Restaurant: The Garden Terrace, Dublin Airport

Wonderful. Not only is my U2-ing over for the foreseeable future, but I woke with a dose of the flu. Perfect. Amidst blowing my nose, I did manage to catch the overcrowded airport bus and join the ridiculously long security line at the airport. You know, if you complained, they'd blame high passenger numbers and point to a successful airport - me, I blame it on the fact that they only opened three of the nine security gates on both occasions I've flown out of there, recently.

Well, I had a dilemma on the other side of security, because there are two completely separate directions to take for different gates, and it was supposed to be nearly two hours until Ryanair let us in on which gate we'd be using. I just picked the direction that seemed to have more duty free. Bought a couple of things - in the main duty free, could hardly understand the guy's accent, and just had terrible customer service in Boots. (I do wish they had self-service..) It was very satisfying to hit the angry face on the customer satisfaction rating device.

I was well ready for food - as usual, my hotel charged for breakfast, so I didn't have any. They're always overpriced. Unfortunately, all I could see were sandwich and pastry places! I've never seen such a lack of decent eateries in an airport this size. I actually had to Google eateries in Dublin airport - finally, scrolling down through a long list of, yes, sandwich and pastry places, I came to the Garden Terrace. Ok, cool - where was that? I discovered it upon looking up.

So up I went to the first floor. Helpfully, the short menu on each table explains that you find a table, note the number, and order and pay at the bar. Careful, read that menu closely - "fillet steak" isn't actually a steak, it's under the sandwiches. Similarly, "piri-piri chicken" is listed under the burgers. So, they have sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, salads, and a half dozen mains outside of that. I had the steak frites and a glass of wine. Decently priced, arrived quickly, and was very moreish - they may be the only proper eatery on site, but they are good. They don't do starters or desserts - going in search of desserts, I saw that Ryanair had sneakily advertised our gate number half an hour early (happily, it was in the direction I was headed in), so I headed the mile or so down there. Where all you could get were - sandwiches. And, to be fair, water. As we queued to board, I noted that they were, for now, still tagging over-large cabin bags for free.. probably for the month, to give people time to adjust to not being able to bring them on.

Coming back in, I mused what a very long, tedious journey it is on the Stansted Express - it's been a while since I had to take it. How I miss City Airport.. Tomorrow, I booked for Macbeth, at the Wanamaker Playhouse. And then Let's Do This (LDT) finally posted that date for the Shirt Tail Stompers at Wilton's - well, I couldn't miss that! Funnily enough, London Social Detours have now advertised the same thing (and are charging more, as usual) - there's a terrible rivalry between the groups, with the leader of the latter group thinking she has prior claim to the floorspace. Sparks might fly, what with her 36 attendees to our five. More fool them - I find her quite snippy, myself. Meantime, anyone want a spare ticket for Macbeth?

On Tuesday, we have our monthly team outing - probably just the two of us, but hey.

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) at last for Love Lies Bleeding, at the Print Room at the Coronet. Got my ticket from London Theatre Direct.

On Thursday, I'm going to try the Seven Deadly Sins Pub Naughty History Tour. Walking in London again. And it being a Funzing event (like all of Walking in London's) I scoured my old Funzing discount codes, and discovered that Funzing_Fb20 seems to be working again - for all of them I've recently booked! So, a 20% discount - better than any recently offered on their Facebook page. Then I'm back to Ireland again for the weekend.

On the 19th, News of the Strange, from the Crick Crack Club, at Soho Theatre. The club does have a Meetup group, but it seems to have gone dormant, and is no longer advertising upcoming events. Not that that stops the organiser from attending - I'm sure I saw her at a recent event! I've actually asked whether they're now defunct - we'll see whether I get a response. None yet.

On the 20th, back with UITCS for Pinter at the Pinter - Pinter plays at the Pinter Theatre. Two long ones on this occasion - this is Programme Four: Moonlight & Night School.

On the 21st, back at last with The London Jazz Meetup, who are off to the London Jazz Festival for a concert by the Faraj Suleiman Quartet at King's Place. UK premiere, apparently!

On the 22nd, with UITCS at the Garrick for Don Quixote. The only cheap tickets left for this were terrible, so I went a bit upmarket. A bit - I'm still behind a pillar!

On the 23rd, I'm on a Paranormal Activity Tour - ooh! Now, for this one, we get ghost-hunting equipment, which could make it interesting - I don't fancy the dowsing rods, myself, but we'll see. Walking in London, again. Discounted, again. And this was after my loyalty discount - so I got it at better than half price! which is good, considering the price.

On the 24th, I'm off on my own to see A Small Place, at the Gate.

On the 25th, back at last to Winter Wonderland! That evening, I'm off to Cirque Berserk - an annual tradition for me. The latest show is the cheapest, so that's the one I booked.

On the 26th, I'm back with UITCS for Programme Three of Pinter at the Pinter - Landscape / A Kind of Alaska / Monologue.

On the 27th, I'm going to see Company, by Sondheim, at the Gielgud. No tickets available for the upper levels on the official site - they must all have been bought up by resellers! Cheapest I found was with OfficialLondonTheatre, run by See Tickets.

On the 28th, I'm with Walking in London again for the Haunted London Pub Tour. 

On the 29th, I'm back with UITCS at the National for Hadestown. Then back to Ireland again for the weekend.

On the 3rd, I'm back to the National for I'm Not Running.

On the 4th, I'm off to the Bush, for Drip.

On the 5th, LDN Talks @ Night and London Speaks Sessions (both Funzing) advertised a "Winterville" talk on The Science of Santa, where we get the scientific explanation of how he does it. Taking place at The Windmill. However, seems they meant the day before, when of course I'm busy. So instead I'm going to True West, with Kit Harington, at the Vaudeville. Cheapest tickets from the venue. 

