Summer Holidays

Well, the uniforms are in the Shaws' windows and if copybooks get anycheaper the supermarkets will be paying us to take them away...

... and the results are out and the CAO offers too and that really means that the summer holidays are almost at an end (and we'll be due a fortnight at least of scorching weather whose beginning will co-incide nicely with the first day of school)

My happiest summer holiday memories are from when I was a kid and my huge family of cousins would jump buchaláns, stuck bales of hay and then sit on top of the teetering load as it was driven in over the uneven tracks. We'd hunt rabbits - armed with salt (which we were guaranteed would stop a bunny dead in its tracks if we could just sprinkle it on his tail). Those were the days of the Red Robin Hood icepop, which I still look for in freezers of newsagents and petrol stations, days of fizzle sticks and red lemonade that stained your teeth. There were never less than nine of us building shelters in the corners of fields or mucking in a massive sandpit, trying to build swimming pools or playing tennis, hurling or swingball, or listening to music and doing gymnastics on the lawn, or being knee-deep in bogwater when that time of year came around. Yes, we were innocent culchie feckers but they were great days and, as summer holidays, I don't think they've been bettered.

I was watching my two year old niece (Indestructo-)Rachel jumping and skipping yesterday instead of just walking from A to B and it got me wondering when and why we stop being so unselfconscious and start taking ourselves so seriously.

Anyway. Holiday memories anyone? From this year or others?

Some of that sounds familiar Kate.

My house used to be right on the edge of the town, so front door was town and back door was fields. The ditches were really wide, so we built forts in the ditches. Lots of hacking and digging, camouflaging and using whatever we could find for roofing. We used cigarette packet gold paper as money. It became a currency for buying catapult rubber and leather, blackberries, sticks and ropes.

The summer used to seem like years. Bikes were really important for getting around, so you made sure you were proficient in fixing all aspects of the bike. A speedometer on yer bike was a big thing. Long cycles were a forthnightly thing, 20-40 miles return trip. Scrounging for bits and bobs to make other bits and bobs, we found a ford escort van one day and stripped the whole dash out of it. I can't remember why, or what we did with it. Trying to get someones cows to eat disgusting food mixtures for a laugh, stealing minerals from a local distributor, playing football and falling off trees.

I remember setting up a shop in my garden with my next door neighbour. Used to drive poor little logical me mad. He was convinced that if we bought things down at the shop and then sold them cheaper to our friends we would eventually make a profit if we sold lots and lots of them .

My summers consisted of weeks in Wexford enjoying all that the sunny south east has to offer. Followed by time spent at camps of all descriptions, art, tennis, rugby etc. Then went over to France for a couple of weeks and back through England to visit the relatives which was always amazing fun. August was always the queue at the school supply centre up in Rathfarnham followed by a bumper session of book covering, hopefully without bubbles! Though if you did get a good bubble it kept you occupied in class for the next year playing with it!

johnfás wrote:

I remember setting up a shop in my garden with my next door neighbour. Used to drive poor little logical me mad. He was convinced that if we bought things down at the shop and then sold them cheaper to our friends we would eventually make a profit if we sold lots and lots of them .

ROFL.

johnfás wrote:

I remember setting up a shop in my garden with my next door neighbour. Used to drive poor little logical me mad. He was convinced that if we bought things down at the shop and then sold them cheaper to our friends we would eventually make a profit if we sold lots and lots of them .

Where's he working now ?

Happy 1000th post johnfás.

cactus flower wrote:

johnfás wrote:

I remember setting up a shop in my garden with my next door neighbour. Used to drive poor little logical me mad. He was convinced that if we bought things down at the shop and then sold them cheaper to our friends we would eventually make a profit if we sold lots and lots of them .

Where's he working now ?

He's a stand up comedian/actor actually .

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Happy 1000th post johnfás.

Thanks!!

Grrrr, I had planned a celebratory thread for my 1000th post when I realised I was closing in on it. A slip of concentration meant that I missed the chance!

johnfás wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Happy 1000th post johnfás.

Thanks!!

Grrrr, I had planned a celebratory thread for my 1000th post when I realised I was closing in on it. A slip of concentration meant that I missed the chance!

Audi will give you dispensation and fix your tachometer. Go for it !

johnfás wrote:

August was always the queue at the school supply centre up in Rathfarnham followed by a bumper session of book covering, hopefully without bubbles! Though if you did get a good bubble it kept you occupied in class for the next year playing with it!

Those queues were a nightmare. I never knew there were so many people in the area until all those books were needed. And each year, I forgot again how many people would be there.

Though, in fairness, our primary school had a second-hand book sale at the end of each year, where you could buy your books from the year ahead of you.

The rest of the summer was spent in Irish College, a week in Rosslare (the same week each year, when all the same families would go there. The kids played together, gathering crabs from the beach and having in-house competitions, and the fathers wouldn't be seen until the afternoon, as the trip happened to coincide with Open Week in Rosslare Golf Club.)

Hello TheBear. Good to see you. Rosslare is a fine spot. Wouldn't mind a week there now if only the would come out. Been on your hollyers yet this year?

cactus flower wrote:

Hello TheBear. Good to see you. Rosslare is a fine spot. Wouldn't mind a week there now if only the would come out. Been on your hollyers yet this year?

I was in Amsterdam for a few days, then went to a festival in Belgium. A week away all told. It was good fun, our third time going to that festival, but it'd have been better if I didn't come down with a mysterious and unpleasant bug while I was there.

My tendency is to go away for short breaks, a weekend here and there, throughout the year, rather than one big break. It menas you always have something to look forward to, but it also means you sometimes come back unrefreshed.

What about you?

