Live those dreams, scheme those schemes, got to hit me, hit me, hit me with those laser beams

Although it is still early days for me to impress on Young Ben the importance of listening to some proper music rather than the current stuff favoured by his mum and dad at least he has recently been sporting some T-shirts with band names from my era. This is thanks to an excellent kids' range from Next which features The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Jam amongst others.

Sartorial elegance has never really been my style but I have always loved a good T-shirt and when I used to pack my case for a holiday abroad I would always have a different T-shirt for each day I was there and would also try to purchase a T-shirt as a memento of place visited or event experienced

With this in mind I give you my Top 10 Favourite T-shirts. Given that I cannot carry off the look with the same panache as Young Ben and that some of them may be somewhat 'snug' these days, these T-shirts are on hangers rather than modelled by yours truly

Unfortunately some old favourites like 'Jaws' , 'Terminator' , '49ers' and 'Frankie Says...' have not survived the intervening years and are now used only as dusters. Well they would be used as dusters if I actually ever dusted. These 10 deserve a better fate than that. Maybe I could donate them to a T-shirt museum

1.

Back To The Future T-Shirt from Universal Studios Theme Park in Florida.

I remember we queued for hours for this ride back in the 90s and it didn't disappoint

2.

I bought this on my trip to San Francisco and it has outlasted the SF 49ers one                               

3.  

Bruce Springsteen The Rising Tour T-Shirt

Bought this when my son and I saw 'The Boss' at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester in 2003

4.

Homer Simpson Doesn't Wear Khakis

It was a choice between this one and my 'Homer Simpson/Scarface' T-Shirt but this one got the nod since it aptly portrays the similar lifestyle enjoyed by Homer and myself                                                          

5. 

                                                      FDNY T-Shirt from New York

If you visit New York I believe it is almost compulsory to buy either an FDNY T-Shirt or an NYPD one. I have one of each. 

6. 

I don't have a Rolling Rock T-Shirt and my Tequila ones have seen better days but drinking a Corona beer whilst wearing a Corona T-Shirt on a sunny day is fine by me

7.

                                                      France 98 World Cup T-Shirt

This was the last time Scotland were actually at the World Cup and given yesterday's disappointing performance it does not look like I will be adding a Brazil 2014 World Cup T-Shirt to my collection

8. 

                                           Predator Dive Co. Sausalito T-Shirt

Another purchase from my trip to San Francisco and it has a shark on it. What's not to like

9.

'Che' Guevara T-Shirt

Everyone of a certain vintage should have a 'Che' T-Shirt in their collection

10.

                                                                                                                                      

                                                  'Karhu' T-Shirt

A home made T-Shirt done by my mate to commemorate our trip to Finland. 'Karhu' is Finnish for bear and is also a type of beer which was frequently sampled on our trip although we called it 'Shardik' as it reminded us of the creature from the Richard Adams book of the same name. Oh how we laughed at our own private joke.

Right that's it from me for another week.

I am off to see if I can find a Springsteen T-Shirt in Ben's size anywhere.                                                      

 

One fine day you're gonna turn to me and see a silver lining

The untimely recent death of Michael Clarke Duncan who put in a towering performance as the prisoner John Coffey on Death Row in 'The Green Mile' led me to dwell on how we frequently seem to have a soft spot for 'bad guys' in the movies

I know John Coffey was innocent of the crime he was punished for but the as far as prison movies go most people incarcerated appear to be innocent and really nice chaps

Take the wonderful 'Shawshank Redemption' for instance. The inmates played by Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins and Gil Bellows are all great guys whilst the warden and certain guards are obviously nasty pieces of work

Cowboy movies are not a lot different either, the prime example being 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Our two outlaws are played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford so it is impossible not to like them. So they rob a train or two and kill a few South Americans.....they do it with charm.

Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name never seems too sure which side of the law he is on either, which is no real surprise given that when Clint actually plays a Police Detective in the 'Dirty Harry' movies he prefers to shoot suspects rather than go through the stress of questioning them. That 'Due Process' can be a real pain at times

Matt Damon's Jason Bourne used to assassinate people for the Government but once he realises he is really a good guy he only kills the people who are trying to kill him, and does a really good job of it

And then we have the gangsters.....who wouldn't want a Corleone for a friend or to hang about with Tony Soprano at the 'Bada Bing' Club or save Carlito from Benny from the Bronx

Excluding the aforementioned I give you my Top 10 Good/Bad Guys from the movies

1. Tony Montana in 'Scarface'.....not a great conversationalist but excellent with the one-liners..."Say hello to my little friend"....definitely not a guy to upset and dating his sister is not a good idea

2. Ben Wade in '3.10 to Yuma'...whether it's Russell Crowe in the 2007 remake or Glenn Ford in the 1957 original here's a ruthless outlaw with a heart of gold

3. Dr Evil from the Austin Powers movies...I think the world may have been a better place if his 'Alan Parson's Project' had succeeded

4. Leon.....Jean Reno as the likable assassin who takes Natalie Portman under his wing and dishes out his own brand of justice to bent cops led by Gary Oldman

5. Vincent Vega and Jules in 'Pulp Fiction'...brilliant dialogue from Travolta and Jackson, just don't sit in the back of a car they are in.

6. Robert de Niro and Val Kilmer as bank robbers in the excellent 'Heat'. This time Al Pacino plays a cop which really confuses the issue

7. Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'...Malcolm McDowell as the nasty delinquent with a taste for Ludwig Van.....very powerful book and movie

8. Tommy DeVito in 'Goodfellas'.....Joe Pesci steals the show from De Niro and Ray Liotta...just don't tell him he's a funny guy or ask him to shine your shoes

9. Hannibal Lecter.....I watched 'Manhunter' again recently with Brian Cox as Lecter and thought he was first class. Five years after 'Manhunter' Anthony Hopkins first played everyone's favourite psychopath Lecter in 'Silence of the Lambs' ..."I do wish we could chat longer but I'm having an old friend for dinner"

10. Jaws......I really think he gets a raw deal. He is just doing what comes natural and they should have closed the beaches anyway. They really make him pay for it though. In 'Jaws 4: The Revenge' he even has to act with Michael Caine and doesn't even get to eat him. Now that's just harsh!

That's it for this week. I am off to check out when my personal favourite good/bad guy Dexter is back. The last series ended with him in a tricky situation witnessed by his sister. Even for Dexter that one is going to take some explaining

Giant steps are what you take..........

The last week or so has seen the passing of two men who had a major impact on my teenage years.

Neil Armstrong died at the weekend aged 82. He earned his place in history as the first man to walk on the moon, uttering the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

When this happened in July 1969 this seemed like an incredible feat to me and even years later I still struggle to get my head round it (Physics never being my strong point at school).

Buzz Aldrin followed him on to the surface of the moon but I always felt a bit sorry for Michael Collins who was left aboard Apollo 11 orbiting the moon whilst Armstrong and Aldrin strutted their stuff down below. I always had it in my mind that Collins set foot on the moon on a later mission but he never achieved that distinction. Only 10 more American astronauts walked on the moon and of them Alan Shepard was the only name I recognised. The last moon walk was in December 1972 so it is now nearly 40 years since man was on the surface of the moon.

Despite the magnitude of his achievement Armstrong led a very private life after he left NASA and was quoted as having said "I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work"

With a doff of the cap to Mr Armstrong I give you my Top10 Moon Related Songs

1. Man On The Moon.......................REM
2. Moon River..................................Andy Williams
3. Moonshadow...............................Cat Stevens
4. Bad Moon Rising.........................Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. Harvest Moon..............................Neil Young
6. Moondance..................................Van Morrison
7. Dancing In The Moonlight.............Thin Lizzy
8. Whole Of The Moon.....................The Waterboys
9. Moonage Daydream......................David Bowie
10. Ticket To The Moon...................ELO

Saturday August 18th 2012 saw the death of Scott Mckenzie singer of the iconic song 'San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)' a Number 1 in the UK in the summer of 1967
It took me until I was 50 but I finally made it to San Francisco in 2004 and it remains the best place in the world I have ever been. Sadly by that time I was a bit too old for wearing flowers in my hair.

The song was written by McKenzie's friend John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas and was reputedly composed for the first pop festival at Monterey just south of San Francisco. It is also reported that the other members of The Mamas and the Papas were none to happy at Phillips giving the song away to his friend.

