Messages

https://questadventureseries.com/

Might take a look at doing Killarney

Anybody ever done one of the Quest adventure races?

The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes is a good read. Same author wrote I Am Pilgrim which is one of the few books I've ever read more than once.

Am I right in saying there is a sci-fi element to it? I like sci-fi and like I Am Pilgrim a lot but I have my reservations about this one.

Yeah but so badly done. Was a normal run of mill book then last section went of on a massive tangent. I'm still not sure if I like the book. Just felt the sci fi bit was like an add on at end and not consistent with rest of story.

Aye that's in line with a review I read. Will pass.

It was a bit of a random turn right enough that I wasn't expecting but I still enjoyed it. Not as much as Pilgrim though

The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes is a good read. Same author wrote I Am Pilgrim which is one of the few books I've ever read more than once.

Foreword - I'm steaming so indulge my nostalgia.(and drunkeness)

The fear of the unknown after you bring them home.

The first few days hoping you know (but you don't)

You get in a rhythm and then they decide,
They want it a different way (but you won't)

Ever give up on trying the next best thing,
That you hear someone say worked once but it,

Doesn't change a thing so you pay someone,
Who tells you this will change everything,

But once you start getting to know,
Your own offspring and what works then,

It all starts to fall into place and when,
The smiles and giggles fall in behind until,

You forget the sleepless fatigue and then,
It's santa, rudolph and birthdays,
Then they are too big too hold hands and,

You want to get back to the hardships you thought wouldn't end 


I was told after our two were born that the weeks would be long but the months would be short. I'm realising now how true that is because we have gone past time frames we won't have again. So now I try to enjoy the age they are now rather than wait it out until they are a bit easier. Because I won't get this age again.

Probably frowned upon especially these days but we would have had to stay and hold our wee girls hand to help her fall asleep but when the other half was in hospital I done the "Cry it Out" method. Life saver wouldn't be the word.. Meant I had 1/2 hours in the evening to clean the house, do the washing, meal prep etc.. Also helped her sleep through the night which other half was glad off when she got out of hospital.

I used a sleep consultant (just one session) and she more or less gave me permission to do a version of "cry it out" - worked like a treat too, after two nights.  Has mainly slept through ever since.  About to transition him to a bed though - that'll be interesting...

We tried a consultant as well but it didn't do much for us. Our two are like chalk and cheese, one will fall asleep within 10 minutes and the other wee blade might be rocking in the cot for two or three hours before crashing out. Same girl falls asleep in the car every chance she gets though. Going to keep them in the cots for as long as possible because they would only be running around all night if they could. No thanks

Congrats BB, it's tough but brilliant at the same time.

Forgot about this thread when our two were born. Pandemic babies so there wasn't much social interaction with other new mammies for the Mrs. after they were born which I think was very tough on her, even to just get outside the house for a while. Just turned 3 and there is serious craic in them now their personalities are coming through. And to watch their development is unreal.

The library classes(Belfast) they had were a godsend for the wife. She has met and made a couple of good friends out of it and now the kids would be good friends. (Well there's 3 and now it turns out 2 of the 3 are good friends and the other one doesn't like them lol). Does the mother good to have a kind of wee support network of ones in a similar boat at that time when on maternity.

It's incredible the difference it made for my wife.  She found a group on instagram for twin mums who all had covid babies so they were all going through the same stuff.  They have turned it into a Whatsapp group now and they get away for a night a couple of times a year.  Great resource for help and advice and a realistic look at what is happening day to day rather than seeing the picture perfect stuff on social media.

Congrats BB, it's tough but brilliant at the same time.

Forgot about this thread when our two were born. Pandemic babies so there wasn't much social interaction with other new mammies for the Mrs. after they were born which I think was very tough on her, even to just get outside the house for a while. Just turned 3 and there is serious craic in them now their personalities are coming through. And to watch their development is unreal.

Twins?
My sister was in the same boat. Was tough for her to be fair.
But they're flying now.

Twins aye, our first two so we didn't know any different but a lot of our friends who have one have said they don't know how we did it.  It's the same as everyone in the newborn boat, you just do it and manage as best you can.  I was working at home the first 8 months after they were born which was a godsend.  Only in the next room if the sh1t hit the fan.  Used to be some operation doing the bottles every day when they got to 4 or 5oz ones.  16 bottles with 5 scoops of aptimil each.  Some bottles got more than others!

Congrats BB, it's tough but brilliant at the same time.

Forgot about this thread when our two were born. Pandemic babies so there wasn't much social interaction with other new mammies for the Mrs. after they were born which I think was very tough on her, even to just get outside the house for a while. Just turned 3 and there is serious craic in them now their personalities are coming through. And to watch their development is unreal.

Afaik Warnock has turned down 3 different  Derry managers regarding a call up to county football

Unusual name, is it common up there?

Probably a former planter name from back in the day if I was to hazard a guess.

Most teams have one or two.

Alot more unusual names than that across the country

Mac Giolla Mhearnóg. Probably has planter origins, if you're allowed to say use that terms.
A few Warnock families about Maghera.

Warnock's Hill out of the town as well when you are heading for Swatragh. Name must be around a long time.

Any tips for bars (and dare I say it clubs for the more mature traveller) etc. in Carrick on Shannon?

The Poitín Still is a good bar for during the day, Murtagh's for the more club feel I think. Hard to go wrong though, great wee town from what I remember of it

[Governments are well able to deliver big infrastructure projects when they put their minds to it.]

A lot to unpack in the All Ireland Rail Review. Some ambitious goals there, which is nice to see. Plenty of fodder for the "it will never happen" crowd but that's inevitable.

People have got to understand that a lot of these dormant routes remain untouched. Most of the tunnels, cuttings, embankments, viaducts, and even a lot of the bridges are still intact. A lot of the cost of building a railway is flattening the land, and this was already done for us over 150 years ago. Reopening lines like Portadown-Armagh and Portadown-Derry via Omagh are entirely achievable. It wasn't so long ago that there wasn't many miles of motorway in the south, now there's a whole network of them. Governments are well able to deliver big infrastructure projects when they put their minds to it.

Time to think big again, and this time do it for rail. There's not enough room in cities for cars and the days of building everything around them need to come to an end.

Yes of course we are. In the north alone we can point to such fantastic infrastructure projects such as Not the A5, Not the North South interconnector, Not the expansion of waste water treatment and Not Casement Park.
We are in such a strong position to deliver this. In reality we'd get more use out of the 35b if we just set fire to it.

By the time they complete all the archaeological digs, toad surveys and evacuation plans, trains will be obsolete again anyway.

How high a bonfire could we build if we just piled it all up? Would it be bigger than Craggyhill?

Went to Queens and did an engineering degree that had that wide a scope of topics you didn't know what you were qualified to do at the end of it. One module could be electrical engineering and the next could be thermodynamics. Lecturers only interested in their research students and PhD lads. Came away with a load of debt and a degree I could barely use because I graduated right before the recession and everything tightened up. Couldn't even get a placement year during my degree because most places weren't taking students on. Had a good time from the social side of things but it finished me playing football and to be honest if I could talk to my 16 or 18 year old self, I'd advise going the trade route and then get the qualifications in something you have tried and enjoyed rather than something you took a chance at and got the grades to get into.

Where are all the dublin forwards? Monaghan playing across their own 65 and nobody near them. Surely the dubs aren't all in their own half of the pitch?

I know that it will be 50%+1 as it should be, I was just interested in the point HiMucker made as I hadn't heard of losers consent before. There isn't a hope in hell of them being allowed a supermajority for this when there wasn't one for brexit