On the 6th, Hazel of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts, London Guided Walks (and, indeed, Walking in London) has a Christmas Carol Tour. Now, the last two events I booked with her turned out to be no-shows.. the first might not have been her fault, as she was advertising someone else's event, but the second, she just missed the ball on and left three of us standing on a street corner. Whether this event happens is anyone's guess! Now, it's technically more expensive if you book on Funzing - but if you have my discount ;-) it comes down to the same price she charges on her own site, without the booking fee! So I did it that way. But then Henning, with the London European Club, advertised a Happy Xmaths evening at Imperial College, the same night! Festive fun for maths geeks. Plus it's free - you just have to register with Eventbrite. I thought it'd be great to get back with this group. And since I booked the walk with Funzing, I've cancelled and will get a full refund. And I feel no sadness at missing an evening with Hazel, after what's been happening. But gee, this evening is proving to be one of the more popular- now a colleague has booked it for his leaving do. So I'm now going to that instead. Nibbles arranged at The Enterprise.  

On the 7th, back with UITCS at the Royal Court, for The Cane. Got the very last ticket, phew!

On the 8th, with them again at the Orange Tree Theatre for The Double Dealer.

On the 9th, the Crick Crack Club is back at the British Museum for I Know Not, an afternoon of Sufi legend.

On the 10th, I'm off to the Bridge Theatre for A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter, by Martin McDonagh. Starring Jim Broadbent, this is a dark take on Hans Christian Anderson!

On the 11th of next month, I'm going with North London Friends to The Convert, at the Young Vic. Discounted top-price seats, it seems!

The 12th is our office Christmas party, but LDT has now advertised a Christmas dinner- which sounds a more attractive prospect. So I'm doing that instead. 

On the 13th, I'm thrilled to be going to Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, at Sadler's Wells, with UITCS. He's a fantastic choreographer, but I've never before gotten around to seeing this all-male version. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. 

And on the 17th of next month, the Crick Crack Club is performing Gilgamesh, at Soho Theatre. With Ben Haggerty in the spotlight, this will be a treat!

Restaurant: The Good World

Back in Dublin tonight. Was supposed to be Cityjet, but they've now ended their flight schedule - so I came with Ryanair. So Stansted, whoopee. Of course, the Stansted Express app behaved perfectly right up to when I needed it, when it logged me out and wouldn't let me back in to view my ticket! Good job I screenshot them these days. 

Stansted, at least, wasn't as crowded as I'm used to on Fridays. My first time going priority, what with Ryanair's new rule that states that is the only way to take on a trolley bag for free. It just kicked in this month, and this is my first time to avail of it. Happily, they refunded the extra priority charge for those of us who had already purchased flights, and had now added priority. The numbers choosing priority must have increased- a staff member kept trawling the long priority queue to check that everyone there was really a priority passenger!

It was quite nice to board first, and not have to wait. Well, except for someone to unlock the door so we could leave the building! I'm going to be much fitter, carrying this trolley bag onto flights again.. at least it fitted this time! I was nicely up front, which was handy for turbulence- and we were soon back in rainy Dublin. Also nice to sail past baggage reclaim. 

This time, I availed of the cheaper Airlink tickets on DoDublin - printed out the voucher in the office, and presented it to the driver, who was, mercifully, letting people on out of the persistent rain. Handily, it stops just before the bridge near the hotel. 

Back to the same hotel as before- and an identical-looking room. However, this one is on the fifth floor, and faces an interior courtyard- it's so much quieter that I might get away without earplugs at all!

I'd have loved to have stayed in, but I was hungry now. At this hour, my best hope was Chinese, so I researched what was closest, still open, and not closing at 11, since it was now after 10. Closest I found was The Good World, which was advertised as being open till midnight. A bit of a trek, but I remembered it being good, so off I set.

A miserable night for a walk, and something of a long one too. And as I trudged on, I remarked to myself how Dublin rivals Belfast in making you cross so many wide roads with so few pedestrian crossings. I finally arrived at 10.50..

And was told that they were closing in 10 minutes! They'd want to get their stories straight. Anyway, she clarified that I needed to order within 10 mins, not finish my meal! So I agreed, knowing my favourites in the Chinese. Besides, I was hungry, and wasn't going anywhere after all that effort..

I ordered a starter of satay chicken skewers, but was told I'd have to have them at the same time as the main. Ok.. and I had kung po chicken as a main course, with fried rice and a glass of sauvignon blanc. Unusually for a Chinese, they have a choice of two house white wines. Tap water was also provided. 

The kung po arrived first, and was lovely- just what I wanted. The rice was also very tasty. The wine was lovely. The only minor quibble I had was with the chicken satay skewers- the sauce was lovely, but the chicken quite chewy, as often happens with skewers.

The only other problem, of course, was that I was soon the only customer! I felt very self-conscious, as the staff passed me on their way home, one by one. Bless him, the one who stayed to look after me was adamant that I shouldn't rush, wanting to know whether I wanted anything else. Jeez, if they'd just corrected their website, I'd never have arrived so close to closing!

Meeting my companion again for brunch tomorrow. Then back to the 3Arena for U2 for the next two days. Can't wait. I fly back on Sunday, exhausted, and finished with U2 concerts for the year! Sadly. What will I do with myself if/when they stop touring..?

On Monday, I booked for Macbeth, at the Wanamaker Playhouse. And then Let's Do This (LDT) finally posted that date for the Shirt Tail Stompers at Wilton's - well, I couldn't miss that! Funnily enough, London Social Detours have now advertised the same thing (and are charging more, as usual) - there's a terrible rivalry between the groups, with the leader of the latter group thinking she has prior claim to the floorspace. Sparks might fly. Meantime, anyone want a spare ticket for Macbeth?

On Tuesday, we have our monthly team outing - probably just the two of us, but hey.

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) at last for Love Lies Bleeding, at the Print Room at the Coronet. Got my ticket from London Theatre Direct.

