Notnem

This is just going to be a brief overview of what went on… More stories will follow which will give more detail into individual events which combined to make this weekend.

Friday

I took a half day and went to pick up Chris in a 7 seater Santa Fe. The plan was that we would both drive one to Galway and back. We got to Myos for before 1900 to pack the jeeps and fill them up with beer. It was hard to believe after all the planning and talking about it, that it was actually happening…

We hit the road… The check into the hotel was painless enough and within a short period of time we were in Eyre Square and heading into Cuba, which is a strange place and not one I would ever go back to. Everybody had a laugh, a few drinks and a good time before we headed back to the hotel for some late drinks.

I was driving to Limerick the next day and so I was conscious of my alcohol intake and took it easy. Getting into the hotel wasn’t easy because I got my room number wrong. I was staying with Chris as it turned out because Mark pulled rank and got a room on his own.

Saturday

Breakfast was fine. Nothing special and not disastrous. In general I liked the hotel, but being a veggie, breakfast was limited to toast and cereal. Myself and Chris then made a dash into Galway to pick up some clothes for the paint balling. A couple of scarves, runners etc etc. Before we knew it we were on the road to Limerick, and lets just say the length of time it took to get there was underestimated by the paint balling crowd. Another bit of crazy driving ensued and we arrived about an hour late. SK was meeting us there.

The paint balling was well worth the trip down and was excellently run. Driving in there was like driving into an army camp. The guns were heavy and not very accurate and within a short period of time I had been tagged twice in the side.

The various games that followed improved the game play, but getting hit by those paint balls was no fun. If the guns had been accurate I might have had some chance… but why everybody else seemed to be able to pick out me at range is beyond me.

The trip back was uneventful and we had dinner before hitting the town. JM, David and BJ had made the trip up earlier that day and we caught up with them in Busker Browns, before heading to Pi Bar. It was actually a fantastic night and I think everybody had a great time. We then went back to the hotel for some more late drinks and while JM plotted a way of getting into the bar which was shut at this stage, everybody else sat around and had a laugh. I was driving home again the next morning, and I was already fucked, so I didn’t make it past 0400. Mark stayed up all night Sunday

After breakfast we hit the road and met up with Team Gihad in Moat for a super macs. There were Irish people working there which was actually really strange… and not something I was used to. The food is cheap crap of the worst kind, but it was what we needed right then.

In general everybody had a great time and some of the stories (such as the guide dog shot) and the antics will live long in my memory.People kept coming up to me to thank me for organizing the weekend and that they had had a great time. I kept telling people it was a team effort between myself and Mark. I was absolutely delighted with the resulting weekend and now I’m looking forward to the wedding… I will add more stories to the blog over the coming weeks about particular events that happened during the stag…