Ho Ho Hooooooooolllllly Cheese

I traded in the surfboard.....................................for a sportscar! OK I didn't really, but I did trade it in for a Mini Mal, a bigger board that's alot more fun. You could get up on the crack of dawn on it, have tea while surfing, and go for a jog while you are out at sea - this is my favourite as everyone on shore thinks you're walkin' on water.
Enough shite.
I just want to wish all at home, and abroad, a very merry christmas hols.
Here comes the list:
To the countless people I leave out, get over it, I'm under pressure and just forget things from time to time! Hehe
Family: Have a great one! Hope all is well back home, and in Spain and U.S., we'll all meet up in August for pints in Spain! Woo Hoo!
Helge & Jessica: Happy Xmas, hope your cats get some great presents.
Sean & Kim: I love myself, but you guys are a close second most of the time. Hope the early new year brings no surprises, just exactly what you expect to happen.
Simon & Marina: Get a house god damn it! It's my turn ta cook when I get back, Simon sort out your cd's.
Pads & Rob: Have you room for a crazy old fool in that apartment when I get back? I found one beggin' on the street here.
Da Dunnes: Happy Christmas! Hope you are all well, and pleasantly tipsy on christmas morning.
Irene: Merry Xmas! Hope I'll be over in one piece early in the new year, for surf, tossin' turf and a barn dance or two.
Milo: You crazy cat. Have you heard from Frank Beard recently?
Bundy: You looked lovely the last time I saw you. beandolan@gmail.com is my address and nellies is: not here anymore, due to spam!
The Kelly's: Have a great Xmas hol, we'll have a glass of wine over here in your honour, and possibly sacrifice a Turkey or two, depending on Safeway and their stock levels.
Hazel and Laura: Hope trad is going well, can't wait to get back for a good sesh. Laura what we had was magic!
Jerome: Hope France doesn't hold on to ya, remember you're Irish now! I swear I won't talk about anything rude when I'm back
Marie: Lookin' forward ta some hearin ya belt out the Lunasa! Don't let college turn you into a student!
Ronan: Keep up the music, Pints on the sunday when I'm back
Bill: Grow a beard, it'll be fun!
Aileen: Happy hols, hope to jam on the guitar when I get back!
Raychel: You have to come out, the old team back again! Start saving...
Eddie Carroll: We're still doing what we want would ya believe!
Davy Curley: Have a great Xmas man, hopefully I'll be meetin the auld cousin soon
Eamonn Hatton: Harmonica lessons for me when I'm home, I'll give ya 30 an hour
Eddie K: Hope the music is going great, can't wait ta hear it all again.
Fergal Cox: Missin' the craic with ya man, lookin' forward to a winter afternoon beside the bar in the shack.
Foxy: You stud muffin
Pat Holloway: Have a great Xmas Pat, lookin' forward to seein ya when I'm home. Homemade soup and brown bread, and I'll do the best Brasso job You've ever seen!


OK have ta go, I'm in a library would ya believe, only two internet computers in town are here, and they are booked in for 2 minuites time.
Happy Hols everyone!
Happy New year to all!
Bean

Takin' off the auld hikin' boots.

Yes, that's right.
We've settled down for a fortnight or so. It'll be nice to have a base again, nice to get back on the road after it all too.
We're all pretty much wrecked after all the travel, surf, binge drinking, and general Tom foolery.
The money is reeeeaaallly gone this time, so I'm looking for a job.
I forgot to say we almost ran over a Koala, he was so chillaxed! Just crossing the road at his own leisure as Terence hurtled towards him, with his jowls a quiver. We got out and took some photos with him. Nice guy actually, from Australia orginally. Still there.
Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnyway, we're about an hour north of Melbourne (two and half hours on Terence-time) In Rob and Jackies home house. For all who read this in non-numerical order, and for those who do, but havn't clciked who they are, these fione names belong to Smeels cousins. That's right!
Sometimes...........just sometimes............... I do what I want.
So far the TV has been the main attraction, followed closely by the fridge, and possibly the real beds. I don't have one of these myself, but jsut to know they are there, is enough.
I opened the non-working fridge in Terence during my clean-out of him this morning.... veg, veg from Adelaide. Och no it was bad. Like a big, black, hairy football.
We spent last week down in Portsea, a wee village for the super-rich Melbournians to retreat south to. Good surf, a little to good perhaps!
Thanks to Smeels and her generous greater family, I am now back addicted to tea. 8 cups this morning! I hold them very high for that.
Making tea on the road was to hard, and paying 3.50 for it was even harder.
Found an ALDI shop yesterday on the way here, went mad, for a low cost! What a feckin' dork eh!?!
And now ladies and gentlemen, a borderline rude, Scotish joke. From the bowls of our bowls, we thank you Iain for telling us this:
Scotish accent engaged...
Whit's pink and wrinkly and hangs oot yer pants?....................................your mum!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes, it just gets better every time.......sigh..............

I'm off now for a mug o' scald.
Bean

Bad spelling

Unlabeled is not spelt right in the next entry.
My spelling sucks. I always make mistooks

Melburnt

Downtown Melbourne. This place has a striking likeness to San Francisco, with hills, trams, colours, crusty people and a bay.
Adelaide was stunning, crisp, not for the faint hearted, well people who get faint around homosexuality.
Melbourne is great for a few reasons:
1. We spent our first night in a converted nunnery.
2. The first thing I saw on a TV screen (I was just passing by it - still a crusty hippy :) ) was Father Ted!
3. Amelia Kelly of The Elms, Galway City and rare sightings in Monaghan, has the most generous cousins of us all. We moved into "The flat in town" which was just across from where we stayed in the nunnery, weird..... Anyway "The flat in town" is acutally an extremely large house. Although "Not furnished" it does have a jacuzzi, hot water, the best shower I've seen in real life, central location and eight really cool people.

