Richards Blog – 28.08.08 – Its time to steal away !

It has been a very mixed week and loadings this season continue to baffle us! On Sunday I had 25 for the Cliffs and Chris only 4 forCork so it seems the madness is over for the moment! We have been plotting an escape for a while but believe me it is not easy however we are heading over to UK for the day tomorrow but why we are going is to remain a secret! We were secretly hoping that we might have no bookings for today and we might be able to have a night with my parents but we both knew that would never happen and I have ended up with a group for the Cliffs today so dreams of a curry at our favourite Indian restaurant in Sunderland – The Moti Raj and a pint of good English ale will have to stay on hold for a while! We are flying out to Newcastle in the morning and back late tomorrow night to Dublin then driving home before the tour on Saturday – a long day but it will be great to see my folks after the long season and better still they are coming to see us in a couple of weeks so happy days!

It will be great to have Chris with me this time as last time I went toUK a few weeks ago I had to go on my own. The secrecy around these trips will be lifted soon and next week we might have some good news for Barratt Tours and our customers!
I’am often asked if I miss anything about living in England and there really isn’t much but here goes:

1) My friends and family – because we are so busy and tend not to do the same thing as other couples our age it is really hard to make friends mainly as we do not have kids and tend to go away for much of our free time so we lead a fairly solitary life.

2) English Ale – I do really like Irish stout but I crave the kind of variety and character that can only be found in English real ale. It always baffles me how the large breweries have such a stranglehold over the pub trade here and it seems crazy that we have an endless selection of bland euro and US fizzy lagers but virtually no real ale. My favourite UK brews include Greene King Abbot Ale, Batemans XXXB and Caledonian Deuchers but here really are too many to mention!

3) The Sea – When we lived in Sunderland we were a 2 min walk from the promenade and we both really miss evening walks along the seafront.

4) English Indian Food! Now there is a contradiction in terms but we miss the cheap and cheerful cuisine that is so typical of an Enlish Tandoori restaurant! We have some great Indian restaurants here but nothing can beat the 7 pound three course special at our former local!
That really is about it and there are a great many plus points of living in Ireland that can cancel most of those out!

Music – it has been so hectic lately that I’am still catching up with CD s that I got for Christmas but one that needs urgent attention is the Paul Wella compilation that Chris bought me! Looks to have some great stuff from one of my all time favourite artists on it.

Book – “This is not a drill” by Paul Carter is proving to be every bit as good as the last one and I can empathise with a lot that he writes about in particular his father who was in the RAF got me thinking about my late grandfather who I never knew and his RAF career, anyhow the author likes cats and motorbikes so that makes him a decent sort in my book!

Richards Blog – 21.08.08 – Its my turn to get sick !

After writing a while ago about not being able to get sick when Chris was under the weather this week it was my turn! I have had a bit of a Kidney infection which attacked with a vengeance yesterday and I can honestly say I had a hell of a day but made it through and with an early night and a good hot curry I seem to have largely sweated it out and feel much better today. Fortunately my group were very understanding and I guess I really didn’t look well as Chris had some of my passengers today and they were asking about me!

As you know I really enjoy my job but I must say vehicle breakdowns and illness are the two things that make me wish I worked for someone else! We really are very lucky on both counts as we have never canceled a tour for either reason and I can only think of 3 breakdowns in 10 years not bad going really and in every case we were delayed by no more than 30 min but they largely happened at an opportune place and time!

Music – Still searching for an intro into the world of ambient jazz and the more I look the more confused I get – would love to hear your suggestions! Might get to another local gig tonight as I think it might be time to test my Kidneys recovery powers with a few pints (day off tomorrow!)

Book – Really enjoyed the oil rig book and have just started “This is not a drill” by Paul Carter. If it is as good as the last one it will be a great read.

Richards Blog – 11.08.08 – Baton Twirling and Gigging!

There has been a big event taking place in Limerick over the last couple of weeks – The International Baton Twirling Championships – I kid you not! I had no idea that twirling was so popular but I’am delighted that it is as we have enjoyed a bit of extra business as a result, I even sacrificed my Friday off to take a group to the Cliffs and hopefully fun was had by all!

It has been a better if a little exhausting couple of weeks and business has finally been about the level that we expect at this time of year but we do still suddenly get unexpected quiet times. We have been under a little pressure last week as we lost Celtic Pride for a couple of days but Celtic Princess AKA Curt stepped into the breach and performed brilliantly as ever – if only Mercedes could still build coaches as good as that – I may even buy a new one!

Talking of vehicles there may be a change afoot and we may be having another upgrade – so watch this space for details! We always hate parting with our vehicles and I well remember somebody in tears when we delivered Celtic Warrior (Wally) to his new owner! I must admit we do get far too attached to the vehicles but we really do like them and they tend to develop a personality – stupid I know but it is particularly hard when we have to part with a vehicle that has served us well as you never know if its replacement will be as good! That was certainly the case with last years purchase Celtic Pride – it has cost us an awful lot of money to put right but we feel that our investment will be rewarded by a trouble free season next year – here’s hoping!

Music – Went to a great gig on Thursday night at Smyths bar – a local band called The Wilful, I have mentioned them before but again they impressed with a totally mad set that included everything from Christy Moore to Gangster rap via Abba and the theme to Fraggle Rock (don’t worry you need to be a certain age!). A brilliant nights entertainment anyway !

Book – Just started a great read “Don’t tell my mother I work on the rigs” by Paul Carter – a great insight into the mad world of the oil industry and is great reading.

Richards Blog – 14.08.08 – Singing in the rain – The joys of fluid dynamics!

As I write this I have to confess to being totally burned out! I,am in Doolin enjoying lunch but it has been a stressful week, we have had a water leak which defies logic on Celtic Explorer and every night this week has been spent on the roof trying to concoct another remedy. The leak started in a mild way last Sunday but developed into a gusher yesterday on our Galway tour, fortunately none of passengers got wet as we were able to move them to dry seats again, apologies to all concerned we hope it didn’t detract from a lively tour! I think I found the cure last night but guess what? It is totally dry at the moment so I cannot prove it! I have never found a way to replicate Irish rain of the type we have had this week but fingers crossed. Most operators would not tell you things like this but believe me every coach leaks and I know of one very flash model from a major manufacturer that is famous for it! As it happens this coach is also Spanish or Portuguese like ours so maybe the rain in Spain never falls on the coach! I have to say that as usual Chris has been a tower of strength and a source of some good ideas (and some not so good!x) on these late nights in the garage so thanks to her!

Music – Went to another great gig on Thursday night at Smyths bar – a local band called Revenge, they played some really clever mixes and one in particular that stood out was Seven nation army by The White Stripes which had clever use of the rhythm to incorporate a bit of Sweet dreams by The Eurythmics amongst others! The lead singer could really work (and wind up!) the crowd – a great night!

Book – Enjoying don’t tell my mother ….. and just bought another Welsh – guess which one? – tell you next week!