Next Thursday, I'm going to try the Seven Deadly Sins Pub Naughty History Tour. Walking in London again. And it being a Funzing event (like all of Walking in London's) I scoured my old Funzing discount codes, and discovered that Funzing_Fb20 seems to be working again - for all of them I've recently booked! So, a 20% discount - better than any recently offered on their Facebook page. Then I'm back to Ireland again for the weekend.

On the 19th, News of the Strange, from the Crick Crack Club, at Soho Theatre. The club does have a Meetup group, but it seems to have gone dormant, and is no longer advertising upcoming events. Not that that stops the organiser from attending - I'm sure I saw her at a recent event! I've actually asked whether they're now defunct - we'll see whether I get a response. None yet.

On the 20th, back with UITCS for Pinter at the Pinter - Pinter plays at the Pinter Theatre. Two long ones on this occasion - this is Programme Four: Moonlight & Night School.

On the 21st, back at last with The London Jazz Meetup, who are off to the London Jazz Festival for a concert by the Faraj Suleiman Quartet at King's Place. UK premiere, apparently!

On the 22nd, with UITCS at the Garrick for Don Quixote. The only cheap tickets left for this were terrible, so I went a bit upmarket. A bit - I'm still behind a pillar!

On the 23rd, I'm on a Paranormal Activity Tour - ooh! Now, for this one, we get ghost-hunting equipment, which could make it interesting - I don't fancy the dowsing rods, myself, but we'll see. Walking in London, again. Discounted, again. And this was after my loyalty discount - so I got it at better than half price! which is good, considering the price.

On the 24th, I'm off on my own to see A Small Place, at the Gate.

On the 25th, back at last to Winter Wonderland! That evening, I'm off to Cirque Berserk - an annual tradition for me. The latest show is the cheapest, so that's the one I booked.

On the 26th, I'm back with UITCS for Programme Three of Pinter at the Pinter - Landscape / A Kind of Alaska / Monologue.

On the 27th, I'm going to see Company, by Sondheim, at the Gielgud. No tickets available for the upper levels on the official site - they must all have been bought up by resellers! Cheapest I found was with OfficialLondonTheatre, run by See Tickets.

On the 28th, I'm with Walking in London again for the Haunted London Pub Tour. 

On the 29th, I'm back with UITCS at the National for Hadestown. Then back to Ireland again for the weekend.

On the 3rd, I'm back to the National for I'm Not Running.

On the 4th, I'm off to the Bush, for Drip.

On the 5th, LDN Talks @ Night and London Speaks Sessions (both Funzing) advertised a "Winterville" talk on The Science of Santa, where we get the scientific explanation of how he does it. Taking place at The Windmill. However, seems they meant the day before, when of course I'm busy. So instead I'm going to True West, with Kit Harington, at the Vaudeville. Cheapest tickets from the venue. 

On the 6th, Hazel of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts, London Guided Walks (and, indeed, Walking in London) has a Christmas Carol Tour. Now, the last two events I booked with her turned out to be no-shows.. the first might not have been her fault, as she was advertising someone else's event, but the second, she just missed the ball on and left three of us standing on a street corner. Whether this event happens is anyone's guess! Now, it's technically more expensive if you book on Funzing - but if you have my discount ;-) it comes down to the same price she charges on her own site, without the booking fee! So I did it that way. But then Henning, with the London European Club, advertised a Happy Xmaths evening at Imperial College, the same night! Festive fun for maths geeks - sign me up. Plus it's free - you just have to register with Eventbrite. And it'll be great to get back with this group. And since I booked the walk with Funzing, I've cancelled and will get a full refund. And I feel no sadness at missing an evening with Hazel, after what's been happening.

On the 7th, back with UITCS at the Royal Court, for The Cane. Got the very last ticket, phew!

On the 8th of next month, with them again at the Orange Tree Theatre for The Double Dealer.

On the 9th, the Crick Crack Club is back at the British Museum for I Know Not, an afternoon of Sufi legend.

On the 10th, I'm off to the Bridge Theatre for A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter, by Martin McDonagh. Starring Jim Broadbent, this is a dark take on Hans Christian Anderson!

On the 11th, I'm going with North London Friends to The Convert, at the Young Vic. Discounted top-price seats, it seems!

The 12th is our office Christmas party, but LDT has now advertised a Christmas dinner- which sounds a more attractive prospect. So I'm doing that instead. 

On the 13th, I'm thrilled to be going to Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, at Sadler's Wells, with UITCS. He's a fantastic choreographer, but I've never before gotten around to seeing this all-male version. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. 

And on the 17th of next month, the Crick Crack Club is performing Gilgamesh, at Soho Theatre. With Ben Haggerty in the spotlight, this will be a treat!

Concert: U2, 3 Arena (#3)

Not boring, my life! I had a deadline today, then first thing this morning discovered that my tasklist had increased to the point where it was debatable whether I'd get it all done before I had to leave, at lunchtime! No wonder - of all things - I practically forgot to bring the concert tickets as I was leaving.. Well, with a bit of luck, a pinch of faith and a whole chunk of effort, I managed to finish everything urgent, and get myself out of the office 10 minutes earlier than on Monday. I'd checked in last night, and got the boarding passes printed too, but when I went to book the Gatwick Express, the website wasn't playing along, and I hadn't time to argue with it - I'd just have to get a ticket at the station.

At least the Tube came straight away, and I arrived at Victoria in no time. There was a horrendous queue for the ticket machines, but it was quite fast-moving, and it took me no more than five minutes to get to the end. Mind you, having them at both sides of a partition you can't see over doesn't seem, to me, to be the best design! Then the machine - which was card only - wouldn't accept mine, and I had to start again. Second time lucky - not so much with the price, though. If you're going from Victoria to Gatwick, they will only sell you the ticket that includes the Gatwick Express, even though I had no intention of taking it. And, of course, not only is it the most expensive option, but more expensive to buy at the station than online. I had no choice, though..

