When I was 17 I worked at Gillingham Football Club. It was a good first job, fairly easy and I got to watch all of the home games. Over the summer I worked on the functions as one of a handful of regular staff who set-up the halls during the day (the hospitality areas at Gillingham are actually very nice). One day I’m talking to John. He was in the year above me at school, one of those kids you don’t mess with, a bit rough and ready, more mature than everyone else, more ‘experienced’, but a guy that opens up and softens when you get to know him. “I drink Guinness,” he tells me. “Can’t stand lager.” We’re making fans out of blue napkins and dressing the tables. “Did you know, if you drink eight pints of Guinness and then swallow some glitter, in the morning your shit will be black and glittery?”
I’ve never really done the St Patrick’s Day thing of going out, drinking lots of Guinness and wearing a novelty hat. It is quite appealing though... I wanted to post something for St Patrick’s Day. I was going to do some cooking right up until the moment, yesterday afternoon (the day before St Patrick’s Day), an email arrived from ‘Publicity Freelancer’ with a red exclamation mark of importance and started ‘Dear Blogger’. It asked, bluntly, if we might be able to post a recipe from a book about Guinness which they are promoting. Any cooking plans were abandoned right then.
Don't blame you. St Patrick's Day will pass me by unremarked other than this and Guinness will remain a distress purchase.
ReplyDeleteIf I was to celebrate my Irishness through beer, it wouldn't be Guinness (although I have little choice here), but rather some proper, Irish-owned micro-brewed beers from Carlow Brewing, Galway Hooker, Porterhouse, Franciscan Well, White Gypsy etc...
ReplyDeleteStrange. Being away from Ireland does give me some urge to celebrate it somehow, that I would not have had when I lived in Ireland. I can only hope that O'Hara's stout I ordered arrives today. :D
St pats holds lots of fond memories for me from my student days, watch out for a blog post Later ;op
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ReplyDeleteEy, after a weekend on the Guinness you are crapping charcoal. But paddies day is not about the black stuff, it's about green lager. To be sure, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteToday I am The O'Boggle, and as a plastic paddy will be heading to The Rake expecting to find fridges full of lovely Irish Craft. Or Guinness. Or something... ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe got that "Dear Blogger" email. Quite annoying. So annoying that I've emailed Guinness's marketing team to ask whether they think their PR agencies are offering them value for money and if they think they've quite got their strategy for dealing with bloggers right. Interesting to see if anyone responds.
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed I didn't get one of those mails, just as an excuse for more Guinness-bashing :D
ReplyDeleteBarry, do Irishmen actually celebrate St Paddy's Day or is it an American thing now?! I only saw earlier hat they dye the river green in Chicago today! Crazy.
ReplyDeleteO'Sid, you might be better heading up to The Porterhouse... although it'll be rammed!
Bailey, nice response, I wonder if you'll get a reply... They sent it out to a long list of bloggers and didn't BCC them so it was just a list of emails. A lot of food bloggers were dscussing that and general bad PR on twitter yesterday following the email!
It's certainly celebrated, but in fact the first St. Patrick's Day Parade was in Boston, in the 1700's, I believe (thanks to Chris, thebeergeek, for this :)), so the modern day celebration is as much an Irish-American invention. I think it wasn't a holiday, other than a holy day of obligation, in Ireland till the early 20th Century. When I was a kid it involved going to Mass and a pretty dull parade, and I think till the 70s, pubs were closed. During the 90s it became more of a festival, and in fairness, with some pretty good street carnival thrown in. Definitely celebrated, although I get the feeling that the continued Americanisation of it is grating on many.
ReplyDeleteEr..yeah Boggle we're selling loads of er irish craft brews like Duchesse O'Bourgogne, Bitter O'Twisted, Anchor Steaming Beer and last but not least If you shag my daughter I'll chase you down the road with me Arsey H Pitchfork!
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