Ah a Rosslare head. Did you used to hang out in that golf club? I probably know a few people you know.

johnfás wrote:

Ah a Rosslare head. Did you used to hang out in that golf club? I probably know a few people you know.

I didn't spend that much time in the golf club, except for those mornings that I was brought out caddying. The place we stayed was a small family-run hotel beside Kelly's, opposite the French Connection.

Ah, the table quizzes, the awful discos in the Bunker, the games of 31 (no-one who wasn't there has heard of this card game, it seems), the really awful crazy golf course, and the morning courses down in the leisure centre. Those were the days...

We were more the North Wexford crowd - hung out around Kilmuckridge whilst the cousins were up nearer Gorey and Ballymoney. Apart from the boat to France Rosslare was a later development for me. I had friends in secondary school who had places down there - used to be great fun for wild parties at the end of the summer.

johnfás wrote:

We were more the North Wexford crowd - hung out around Kilmuckridge whilst the cousins were up nearer Gorey and Ballymoney. Apart from the boat to France Rosslare was a later development for me. I had friends in secondary school who had places down there - used to be great fun for wild parties at the end of the summer.

I was in Kilmuckridge for the first time in January/February this year (one of those short breaks I mentioned). Quite fun for the weekend, but I couldn't imagine spending a whole lot of time there.

It was great fun when I was younger. Days spent running around the fields of farmers, out on the beaches, dinner in Kilmuckridge, 99 flakes and then there was always the trek up to Gorey for church on a Sunday morning .

I remember when Pirate's Cove opened up in Courtown. Now that was thrilling for a year or two.

johnfás wrote:

It was great fun when I was younger. Days spent running around the fields of farmers, out on the beaches, dinner in Kilmuckridge, 99 flakes and then there was always the trek up to Gorey for church on a Sunday morning .

I remember when Pirate's Cove opened up in Courtown. Now that was thrilling for a year or two.

Who killed the 99? About three years ago all the machines were abducted by aliens and replaced by disgusting HB extruded goo.

We used to travel the grand distance between Ranelagh and Killiney and spend a couple of weeks staying in the wooden chalets that used to be where the tea rooms used to be. Oh dear...there's a lot of "used to be" going on here. Many happy memories of climbing White Rock when we shouldn't, sliding down the railway bank on cardboard and helping the fishermen pull the boats in.

cactus flower wrote:

johnfás wrote:

It was great fun when I was younger. Days spent running around the fields of farmers, out on the beaches, dinner in Kilmuckridge, 99 flakes and then there was always the trek up to Gorey for church on a Sunday morning .

I remember when Pirate's Cove opened up in Courtown. Now that was thrilling for a year or two.

Who killed the 99? About three years ago all the machines were abducted by aliens and replaced by disgusing HB extruded goo.

Teddy's in Dun Laoghaire is where the best 99s hang out.

I am a big fan of Teddy's but having said that I got one last week and was a bit disappointed. I hope it isn't a sign of things to come.

Best summer holiday I ever had was about four/five years ago when I went sailing around the Aegean with a group of friends for a couple of months. We had such a great time, it was so chilled and laid back, there are a few songs, tasts and sounds that remind me of it which pop up from time to time and they don't half make me smile. I'd love to do it again but it would never be the same.But, I did meet one of the girls who was with me and we're going for a drink this weekend. It's been well over a year since we last spoke so we'll no doubt end up reliving it all again. 

Well after 2 weeks R&R Im back in Dublin and was back in my Dungeon today

Hows it that a weeks holiday always seems to fly far faster than a regular week?

Anyway - it was a great break - the best I've had in a long while and I actually feel renergised after it all - probably cause I had feck all to drink and lots of fresh air - ya cant beat it.

Yep - extreme watersports on a River Barrow that turned into a version of the lower course of the Amazon for about 4 days or so, shot a 72 on the local golf course for the first time in my life (those fickle Golfing Gods were on my side for the first time ever - either that or something finally got knocked into place as regards my internal direction finder when I fell out of the loft the previous night!) , a short trip over to the British Midlands to meet the cousins, including one whos in the RAF and got me into on a T1 Typhoon Eurofighter for the quickest most minblowing trip I've ever had to the North of Scotland and back! - beats the shit out of Virgin trains anyday! , great night out in Lincoln - lovely town , back to Ireland to work for a mate of mine for a day whos in business development - ie trying to wheedle his way into very large US companies to sell software programmes and the like on behalf of his clients - dont know if I was any good at it, but I had a great chat with the CIO of Goldman Sacks in New York about the upcoming Ryder cup , spent the rest of the non wet week hammeriting every piece of exposed metal on my fathers property and finally at the weekend down to Hook Head on a lovely humid summers evening in Wexford to go fishing off the rocks for mackerel - we(3 of us) must have caught about 300 or so of the silvery feckers - they were jumping out of the water - quite literally - as a local wag down there put it said "this isnt proper fishing - this is murder" - so what - we'll be eating mackerel in some from or other for the next 4 months I'd say - never saw as many fish together outside a BBC Nature documentary in my life - the sea was literally swarming black and you could see the estuary dolphins just out the other side herding them in , all the seabirds diving like stukas from the top and the seals helping themselves every here and there - an awesome display of nature.

Im knackered - more details on the above later folks - only 12 more weeks in the job and then Im Free,Free,Free!

The fishing sounds great Edo. You could make star gazy pie.

My best summer holiday that I can remember would have been the summer before last. It was the best summer we've had in a long time weather wise, and on top of that none of my friends had jobs for the first half (I had one for the second). One of my friends lives on a beach so all we did all day every day was head over to his, chilled out and dipped in and out of the sea for a swim a few times a day, played a bit of footie, had a nice big barbecue and then just watch TV or whatever, or often go out drinking (we were 16 and 17 at the time so that was the pinnacle of human existence). Glorious.