Just as a kind of a P.S to our stay in the County of Meath. The organisers of the show in Gibbstown had taken the liberty of organising accomodation for the Fanzinis which was most welcome as i so often say myself "i am a man of simple tastes. i want the best of everything surely nothing could be simpler and all that i ask is that i be treated in the manner to which i have become accoustomed i.e incredibly well" And as Ronaldo is wont to say "dont worry now if you cant get the five star hotels cos four star will do"
Tailtean House near Gibbstown deserves special mention the organiser of the gig led us there in his car and introduced us to the lady of the house who was friendy and obliging to a fault. She brought us on a tour of the house which was i believe the term is " a proper heritage gaff" decked out with all kinds of interesting antiques. The lady of the house could not have been nicer and even went so far as to tell us that we could have breakfast at any time we wanted. Ronaldo and i shared the Rose room which would not look out of place in an Bronte novel apart from the tele and the smelly fanzinis.
Another feature was the exceedingly large and inviting jacuzzi bath which we only learned to work after we had both had baths.
Breakfast consisted of omlette for Ronaldo and scrambled eggs for me. We also got a proper pot of coffee proper and the lady made a point of telling us that she insists on proper coffee as many places serve pure muck. A lady after my own heart. A personal bugbear of mine that is the pursuit of proper coffee how could they screw up something so simple i hear you ask, in a myriad of ways; from brewing a bathful of the stuff and then leaving it sit for hours, to coffee made in an instant only problem it is not coffee, to the worst of all, and hotels for some reason seem particularly bad on this serving coffee in a tea pot when you see that ugh! No such problems here the milk was even fresh from the herd. Breakfast was also conveyed to us through a little hole in the wall which i always find funny and quaint in a nice way.
In fairness the place may be hard to find but is worth the effort. The lady of the house also filled us in on the history of the place and its associations with the Tailtean Games of old. Right next to the house and on the lands was Tailtean church which stood on a mound which pre dated the church even back in to celtic times. Lovely spot. Evocative of times past. Dont tell anyone or they will build a road through it. Anyway it is there for the moment and worth going there to check it out.
As we said to the lady of Tailtean house as we were leaving " sure isint the whole area here absolutely ruined with heritage" and it surely is.
You might also notice two other releveant things in the photos one is the vile weather that occasionally made its presence felt during this trip and also the fact that Guido (meself) is sporting the colours of the kingdom on what was a munster final winning weekend.