I was just slightly earlier than on Monday, and the same Gatwick Express was cancelled again, which meant I was looking to catch the same stopping service I did on Monday - a fairly fast one though, with only two stops before Gatwick. I located the platform.. and then the barrier wouldn't accept my ticket. I finally had to go through the gate with a staff member on it. Anyway, I made my train and could relax a little.

Same routine at the airport, of course - today, I bought Maltesers for lunch. And on the plane, I had a seat in the exit row again! I guess it's because I book late - they sell those seats for more, so they'll be the last ones they give away for free. A couple of passengers in the exit row tried to dodge the no-baggage-at-the-seat regulation, hiding their things as the first checks were made, but Ryanair staff are canny - after they'd relaxed, and brought their things out again, a final check was done and they were found out. Hee-hee..

I can't bring shampoo with me - they don't do Head & Shoulders in small enough bottles to bring as hand luggage, and I don't pay for checked luggage. But it's the only one I can use, because of my sensitive scalp. So I searched - unsuccessfully - for it in Dublin airport. Actually, now that I think of it, I should have tried for it after security in Gatwick - but I hardly had any time. So I just mooched off to my bus, remembering to buy a return this time! And it was a crammed bus this evening. I noted how Dublin bus are making a real effort with customer service, employing people whose only function is to find passengers in need of help, and provide it. So they'll sell you a ticket so you don't have to figure out the machine, and they'll take your bag from you onboard. Terrific idea.

I got off at the same stop as before, into a biting wind. It was a relief to get to the hotel. And my new room is three floors higher than the last, and - of course - extremely similar. Notable differences: the telly is wall-mounted rather than on the desk, there's a balcony (which is a nice idea, except that it overlooks the street), and.. get this.. I think the bed is softer! I'm really looking forward to trying that out, shortly.

I wanted to eat at the hotel, but didn't want the palaver of the restaurant - they do bar food, and I said I'd try that on my way to the 3 Arena. When I saw how busy the bar was, however, I decided just to have a burger at the venue, and set off, back into the biting wind. And indeed, the burger was very nice. And then I took my seat.

Aw man, what a terrific seat!

I was second row from the front of the seated section! (I was jealous of the front row until I discovered they weren't allowed to stand, being at the edge of the balcony.) And an aisle seat, yet! Best seat of the tour, guaranteed, being also in the smallest venue. And this close to the front, I figured I wouldn't be bothered by vexatious people wanting me to sit - and I was right.. (yippee! it makes such a difference.)

Nobody got stuck tonight, being lifted into the rigging.. at one point, I looked behind me and saw someone the spit of Enda Kenny. And in due course, I hopped to my feet to welcome Bono onstage, in the company of most of my row. Spare a thought, however, for those poor, poor people - I really felt for them - in the row in front of me, who'd shelled out a fortune for tickets, got what seemed to be the best row.. and disastrously, couldn't stand! You could see they were itching to, but the ushers were on it, and watching them from every staircase..

Setlist:

SET 1

The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
Gloria
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song for Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World

Set 2

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
New Year's Day
Every Breaking Wave
October
Bullet The Blue Sky
Zooropa
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
With Or Without You

Encore

City Of Blinding Lights
Beautiful Day
Bad
One

I really felt for the ushers, during the blistering opening four numbers. They couldn't easily get to the middle of the row to make people sit down, and it must have been so hard for the audience in that row to stay sitting. Tonight was Gloria's turn as second song, and it occurred to me - man, I really want the dvd to be shot on a night that they included Gloria. Being so close to the floor, as I've said before, you really feel close to the energy - and it was phenomenal. People have also remarked that this was the loudest crowd of the tour. Actually, it's quite hard to choose between tonight and last Tuesday as the best show of the tour.

At the paper drop during Until the End of the World, I came my closest yet to getting a piece - one landed on the lap of the woman beside me! Darn it.. During Mysterious Ways, the girl pulled onstage, whose name caused some confusion but who was, for my money, visibly the most delighted yet to be there!, turned out to be from Toronto (well, the maple leaf t-shirt gave her away as Canadian):

And after the Meerkat-ing was done, we got a beautiful surprise in the form of New Year's Day - I pick this as my favourite moment from tonight. And after that, you couldn't shut the crowd up! "Olé, olé, olé, olé.." They had to have a pause before going into the quiet duo of Every breaking Wave and October. And when they went into Bullet the Blue Sky, not only did the crowd know the rhythm of the clap, but I have never heard it echo so loudly through the venue as it did tonight..

Lordy, it was fun to watch the ushers try to keep people in the front row of the balcony seated during Where the Streets Have No Name! It was like one of those games where you keep banging something to keep it down, and it pops up somewhere else. As soon as their backs were turned, someone else was up. The fellow on the aisle seat opposite me, in the front row, was hilarious - he did manage to stay standing for about half of that song, and for the remainder of the show he (charmingly) harassed both the user, and his wife (sitting beside him and trying to get him to stay seated). I felt his pain.

Another surprise during the encore - Bad, two nights in a row! Seems the guy it - and Raised by Wolves - were written about was in the house tonight. Not the only notable - Bono's wife was there, as usual, and his brother - not so usually. And towards the end, Bono namechecked.. Enda Kenny! Yes, that was him, and as I looked back he was smiling and acknowledging the attention he was getting. (And I had a better seat than he did, hah! So much for being Taoiseach..) The usual crowd-pleaser, One, closed this amazing show among amazing shows, and Bono let us sing most of it.

On the way out, somebody remarked to me that it doesn't get better than that. I hesitated, and he amended his view, saying "Well, yes it could - tomorrow!" Yes indeed, last U2 show of the year (for me) - it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. And whether they'll do Bad, three nights in a row! Returning to the hotel, I was excited to try the vending machine down the hall from my room, with wine, soft drinks, water, and snacks. Except it didn't work, bummer. At least the ice machine does, so I can have cold tap water - I didn't fancy going all the way back down to the bar.

