The month of October part 3 and 4

As mentioned in the last post October was a very busy month for us. While my dad was here, R and I went to two Halloween parties over that weekend. The first one was Friday night at the Errigle Inn in Belfast and the second one was a house party at G & A's new house.

The Errigle was a fancy dress gig by Beoga. We got dressed at R's cousins's house and taxied over to the bar. It was a good gig, a little noisy for the bands but good. Almost everyone dressed up. Some of the costumes were the generic ones you see everyone, while others were down right creative. R, dressed up as Wolverine was responsible for walking around and picking the top five costumes and the crowd would choose from there. The winner was Mr.T, which was a pretty sweet costume. There was also a very tall man with permed hair in an hold Irish dancing dress. He liked to walk around showing his legs, but ended up showing people much more, it wasn't a pretty sight. Overall it was a good night. I dressed up as Storm from the X-men with white contacts and a very tight corset. It wasn't the most comfortable costume and I couldn't sit or see for most of the night.

R and I in our Halloween costumes

R with his Wolverine face.

The next day we went over to G & A's for their Halloween party. They actually had a theme to their's, famous dead people. R went as Bon Scott (first lead singer from AC/DC) and I went as a dead 80's groupie cause I was just costumed out from the previous night. That was also a good night. It was mostly his family, which we had all met before. However, I just really wasn't feeling it, so I tried to go to bed early. However one of the family fell down the stairs and an ambulance was called so that made for an interesting finish to the night.


But all of that leads to part 4 of the month of October. Even though part 4 started in October it keeps going into November. I'm going to preface this with this is not a pity party. This is just me sharing my feelings about what is going on right now in a safe forum. I haven't posted it on Facebook because I wasn't sure how some people would take it if I expressed myself in a short sentence. But I'm lonely. Now that R is gone during the day I have no one to talk to but a little irrational human. They leave at 6:15 am in the morning and don't get home until after 7pm. It makes for a long and lonely day. Another part of this is because R is gone all day I have no car, so if it rains we can't get out of the house at all. This means that on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we can't get to Maghera for the mother and toddler groups. So no adult interaction for me. I've started going to one at the Baptist church here in Tobermore, but no one talks to me, even worse than at the start of the Maghera ones, and it seems I can't be their friend unless I convert and join their church.

It comes down to a simple thing; I'm tired of trying to make new friends when all I want is my old ones. The Halloween parties kind of started it all. If I had some of my own friends, I could have sat comfortably and chatted all night long, but where I really don't know anyone outside of R's family it makes it hard to talk to people. Especially when I feel people just don't get my sense of humour. I've never really had a hard time making friends, but over here it feels like people just really don't like or get me. It will get better when I get a real job and hang out with people outside of children, but I miss chats on the phone, Friday beers, and hanging out at other people's houses. With Christmas coming up, I really want to throw a party, but who would come?  It could be worse, there could be no Facebook or skype...

The license will come and friends will come, but it's just hard when you know what your missing.



oíche mhaith

Singing at the parish and listening to some Trad.

I had what I would call the most (stereotypical) Irish weekend possible. I sang in a parish concert Saturday and then a traditional Irish music concert on Sunday night. It was one of those experiences that makes me say, "I wish my friends were here, they would loving this!"

 On Saturday night I sang in a parish concert. I didn't volunteer as much as got tricked into singing with two of R's cousins and my MIL. A parish concert is a fundraiser for the church with talent from their members. It was held in the Keenaght GAC Hall (very similar to our Grange halls). I thought that there wouldn't be alot of people at this since it was a Saturday night and a church thing. How wrong I was. I think the whole parish was there. There were about 14 acts, each doing 2 songs/acts. We were the last act before the intermission. Cousin E sang a solo and then we joined her and sang "The Rose" by Bette Midler. We had practiced during the week, but not very much. I think we did okay, or so everyone tells us. The backing track was too loud so the melody got drowned out. I was singing the harmony and that was on the track so I don't think anyone heard me or they thought I was the one singing too loud. I had to leave at intermission cause our friends were still at the house. I would have loved to have stayed for the whole thing because each act was so "country" Irish. I saw a young lad do traditional Irish dancing, a harp player/singer, the priest and some men sing traditional songs, and even 3 young girls doing their best GLEE act.
The funniest part of the whole night was the looks I was getting from all the women at the hall. They were almost looks of disgust. In fact I had to ask my MIL a few times if I looked okay based on how they were staring at me. Almost like, "Oh my gosh, how could she leave the house wearing something like that." However both cousin E and my MIL both said that it was because everyone knew who everyone else was except for me. They've never seen me before and didn't know who I was. After knowing that, it made me feel a little more special. Almost looking forward to the next one. I was even told by the choir director that I didn't have to be Catholic to be in the choir. I might just join to get back into music and to meet more people.

