Wednesday, September 26, 2007

A lot of what you like

Life is full of little surprises. Once upon a time a long, long time ago ( well 11 years ago) when as a much younger man than I am now, I was introduced to expat society in Riga at a watering hole named Paddy Whelans. In those days upstairs was a favoured gathering place for those of us who had found ourselves in this new and strange country. From memory the only people serving behind the bar were young ladies, and one remains stuck in my memory - I..... ( Latvian with a wonderful smile).

In the intervening years she has moved around , being seen in such establishments as the Frog, and much more recently as one of the key member of staff at our sadly departed village hall - De Lacy's.
But with its demise, she absconded to Madrid to take in the sites, and unless my eyes deceive me there is more to her than when she left. So having experienced her first trip on an aircraft (after a few early morning drinks to assist with the nerves) and her first trip to Madrid, or indeed anywhere outside of Latvia, she has returned (albeit temporarily) to Paddies. And so on Friday last when I walked into the village lounge there she was ! So a welcome return as she manages to brighten up even the most miserable of days. No idea how long she will stay, so to all enjoy it whilst we can.

As is my way, I did not stay on Friday evening to watch the Irish rugby game, as it was way past my bedtime, but I am informed that those watching included J....(Irish with a new daughter-in-law) and young J....(English - likes things to be straight). After the game they retired to Paddy Abduls ( if you do not know do not ask), followed by an excursion to Club Essential by J....(not the Irish one ) and ....................... wait for it - young I.... (Latvian with Spanish connections) - hmmmmmmm..................
But just like London buses always seem to come in groups, so it is with the former staff of De Lacy's - recognise these two ladies ? seen in the village lounge recently.Speaking of De Lacy's - no news re possible re-opening but we do but live in hope. The building next door to De Lacy's, which was purported to be a possible new home, is now sporting an advert for the Stella bar just down the road. When I first saw the poster my first reaction was that it was advertising the fact that a new Stella Bar was going to open there, but as can be seen from the relatively small print at the bottom of the poster it was simply advising all of those still looking for De Lacy's that there was a Stella bar a few meters away. So the future of this location remains unresolved, although there are a number of rumours as to its possible future, which range from renting it as a fish & chip shop/bar/restaurant to the outright purchase of the building for development. Time will but tell !As for De Lacy's - well any rumour that it was about to become a museum, have proved short lived, as the posters stuck in its window clearly indicate that it is about to become another "girly" bar/nightclub - just what Riga needs !!!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend saw a host of World Cup Rugby games, for my part I took in the England Games on Saturday and the Scotland game on Sunday. The latter coincided with the Manchester United v Chelsea game. But the respective crowds were well behaved, and whilst the Scottish result was somewhat of a foregone conclusion, it transpired to be a most enjoyable afternoon. Those attended included R... (New Zealander with penchant for loud noises), his good lady D... (Latvian artist of note), J....(Australian timber consultant to the world), F....( Australian hostelier) accompanied by his Australian relatives, B.....(English - one pair of shoes) - and many others.

Now you may remember a few blogs ago, I published a picture of V... (Australian flu sufferer) whereby he was seen taking a picture of me taking a picture of him - well it appears it not an Australian thing, as can been from the above - even the Irish are up to it. As for the gentleman in the background would you ever guess he has had his teeth refurbished recently !
And finally a question for all you who are into fashion, what kind of person would wear shoes like these, along with that faded look in jeans


Answer :

(a) Ageing rock fan

(b) Irish sailor

(c) Bank treasurer on a bender

(d) All of the above

(e) None of the above

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah! Bliss. Normality returns with a PROPER BLOG.

As the Pope said to God in a letter handed over by Pavarotti "Here's the Tenor I owed you!"

Nice to have things back!

By the way will all blog readers take part in two minutes noise in memory of Marcel Marceau...who out of interest was the only person to speak in Mel Brookes otherwise silent film "Silent Movie"

3:19 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would like to put it on record that I have more than one pair of shoes. But is it any wonder that I don't dare to wear them out. The writer has a tendency of pouncing on anyone wearing adventurous footwear, photographing them and posting it on this blog for public ridicule as evidenced in this very article. Footwear fascist!
B

5:01 pm  

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