McKenzie was born Philip Blondheim and allegedly turned down an offer from Phillips to be a member of The Mamas and the Papas when Phillips was forming the group. Instead he chose to become one of the most famous One Hit Wonders ever with a song that encapsulated the 'Hippy Movement' of the time

He may not have been as famous as the illustrious Neil Armstrong but I think he had a more lasting impact on my life. After all I did eventually go to San Francisco largely due to the impression this song made on me as a teenager. It now appears less likely that I will ever make it to the moon

So, as I doff my cap once again, this time to Mr McKenzie I leave you this week with my Top 10 San Francisco Related Songs with an obvious Number 1

1. San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)........Scott McKenzie
2. San Franciscan Nights...........................................................Eric Burdon and the Animals
3. San Francisco Days..............................................................Chris Isaak
4. I Left My Heart In San Francisco..........................................Tony Bennett
5. Let's Go To San Francisco....................................................The Flower Pot Men
6. Fake Tales Of San Francisco.................................................The Arctic Monkeys
7. I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco.......................................Nancy Wilson
8. San Francisco Bay Blues.......................................................Richie Havens
9. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay.........................................Otis Redding
10. We Built This City..............................................................Starship
      "I'm looking out over that Golden Gate bridge, out on another gorgeous sunny Saturday, not seein' that bumper to bumper traffic. It's your favourite radio station, in your favourite radio city, the city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps"

It doesn't sound like Radio Clyde to me!

There's a time for joy, a time for tears, a time we'll treasure through the years

In recent weeks I have been doing some part-time work as an Exam Invigilator at Glasgow University. This is very seasonal and only slightly more frequent than a job as a Santa lookalike (obviously there is only one real Santa)

The exams take place in December and May with some resits in August

The best part about the job is that you get to enjoy the surroundings. If there is a finer set of buildings in Glasgow then I have yet to see them so this week I give you my personal pictorial record of my time spent at Glasgow University.

These pictures all been taken on my mobile phone so David Bailey is not in any real danger and I don't expect a call from The Tate Modern anytime soon but hopefully they will convey a little of the beauty and splendour of the University

The Chapel, the Cloisters and the Quadrangles

The view from the South Flag Pole overlooking Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and on towards the south side of Glasgow. One of the finest views in Glasgow and not done justice by these photos

The South Tower taken from the Flag Pole. I didn't manage to climb very far up the flag pole so this is taken from a fairly low stance

I have had the pleasure of invigilating exams in The Bute Hall. This is just a fabulous room used for their Graduation Ceremonies and other such grand events. It is just a joy to behold. Magnificent architecture and an aura of pomp and circumstance which, in my opinion, modern buildings just cannot match. Down both sides are stained glass windows portraying notable characters from the past. These are philosophers, scientists, theologians, saints, monarchs and famous authors such as Burns, Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare but surprisingly not E.L. James, maybe next year



The canteen table where Invigilators gather to discuss the rigours of the day

For anyone who has never visited Glasgow University, I thoroughly recommend it. I have only scratched the surface of what can be seen and experienced. Go visit! You will not be disappointed.

   

I'll show you something to make you change your mind

So, that will be The Olympics for another four years. I have to admit that before they started I was fed up hearing about them, but once the actual events commenced I was hooked and an avid follower for the entire games

There were far too many highlights to do a Top 10 so instead I give you my Top 10 Favourite Olympic Sports and their high points for me during the Games




1. Athletics....What else could it be? Gold Medals for GB from Mo Mo Super Mo, Jessica Ennis and the ginger long jump guy and superb International performances from David Rudisha in the 800 Metres Final and the sprint ladies from the U.S.A. particularly Allyson Felix but the undoubted star of the show was Usain Bolt. We have run out of superlatives to describe this guy. He is quite simply...Bolt!

