Flour Power

Remember the post about this Galway Girl song that was a huge success in Ireland in 2008? And how there are a few alternate verses for it? Well, they go something like this:

Well I took a stroll along the Spanish Arch
On the day i ay i ay
She was drinking Dutch Gold in the middle of March
On a very cold day i ay
And I ask you friend, whats a fella do to
Cause her eyes were brown but her hair was blue, 
And I knew by her look, that she was on something… trippy
And then I lost my heart to a Galway hippy.

At the pony show, up at old Ma’am Cross
On the day i ay i ay,
A blond said ‘hey come here I want your bucks’ 
On a very soft day i ay
And I ask you friend, whats a fella to do
When her ponytail is long and her earings are huge
But I loved the way, she drove that HI-ACE van
And so I lost my heart to a Galway sham.

Well I wanted culture and history
And I knew just what to do
And when I stepped off the ferry and I ordered a pint , she said ’cé leis thú?’
So I ask you friend, whats a guy to do?
When she talks like someone outta Ros na Rún 
But I loved the way, she was ceart go leor
And so I lost my heart to a gaelgoir mór.

And so I fancied a pint on a Friday night, so I rocked into The Quays
She was standing there with a bottle of beer 
So I followed her up to CP’s.
And I ask you friends, whats a bloke to do
You see her handbag was orange… but her face was too
And I knew by the skill of her GHD
That a CP’s whore would never shag me. 

When I couldn’t get a shag on a Saturday night, so I went down to the Docks
And she was standing there with dirt in her hair
Stuffing money down her jocks,
So I ask you friend… whats a fucker to do?
When you’re really horny and you pay for a screw? 
And though she wasnt, what I call a looker
I sailed into the sunset on a Galway Hooker

And again, here’s the video of it performed live at The King’s Head:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjvexKdt1-w

As in the original version, there are a few references to places in Galway in the song:

• The Spanish Arch is one of the most important monuments of Galway (and impressive as hell, btw…);
• Dutch Gold is the third most popular brand of beer in Ireland, according to Wikipedia (although I never tasted it and I don’t really remember seeing it for sale);
• The Ma’am Cross is a yearly pony fair that takes place in Connemara and where sheep, cattle, donkeys and the area’s most treasured resource, Connemara Ponies, are bargained over with enthusiasm;
• Ros na Rún is an Irish soap opera;
• The Quays is pub in Galway, known mostly for being a great venue for to watch live music;
• CP’s (Central Park Club) is one of the major nightclubs in Galway, and somehow manages to be open and full of people every single day of the week (also known for attracting a somewhat young crowd);
• The Docks is the part of the city where the dock is (duh!), and also happens to be where I’m living now;
• Galway Hooker is a traditional sailing boat used in Galway Bay (it’s also a brand of beer).

Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Mangez les croissants! Mangez les croissants!
Din, dan, don. Din, dan, don.

2 months, 18 days, 5 hours and some minutes after I arrived in Galway, I drank my one hundreth pint of Guinness!

What? Don’t give me that look! It’s not like I was binge drinking a lot to get to that number. It’s just that Guinness goes down so easily that most of the nights out I get to number 4 without even noticing it. For me, it’s much easier to drink than the lager I always had before coming here, which is much more common in Portugal.

And the big One Oh Oh was drank on the 2nd of April, which is also my birthday. Makes it a historic pint, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not, but whatever. Here’s the (very artistic) photo of Pint Number 100:

I only regret not being able to keep Glass Number 100 (it was gone from the poor hiding place by the time I was on the way back home). It would go right next to Glass Number 50 and Glass Number 69 (yeah, I know… typical… but I had to keep it…).

Next milestone will happen in roughly 30 pints, but I’ll have to do some math to get the exact number

People tell you to stockpile on alcohol thursday because on Good Friday all the pubs and off-licences are closed…

Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country, prohibits all alcohol from being sold on Good Friday. Banks and public institutions are closed on this day, however it is not an official bank holiday (i.e. public holiday), so many offices and other workplaces remain open. All pubs and many restaurants in Ireland close for the duration of the day – it is similar to Christmas Day in this regard. This tradition has come under criticism of late, with secular businesses claiming a loss in earnings by way of a religious festival.

Shocking, right?!

And I work in one of the mentioned workplaces that remain open on Good Friday…

It’s a bit unfair. A lot of people have the day off from work, which would be a great excuse to go to the pub even earlier, and they’re all closed. No wonder there’s criticism about it. We’re in a crisis, so forget the religious stuff and let people consume

I’m guessing that Thursday night will be quite crazy, then. No work and no drinking on Friday must mean extra drinking on Thursday. Or maybe on Saturday? And will the supermarket be overcrowded with those that couldn’t quench their thirst elsewhere?

At least Monday is a bank holiday and I get a long weekend anyway, so not everything is bad.

C’mon, move faster or you’ll be fined

@ Doolin, Ireland