Rock and Roll

What a great night!  Rushed home from work yesterday, grabbed a sandwich, and then dropped the kids to Grandma's before getting home again to change. Our friend Dave collected us and off we went into town, checked in (The Morgan Hotel - very posh!) and were down having drinks in the bar in olympic time. We may be old but we can move fairly fast when there's alcohol to be had! Dave's wife Orla met us in the bar for a drink, and we had time for a quick bite to eat before heading to the gig....  

We had seated tickets and I was relieved to see that I was conveniently placed close to both the bar and the toilets - important priorities.  I looked around the crowd and couldn't see any psychedelic, off the shoulder jumpers with stonewashed jeans. What I did see was a group of forty somethings with glasses, cardigans, and bald spots starting to form at the top of a lot of heads.  And then the party started... and by 'party' I mean music because people were complaining and calling over the attendants whenever someone stood up out of their seat!!  So there was very loud singing and very polite clapping   :-)    Eventually, the curmudgeon was ignored and people did stand and start to wave their hands in the air....  La la la la la la LA la lalalalalalala, walk on by, la la la ....  But after each song, people would sit back into their seats before thinking it over and deciding whether or not to stand up again for the next song.  But they didn't just 'sit down', most people actually looked down behind  them, as if to ensure the seat was still there, before sort of lowering themselves slowly back onto the seat.  This was not a nimble crowd.

Fortunately, Jim Kerr and Simple Minds were in flying form.  The lighting was brilliant, the sound was fantastic, and of course the music is simply great.  At the end of the show, the polite crowd stood up and patiently waited their turn to exit their row of seats. There was no immature chanting or demands for more - it was approaching midnight after all.

Back to the hotel for a nightcap (mojito, anyone?) before heading up to our respective rooms.  How delightful the slumber when it is not interrupted by children's voices at 6 am...  Then breakfast in bed...  Standing in reception when checking out, I watched as snow flakes fell onto Dublin's cobble streets - it was like a picture from a fairy tale... Then home.

I'll be leaving to get the kids shortly - funny how they seem so much funnier, and loving, and sweet when they're somewhere else.  But at the moment, I'm sitting here on my couch, snuggled in my sweatshirt, looking out at the snow, with a big mug of hot tea in my  hand.  Yep, I am so rock and roll.