2. Cycling.....great results and performances from Hoy, Wiggins, Kenny, Trott and several others but a special mention for Victoria Pendleton who was as gracious in defeat as she was in victory. She will be sadly missed

3. Tennis....Gold Medal for Andy Murray achieved with straight sets victories over Djokovic and Federer. Brilliant! ...and a Silver Medal in the Mixed Doubles with Laura Robson for good measure. Also, a fantastic display of power and talent from Serena Williams who added Singles and Doubles titles to those won last month at Wimbledon without breaking sweat

4. Swimming....Not a great tournament for GB apart from an outstanding effort from Michael Jamieson but there was sheer brilliance once again from American Michael Phelps who upped his overall medal total to a record breaking 22, 18 of which have been gold. My favourite moment of the games however came in a race which Michael Phelps lost to Chad le Clos. The reaction of le Clos and his father Bert to the 200M Butterfly victory and subsequent medal ceremony was priceless. The emotion and joy was wonderful to see. As a father of three sons who has shed tears of joy when they scored goals in BB football I can relate to Mr le Clos in what was probably his proudest ever moment

5. Rowing......another strong performance from our rowers the highlight of which was the triumph of Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland who after crossing the winning line exclaimed " We just won the Olympics"

6. Shooting.....Peter Wilson wins a Gold Medal for Team GB. It looks like all those years playing Duck Hunt on the Nintendo has finally paid off

7. Gymnastics....I was pleased to see the likable Beth Tweddle win a medal along with other GB gymnasts. I was somewhat confused by some of the apparatus used in Gymnastics though. In Glasgow parallel bars are pubs across the road from one another

8. Triathlon.....Two brothers from Yorkshire in the first three of this gruelling event. What I found incredible was that Alistair Brownlie's time for running 10k was better than some of the athletes in the 10k Final and that was after he swam 1500M and cycled 40k. That's impressive!

9. Sailing.....Not really my cup of tea but total respect to Ben Ainslie for winning a Gold Medal at four consecutive Olympics

10. Canoeing.....Gold medal for GB pair Tim Bailie and Ettiene Stott in the Canoe Slalom and not a Duelling Banjo in sight and Ed McKeever wins Gold in the 200M Kayak Final. Apparently Ed has been called 'the Usain Bolt of kayaking', probably by his mum. I am not sure if Bolt has been called 'the Ed McKeever of Sprinting'

There was also success for Team GB in the boxing ring and at Taekwondo, but if I want to watch Men and Women fighting I can just go up Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night

Some sports even I found difficult to watch. These would include Handball, Water Polo and Equestrian which is really just posh folk on horses

After the excitement of The Euros the Olympic football was a huge letdown. It was like watching my team Ayr United after watching....well, just about anyone. I have to admit to raising a smile however when England/Wales (sorry Team GB) lost on penalties. Some things you just never tire of.

I though the BBC coverage was mostly excellent. I liked Balding, Foster and Thorpe at the swimming. The cycling commentators were also very good and did their best to explain some of the strange disqualification decisions. Michael Johnson was first rate at the Athletics and Steve Cram's commentary on Mo Farah's 5000M victory was superb

My only real complaint would be with John Inverdale. Someone needs to buy him a new book of cliches because the one he has is all used up. I would have liked to put the sycophantic Mr Inverdale side by side with his odious chum Lord Coe on the 80 Metre line for the Men's Javelin competition. Now I would definitely have watched that

Anyway, a lot seemed to happen in just over two weeks and it gave me something to watch before the start of the Premier League this weekend. Go Team Sunderland!

Pardon the way that I stare, there's nothing else to compare, the sight of you leaves me weak, there are no words left to speak

When I quoted the song 'Galway Girl' in my Blog about Ireland last week I discovered that it was used in the movie 'P.S. I Love You'. I have to confess that I have not seen this film but will probably now try to watch it just to hear the song again and to see it's context within the movie.

Given my love of music and movies, this made me think about my favourite scenes using songs in movies so here is my Top 10

1. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" .....'The Deer Hunter'....favourite scene from my favourite movie featuring one of my favourite songs. Ticks all the boxes. I drank Rolling Rock for years because they drank it in this movie

2. "Secret Garden"....'Jerry Maguire'.......you had me at hello, Brucie

3. "Right Back Where We Started From"...'Slap Shot'....this pounding track from Maxine Nightingale was perfect for the road trips of the Charlestown Chiefs Ice Hockey team

4. "You Never Can Tell"...'Pulp Fiction'...Tarantino rarely disappoints with his soundtracks and Travolta and Thurman dancing to Chuck Berry was one of his best

5. "The Blower's Daughter"....'Closer'....even though the film starred Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman the Damien Rice song was still the highlight

6. "Afternoon Delight"...'Anchorman'....any excuse to throw in some random 'Anchorman' quotes
   "Boy, that escalated quickly...."
   "There were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident"
   "And I'm Ron Burgundy. Go f*** yourself San Diego"
    Brilliant, but I digress!

