and two rows of benches on either side. I have no idea whether there are plans to put in more seats, but at this stage the Ice Dome holds a lot less people than the smallest ice rink in Denmark (which happens to be the one in my hometown. And they really want to build a new bigger one there).

Also, I'm not exactly sure why they chose to put it in Dundalk.... I would really loooove to start playing again, but it ain't gonna happen if I have to spend 1 1/2 hour on a bus to get there, and then go home again with a bag full of damp smelly equipement! That's not to mention the fact that setting up a girl's team in this country would probably be a bit of a stretch. Oh well!

Anyway, the match was fun. There was a lot of stupid penalties, with players hooking each other right in front of the ref, instead of actually trying to get the puck, so the penalty boxes were rarely empty. That led to confusion on both sides some times about how many players they were allowed on the ice. The refs frequently had to signal for one more player to come out. Also, when they changed players, everyone sorta strolled leisurely towards their box, which would not have been tolerated in higher divisions I think. They simply took too long getting in and out of the box. In fact, they reminded me of my own team :) In the game itself, there was a lot of falling over (mostly the Mongolians), a lot of really bad passes, but a few really good and fast Irish players. One of the Irish defense players really annoyed me - he was standing stock still inside the blue line when Ireland was attacking, and just NOT move, and he did get caught out by Mongolian wings a couple of times, when they passed him by.

I left after the 2nd period, when Ireland was leading 9-0, because I didn't really need to see any more, plus I was hungry. I can't find anything about the results online today, so I don't know how it ended, but I figure there was probably a fight, because people were squaring off all through the match, and there were a couple of Game Misconduct and 10 minute penalties given. Very silly altogether I think. Hockey is NOT about who can shove who the hardest, because let's face it - at this level you're as likely to fall as the guy you're shoving. (Okay that's not really true, and it's a bit mean too, but I don't really mean it like that). I think it's great that there are so many different divisions in hockey, giving everyone a chance to join in. Oh how I miss it!!!

What I was up to while blog was hibernating....

Okay, so I'm backtracking a bit now, to share some pictures from my holiday in Denmark in March with my family.


Among other places we went to this beautiful area around the Skjern River, which flows into the Ringkøbing Fjord. In the 1960s the river was straightened, literally, to make the wetlands suitable for agriculture. Unfortunately, this ruined the natural habitats for many of the animals in the river, and also had an adverse effect on the pollution of the river and the fjord. So, in 1999, they decided to put the river back in its original course, which meanders quite beautifully through the landscape. The whole area is now a natural reserve, and the scenery is breathtaking. It's also home to an awful lot of birds and other animals - we saw mostly geese, but then again, it was only March.

You can find more info and maps and stuff here

Okay, so I thought of something.

Someone just read the email about me 're-opening' my blog, and said 'concert reports!'. So I'm thinking, hmmm....good idea!

I have a lot planned, but haven't actually gone to them yet. Here's the schedule for this summer:

15 April - Ireland v. Mongolia (World Championship in Ice Hockey, 3rd division), in Dundalk
6 May - Sinéad O'Connor in Dublin Castle
13 June - Tori Amos in Falkonerteatret, Copenhagen
16 June - Blandede Bolsjer (means Mixed Sweets) - a choral concert in Copenhagen :)
22 June - Peter Gabriel & Crowded House in Marlay Park
7 July - Oxegen Festival (including Tori, but Snow Patrol and Muse and Scissor Sisters are also playing) in Punchestown, Co. Kildare

I know that a hockey game is not a concert, but I rarely get the chance to go see any games over here, so I'm gonna report anyway. Heheheee.