Green Invasion
-Great to see you again, Oisín, I mean Whacker. How’s it going?
-Oh, howya Seamus! Brilliant! What brings you back to Dublin?
-The Oldies. They can’t keep away from the place and I don’t blame them. Sure, I am as happy as Larry to be back here myself. It’s so good to be by the sea again.
-Good on ya, Seamus! So what are you up to in town today?
-His Lordship muttered something about Paddy, I wasn’t really paying attention. Maybe he’s meeting this Paddy chap for a pint or… eeeeeek! My god, look at that! The whole city is full of little green creatures. We’re being invaded by Martians!!
-Keep your feathers on, Seamus! Did you not realise that it’s Paddy’s Day today? Those are just humans wearing the green. They’re heading into the city centre to watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Have you never been before?
-No. This is definitely a first for me. Wow, there are tens of thousands of them! Ah, are those the floats? They’re really cool.
-Yeah, it’s quite a spectacle alright, Seamus. I just love watching the parade every year. There’s plenty of dancing and music as well. The pipe bands take a bit of getting used to though. Bagpipe music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Watch out, here comes one now.
-Aw, that’s not so bad, Whacker. I kind of like it. It sure beats the Death Metal music I get subjected to back home in Austria!
-Do you know what, Seamus? I think it’s almost as much fun to watch the spectators themselves as to watch the parade. Some of their outfits are brilliant.
-You’re right there, Whacker. They’re great! Ah, and now I know why the swimmers I spotted out at The Forty Foot near Sandycove this morning were decked out in green, white and orange. The lunatics!
-Oh, oh! The wind is getting up a bit now… and there’s the rain. Par for the course!
-That was bad planning on St. Patrick’s part, wasn’t it? Dying on the 17th March. Not a great day for outdoor celebrations in this climate. Pity he didn’t pop his clogs sometime in the summer.
-Ah, well, Seamus, don’t you worry about that. The Irish won’t let a little thing like a touch of bad weather get them down. You can be sure that they’ll still have great craic. Even if it rains on their parade!