7. "If There Is Something"...'Flashbacks Of A Fool'.....atmospheric Roxy Music track used to full effect in this underrated Daniel Craig movie

8. "It's Gonna Take A Miracle"...'A Home At The End Of The World'..a strange little movie starring Colin Farrell and Robin Wright but featuring a stunning soundtrack including Dylan, Cohen, Dusty Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, Steve Winwood and Patti Smith. However these are all usurped by the haunting vocal talents of Laura Nyro.

9. "Come With Me"...'Godzilla'....monster track for a monster movie performed by Puff Daddy and Jimmy Page sampling Led Zeppelin's Kashmir

10. "Sounds Of Silence".....'The Graduate'......Paul Simon and Dustin Hoffman at their very best

But for every Yin there is a Yang so here are my Top 10 Worst Movie Songs

1. "My Heart Will Go On"....'Titanic'.....and like the movie the song did go on and on and on

2. "She's Like The Wind"....'Dirty Dancing'....average actor writes and sings really bad song in a really bad movie

3. "Danger Zone"...'Top Gun'...."Revvin' up your engine, listen to her howlin' roar, metal under tension, beggin' you to touch and go". Indeed, Kenny, indeed!

4. "Unchained Melody"...'Ghost'....how to take a fine song and ruin it for all time. I have never felt the same way about my potter's wheel again either.

5. "Everything I Do etc"...'Robin Hood etc'...see comments for number 1

6. "I Just Called To Say I Love You"...'Woman In Red'....I am a huge fan of Stevie Wonder but even I could not excuse this abomination

7. "I Believe I Can Fly"...'Space Jam'...Yes and Michael Jordan believes he can play Basketball with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam and Foghorn Leghorn. I remember taking my youngest son to the movies to see this. I will never get that 88 minutes back.

8. "Wind Beneath My Wings"...'Beaches'...No, I promise you I didn't cry watching this movie, I had a cold at the time. It goes on the list.

9. "Up Where We Belong"...'An Officer And A Gentleman'....How could you Joe?

10. "All For Love"...'The Three Musketeers'....who needs Athos, Portos and Aramis when you have Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting

Sometimes Hollywood is so stuck for ideas that they base a whole movie around a song. Here are my Top 10 Movies Named After Songs

1. My Girl (1991)...named after The Temptations song it does have a couple of redeeming points, namely Jamie Lee Curtis and the fact that Macaulay Culkin dies in it.

2. Stand By Me (1986)...named after the Ben E. King song and based on a Stephen King story

3. California Dreamin' (2007)...strange little film set in Romania during the war in Kosovo and named after the 1960s hit by The Mamas and the Papas

4. Pretty Woman (1990)....the movie that catapulted Julia Roberts to fame named after the song by the late, great Roy Orbison

5. Pretty In Pink (1986)...archetypal 80s movie named after the song by The Psychedelic Furs

6. When A Man Loves A Woman (1994)...disturbing movie starring Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan named after the wonderful Percy Sledge song

7. The Crying Game (1992)...named after the 60s hit by Dave Berry. The ultimate 'twist' movie and I don't mean it's about Chubby Checker

8. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)...Reese Witherspoon does what Reese Witherspoon does in a movie named after the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song

9. Jersey Girl (2004)...Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler star in the movie named after the excellent Tom Waits song covered superbly by Springsteen

10. Romeo and Juliet (1996)...Baz Luhrmann's tale of star crossed lovers which I believe is named after the 1980 song by Dire Straits

I read about another couple currently in production. One is based on the true story of Rodney King and will be named after The Clash song 'I Fought The Law And The Law Won'. The other is a sequel to the movie 'The Prisoner Of Zenda' where our hero is incarcerated once again. This is to be named after the Elvis Presley hit 'Return To Zenda'

Right ! That's me! I am off to open a bottle of Rolling Rock and watch The Deer Hunter once again.
All together now "Ba da ba da ba da da ba..........."
 

