You've jumped over the fence baby!!

It's no secret that RTE's Champions League football coverage is the best in these islands. I never watch live foorball any more but I always try to catch a look at the post-match ding-dongs on RTE's site. It really is terrific stuff. Last night's show was a case in the point. After Liverpool had beaten Arsenal in (depending on whether or not you support Liverpool) dubious circumstances, Eamon Dunphy, Graeme Souness and Liam Brady (an Arsenal employee, of course) took apart the evening's events. And Eamon and Graeme took an ever-increasingly sulky Liam apart at the same time. Brady's hissy fit after RTE showed footage of Wenger's animated touchline behaviour was priceless.

And Bill O'Herlihy's gentle chastisement of Liam when he accidently announced the result of the Chelsea game before RTE showed the highlights shows why, even when the panelists are this entertaining, you still need a strong host to hold it altogether. Bill's the man.

The clip above is just a small sample. The whole thing is available in the Video Highlights at the bottom right of this page. I'm saying it's the funniest thing RTE has produced this year.

Shoe's sorry now..

Walking to work this morning I saw an attractive girl walking in the opposite direction. She was like most city girl types you see walking to work in the morning. Dressed for business with her immaculate blazer and skirt, she was flying down Camden Street listening to her ipod, carrying her moccachoccafrappalatte and with her long hair just so.. But something was slightly amiss. It's not unusual to see city girls (and some city boys) walking to work wearing trainers with their suits. With their heels in their handbag they can glide along with pace and purpose and change when they get to the office. Some wear trainers while the more committed ones bounce along in their MBTs. The girl I saw this morning was wearing a big white NIKE trainer thing on her right foot and a big Black NIKE trainer thing on her left. It looked ridiculous. She can't have meant to do this, can she? I mean I know The Kids sometimes wear odd shoes but this was no kid.. But how would you make this mistake. The trainers couldn't have looked more different. How could you confuse them?

I dunno - maybe it's a new look for girls this season. When it comes to fashion, nothing surprises me anymore.

Although I must admit I never saw those city shorts coming along.

Don't Look Down

This is similar to a clip that I tried to pinch from David Hepworth's blog.. It's called Caminito del Rey and should you fancy a go, you'll find it in Malaga. Considering the kind of consent froms you have to sign for things like the Inca trail or adventure activivites such as bungee jumps and skydiving, I wonder how many "If I die, it's my own stupid fault" forms would these guys have to sign to be allowed on it. Several, one would hope.

The Price of Victory

So we rushed down to the bookies yesterday at about 4.10 yesterday to chuck some money at the Grand National.. We picked 3 nags at random, hotfooted it back to The Shelbourne where there was a big screen showing the race. One of our random choices, Comply Or Die came home first (I believe the technical term is romped). Anyway there's something funny that happens when I win a few quid on the horses. The money won is used to pay for about 7 different things - even if it only covers the cost of one. So far the windfall has supposedly paid for:
1. A couple of rounds of drinks in the Shelbourne (that pretty much took care of the jackpot right there).
2. Another round of drinks in the bar of Jurys in Ballsbridge.
3. Breakfast this morning in the Woodstock Cafe in Phibsborough.

It's Sunday lunchtime and we're heading in to town soon. I have my eye on some new phones fr the huouse. I imagine by tonight the money will be spent 3 or 4 times over..

Thank God I'm not a serious gambler - I don't think I could afford to win very often!

In a tight spot

Saw this car yesterday in Drury Street.. Whoever parked somehow managed to get the side of their car right up against the column.. And they'd about 2 feet on the other side.. Would love to have seen them trying to get out without scraping it..

Be coreful what you wish for..

I found myself meeting friends of Helen in The Shelbourne yesterday.. I'm not a man who finds himself in the bar of a 5 star hotel often and whenever I do I imagine it as some kind of act of Class War.. I don't want to seem harsh, and I'm sure they're all lovely people, but there's something about the flashiness, the fake tan and the even faker designer bags that makes me want to puncture a few egos.. And that's just the men..

Anyway, needless to say the people I was meeting aren't like that at all (well, not all of them) and buoyed by a great result in the Grand National I wasn't having a bad time at all.. One of the girls in our group bumped into an old friend at the bar. I won't say his name but he's the guitarist in a particularly bland Irish pop/rock band famous for the attractiveness of some of of it's members. After he was introduced to us, he sat down and the first thing he said to us was "Don't mention the band or I'll slap yis". Charming stuff. Of course now he was in a bit of a pickle. Because since we weren't allowed talk about the band (and really, in your wildest dreams you couldn't really think of much to say about them) we didn't really have anything to say to him at all.. So he sat there in silence, drinking his mojito and listened to a bunch of people he'd never met before talking about things that he couldn't contribute to.. In truth he cut a bit of a pathetic figure in his expensive clothes and his sunglasses..

Eventually he was rescued when a friend phoned him and he left to go and have a burger - soakage, as he put it, to prepare him for the night ahead.. The last I saw of him he was rattling a door that was clearly locked trying to get out.. Shuffling out of a hotel that he'd been drinking in alone to have a burger.

Such is the glamorous life of an MOR rock star.. I wouldn't really fancy it much..

Caption please..

"Fans were shocked just how rough the intervening years had been on Boyzone"

I think I might run in Bertie's constituency next time. I'm separated and my finances are in a mess. I'm a natural!