Dear Reader –
I’ve hardly been home since I wrote last week’s letter to you. My wife was determined that we would get away for a few days as soon as it was possible again, so we’re just back from a long weekend in Cork.
And she was dead right. it was great. That wonderful feeling of being on holidays again. And since that was pretty much the only, and hence the big thing for me this week, I’ll get stuck into it straight away.
*All hyperlinks, as always, in bold.
The Big Thing
Specifically 5 of my favourite things about holidays.
Relaxing. When I was younger, I used to try and cram as much as possible into a holiday, and hence always come back from that holiday thinking I needed another holiday to recover from it. Now it’s different. If I don’t come back in better shape than when I left, it’s not worth it.
When you get the balance between plans and no plans just right.
The realisation that everyone doesn’t always do things like we do them. Meeting new people. Opening your mind.
The calming effect of water. A holiday is pretty much always better if it’s near water.
Getting home.
Where else but Sligo?
But Sligo followed us on the trip. In a lovely way I must say.
I remember enjoying a story told to me a few years ago by ex-Teenage Theme Nighter Micheál Kearney. He filled me in about an audition he had in the drama society in Maynooth University. The minute he walked into the room, the director recognised Micheál and told him so immediately. “Hey - aren’t you the guy who sang ‘Never Had a Friend Like Me’ on the Teenage Theme Night a couple of months ago”?
And so when the young man serving us breakfast this weekend told me that he had heard all about the Teenage Theme Nights from another ex-participant he had met at college in Dublin this year, I was once again very pleasantly surprised and he went straight to the top of the list for a tip!
Cork people have a (sometimes bad) name for not being shy about telling you how proud they are of where they’re from. But is that a bad thing?
I’m not sure - I always love the feeling of hearing Sligo being spoken about well by non-Sligonians, and I look forward to continuing to bring you all things I love about this place in this section of the letter, while always being mindful of point 3 above…
What’s New?
Firstly an update on the theme night album. Thanks to everyone who contacted me regarding it. The response was overwhelming and I will get back to everyone this week with a plan for what happens next. But there’s lots more to do too. We’re recording the majority of the album before the end of June, so this week I’ll be deciding on a track listing, who I will ask to sing what, what arrangements to use etc. I’ll keep you in the loop as we go.
It’s easier than ever to get distracted these days. By emails, social media, notifications on your phone. And it can prevent us from being able to concentrate on the task at hand in any meaningful way. I enjoy researching how the mind works in this way, specifically in regard to being able to focus more sharply and for longer, and so I finished this book on holidays and got a lot from it. This is another good one on a similar topic I read recently.
Season 2 of our In The Lamplight podcast ended with a bang last week. Featured guests were Johnny Gallagher and The Boxty Band and it’s been a while since I experienced intensity like it on a stage. See for yourself below (21:55 for some good craic between Johnny and I), and while you’re at it why not have a listen back to any of our 28 episodes so far here - or wherever you get your podcasts.
Finally…
A holiday wouldn’t be a holiday without a soundtrack. Here’s one we played over and over again on the long journey home yesterday.
Till next time,
Kieran.