And I ask you friend, what's a fella to do, 'cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue

’Well I took a stroll on the old long walk, of a day-I-ay-I-ay

I met a little girl and we stopped to talk of a fine soft day-I-ay’

I had a few days holiday in Ireland last week. After spending a day or two in Dublin and doing what you do in Dublin…go to Temple Bar, drink a pint of Guinness, meet Sir Bob Geldof in the street, act like a bit of a heathen and drink Bud Ice ‘cause you prefer it to Guinness, have a stroll down O’Connell Street and visit THE GPO, wander over the Liffey and up through Grafton Street, not meet Gabe Byrne, listen to live music in any bar you wish to choose and head home slightly worse for wear

The main purpose of the trip however was to visit Galway during their annual Arts Festival and we headed down there on the Sunday. Dublin to Galway by road is now under 2 hours and I thoroughly recommend a visit at any time of year

I had previously visited Galway with my late father and had happy memories of walking along the front out towards Salthill and my dad lying on the grass for one of his famous ‘five minute naps’ which usually lasted about an hour whilst I had to assure passers-by that he was only sleeping and not dead

“And I ask you friend, what’s a fella to do

‘Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue”

The weather in Galway was much the same as it has been in the West of Scotland all summer but the rain did not dampen the spirits of the participants or the spectators of the spectacular Festival Street Parade. We abandoned our nice cosy table in our nice warm restaurant to stand in the p…ing rain alongside what seemed like most of the inhabitants of Galway. It was well worth it. The sights and sounds and smells of the parade made everyone forget the damp weather conditions. They even had people whose jobs it was to lift up utility cables which hung across the street. This was done with giant poles (that’s long sticks not people from Poland) which allowed the taller Parade characters to pass by unscathed. I think I may apply for that job next year

We tried to grab a late drink in the wonderful Quays Pub but there were more people in there than at an Ayr United home game, and they were all a lot happier than they would have been at an Ayr United home game. . We had to make do with a beer back at the hotel. The use of the hotel swimming pool the next morning was looking less and less likely.

“And I knew right there I’d be takin’ a whirl ‘round the Salthill Prom with ……….”

The next day we took a wander through the city and visited the Cathedral. Now I am not a religious man but when you are inside buildings of this nature it does cause you to pause for a moment and wonder if you should cover your bases just in case.

One or two more drinks may have been imbibed during the course of the day and in the evening we had booked to see a play in Nun’s Island Theatre which is definitely not twinned with The Albert Hall. It probably only holds about 60-80 people and was full which produced an intimate atmosphere. We were sitting in the front row less than six feet from the stage so mobile phones were checked and rechecked to ensure there were no embarrassing moments

The play was called ‘Frank Pig Says Hello’ and was based on the novel ‘The Butcher Boy’ which I have to confess I had never heard of. It was superb and the performance of the main character who was on stage virtually the whole time was breathtaking.

“We were halfway there when the rain came down, of a day-I-ay –I ay

 And she asked me up to her flat downtown”

After the play we were obviously in need of refreshments and beat a path to Monroes where we ordered pizza from next door and listened to the live band. When the opening chords to the wonderful ‘Whisky In The Jar’ came on even I nearly made it to the dance floor. Fortunately more drink arrived and I refrained. More traditional Irish music followed and our hosts for the week , my former brother-in-law and his Irish girlfriend, showed us how it was done. I can now cross Riverdance off my list of shows that I don’t want to see that I have never seen. This footage was captured on our phones and may prove useful at a later date

“So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl and I lost my heart……..”

On our last day in Galway we still managed to fit in a lunchtime Stand-Up Show at The King’s Head before we headed back to Dublin. We took a more picturesque route heading east and passed through Athlone where the impressive River Shannon was looking resplendent

 “ When I woke up I was all alone, with a broken heart and a ticket home…………."

I have been to a few places in the world that I really love like New York, San Francisco, Paris, Sunderland and Rome but I think Galway is up there with the best of them and I hope it’s not too long before I am back there again

If by any chance my hosts read this I would like to thank them again for their hospitality. Great craic, great drink, great food, great company, great entertainment, great drink, great scenery. It was all great!

  " I’ve travelled around, I’ve been all over this world, Boys I aint seen nothin’ like a Galway Girl”