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Bobby Fischer against a world that thinks chess can cause a mental illness

Last weekend was rather nice.
I got to spend my birthday weekend in the company of Gareth, Marion, Terry and Simon, of course!
Gareth took us to the place where the “cool people hang out”, namely “The Twisted Pepper”.

It was pretty groovy inside but was not overly impressed with the coffee. The coffee has fancy names and we were given samples of different ones. I don’t really care for filter coffee, preferring an americano or an espresso. So, maybe that’s why I didn’t like the ones we chose.
After the cafe bar, Simn headed off to some loud, sweaty, warm rock gig which was not our scene at all.
It was his, he got to relive his teenage years, shouting and jumping around.
The rest of us headed off to the IFI, under great protest from Gareth. The food is good there. The films are great. The staff have always been “meh”. They must train them in that way. They act moody and try to get rid of you by giving dirty looks and over charging you.
The film we agreed on was “Bobby Fischer against the world” It was odd that I was watching this and not Simon. He loves chess, playing in the Jewish Olympics for Ireland when he was a young lad. Instead, he was jumping up and down wildly and missing out on a film about the greatest ever chess player in the world.
I knew nothing about Booby Fischer but assumed he had won millions of world championships.
He has only won one. Then, he got all annoyed by the pressure and refused to play anymore, growing a big, mad beard and becoming a pain in the bottom for the US and Japanese government.
I enjoyed the film, I didn’t think I would as chess is not my friend. It made me sad though. Because the film reckoned that chess can cause mental illness. They tried to prove this by getting some chess obsessive to repeat this throughout the film. They also used cunning tactics like showing animations of possible chess positions flying in and out of a man’s brain.
Bobby Fischer had a very disturbed upbringing and showed clear signs of mental illness from a very young age.
It wasn’t the chess.
It was the world.

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Devilment

So, you know our beloved cat, precious disappeared a while back. I wanted to replace him once we were sure he’d really gone.
We bumped into our next door neighbours last week and they told us about two female, fluffy kittens that the ispca had up for grabs.
Sure, we will take a look, we thought.
They were too cute to leave behind.
Damn their fluff and lonely eyes.

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Pain of the muscles: It’s Boot Camp!

Last week, we spent the weekend in the Monart Spa resort, eating, drinking and spa-ing (if that’s a word!)

It was heavenly…

So, I have decided to shatter all blissful and peaceful memories of that time by joining one of these “boot camps”. Apparently, they are the new black.

You know all about them. They involved an over the top fit lady/man making you run, jump and carry heavy things outside for an hour whilst shouting things like ” You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t need to” “It’s difficult cos you need to be here”

It damages your confidence and your muscle. But, I know it’s good for me. Eire Og is a Carlow-famed sports/GAA club that built a rather fabulous gym last year. Their emphasis is on keeping fit in as many ways as possible, outside of the gym.

They have built a pretty amazing outdoor training area, see the photo here.

They run these boot camps throughout the year and this one ends in a graduation and BBQ.

So, I’ll “fess” up, the aim of this was not to get fit or to meet people. I have a much more simple aim.

Burgers, sausages and wine.

I’ll let you know how it works out but next appointment with pain is the running club this Saturday. Join us at 9 a.m. at Eire Og, if you dare!

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Opera for Carlow is back but not in the way you think!

We were all invited to the premiere of the first viewing of “Opera for Carlow” performance in GBS Theatre last week.

It started out all civilised in the Carpe Diem bar, sipping fizzy sodas and ended in the one and only chippy left open in Carlow Town on a Wednesday night.( See, Brian, told you I’d find one!)

It was amazing to see and hear all the hard work we had put in over the year. It looked great! I couldn’t believe how well it was and envied anyone who had witnessed the live performance! Afterwards, there was yummy desserts by Lennons alongside cups of tea. Most of headed back to Carpe Diem, where the tea and coffee continued into the late, late hours.

I knew it was time to go home when I attempted to lead an army of 8 followers through the strangely empty streets of Carlow in search of chips. I led my followers to an establishment that I cannot remember the name of. The chips were not hand cut but they did provide garlic mayo, which is a thumbs up.

I left a smaller gathering of mixed sopranos and tenor/bass outside the chip shop, fighting over beans cooking on a hot stove or something.

I miss you, guys! If you really find it hard to quell those “Opera” hormones, then listen out to Lyric FM this Friday, 1st July at 7 PM. Excite! You can check out audio boo at http://audioboo.fm/boos/397510-an-opera-for-carlow-documentary-preview

Also, if you need your addicition to John or Brian fulfilled( and who doesnt? ;)) then head to the Galway Film Fleadh. John has written a script for a film in his spare time. It’s called “Behold the Lamb”. It looks great, see it here at http://www.galwayfilmfleadh.com/programme.php?ct=world-cinema&cid=1&t=behold-the-lamb&id=192 So, if you happen to be in Galway around the 9th July, it may be nice to pop in there. Unfortunately, I have not received confirmation that Fergal has made any films so don’t expect to see him there!