This is from the back of the parish hall. By the time we sang each table was full, as was each chair. There is also a bar in the corner. That was full as well. It seemed like a place to meet a good single, Irishman.



This is us on the stage. It was very scary.



Sunday night we went to Hayden's in Pomeroy. You can't find the bar on the map and when you're on your way to the bar you think you've gotten lost about 3 times. I've told you all about this bar before. This time we went and saw Beoga as promised. It was much nicer to be able to hear them than last week, even though the only people we knew there were ourselves and the band. There were a fair bit of people there, but not as crowded as last time either. Some of the songs I've heard before on their previous albums and I really like their new stuff. In fact, based on what I heard last night their newest album would be my favorite. They've really matured as a band and their songwriting is amazing.  Again sandwiches were passed around during intermission and at the end of the night, they had one of the brothers that runs the bar come and play as well as a friend of their.

The band introducing their next song.

At the end with the two guest joining in for a few sets.

I had a video to share, but it didn't upload correctly. But if you want to hear some of their new album you can go to http://www.beogamusic.com/

This weekend was great. We had good weather most of the week up until Sunday. R even got burnt and I got a slight tan. We also had friends from Belfast come visit us and we had the house to ourselves as the in-laws were away celebrating their wedding anniversary. I hope the week is as good as the weekend.

oíche mhaith

Beoga at the Red Room

I'm going to start this blog off by saying this probably isn't my best piece of work. My brain is all over the place today. I think it has something to do with too much sun. I apologize now for using the same descriptive word a few times. I promise I'll be better next time : )
Sunday after the wedding was a great day. We got to sleep in, laze about the house and then in the evening, my husband and I went to see Beoga.


Photo taken from their official website.

 I've told you about this band before. Uncle L is in the band and a lot of the cousins and family came out to see him. They are a traditional Irish band, but with a twist. They're so much fun to listen to and their concerts are even better. If you want to know more about them or order their new CD, "How to tune a fish" go to www.beogamusic.com

The venue was The Red Room at Bryson's in Magherafelt. I expected the place to be good size for a concert, but the room was just a bar with a small dance area on the third floor. It would have been good for a one man band playing in the background, but not for a 5 piece band. It was also very crowded since a few of the members of Beoga are from this area.  Because it was so crowed we had a hard time hearing what they were saying and even some of their new songs. I wish I could give you a critic's view on their music, but I'm just being introduced to this genre of music. I can tell you though, that their music is lively, hence the name of the band, and Niamh Dunne's voice is so beautiful. The dueling accordions makes for some upbeat tempos. Hopefully, R and I will make another concert Sunday at Hayden's to see them. Hayden's is small, but not as much as a hang out location but as a musical venue. I'll be able to give a better description of their new album next time.

We did have a great time. I met a few more distance relatives of my husband that were really nice. It was also great to see his cousins again.  After the concert we headed back to L's house with a few of the cousins and ended up watching music video's until 4:30 in the morning. It was so much fun being around people my age again. Even though it's only been about 2 weeks since we left Maine I am missing my friends. The older cousins used to all hang out together when they were younger, but everyone has moved around and my husband has been away for almost 10 years. Hopefully we'll be able to hang out with them more.

I took pictures of the concert with my phone and they didn't come out very good. Hopefully I'll get better pictures this weekend. Hope you all had a safe holiday weekend. We've been enjoying lovely weather here and it should be nice for the next few days. My in-laws are also gone for the weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary so we have the whole house to ourselves which is even better. We're expecting some friends to come over on Friday/Saturday.



