Leaky Ceiling
I woke up this morning to Neen screaming "there's a leak in the attic! Waters dripping through the ceiling.... " We were due to have the ball cock changed in the secondary water tank in the attic today. Landlord had a look at it last night and determined quite rightly the entire unit needed to be changed and urgently. Well up to that point I had managed to implement a make shift fix to prevent the tank overflowing. (Styrofoam wedge holding the floating cock up and the valve closed) With all his messing the delicate balance was disrupted and when we went to bed the valve wasn't working what so ever. As long as the water was able to flow out of the over flow faster than it was coming in we'd be OK until the following day...
By this morning the tank was nearly at over flow point and small drips of water started to seep through the ceiling justifiably freaking Neen out. We called the landlord asap and he arrived up, new part in hand to fix the problem. Generally for a job like this you have to turn off the water for the house at the mains usually located near the road. He didn't have a clue were the valve was so he just jumped in... Needless to say there was water everywhere. He did it as quickly as possible but a lot of water overflowed and was dripping heavily into the sitting room below. We managed to move the TV, Wii, Blue Ray player etc in time as well as a few family photos that lined the mantel but the place was soaked... Alls well now. I soaked up the pool of water in the attic, and turned the heat on full blast to dry out the house.
Cake for Presidential Candidate Michael D. Higgins
I received an email last night from the Galway United Secretary saying the manager would be presenting a cake to Michael D. Higgins the following day and that all support from the Management committee would be appreciated. I was feeling pretty crappy (I've been sick for the past few days) but I decided to go and fill out the crowd a bit and use the opportunity to wish presidential candidate Michael D. well in the rest of his race. Lo' and behold come 3 o'clock no body but myself had turned up. I didn't have the new managers number yet and the rest of the Committee were out of reach or unavailable. As Michael D and his caravan of volunteers and reporters approached we decided I would have to do. So I grabbed the cake, and while posing for photos presented Michael D. with it. There were half a dozen photographers and a crew from RTE the national television station who filmed the presentation and did an interview with Michael D. and myself. I was very briefly on the 6 o'clock main evening news today with Michael D. quite mortifying as I looked really out of place and awkward but it was good exposure for the club.
Giving Cake to the Masses
The cake itself was a token gift more than anything. For photo purpose only really. After the presentation Michael D's caravan walked off leaving the cake behind. I was on my bike so couldn't take it with me and naturally didn't want it to go to waste so I asked the bakery it was made in to slice it with the intention of catching up with the Michael D supporters and passing out the cake. By the time it was sliced and ready to go the crowd were long gone so myself and a friend went around town and offered free cake to the passers buy. We gave cake to buskers, homeless people...everyone! We brought the last dozen slices up to the 'Occupy Protesters' located in Eyre Square. They were delighted with the free treat until they found out the cakes origin - of all things they were eating a cake created in honour of a "Politician" Their disdain was fleeting and they put politics aside and happily polished off the rest of the cake with gusto. Really really nice people, - the Galway Occupy Protesters. I whole heartily applaud their dedication to the cause and wish them the best of luck in their journey for justice. If you are passing through or living in Galway I urge you to drop by for a chat with them or to donate much needed food and supplies. Better yet if you are so politically inclined and have the free time pitch a tent and join them...
Present for the President (to be) Michael D.
A cake wasn't the only thing I was able to present to presidential candidate Michael D. Higgins today. In a separate presentation I also gave him one of my original watercolours, featuring a quote by W. B. Yeats. Just a small token to wish him good luck and thank him for his dedication to the Arts in Ireland. I hope he liked it!
The watercolour I presented to Michael D.
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