Our columnist Frank Brandon battles Galway traffic, calls for respect for disabled parking spaces, looks ahead to a big night of fashion in Creggs, and reflects on a mixed weekend of sporting fortunes (and misfortunes)
It’s Monday morning, and I find myself heading off to Galway, where I have an eye appointment at half past ten in the Maldron Hotel – the one (almost) beside the big Dunnes Stores.
I have to be chauffeured, because they will be putting drops into my eyes that will make them sting a lot and cause them to be blurry, and therefore I cannot drive home. It seems that if I did and had an accident, I would have no insurance cover.
Anyway, we headed off in loads of time, assuming that we would miss the heavy traffic that is always going into Galway until after the 9 am rush. Sadly, for some reason Monday turned out to be very different; once we hit the Tuam road heading for Claregalway, the traffic was backed up the whole way.
The motorway, when it opened, was supposed to alleviate a lot of the traffic problems that Claregalway has always been noted for, but it doesn’t appear to have worked. If anything, it’s as bad as it ever was.
You would have to wonder about the decision to open a new Lidl supermarket right in the heart of the village, obviously increasing the number of cars that come into Claregalway. I know Lidl and Aldi have revolutionised the grocery industry here – and indeed have made the cost of living that bit cheaper for everyone, so they would be welcome in any place – but surely they could have got a site slightly out of town?
Whatever the cause (and I’m told an accident on the Headford Road didn’t help), it was a very slow journey, and I arrived into my appointment with only a couple of minutes to spare. I needn’t have worried in any case, as our eye doctor told us she too got held up by the Headford Road incident, had to detour through Claregalway, and was almost an hour behind schedule!
Despite that, she put the boot down after arriving and got through her tailback pretty quickly. Whatever she discovers in my examination will reach me in a couple of weeks, so I’ll wait and see (a terrible pun).
Parking pet peeve
Talking of being on the road, the other day I was sitting in my car outside a supermarket when a car pulled into the disabled driver’s space.
If anything makes my blood boil, it’s to see able-bodied people take up these spaces, so I waited to see who would get out of the parked car. Sure enough, three people emerged – two men (one reasonably elderly and the other quite young), along with a young woman – and they all walked unaided into the shop.
To make matters worse, there were plenty of regular spaces available all around the carpark and I have to admit it made me wonder: why could they not have used those available spaces and left the only disabled spot that I could see to someone who might actually need to use it?
Anyway, it’s one of my pet hates, so please respect disabled parking spaces – it’s not too much to ask!
Dressed to impress
Onto local matters: I want to give you more details about the huge fashion show that is taking place in the school hall on Friday, October 2nd, with Celia Holman Lee and the Holman Lee Agency.
Sheila Beirne tells me that the shops attending include Fusion Moycullen, Marian’s Boyle, Canella Lane online boutique, Josephine’s Castlerea, Satara Roscommon and Next Athlone. Our own award-winning milliner Majella Lennon, originally from Friaryland but now Galway-based, will be there, while Faizie Maizie from Roscommon will be showcasing jewellery and accessories.
Being a fashion icon myself, I know a stellar line-up when I see it, and this is certainly one!
Doors open at 7.15 pm for a drinks reception, and the show starts at 8 pm sharp. Tickets are only €30 and it’s all in aid of the local rural development group and the new Children’s Hospice in Castlebar.
So all you ladies, young and old, this is the night you’ve been waiting for – your fashion night awaits! Get your tickets now from O’Rourke’s Spar in Creggs or from Sheila Beirne on 087 8372944.
VAR from convincing
In sport, one of the things I have always been open about is my support for Manchester United, and along with thousands of others I have suffered as the club went into serious decline after the great success of the Alex Ferguson era.
And so, we all learnt to deal with several false dawns and false hope. As we deal with the recent sad loss against our neighbours, Manchester City, the one thing I can’t be accused of is sour grapes – and yet, in an era when the Premier League is an actual business where there are millions of pounds at stake, the decision to allow the Erling Haaland winner borders on the unbelievable.
For a number of years now, we have the VAR system in place to protect all teams and players from the terrible refereeing decisions that once marred the games. And yet it seems that VAR has only made things worse!
I won’t go into all the specifics as to how the VAR interventions cause so much disruption to so many matches, but how they can make so many obvious mistakes beats me – and Sunday’s defeat to City still rankles. The fact that the Referees Association have apologised for the mistake makes it even worse, although I also have to admit that we played very poorly.
However, the fantastic golf victory on the same day of Shane Lowry in the Irish Open, and of Leona Maguire as part of the Solheim Team who beat the US, helped to ease the pain – but not totally!
And finally…
A gentle reminder that myself and my family are holding a coffee morning on Saturday, September 26th, from 10 am to 1 pm in the school hall in Creggs for the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice.
You will know by now that, as a family, we experienced the support, kindness, and care of all at the hospice during my wife Carol’s stay there in her final days, almost two years ago. None of us will ever forget how good they were to both us and her.
Now it’s our pleasure to try to give something back, and so we invite you all to come along on that Saturday morning, enjoy a chat and a cup of tea or coffee, along with a nice bun or pastry, and if you can, make a small donation to the local hospice movement. It’s a truly wonderful cause.
We look forward to meeting you all there!
‘Til next week,
bye for now!