Assuming I survive all this excitement, I'm headed back to London on Sunday, and collecting my keys at an as-yet-undetermined time. On Monday, I'm headed to The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, at Trafalgar Studios. Stars Gemma Chan, Gary Kemp, John Macmillan, and Jon Simm. And the good old London Dramatic Art group has tickets (well, one left now!) for cheaper than I can get them anywhere else! Premium, front row seats too. Excellent - and I'll be glad to meet them again, it's been months! Finally (for now), on Tuesday I'm joining the Kensington Classical Music group, who have the cheapest tickets I can find for a performance of the pianist, Lang Lang, with the  Philharmonia, at the Royal Festival Hall. Features my two favourite classical composers - Mozart and Beethoven.

But it'll be sad, not to have any more definite U2 dates to look forward to.. :-(

Concert: U2, 3 Arena (#2)

So, the final test of the hotel was my night's sleep. Not a great result.. the room was lovely, but the minute I lay down, I realised the mattress was rock hard. Well, I had this problem in Liechtenstein last year, so I implemented my workaround - when you have access to a double bed (and bedspread), make it into a kind of sleeping bag; fold it so that you're lying on half, and covered by half - it's much softer. Amazingly, this mattress still proved uncomfortable, so I nabbed the pillow from the spare single to put under my back as well, using the two pillows from the double to make sufficient height under my head. And so I slept decently..

I'd woken periodically and gone back to sleep, and on one of these occasions, was just wondering whether to check the time and get up, when my decision was made for me by a horrendous, whooping alarm - like a fire alarm. So I leapt from bed, earplugs still in, trying to figure out where this was coming from. Just as I figured out it was coming from my room phone, it stopped. I checked the phone - no alarm function. So I figure what happened was that reception had set up an alarm call for a previous guest, and not disabled it. I'm seeing a pattern here - the day before, they'd called me to tell me the taxi I hadn't ordered was waiting for me. Get your records straight, guys!!

Well, I had pretty much slept enough, so I got ready. I was still starving though, continuing the starvation of the day before, and texted my friend that lives in Dublin to see where she thought we could have - for me, brunch, for her, lunch. She suggested Gallagher's, an Italian bistro where we'd eaten years before. Mind you, I had to look it up on Google Maps, it's been so long - anyway, I planned my 15-minute walk there, and she took the bus into town.

The breeze blowing down the quays was ferocious - I don't know when I last felt the like, and I was relieved to turn off onto a side street, eyes and nose streaming from the battering they'd just taken. I had just composed myself by the time I got to the bistro, and she followed shortly behind - handily, because my phone had just died. We asked for a table for two, and were led to one right beside the kitchen - it was quite busy with the lunchtime crowd. Turns out it's not really Italian any more, but hanged if I'd go any further, and there we ate - for me, a steak sandwich: for her, a chicken linguini. And I think we were both very satisfied - certainly, the steak sandwich was very tasty. When you could find it under all the greenery under which both dishes were buried. Two desserts were washed down with a decent amount of a nice Chardonnay, and my tummy didn't know it was born! Just as well we weren't in a hurry though - service was relaxed enough to be described as sporadic; both when the place was busy, and after everyone but us had left, we were kept waiting.. and waiting..

Well, we moseyed out to her place for an hour or so, then I headed back to the hotel, and over to the 3 Arena nice and early - I intended to get there in time for doors opening, in the hope of getting a venue-specific t-shirt! I saw some lovely sights on the way - the Christmas lights on Grafton Street, the full moon over the Samuel Beckett bridge - but sadly, my phone was back at the hotel, charging, so I'll have to try and reprise those photos at the weekend. I arrived shortly after the doors opened. Last night, there were more security checks - a fellow shone a torch into my bag (still missing the Mars Bar I'd secreted under my glasses case), and then scanned me with a handheld metal detector. None of that the night before - and I noticed on a newspaper headline today that undercover armed police are now patrolling the U2 concerts.

Well, what a difference it makes to arrive early! The corridors were practically deserted, and I was soon able to scooch over to the merchandising stand, where there was practically no queue. I actually couldn't believe it, standing at the counter, when the guy behind it came up to me almost straight away to ask what I wanted! Easy-peasy, I now have a Dublin 2015 t-shirt.. I also see they come in a variety of colours; yesterday, I saw one in vivid green, mine is red (which I prefer), and I saw another chap admiring one he'd obviously just bought, which was in a light grey. All with the same pattern - the outline image from the cover of the Boy album on the front, the Dublin dates on the back. By the looks of it, they were all sold out again when I was leaving..

With nothing else I wanted to do, I took my seat - there was practically nobody in the auditorium at this point. My row turned out to be a bit higher up, and I had a touch of vertigo (of course) as I passed the end of the railing, climbing up to it. Anyway, I made it, and noted the locations of the rear stairs - the ones with handrails - for coming down again. Some entertainment was provided during the long wait, watching the individual spotlight operators being hoisted into the rigging - especially when one of them got stuck, suspended in midair, for about 30 seconds.. there was no-one to help; I think the pulleys are self-controlled.

As the house filled, the tension grew - helped no end when they turned off the lights in the upper levels, for some reason. I came to know the people sitting beside me, a little - a couple, not young: she had never seen them before, he had, in McGonagle's, way back in '76/77. Well, it came to that moment; People Have the Power started, and I jumped up. And as happens, it went on a bit and there was no sign of anyone. Next thing I know, I'm being tapped on the shoulder. The guy behind me wanted to know if I wouldn't mind sitting down - he'd stand with me in a minute. Eh, ok - I'd hate to block your view of an empty stage. After a minute or so, there was some excitement on the floor, and I jumped up again.. only to have the guy behind me wanting me to sit again.. I was spoiling his view! I guessed he thought they'd come on via the i stage, and didn't want to miss their entrance.

