Moving house is a pain in the bum. Through the changing circumstances of friends and others around me I’ve had to move house during the last two summers. I always forget how much stuff I have, I forget how long it takes to pack, I forget how much cleaning, sorting and nesting needs to be done before a new house becomes home. And that’s *after* you find somewhere to move to.

Now more than ever it feels like there’s not enough hours in the day. There’s so much good stuff on like the Carlsberg Comedy Carnival and the Festival of World Cultures. I have a stack of blog posts, articles and books I’m egging to read and now that the world cup is over good movies are hitting the cinemas once more. I haven’t had a chance to get to grips with the new version of WordPress yet or written about useful geeky things I’ve come across at work. I haven’t had a chance to get a haircut!

Hopefully in about 2 weeks time this will change. Living in town is going to give me back on average 2 hours per day. That’s a gain of 14 hours a week.

I’m determined to make good use of this gain. It’s probably going to be a challenge given I could easily spend one of those extra hours a day in bed in the morning by delaying the alarm clock!

It’s going to be an interesting and hopefully fruitful challenge.

BRB.

Annecy, France

I love France. I say this having only set foot in the lovely country once but rather than call my love naive, hear me out.

I love France for:

• Cheese – the stinkier the better and boy do they make it good and stinky
• Wine & champagne – enough said
• Food and cooking – their love for it, their enjoyment of it and what they’ve given to the world as a result
• The language
• Style and elegance
• My favourite perfume
• The countryside
• The charming old cities
• Artists, Monet’s work in particular has always made me smile
• Giving Jacques Brel a career in music
• Amélie
• A healthy sense of national pride

Most of all I love France for the fabulous image it has portrayed of itself for me. Maybe that will shatter some day and my dream of running a cutesy little restaurant in a small village in my retirement there will shatter into a million pieces.

For now, I salute you France. Hopefully see you again soon et bon anniversaire!

The official gist:

Shane’s a bit fucked up.

He wants you to be the witness at an inquest into his life.

With the softness of his mother, and the bravado of his father, he will tell you things he doesn’t want you to know.

Some say he’s comedy gold. Others think he’s self-indulgent. Why don’t you decide?

Group Therapy For One was first presented at the ABSOLUT Dublin Fringe Festival 2009, where it was performed in Shane’s family home and nominated for Spirit of The Fringe.

It was my favourite show of Absolut Fringe last year, my sketchy review is here if you fancy more info.

It’s different, it’s fun and it’s challenging.

Grab your tickets for the Friday show here and Saturday show here at City Arts Centre on Bachelor’s Walk – it’s a steal for a tenner. And maybe give them some Facebook love while you’re at it.

See you there.

Like many Irish iPhone users I use my phone as my alarm every morning.

Luckily it’s preceded by my radio switching on low to help wake me up before the bells start going ninety coz my alarm did not go off today.

While the stereo said 7.44, the phone said 6.56.

After 10 minutes of eye-rubbing and my brain slowly kicking into gear I decided it was best to get up, shower and then see what the heck was going on.

Seems it was an O2 network blip.

Who the heck gave the networks such power?!!!??!!!!!

Time to buy a watch, perhaps…

• The Gravediggers is a smashing old style pub tucked away in Glasnevin – glad I got to see it before leaving the area, good pint of plain too
• Toy Story 3 is fantastic
• Ireland would be a lovely country if we could only roof it
• Acupuncture is brilliant
• I will not be able to work at a desk for my entire working life
• I still find soccer boring to watch
• The Aviva Stadium is a beautiful piece of architecture
• Shopping for large household appliances is head-melting without coffee in you
• Dreams can be fascinating and fun and I’m going to start making note of them

The main fun will be happening in Meeting House Square where they’ll be rolling out the green carpet (yes, the grassy sort!) so bring your picnic blanket and your shades (no harm being optimistic!) and get ready for :

• Mr Balloonatic & Face Painting
• Leprechaun Storytelling
• The National Concert Hall’s ‘Blow the Dust Orchestra’
• Yodel
• The Electro Acoustic Journey of the Joculator
• Dublin Gospel Choir
• Ottoni Brass Ensemble

It’s going to be a brilliant day. See you in there

Some cherry-picked musical highlights of the day:

Play with Music at The Contemporary Music Centre

The CMC are hosting a range of installations by multimedia students from around Ireland. Bring the little ones (of 4+) and get creative with the sounds, sights and gadgets at CMC between 1 and 4pm. More info available here.

A Musical Menu at The Queen of Tarts

A delicious slice of cake in one of the yummiest places in town with a string trio on the side? Fancy that? Well then head for The Queen of Tarts on Cow’s Lane at 3pm.

Julie Feeney & Tarab at Meeting House Square

The gorgeous poppy sounds of Galway girl Julie Feeney followed by a lively mix of jazz and traditional music from across Europe in the form of Tarab at Meeting House Square at 7pm. It’s free but you better book your tickets here quickly!

Dirty Dancing – Movies on the Square

What better way to round up a musical day in Temple Bar than with this 80′s classic. Get ready to dance in the aisles (well, the street I guess) and sing along. Tickets are going faster than you can say “no-one leaves Baby in the corner” so get in touch with TBCT now! Starts at 10.30pm.

See you there!

My hand-picked highlights:

Cardboard City workshop with the Irish Architecture Foundation.

Think you might have the next Richard Rogers on your hands? Why not your little ones flex their architecture muscles at a fun hands-on workshop.

• When: 8th-11th July from 11am-1pm
• Where: 5 Scarlet Row, West Essex Street, Old City, Temple Bar
• Age: 9 – 12yrs old
• Price: FREE—booking required, click here for details.

Cirque de Legume

I saw this at Absolut Fringe last year and I laughed until it hurt. You’ll either love or hate this crazy circus duo.

• When: Thursday, 7pm
• Where: Meeting House Square
• Age: all
• Price: FREE

Check out the full programme here or if you’re around town do grab yourself one of the programmes to help plan our your weekend in and around Temple Bar.

It’s a pretty busy programme so here’s a rough outline of what’s on for the weekend that I’ve put together.

You can click here to download it as a PDF or big JPG if that’s your persuasion. The full festival website is here and programme PDF here.

One of the best things about the festival is that most events are FREE. Some are ticketed however so check the website or get in touch with the box office in advance to find out. You can get them at:

Temple Bar Cultural Trust Box Office (TBCT)
TBCT Box Office opens on 17th June
12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.
01 677 2255
info@templebar.ie

You can keep an eye on what’s happening via Twitter at @tbct or even give me a shout at @cloudsteph.

For all the shutterbugs there’s a photo competition happening too. Here’s the details:

Capture culture in Temple Bar during The Summer Sensational and be in with a chance to win a four course dinner for two at La Dolce Vita, a delicious Italian wine bar in the heart of the Old City area of Temple Bar. Competition guidelines available on www.flickr.com/groups/templebarphotocompetition

Despite being a lover of all things artsy, creative and festivals (especially the free sort) it’s probably important to point out that I’ve agreed to help TBCT out with spreading the word about the festival this year best I can. Over the next few days I’ll be blogging, tweeting and telling whoever I meet what I think they might enjoy going along to but don’t worry, my judgement isn’t clouded by the chance of bagging a free phone. If I do win it, it’s a bonus and will be going to a good home.

Hopefully see you around Temple Bar this weekend!