Green kelp, smooth gray stones, and silvery fish in the clear, clear water. The gray heads of seals bobbing up and down in the white-capped waves; looking for all the world like scuba divers with their smooth skulls and stubby snouts. Green fields, curving stone walls laid out like veins on an old, pale hand. […]
Ireland
All Quiet on Inishmore
The habits, clerical collars, Aran jumpers, sweater vests and gray wigs have been stowed; the Ted Festers have fecked off back to the mainland. I watched them yesterday morning from a restaurant window as they trooped down to the pier, knapsacks slung over their shoulders. The ferry broke through the clear blue water, unsettling the […]
Drink! Drink! Drink!
The program is packed with events: midday screenings of “Sister Act,” 2:00 PM matchmaking with Mrs. Murphy, the Jesuit Country & Western Hour at 5. Furthermore, a Priests vs. Nuns Beach Volleyball Game at 2:30, the Lovely Girls Contest at 8ish, a noon bicycle ride to Chinatown, the Father Ted Prizeless Quiz at 7:30 … […]
Why I’m Here
There’s a lot of confusion as to why I’m here. “What,” they say. “Is an American doing on Inishmore?” “It’s Ted Fest,” I say. They chuckle. Then they ask me again. It’s a bit wild inside Watty’s – drunken priests and drunken nuns and Mrs. Doyles with their teapots and men dressed as pregnant nuns […]
Nuns vs. Priests
Costumes observed here on Inishmore during Ted Fest 2010: Dozens of dowdy teapot-wielding Mrs. Doyles, gray-haired Father Teds, crusty-faced Father Jacks, and sweater vest-wearing Dougals. Hordes of priests and nuns – the apparent “go to” Ted Fest costume. Honestly, if you came to Inishmore this weekend and didn’t know about Ted Fest, you’d think this […]
Let the Ted Fest Begin
I’m not on the island of Inishmore for five minutes before I’ve learned how to say goodbye in Irish. An airport shuttle bus picks us up from the landing strip and the driver asks us for our passports; Inishmore, he says, has just broken off from the Republic of Ireland. Everyone on the shuttle bus […]
Feck Off, Cup
This post is your primer for the series of posts that follow: The Adventures of Liv on Inishmore During Ted Fest 2010. Ted fan? Enjoy the memories. Not yet a friend of Ted? Hold on to your arse biscuits, because you’re in for a treat. Father Ted, written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, is […]
One Night in Galway
It’s Thursday night in Galway City and the kids are delighted with life. They’re clambering through Eyre Square, pushing each other towards throbbing clubs and swaying outside bars blasting the same pop music that accompanies every promo for every show on Comedy Central. The girls are wrapped in shiny dresses, tottering on stilettos, and the […]
You Can Take the Girl Out of Japan ….
… and she’ll still find a way to gorge herself on delicious Japanese food. Here, we have a cup of umeshu and the sashimi appetizer at Ukiyo on Exchequer Street : Followed by orders of kimchi, kimchi chigae, rice and bulgogi (which are, obviously, not Japanese, but that’s what we ate after the sashimi. 美味しいかった!) […]