Well, I hadn't been sitting for 10 seconds when Bono did appear, and I jumped up again, and this time was left standing - third time lucky, eh? Along with the whole house. I have to hand it to them, last night's crowd - with the obvious exception of the (insert expletive here) behind me - were the crowd of the tour so far! The guy at the end of the row, who'd seen them all those years ago, was particularly blown away, and plagued his poor wife with exclamations of how good the band were! He was greatly impressed when Bono seemed to spot someone in the crowd, near the stage, that he recognised. He turned to The Edge - "Hey, d'you remember that guy in McGonagle's, years ago, who heckled us with 'More punk than The Monkees'? That's him!!" Later, we discovered that the President was also in the house.. a good mix, then!

And so they took us through a blistering first four numbers, the poor guy at the end of my row thinking he'd have a break after the third, only to find himself on his feet again. Setlist:

SET 1

The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
Out Of Control
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song for Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World

SET 2

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Desire
Angel Of Harlem
Every Breaking Wave
October
Bullet The Blue Sky
Zooropa
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
With Or Without You

ENCORE

City Of Blinding Lights
Beautiful Day
Bad
40

I was doing pretty well for being allowed to stand, until the crowd in my section got tired of standing, during Raised by Wolves, for goodness' sake! And so a pattern developed that lasted for the rest of the concert, whereby my "friend" said nothing as long as people were standing in front of me, but as soon as they sat down - I'd get a tap-tap-tap on the shoulder. "Would I mind sitting?" (Do you want the honest answer to that?) Seriously, if you come to a U2 show, you don't have to stand, but you do have to expect that others might do so. Don't be so BOLSHY as to insist that they not block your view. Stay at home, save yourself the money, wait for the dvd, watch without obstruction. Although if he did, and I knew where he lived, I'd love to drop by and stand in front of his tv..

And so I was up again at the start of the next song, and down again in the middle of it, when the people in front of me got bored of standing - again - and I got a tap-tap-tap again. I see the shredded pages of poetry are back for that song, though - great, it's a terrific effect! Even if I couldn't stand to show my appreciation.

I was actually scared to stand during Invisible, since no-one in front of me was. Halleleuja, they decided that Even Better Than the Real Thing was worth the effort, and I got to my feet at last. And at least I was getting a rest. And so into Mysterious Ways, where a guy was brought onstage to dance with Bono - only the second time that's happened, that I know of! I'm not surprised - he was dressed just like Bono at the start of the concerts on the Popmart tour, as a boxer with large shades and a fake "torso" t-shirt. As Bono remarked, "You're not from around here, are you?" Nope, he was from Brazil..

Introducing Angel of Harlem, Bono revealed that the very first time it was played live was in '89, on this same spot, when it used to be the Point Depot..!  Jeez, and I was there.. I was happy enough to sit for the next couple of numbers, along with the people around me. One man was moved to jump to his feet at the end of Every Breaking Wave, just briefly, to applaud, though - well, it is memorable. And then we all jumped up for Bullet the Blue Sky.. and then my section unbelievably got bored of standing halfway through it, and sure enough, tap-tap-tap..

Fortunately, that was the end of my woes. For the rest of the show, either I didn't feel like standing, or everyone did. So my nemesis had nothing to complain about. At the end of the second set, the guy on the end of the row - who'd been so enthusiastic all night - wanted some reassurance that they'd do one more. "Three!" said I.

I forgot to mention how they've included identifiable images of Dublin in the visuals for City of Blinding Lights, in these Dublin shows - well, last night they also included some of Paris, and Bono sang a snippet of a French song to finish. Beautiful Day saw flags being flung onstage - Bono finally chose a large Irish one to drape over the drum kit. And It was lovely to see his face in closeup on the big screen, because he was beaming.. he'd sensed what I sensed, that this crowd was (pretty much) at one. Concert of the year so far, for me. And as a reward - they didn't do three encores, they did four. Bad and 40, usually reserved for the last show in a city, got an outing last night. Well done, gentlemen!

Everybody made a fairly swift exit, so I got to speak neither to the guy who was so enthusiastic about them - which was a shame - nor to the tapper - which wasn't. And then, peering over, I saw that they didn't seem to be letting people down the back stairs! O hell - I had to navigate down the main steps, without a handrail. Bent practically double, using the seats as a handrest. At least it helped that there was such a crowd on the steps. And I made it down alive, not even being run over by the cycle rickshaws on the way back. A huge queue, again, for the rental bikes, though..

I got about four hours' sleep in the end. I'd checked the location of the bus stop - across the bridge, and second stop to the left, across the road. Not mentioned on Google Maps, mind - I had to go on the bus website. Just as well I didn't have to go far - it was pissing rain. And at that time of the morning - I caught the 5:30 - traffic was so light that we made it in 20 minutes, instead of the regular 40.  I trekked through the interminable terminal, finally finding decent sustenance in the form of a meal deal from W. H. Smith - a sandwich, drink, and packet of crisps for less than the sandwich and drink would cost on their own. And yes, their festive chicken and stuffing sandwich is just as tasty as their regular chicken and stuffing sandwich. And after another trek, I found somewhere to sit and eat them. By this time, the flight was boarding, and after an unexplained delay, we were let on the plane - Ryanair still distinguishable by making its passengers climb steps to get onboard. I ended up having three seats to myself, and dozed most of the way back to London..

Where the Gatwick Express was cancelled again, and again I ended up on a regular train. Seems they've halved the off-peak (i.e. most of the day) service, to improve punctuality! Makes the Gatwick Express less and less worthwhile, if you ask me. And I got back in time for a nice, normal lunch - ah, the luxury of sitting down with food in front of me!

