I remember the Smithfield Horse show with less than fondness. Once a month we'd be woken on Sunday mornings to the noise of hundreds of horses out in the square below our apartment. And then all the crap (literally) left over after they went. I really liked living there but it was always such a crazy situation to have this in the middle of a huge apartment complex and two hotels. So it was a little embarrassing to hear about the recent shooting there during the Horse market and not the kind of thing I want to show my wife to persuade her to visit her old home again. As is fitting for a classy newspaper like the Dail Mail, they labelled it a "Big fat gypsy shoot-out". It was of course on the local news. I think I'll skip mentioning it to the guys at work.

Seems like I'm referencing the NYTimes a lot recently but.. Pretty surprised to find my old neighbourhood featuring in their travel section. Smithfield was a real handy place to live for a while - by Dublin standards the apartment was great, nice supermarket downstairs, a tram stop and a ten minute walk to the city centre. Add to that a 10 minute walk to work and it was pretty sweet. However, the whole place was supposed to become a big cultural centre and tourist draw, but it just never materialised. Apart from those living in the apartments heading off to work the whole area always felt very empty. Lots of scangers at night time, the strange sight of the Traveller's monthly horse market, far too many empty shop and office units on street level; I knew the place was going nowhere after a dodgy Paddy Power opened. Still, the NYTimes seems more optimistic about the area, despite the recession.. link

A new Chapatti place opened up just downstairs. Popped our heads in to see what it was like and of course got ambushed by all the staff desperate to get some customers. The place is an odd combination of grill and wine bar, and they have all these high stools waiting for some busy Saturday night that I don't think will be coming for some time yet. The food - that is, the chapatti - itself was huge though, and for under a tenner these days in Dublin that's really cheap. I had only a vague idea of what a chapatti was beforehand but after seeing it made before me it seems like they're some sort of huge Indian Burrito..nice. I'd go in there more often but I wouldn't to be the only customer twice.

By my reckoning its been Christmas since some time late in Septemeber. But thats fine, it was like that last year and I think I might soon becoming immune. However my hopes had risen slightly when it seemed like the annual outdoor skating rink in Smithfield would be cancelled this year due to apparent laziness on behalf of someone somewhere in the chain of command. My memories of it last year are being awoken at the crack of dawn (thats around 8.15am in January) to the same songs on a loop blasting out of the speakers. I never actually went down and tried it cos the place would always be full of little scangers and soggy skates. Anyway, hopes are now officially dashed as last week Dublin City Council got their act together and recruited some other company to set it up and as I write they're erecting it in the plaza, this year with a roof. via Hanging Hat

One of the advantages of living in Smithfield is the occasional little festival or show. According to posters put up around the place there was going to be some sort of parade and exhibition. So tonight we stood outside for ages as speakers blasted out the themes to Ghostbusters, Halloween and Thriller on an endless loop. Then finally around the corner came a huge procession of kids in costume and drummers and assorted monsters and we were treated to a fireworks-pupperty combo thing..

After extended practice I've attained some mastery over many kinds of culinary spices and seasonings (read: salt AND pepper) and thought I was ready to graduate to the next level - herbs. So while browsing I passed by a novel little thing called a "Pocket Garden" and kind of fell for the idea. Grow your own basil..in a bag! What could be simpler?! .. a lot apparently. I've been waiting weeks and weeks now..offering the kind of care only a horticultural master could offer (read: watering) and have even sung a few bars of some of classic tunes for encouragement. But as of yet...nothing. I was supposed to see results after two weeks. I thought I noticed some green shoots the other day but it turned out to be mold or fungus or something. Nothing really edible unless I'm really hungry.

Last year as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival there were these weirdcool fire scupture things on display in the docklands. This year instead in Smithfield we had these wacky German fire fighters, spraying everyone with foam and water and stripping down to their undies during their comedy performance. And last week, thanks to some free unwanted corporate tickets, I finally got a chance to go to Croke Park. Despite being the (womens) GAA Football final, the stadium was mostly empty. But the game was just as entertaining.

Woke up on Sunday to find the horse market in full swing outside. This is where, once a month, farmers and assorted scruffy looking kids get together to trade filthy looking ponys for wads of cash. This monthly gathering predates the building of these apartments by many a decade, so I guess it shouldn't come as a huge suprise. But the few times its occurred so far while I've been here "business" has been over by around noon, leaving only the horse manure to be washed away in the rain. This time however it kept going until well into the afternoon, there were loads more horses and loads more annoying teenagers. The local supermarket and video rental shop had to close, while the cashier of the local Spar had to suddenly become a bouncer, preventing all the kids getting inside. Horses were raced up and down the square in small chariots all afternoon - when I returned in the evening the place was full of rubbish and horse shit. Keiko was bemused enough, but I can't even imagine what all the tourists in both neighbouring hotels must have thought when they looked out their window. Surely not the city streets of Dublin in 21st century Ireland. There was a lunar eclipse on Saturday night too. The sky was clear and judging from all the other efforts on flickr, a good chance to take a photo. My effort left something to be desire though. On Friday I had the rare chance of going to see a play again - the first time in three years and a David Mamet one again - American Buffalo. I didn't have much idea about the plot beforehand except that there guy from the Wire was in it. He played one of the main characters like a cross between The Dude and Tyler Durden. The whole thing was pretty good (even if the American accents weren't quite up to scratch sometimes) and the place was packed out, possibly full of other people who'd been waiting for the rare chance to see another kind of play in Ireland (the other ones being laments about rural life in Ireland 100 years ago..and Shakespeare).

Guess I`ve been kind of kept busy on the run up to Chirstmas searching for an apartment (man what a pain that was) and busy busy at shitty shitty work. So this past month I`ve been trying to help my new flatmate settle in..to school and to Ireland. If the former had been nicer, the latter would have been much easier. As it is though, the school has been crap about a lot of stuff..wrong or no info on Visa`s and bank accounts. No organisation whatsoever. I knew beforehand that our lack of robotic toilets and functional public transport would put a dampner on things, but the weather has been fairly shit too and it feels like I`m fighting a losing battle trying to give a good impression about this place. So I really hope Spring comes soon, that the sun decides to show itself, and maybe I can find something about this town I can show off.