Thanks, GBH and everyone who made our special premiere night happen!

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How can we get people to shop more in Carlow Town?

Okay, a simple question for you.
Imagine your town has an annual festival of arts and culture every year and its quite popular, actually.
This festival improves every year, adding quality acts and events for children to adults alike.
One feature it always has is a French Market, full of fresh foods and drink stalls. Smelly cheese, sauces, baklava, organic BBQ, you get the vibe?
Ethnic clothes and jewellery, fortune tellers and flowers, herbs and plants
The people associate this festival with this market and look forward to it every year. They might spend a Saturday or Sunday looking around this market, soaking it up and then venture into local cafes and restaurants, grab some lunch and coffee. Possibilities are endless, would you not think?

This year, in Carlow, it was decided not to have the French Market as it impacts on local business.

I hear the French market is on in Newbridge this weekend, I might go up there instead and pay for parking for the day, have a coffee or two, have my lunch, check out the shopping centre while I’m at it and soak up the market atmosphere

The simple question is “Was this a clever decision for the local businesses to make in Carlow?”

Grrrrr.

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Liverpool this weekend:A magical and non mystery tour awaits you!

Well, my lovely husband has rewarded me again for being a good wife.

He told me he wanted to take me away somewhere nice and I could pick!

We are massive Beatles fans and love visiting the UK so Liverpool was the next city on my hit list.

Booked the flights with ryanair and a nice, small boutique hotel for an unbelievably reasonable price within minutes.

Expect articles about Anfield, The Tate, Cavern Club, Magical mystery tours and fish and chips.

Absolutely has to be done. You might also see some photos of me eating fish and chips. Or an arty photo at the Tate.

But not one of me on Abbey Road, @anseoamuniteoir tells me that it is in London…booo. Have to settle for Penny Lane. Now, someone else will tell me that’s in Manchester.

I know you eagerly wait to hear all about it. Be patience, my precious ones. All will be revealed.

But, oh yay!

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The best brown bread you will ever eat:Carlow Farmers’ Market

I love Mike’s bread and the Truffle Fairy’s Chocolate Brownie at the  Carlow Farmers’ Market

See the photo above. That bread is the best bread you will EVER eat. I can place that bet with you. If I’m wrong, you have no taste buds or just want to win a bet by telling lies. The photo does the bread no justice. A lump of cucumber, some Tesco Hummus and on the bread board is the best chocolate brownie you will EVER taste.

EVER.

These 2 items can be purchased at our Farmers’ Market every Saturday 9-2. If you arrive after 11, these items will surely be gone. The people of Carlow will have scoffed them all. Who could blame them?

Mike’s Brown Bread

Hennessey’s Deli and Cafe only sells yummy food. Fact.

One of those yummy foods is Mike’s Brown Bread. Mike and Trish own Hennesey’s and make all the afore mentioned yummy foods. This bread tastes like cake and bread at the same time. It has seeds, wheatgerm and other nice, secret ingredients. You will not stop until you have finished the whole loaf. That’s a promise. Mike doesn’t know the recipe. He tells me he just throws stuff in a bowl. I don’t believe a word of it. A bread like this had to be planned. He makes 21 loaves for the Farmers’ Market. nce, they’re gone, they’re gone.

Truffle Fairy’s Chocolate Brownies

One of these brownies cost €3.50. At first, I was shocked. I gave out. I complained to simon. How could this be? Ireland is a rip-off. I then tasted the brownie.

That was it.

Complaints finished.

You can find this chocolate fairy at www.trufflefairy.com and in Kilkenny, Dun Laoghaire and loads of other places.

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Nicholas Cage, a girl who grows wings and the problem with young, Irish women