Bravely, I'm off again tonight - well, the Crick Crack Club is meeting in The Forge: a great venue for what is always a great evening! Tomorrow night, I'm heading with the London European Club to Allegri - Miserere Mei Deus, in St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Part of their Brandenburg Choral Festival. Friday, I'm back to Dublin for my final U2 concerts of the year, flying back on Sunday - I hope to get the keys to my new place that evening, so I'm not bothered about going out that night. On Monday though, I'm headed to The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, at Trafalgar Studios. Stars Gemma Chan, Gary Kemp, John Macmillan, and Jon Simm. And the good old London Dramatic Art group has tickets (well, one left now!) for cheaper than I can get them anywhere else! Premium, front row seats too. Excellent - and I'll be glad to meet them again, it's been months! Finally (for now), on Tuesday I'm joining the Kensington Classical Music group, who have the cheapest tickets I can find for a performance of the pianist, Lang Lang, with the  Philharmonia, at the Royal Festival Hall. Features my two favourite classical composers - Mozart and Beethoven. Cool..

Concert: U2, 3 Arena (#1)

Hello, hello.. I'm at a place called Vertigo! Actually, close enough - I'm staying at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin city centre, and you'd never guess - they have a Vertigo bar. Had me wondering for a while there, what with Bono and The Edge owning The Clarence Hotel, further along the quays. But no, seems it's a chain - although they do have a U2-inspired Vertigo promotion!

Anyway, a sparcity of days left to take off work meant that, after spending the weekend in Co. Clare, I had to fly back to London for a morning's work today, before jetting back to Dublin for two U2 concerts. What the hey, there were deadlines to be met anyway. I also went in today with the plan to print off my booked tickets for the Gatwick Express, and check in for my Ryanair flights and print the boarding passes. Well, the first part went fine..

When I came to check in for my flights (today's and the return flight on Wednesday), I couldn't access the website - I suspect it didn't make it past my work computer's firewall. I tried all the browsers I had installed - nothing. I tried to access it on my phone, and had more luck - but the website kept malfunctioning, and I spent time I didn't have, trying in vain to get it to work. Nor could I find a phone number to contact. Finally, in desperation, I took my own laptop out of its bag - I wouldn't normally have had it in work, but I was travelling with it, and leaving straight from the office. On the second attempt, I got it to connect to the company network, got checked in, and downloaded the boarding passes, which I emailed to myself - then accessing them from my work computer, which is connected to the printer. And so the day was saved! (Good laptop..)

I even met my deadlines, and scooted out the door, somewhat later than I had intended - but still ok. As I was packing up my things, I realised I'd meant to check the name and location of the hotel! Well, I wasn't about to go through the palaver of turning my computer on again and waiting several minutes for it to boot up. So I scurried off, fairly confident I'd manage. And despite something of a wait at West Kensington - a frustrating station, with no departure boards on the platforms, and no WiFi I can access - I made it to Victoria in no time.

..where I was momentarily lost - I think they've changed the entrance. And it's a while since I've been. Anyway, I found my way in, found the main departure board - and the next Gatwick Express was cancelled! Which meant that the Gatwick Express wouldn't now be coming until 1:29. Which meant it'd be nearly 2pm by the time I got to the airport. Which was a bit too tight for my liking, with the gate closing at 2:15. So I located the next train headed there, explained to the nice man - who had to let me in because the regular ticket gates don't read the barcode you're supplied with for the Gatwick Express - and got myself on the non-direct train, which was, however, leaving at 1:16. Much better.

I've done this trip before, so started to relax. And got my phone to tell me where my hotel was - turn left off the Samuel Beckett bridge, it seemed. While I was at it, I looked up which terminal I was to fly from - the boarding pass didn't say, but the airport website obligingly told me it was South. Where the trains come in. It's a bit of a trek out to the airport, and we arrived there at about 1:50 - but I made it through security in plenty of time, and was most impressed by their attempts to streamline the filling and emptying of trays at the metal detector. Mind you, by the time I made it through to Departures, it was 2:05.. had I waited for the Gatwick Express, it'd have been 2:15 and I'd have been cutting it very fine to get through security! Really, I don't know that the Gatwick Express - any more than the Heathrow Express - is really a good choice. Certainly, be aware that there are options..

They were already boarding. Well, kind of. At least, that's what the departure board said. Now, boarding for Ryanair isn't quite what you would understand as boarding for other airlines. Yes, in the sense that they check your boarding card and id, and that your face matches the photo taken earlier. No, in the sense that you don't actually get on the plane. What you do is sit in a holding area until they're ready to let you on. I remember the days when, despite all the seating, there was a long queue down the centre - people wanting to get on first to get the best seats, or seats together. Allocated seating has done away with all that, thank goodness! There were also vending machines, where I bought my lunch - a £3 bag of Minstrels.

We had to venture out in the rain to get on the plane, of course - some Ryanair features never change. It turned out that I had an exit row seat - so, despite the nuisance of having to stow all my baggage overhead, I had terrific legroom. Mind you, the whole plane gave the impression of being more spacious than the Aer Lingus ones. The staff were younger, and polite to a fault. And I had a very comfy ride, dozing in parts. And that reassuring bugle to tell us we'd arrived on time! Dublin was drizzly, and we had to wait for ages for them to source "ground equipment" - stairs. So we could get off.

I unloaded a ton of change on the unsuspecting bus driver, and spent much of the journey watching the tourist video, which had music that was too loud, and commentary that wasn't loud enough to be heard over traffic. The 747 takes a different route - and a handier one - than the one it used to in my day. Now, it passes right by the 3 Arena, where I was to attend the show later! When I saw the bridge approach, I pressed the request stop button, and he left me off just past it. In fact, I could see the hotel, whose sign blazed prominently across the river.

It looked gorgeous, and welcoming after my damp entrance to the city:

And after a bit of r&r, I headed out along the south quays, with a nice view of the North Wall:

You could see the 3 Arena in the middle distance. Which made it very vexing, as the road runs out and I had to retrace my steps all the way to the Samuel Beckett bridge! adding 10 minutes to my journey. Ah well. I'll know in future.

