Algemeen

In order to get to the main point of today’s story, I first need to explain something to you: the Irish postal system. Or, rather, the postal code system. Or, to be even more precise, the 2 postal code systems, because it’s Ireland so we have 2 systems for something that every other country has…

June 7, 2021, was a remarkable day in Irish history. It was the day the pubs reopened after having been closed for 164 days, a period of closure never before experienced in the history of the nation.  We all know the reason for this, ofcourse- the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lacklustre response from our…

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the introduction of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Ireland. The government is considering introducing this as a measure to combat problem drinking. I actually support this idea, but also have some side notes.  I’ve had a number of people sending me questions about this and also…

Many years ago, when I was living in Holland, I was a regular visitor of a heavy metal message board. The internet was still a new thing then (I’m talking early 2000s here) and the possibility to discuss the finer things in life, like music and drinking, with strangers who were many miles away, without…

Some time in 2005, I came across a blog from a guy in New York called Dan Freeman. He had retired in his 50s, after he sold his company, and now looked for an activity to fill his days.  What he came up with was this: he was going to visit 1000 bars in one…

In August 2012, I came back to Dublin from a 3 week trip through the United States. I had visited Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC, and then went back to Philadelphia and Boston. What does this have to do with Spain? Well, I’ll get there in a minute. After 2 days of acclimatizing…