I've just been back to Dublin for a week, after 3 months living in Lahndan. I find I've developed an overwhelming affection for the smallest of pleasant things about the city, and a boiling hatred for things that used to just cause mild irritation. Here's...
THE THINGS YOU MISS ABOUT DUBLIN WHEN YOU'RE AWAY
1. Your mates
2. Your ma's house being a short bus ride away
3. The sea being a short bus ride away
4. A small, self-contained city centre in which all the shops, pubs and venues worth bothering about are situated
5. Going to gigs and knowing most of the audience and at least half of the people on stage. Although when we go to gigs in London, it's like when the Simpsons visit Shelbyville - there's always eerily similar equivalents to Dublin people (Look over there, it's the London Joss! And behind him - it's the London Kirsty!)
6. Record shop staff who know you by name and can accurately recommend new releases you'll like
7. Record shop staff who don't know you by name but still give you a discount 'cause they remember you've been buying stuff off them since you were 14
8. Bumping into people you know and like wherever you go (see no. 7 in 'things you don't miss...')
9. More than 4 channels of telly
10. Hot whiskeys in pubs. Not even the Irish pubs in London do them - they'll make you one if you tell them how, but they nver have cloves. And there's no substitute for a hot whiskey when you have a horrible snot factory of a cold
11. Xfm - as a listener and a DJ. Sad but true
THINGS YOU DON'T MISS ABOUT DUBLIN WHEN YOU'RE AWAY
1. Shite, overpriced taxi service (practically non-existant over Christmas)
2. Shite, overpriced night bus service
3. Shite transport system in general
4. The constant barrage of comments and abuse you get for having the audacity to be female and walk down the street in a short skirt/ with pink hair, etc.
5. Ridiculous MCD ticket prices
6. Neanderthol MCD 'security'
7. Bumping into people you know and hate wherever you go
8. Restaurant staff who can't speak English, or at least haven't learned the words 'vegetarian' and 'allergic' yet
THE THINGS YOU MISS ABOUT DUBLIN WHEN YOU'RE AWAY
1. Your mates
2. Your ma's house being a short bus ride away
3. The sea being a short bus ride away
4. A small, self-contained city centre in which all the shops, pubs and venues worth bothering about are situated
5. Going to gigs and knowing most of the audience and at least half of the people on stage. Although when we go to gigs in London, it's like when the Simpsons visit Shelbyville - there's always eerily similar equivalents to Dublin people (Look over there, it's the London Joss! And behind him - it's the London Kirsty!)
6. Record shop staff who know you by name and can accurately recommend new releases you'll like
7. Record shop staff who don't know you by name but still give you a discount 'cause they remember you've been buying stuff off them since you were 14
8. Bumping into people you know and like wherever you go (see no. 7 in 'things you don't miss...')
9. More than 4 channels of telly
10. Hot whiskeys in pubs. Not even the Irish pubs in London do them - they'll make you one if you tell them how, but they nver have cloves. And there's no substitute for a hot whiskey when you have a horrible snot factory of a cold
11. Xfm - as a listener and a DJ. Sad but true
THINGS YOU DON'T MISS ABOUT DUBLIN WHEN YOU'RE AWAY
1. Shite, overpriced taxi service (practically non-existant over Christmas)
2. Shite, overpriced night bus service
3. Shite transport system in general
4. The constant barrage of comments and abuse you get for having the audacity to be female and walk down the street in a short skirt/ with pink hair, etc.
5. Ridiculous MCD ticket prices
6. Neanderthol MCD 'security'
7. Bumping into people you know and hate wherever you go
8. Restaurant staff who can't speak English, or at least haven't learned the words 'vegetarian' and 'allergic' yet