Since, opera floated right out of my life, I’ve became very attached to an item called TV. For the first time in years, I went to Xtravision and rented some DVDs out. They’re doing a really appealing deal where you can rent 2 new releases for 2 nights, 2 drinks and a popcorn for €10. Pretty, pretty good.
So, I went for Black Swan and Bad Lieutenant, pulled the curtains in the sitting room tight and sat back ready to be entertained.
Hmmmm.
Problem was that Terry had been raving about Bad Lieutenant since forever and seeing as Nicholas Cage rocks and Terry is normally correct in these matters, the standards were set high! Don’t get me wrong, the film was good but it was not amazing, excellent or even hilarious.
I laughed slightly at 2 bits, I enjoyed it but I felt like I had seen it all before. Get this-a cop goes bad. He takes illegal drugs. He blackmails bad guys. He does naughty things to even naughtier people. The other characters are rubbish, bad acting and impossible to be sympathetic towards. In short, Nicholas Cage saves the film. I didn’t like the iguana and lizard that rambled throughout the film that symbolised Nicholas’ character’s mental state. In fact, I think the ending was quite mainstream and predictable.
I’ve seen a film like this before. Similar to the Town or the Departed but not as slick.
Or maybe, I’m just a grump.
The second film was Black Swan. Very disturbing. Unnerving. Odd. But vaguely fascinating. Natalie Portman was truly excellent but the film couldn’t make up its mind. Was it a thriller or a wacky, off the wall, all in the head similar to American Psycho? Certainly not as clever as American psycho, where you never quite believed what was going on yet you did somehow. When Natalie’s character, Nina takes a jump at the end, I was left feeling thankful that it was all over for her and for us.
The last film was called His and hers. We recorded it on Sky, so it was free, free, free! Ish.
It started off on a bad note, the basic premise is that this documentary filmed loads of different women from the age of 4 up till 80+. The women spoke about the men in their lives-their fathers, their sons and their boyfriends and husbands. The interesting thing about this film was that all the women were incredibly traditional and Irish. They worshipped the Daddy. They met their “man” at a young age, yearned for a wedding ring and children. The young women came across as being insecure, immature and unappealing to me. However, the women started to get interesting when they got to about 40+. Their relationships, their take on life, their sense of humour came out. The film ends with the wives being left without their husband, their life partner that have grown to love. A perfect circle of life comes about. The film is beautifully shot with moving music and complete honesty. I really liked it and I don’t know why. It made me reflect and created conversation between the two of us. It entertained in a simple way.
Go get it.

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Opera for Carlow:It’s all gone. It’s all over…

After over 7 months of rehearsals, the Opera for Carlow project finished last Saturday night with a sold-out audience and standing ovation.

As I walked away from the GBS theatre in Carlow, I felt sad and lonely. Totally down. The wrap party was on in the Seven Oaks and I had to go home to get ready for my niece’s communion in Mayo, which meant leaving at 5 in the morning. so, no partying for me!

Today, I feel better. It feels great to have free time to watch tv and chill! I’ve thrown myself back into work and am planning my writing for the Carlow Writing Club next Tuesday.

The performances went superbly. The matinee was the best, in my opinion. A great buzz from the audience with Friday night being my worst. My friends were in the audience so I was ultra nervous in case I would make a mistake.

Overall, I’m delighted with myself. Really proud that I saw it through to the end. Achieved one of my dreams-to perform professionally. Would I do it again?

I’d think carefully, i feel that I’ve done it now. There’s so much more I want to try in life. Opera is done, I loved it, loved the people I have met and feel much more back to the old Rozzie was, before I started the Opera project.

Shelter me from the rain-I thank you for giving me the confidence and belief i knew I once had.

Life is good.

http://flic.kr/ps/Q7FxK check out the latest photos from the show.

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Opera for Carlow:Tonight is the night!

I am going to try to attempt to fit in 3 weeks of fun-filled and bloody hard work of rehearsals into a blog post!

Impossible, really. the last few weeks of my easter holidays consisted of rehearsals day and night culminating in the arrival of the RTE Symphony Orchestra a few days ago!

The first night we got to perform with them was quite amazing! For me, anyway! I found it amusing that some cast members were pretending to be all “cool with it”, as if they were used to singing with the RTE symhpony orchestra every day. Well, maybe, they are but even if I did this as a day job, I’d still be overwhelmed and privileged. My Father-in-Law sang with them many years ago in the National Symphony Hall and he still speaks about it.

Lisa from Athena Media dropped in last night to speak with some of the cast about their final thoughts on the Opera for Carlow. She brought my attention to the Performance Preview, which can be found here. “Shelter me from the rain” is the song that you can hear at the beginning of the podcast. It sounds great! Click here http://audioboo.fm/boos/347843-an-opera-for-carlow-performance-preview I love Damien’s reference to being in a secret society! Lisa has done an amazing job of archiving all these interviews and gelling them together in a super podcast! She’s also a lovely person and have been delighted to meet her! Everytime, I listen to her podcasts, they get me extremely motivated again!

Last night was the Dress Rehearsal, which went well. The audience seemed to enjoy it though there is still room for improvement, which we hope to perfect tonight.

Tonight is the first performance with a civic reception after with all the important people of Carlow invited! Naturally, the cast are all going!

Anyway, if you still haven’t got tickets, it’s too late! they sold out but check back at gbstheatre.ie in case they have cancellations!

I’ll update after the show and when I have slept for about a month!

The main photo here is of the full cast on the stairs in the Dolmen Hotel, I’m second from bottom left! The full photo album can be viewed here http://www.flickr.com/photos/rozzlewis/sets/72157626540073598/ and I’m constantly adding to them so please, return! I’m hoping to get loads of professional photos loaned to us so I will put them all up too!