It was the perfect week to pony up a few equine jokes, and no better man than Dan O to start off tonight’s topics session with a toss of his mane and a flick of his tail! First time topicsmaster Brian ensured a spirited debate by kicking off with the horseburger debacle, which had plenty of contributors weighing in. Dan got off his high horse (feeling a little hoarse) and made way for stories of hairy burgers and labrador microchips in takeaway food, by which time the audience was feeling decidedly queasy.
Feeling the need for a nice cup o’ joe, Brian called on Aoife to discuss the benefits of Lyons tea over other brands only to find he’d picked the only Irish non-tea drinker in the audience! Luckily tea addict Stephen came to the rescue with a passionate declaration that there is a difference between brands, one of the finest arguments to be heard in Irish pubs across the land. We heard of a trip to Darjeeling and a vote for herbal tea before debating the value of the Irish Presidency of the EU and discovering that Jill doesn’t have gas, so she had difficulty deciding how she would pay off an enormous winter heating bill. We finally arrived the night’s trickiest topic – Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck?
Having solved the problems of the world it was on to the speeches, and we had two crackers as a reward for coming out on a cold January night. Nora finished her Competent Communicator manual with a stylish presentation on Audrey Hepburn, using the requirement for a visual aid to bring La Hepburn herself to Baggot St! Fiona appeared at the back of the room and owned the crowd in her pearls, little black dress and cigarette holder, looking every inch as if she’d just come from breakfast (or dinner) at Tiffany’s. A truly creative idea and brilliant way to finish off the manual, congratulations Nora!
As a Sex and the City fan, Frank upset a certain portion of the audience by deciding to speak not about shopping and shoes, but the dreaded football. Luckily he gave an informative and entertaining speech about a Dubliner called Paddy who saved the Barcelona team via a Swiss bank account – and a goal or two – and did his part to ensure that football would continue to take up every weekend of the year well into the 21st century.
Altogether it was another night full of fun (Mickey Mouse is dodgy because he wears trousers) and factoids (Franco supported Real Madrid; Holly Golightly was based on Roddy Doyle’s aunt). We’re halfway through January, the evenings must start getting lighter soon, right?
Merrilyn Campbell, VPPR