The sparkly wallpaper on the way to the bathroom



The band in the front of the room.

The front of the room was made up of all glass and next to Niamh was the staircase up to the room as well.

A picture of just how crowded the room was. I still had lots of people behind me.

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The quintessential Irish experience!

I want to tell you all about the most wonderful time R and I had last night. His uncle L invited us to go see some traditional Irish musicians last night in a small pub. Now to kind of set up the story, L is in his own band called Beoga. They are considered a traditional Irish band, but their music always has a lively twist (Beoga means lively in Gaelic). If you're interested in seeing them or hearing their stuff you can go to http://www.beogamusic.com/. Because he is in a band he knows who to see and where, and I would say an in to the music scene. Anyways.....

The bar was in the middle of nowhere, literally. In fact we got lost trying to find it.The gig started at 8:30, but we didn't arrive til about 9:40. We left late anyways, but we added an extra 15 minutes due to our detours through the dark country side. When we did finally find the pub it looked more like a house then a bar. One story with what looked like a barn and a house attached. When we walked in, it was wall to wall people. It wasn't very big mind you, but I would say about 120 people squeezed into the size of our old apartment. The band was in the corner playing. There was a bodhrán player (Irish drum) and fiddle/bango player, a guitarist and an accordion. They were called the Mairtin O'Connor band. Mairtin was the accordian play, Jim Higgins the bodhrán player, Seamie O'Dowd the guitarist and singer and Cathal Hayden was the fiddle/bango player. It would be an understatement to say these guys were good. In fact L and his band mates who were there told me that Cathal and Mairtin would be the best of their instruments in all of Ireland. Just last week they were playing in the Sydney Opera house and this week they're in a tiny pub. The music they played was powerful and moving. Some songs would start out slow and end in a lively reel. Others had you in almost in tears they were so sad and moving. They did have a musical guest, Dom Stiffe, who was a finalist in the All Ireland talent show. He's from Galway and sang and play guitar.

The band and the crowded pub

These pictures came from the phone. Regretted not bring my camera the whole time we were there.

What made this night the quintessential experience was that during the break in the music, sandwiches were handed out to everyone there, as if everyone was family. The fiddle player, Cathal got behind the bar and help serve drinks. (His dad owns the pub but now the sons are running it. Funny enough the pub is called Hayden's Bar) After the break they played a few more songs. Cathal's brother then got up and joined in with his fiddle as well. He was very good as well. It was Mairtin's and Seamie's birthday so a cake was brought up with candles for them and then cake was passed around. The night ended shortly after midnight with everyone catching up over their last pint.  I feel extremely lucky to see such talented musicians in such an intimate setting. L told us that there were a few other musicians there enjoying the experience.  It was a great night and I hope to have a few more like it. I know Beoga will be playing there in June, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again and sharing the night with you all.

Here's a wee video we took from R's phone. The quality isn't very good, but it gives you an idea of what we heard last night.

Now I must get ready while the babe is asleep. R and I head down to Dublin tonight to pick up our first American visitors. I really can't wait to see them. However it's going to be a long day tomorrow because they're landing into Dublin at 5:20 in the morning. Luckily we're staying at his Aunt's house near the airport so we don't have to get a hotel or leave at the 3 am from Tobermore. It will be nice to Aunt M and her french husband X. They have two kids, cousin R who's almost 5 and A who's 1 year older then O. Anyways, after we pick A & D up from the airport we're headed straight into Dublin city to go to Trinity college and the book of Kells. D is going to meet someone for his job. I'll tell you all about it this week. We've got lots of stuff planned so my blogs will be more frequent and packed full of more history!!
Hope you all have a good week!

Here are a few links to each of the band members.
Mairtin O'Connor http://www.taramusic.com/biogs/mocbg.htm
Cathal Hayden http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/50949ee6-6b96-4e6f-8f4e-08570018f806
Jim Higgins: http://www.armaghpipers.org/artists/jimHiggins.html
Seamie O'Dowd: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamie_O'Dowd



Mairtin and Cathal. Picture courtesy of the internet.



Picture courtesy of : http://www.myspace.com/mairtinoconnorband

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