We met for ‘business’ reasons. But with it being Tuesday 17th December, we met in the pub.
We were enjoying a lovely pint of Guinness in O’Brien’s on Leeson Street discussing the positive impact coaching had on our lives in 2024, and the wonderful opportunities ahead for us both in 2025.
Great times! So good we kept chatting about these great things and had another pint.
I went to the bar to order a third, settling into things now! A lovely Christmas rendez-vous.
Then I saw a missed call from Ciara. She knew where I was and wouldn’t be ringing unless there was something she needed from me.
So I checked my whatsapp messages when I went to the toilet.
I watched a video, it wasn’t great viewing. Ciara explained and recorded that the floor to ceiling window (with both vent and door functionality) from our bathroom to our back garden had blown off its hinges. One side of the glazing had smashed.
As I apologised for needing to scarper, I said aloud “sure it’s only a window”. But I was a wee bit disappointed that my cosy little ‘work chat’ was over.
Thankfully my brother-in-law was on hand to help secure the door so our house doesn’t have a huge hole in it for Christmas. There’s a fairly sizeable hole in the bank account on the way, but that’s another matter.
As I was sweeping up the glass, the motion and the imagery of glass debris reminded me of far graver situations.
I thought of bombs, riots, natural disasters and more.
Then I thought of the efforts Paul Gleeson is going to this weekend to raise money for the Fallen Angels. Click here to find out more.
When I asked Paul about his route at the end of his challenge, he said it would be possible to join for one hour of hiking from Fairy Castle to Marlay Park. I wondered if there was an earlier point to join him.
“Yeah, maybe a few hours alright”, he said, and told me about the potential meeting point in the Wicklow mountains which I had been to with him on a previous hike.
“About 4 or 5 hours hiking from there I’d say”, he mused.
I knew he wanted to finish at about 10am, so my maths told me I’d probably need to be there around 5am – 5.30am.
Me being a selfish git, I had to weigh this up. I’ve an annual Christmas celebration with some of the lads planned for Friday 20th. Would I be disciplined enough to leave on time, get a good kip and hike from darkness into light with Paul and his slightly unhinged friends?
Then another lad said he’d join me for the 4-5 hours, so we signed ourselves up and felt good about ourselves.
For a while at least…
Yer man turns around and tells me they got their timings a bit wrong. He reckons they’ll actually be at the rendez-vous by 3.30am.
Do you think the Gods or the Universe are trying to tell me something??!!
Between doors being blown off, or not being allowed to, I think the message is loud and clear.
Merry Christmas!! Enjoy the break. And click here to find out more about Paul’s challenge.