Ireland in 2011

The General Election has happened in Ireland. The ruling parties have been decimated. The largest party in the state lost roughly three quarters of it's seats. The junior party lost all their seats. Ireland has elected a minority, right of centre European focused government. This government will for the most part be implementing the huge loans, implementing European policy which is to hijack the Irish and force them to pay for German bank foolishness. The State and it's people are being forced to pay bankers debts, while the bankers give themselves huge bonuses.
It's historic in that the largest party in the state for 80 years or more has been decimated. Finna Fail need to restructure, and perhaps get rid of the rich developers that have blighted Irish political life for the last years.
It's historic in that the oldest party in the state, Sinn Fein has doubled it's tally. I don't know if they will ever run the country.
Labour has increased it's vote, but I don't see many working class people in it's list of TDs.
In other news, my lecturer face book professor friend, finally got home from Tripoli, I haven't been able make contact. It was easier when she was in Libya.
Ireland beat Scotland in the Rugby just and it's not looking good for the world cup in the Summer time.
I am exploring Sweat lodges as done by native Americans. I can't say a lot about it as I don't know too much other than what I dream when I am in there. There is no doubt its an amazing experience and it's helping my thought process.
I have strange ideas of what it is to be Irish as I live in the south of France. What is it that makes a person define themselves they way they are? What is it that makes us define others? What is the need to belong to a collective that is not easily identifiable if you scratch beneath the surface?
Irish, celtic culture? Is it any different deep down that that of Australian Aboriginal culture? 

Calls from the Blue and the revolutionary wave

As the Middle East continues to erupt in revolution and violence, I am left to reflect that maybe even 5 years ago, certainly ten years ago, my day couldn't have happened like it has. I have been reading a lot about energies on the planet lately. A lot of new age stuff and some interesting stuff and some clearly nonsense stuff. There are people out there willing to believe anything to the point where they shut everything else out. I am reading conflicting reports on websites about what is happening in Tripoli. News stations report X, twitterers report Y and people on the ground report Z.
Today I had a phone call from a friend of a friend. A musician, who has played with anyone and everyone. He was in the area and looking for a physio. Given my recent health issues, I have no problems referring a physio, so we had a chat, I made a few calls, organised an appointment and got back in touch. I checked out the map on Google maps, I sent him an email with the numbers and address and time of rendezvous, and we had a little chat after by email.
As I watching on Facebook a lecturer from my old University was being evacuated from her Hotel in Tripoli. She had gone over to give a conference and was hoping to be back for the election in Ireland this week. She posted up the name of the new location. When I got home I looked it up on the internet and rang her to see if I could just maybe reassure, a friendly voice, have a natter, take her mind off things. She was scared. She told me she could see smoke, but didn't talk about any craziness that is being reported else where. I can assure you if there were gunships in the sky, she would have said it or at least I assume she would have. She thought about going for a swim.
I had to do stuff around the house, cook a dinner put a child to bed, I promised I would ring back later.
Now here I am blogging, I can't get through on the phone anymore. I don't actually know her. She was surprised to get my call and pleased, just as I was to get a call from the musican. I had heard of both of these people before in my life. The lecturer was around when I was at Uni, but we never had direct contact. The musician has been around on the airwaves, and I have doubt is part of my musical influences.
It's been an odd day. I am aware of magnetic Solar flares hitting earth of revolutions and mass uprisings, connectedness, oneness and spirit. I am wondering is there a new world order coming. Europeans realising that Libya provides 70% of it's oil, and is a dodgy regime at best, well I wonder will the wave of uprising continue up into Europe, where will it end?
One thing for sure, without phones, mobile phones, email twitter, facebook, my day wouldn't have panned out the way it did. 

Change a foot

Change is afoot. There are revolutions in the middle east. Americans are now watching films on YouTube that show the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were started on false pretences. It's not something I could have imagined 3 years ago. Ireland is having a election, and our national rugby team lost to France at the weekend.

There is a definite air of change everywhere I look. On the net, on facebook, on TV, it's something I feel. I am getting more and more drawn to re-explore the spiritual side of life again. Emails arrive and posts and notifications are all teasing me to explore, nature , shamanic pathways, and Buddhism, meditation..... Perhaps there really is something new happening. Perhaps there really is a great awakening.
All I know is I have tendonitis so once again I can't run... that is the one thing not changing......actually there are others. The tendon down my calf into my foot is rock solid. I need to stretch out more than I have been doing.
But I like to focus on change. I like to keep my mind open, and my heart, for even if things are good, and we are open, and they get better, then how happy we become in this life, this journey, this hard challenge with many rewards.
I helped someone move today. Their song is me me me me me me ...everything about how the other does nothing for them how the other is wrong because meme me memememmememe. I asked them to hurry as I was late for work, I got hang ons, and hold ons and wait a minutes, and that song me me me me me me me me with the odd chorus of money thrown in, and how much had been spent, and how precious and expensive the few items we moved were. I thought how much different the world might be if all us, just naturally sang about the beauty of you you you you..........or of the other and how wonderful they are. How do we get so messed up we can only see ourselves as individuals on a planet of 6 000,000,000,000. How does anybody see themselves as 000,000,000,001? Change is a coming I tell you, it's a coming!

Before and After, or is it After and Before

With the pool having being closed over Christmas, and the weather, for here, being pretty cold, I had let go of training consistently. Then I got flu, which didn't really help at all.
In short I lost a month in the pool, and more than a month on the bike. This results in the fact that swimming a good hard swim before Christmas, in about an hour and 10 mins I covered 2.4km, and on Thursday night last in the same time frame, for the same effort, I covered 1.7km.
I was not a happy bunny.
Now let's look at the bike.
The last meaningful ride I had was December 12th, 107km. I felt okay after it, proud, tired, but good.
Today I cycled 60km and had to go to bed afterwards. I was very disappointed, but at the same time I know there is no point in crying over spilt milk and I just have to put it down as a lesson. Between now and the end of Autumn I have to get an indoor trainer to ensure I don't lose what I gain this year. In fact between the 12th of December and January 23rd I hadn't cycled at all. I so feel like I have gone back to the start. I have that ache in my muscles as if they are trying to break out of my skin.
I am dreading my next run. My penultimate run was one where I ran futher, longer, easier, than ever before, a real joy, while the last one, I struggled, I huffed and puffed, and barely broke 50 mins before I had to stop. That resulted in a visit to the doc the next day.......and the aforementioned flu, corticoides,(steroids), antibiotics( for flu?) cough medicine( sugar syrup), throat medicine( more syrup), nose medicine( more steroids for allergies), and an agreement to follow my asthma...change of drug regime and now I can breathe properly , woohoo!
Yesterday, Saturday, I took a decision not to let the hair grow. I was getting browned off with either wearing  a hat and taking it off and looking like a scarecrow, or being obliged to wash the threads at every opportunity....
so..........I went from this...........

to this................

No I didn't cut the shirt off and the red marks are due to my body still being over heated after the climb home on the bike...
Hmmm February and holidays coming up soon. I am sure there are adventures to write about. By the way I am not stoned in the first pic, it's just anticipation of the flash. :-)

I just found out the great artist Gary Moore has passed away........... I am moved......as always when I hear his talent, and now of his passing . He played with Ireland's greatest rock band Thin Lizzy, and was perhaps one of the most , if not the most influential guitarist of his age....a tribute is here..Gary Moore just let it play, there is piece after piece of this brilliant musician.....May I meet you on the Parisien walkway of the after life, and maybe you will grace me by strumming a chord or two together!