I see the Gibson would probably have been my closest option. Well do I remember years of trekking all the way out to the end of the North Wall - a not insignificant walk - for concerts, because there was a wasteland out here when it came to accommodation. Not any more.. When I finally got to the 3 Arena, it was packed, and I had to join a long - but fast-moving - queue to get in. I passed some fast-food outlets, but figured I'd get something inside.

Boy, was I wrong. I remember this place being better run - I don't remember whether as the Point or the O2 - but now it's a tip! Inside, it's chaos. Downstairs, I could only see drink outlets, and crowds of drinkers. The space is very limited, and it's really difficult to make your way through. I decided to try upstairs, where my seat was - it was no better, though. Persevering, I ploughed through the crowd in search of merchandise - I wanted a venue t-shirt. There was one measly, poorly stocked stall - right at the end of the passage - with a predictable scrum of people waiting. There was indeed an event t-shirt, already with a sign above it that said "Very Limited Availability". Sure enough, people turning back from the counter told others in the crowd that it was now completely sold out. I'll have to show up earlier tomorrow, is all - hopefully, they'll have restocked. I did see the Cedarwood Road t-shirt that I bought in Barcelona, and haven't seen since - I guess this is an appropriate venue for it!

Starving, I was to discover that all hot food was sold out as well. I bought a Mars bar to keep me going. Ate it, and went in search of my seat - mercifully, there was no repeat of the last concert in the SSE Hydro, where I was stuck at the top of a flight of stairs! It's a lovely, small venue, and I had a good view:

Anyone familiar with the stage configuration will notice that it's a wee bit different - this is a smaller venue, and they didn't have room to put the e-stage at the end of the catwalk, so they've put it in the middle. Didn't make much of a difference, except that Bono now enters at the end of the catwalk and walks to the e-stage, rather than the other way around - and the roadies setting up the drum kit on the e-stage for the second half of the show are a little distracting, being now right in front of the vidiwall instead of at the end. Not a big deal.

The piped music beforehand was louder and more disco - reflecting a party mood, methinks. Indeed tonight's crowd gets my Crowd of the Year So Far award - the floor was packed, and energetic, and I couldn't fault the stands either. Much like in Glasgow, which is a similar-sized venue, there's a feeling of a constant crowd, all the way to the stage, and a camaraderie. Setlist:

1. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
2. The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet) / Live Forever (snippet)
3. Vertigo
4. I Will Follow / Mother (snippet)
5. Iris (Hold Me Close) / Hold Me Close (snippet)
6. Cedarwood Road
7. Song For Someone
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
9. Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
10. Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet) / Words (snippet)

(Intermission - The Fly)

1. Invisible
2. Even Better Than The Real Thing / Break On Through (snippet)
3. Fashion (snippet) / Mysterious Ways / Burning Down The House (snippet)
4. Elevation
5. Sweetest Thing
6. Every Breaking Wave
7. October
8. Bullet The Blue Sky / Ode To Joy (snippet) / 19 (snippet) / Looking for America (snippet)
9. Zooropa
10. Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
11. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
12. With Or Without You / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)
13. 
    encore(s):
14. City Of Blinding Lights
15. Beautiful Day
16. Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / One / Invisible (snippet)

With the Dublin concerts announced so late, of course there were going to be people in the audience who'd been to some already - in fact, two people in front of me were comparing photos and videos of previous concerts. However, this wasn't true of everyone - a couple of people who passed me as I strolled back to the hotel afterwards were remarking to their companions how cool it was that they played such-and-such, or that there had been one they weren't expecting. One guy said he completely lost it during Electric Co. Yes, if I hadn't known it's one of three oldies they cycle amongst for the second song, I'd have been impressed too! Really, it's phenomenal how much old material they're including in these shows.

There were a couple of interesting changes, since I last saw them, in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago. The Sunday, Bloody Sunday video sequence now no longer shows pictures of terrorist victims on the gable ends of houses, but instead shows typical Northern Irish political murals. And they've taken out the bits where Bono shreds poetry pages and flings them into the crowd.

The Wall that comes down during the intermission now only covers one end of the vidiwall - there isn't room at the other end! The girl pulled from the crowd for Mysterious Ways turned out to be Josie, from California..

Mrs. Bono was, again, in the house. And what was lovely was that we finally got the name of that bombed city whose footage is shown during October - the subtitle now reads Kobani, Syria 2015.

The crowd featured several French flags, and towards the end Bono draped one over the drum kit. His mind frequently focusses on France these days, and it's lovely to see that they're now going to end the tour there next month, with the concerts they rescheduled following the Paris attacks. Little bit of a shame that the Dublin ones won't bookend this leg of the tour, but I don't begrudge it them.

On the way home, I bought a not-very-good hot dog from the vendors outside, but it was much appreciated in my near-fainting state, and since it had stopped raining - and was quite mild - it made for a pleasant walk back! What was funny was the fleet of bicycle rickshaws, buzzing around just across the road, tooting their horns for business. Quite comical as they zipped back and forth, they made life interesting for pedestrians trying to avoid them.. and I heard a few passengers shrieking in alarm at intervals, as they zoomed by..

And so back to my pleasant room, and I am looking forward to my bed. I'd have liked a drink, but the aforementioned Vertigo bar was deserted, and I don't have a minibar. What they hey, I can have a lovely lie-in tomorrow.

The second concert is tomorrow night, and then I have a miniscule amount of sleep before I have to drag myself out again, for an early-morning flight back to London and another half-day's work. Bravely, I am headed out on Wednesday night - the Crick Crack Club has another meeting at the Forge, and this time I booked the minute it was advertised, knowing how regularly they sell out. On Thursday, I'm joining the London European Club at a concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, as part of their Brandenburg choral festival.. sounds lovely. And on Friday, I'm back here - same hotel, same venue, same band - for their last two shows of the year in Dublin - and my last U2 shows of the year. I fly back to London on Sunday, when I pick up the keys to my new place, all going well!