So rumour has it we are going to the cinema tonight. Wait that's a complete lie. Rumour has it we're going to the casino tonight. I won't bring any money, because I'll loose it all.

A Jacuzzi!

So Amelia Kelly and her extremely generous extended family, have offered us the "Home house" for Xmas, the Canadians are cooking Xmas dinner!

OK it's time for a general introduction to the convoy.
Bean - that's me. Loves a good stretch in the evenin's
Smeels (Amelia Kelly) - A childhood friend and neighbour, smells faintly of cabbage.
Tim Lennon - Amelias ball and chain. Good craic, great accent, and good with sticks, clubs and balls when they are in the air on front of him.
Katie Greenfield - Canadian. Always up for jumping of higher things than the boys can. Loves to show her bottom at the wrong times. Smokes winfield and is way to tanned for the amount of sun she's seen.
Steph Annand - Canadian. Tall but willing. Loves getting topless behind signs, has a cheesey grin. Farts seldom.
Iain Cameron - Scotish. Always fondling, usually himself though. The class clown,with dashing good looks. A future in Calvin Klien underwear photography awaits.
Brian MaCleod - Scotish. Letting his hair grow at the moment. Would like to win a frozen chicken in a raffle. Patriotic Tattoos, and scuttery shits plague him like the plague. Has an overly tanned foot and a pair of pervinators.
Neil Johnstone - The cute one, in a Goose from Top Gun sort of way. Founder of "The T-shirt dance" and "The shoulder dance" a must at any rave. Monty to his close friends, felt up by his closer friends. Needs to press the accelerator just a wee bit harder in general.

Now!

The Great Ocean road was.... great.
:) It rained for a bit, but the rainbows and rays piercing the scattering clouds soon quenched that (Look it's a Pun!)
Warrnambool for one night, and Torquay/Jan Juc for another. We got wiped out in the surf in Warrnambool. It was the best fun I've ever had in water.
So its about an hour-hour and a half back to Torquay/Geelong if we wanna go for a surf again. so I'd say we'll go back down for two days at a time.
Tim got a surf board! It's great. It's better than mine!
Pretty much everyone has a board of some sort now, we, the eight of us, love the water which is great.

On a more depressing note. Nearly all the news from home has been bad.
The passing of Jimmy was very sad, a man who I really was looking forward to getting to know better. It's a shame I couldn't make the funeral.
My eldest dog Chloe died too. One of the most intelligent and strange dogs I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Tommy Henshaw - whom I stole the joke(We'll be taking a break in 5minutes for an hour and a half) after the first song at our gigs off. Gas craic!
And various other little bits of sad news.

On a less depressing note. Life is great! I'm very lucky, and I appreciate having such great family and friends. Barf!
Anyway I must have sunstroke.
Well hope everything is going well for everyone back home.
Pints next year when I'm back.

OK everyone is waiting outside the door here. Better go.
Thanks for all the emails and comments on the site, they make getting on these silly machines worthwhile.
Take care of yourselves.
And really, don't drink from unlabled bottles, and don't dangle valuables over any edges.
Bean

More Pics!

That's right! more pics.
Some plans are being thrown up in the 79% nitrogen,20% oxygen 1.2% various, as to whats going on from late December on.
Smeels cousins hav offered us their house(50mins north of Melbourne) we are goin there, but for how long we don't know! Maybe spend xmas round Melbourne and new years in Sydney.
New Zealand is looking very good to be there Jan/Feb if Terence is sold. But the sad news is the convoy will have to split then. it's like severing the cord between mother and child, such a bond, such a bond!
Well enough with the flowery shite.
This city is great, we're chillin out here before gettin on the road, attempting to successfully achieve a full day of no alcohol has, of yet, not happened. But some of us are reaallly trying.
John Butler Trio is playing here next week, so we are talkin of sticking around for that, instead of leaving monday.
The session last night was great, great players and the like. Also they invited me to four sessions around the city next week, so that is also making me wanna stay longer!
well here's the photos:

Knee deep in Dolphins. 

The Pinnacles Desert WA. It's like Mars. I know because I went there a few years back, it's overrated. 

I seem happy to be on the beach. 

A classic Bean chill out shot. 

Sympathetic sadness after the loss of my beard. Note the contrast of white, red and brown.  

Buskin' on Rundle St. in Adelaide the other day. 

Us after our first food fight in the cleanest room I've ever seen: 

The Great Australian Bight and some deep thinkers. 

We were all just happy that Tim made it to Oz safely.... 

Thats Terence! Thats Terence on the right, isn't he so cooooooool. Thats the Scots on the right, that's the Bay of 100 Isles in the backround at 5.30AM!  

After a good surf, I was a shadow of my former self.... 

Blowholes! 

Success!

Pics!
After doing my post there, I said "Feck it, I'll try shtick up some pics"
It worked. I only had a handful of pics from Asia, but I'll get some more up now that I know what ta do.
God Speed

My English students in County Laois 

The beard, oh the beard, why did I get rid of it.... 

Angkor Wat temples, what an amazing place. 

One of many wee nameless villages on the Namtha river 

Adelayeewhoo

Adelaide.
The nicest city we'll probably see.
It's almost like someone built some buildings around the parks and trees. They knew what they were at when they built this city on rock and roll.
Oh yeah I've got my number with me!
Here it is:
(+ = 00) +61431542934
Now!
And what's even better is I have it on now. I never got any texts sent before 24th Nov, but it's on now.
Had me first buskin' session with Tim, we picked the wrong time and only did it for 15minutes, but we did it! didn't make much hehe!
Had me first buskin' trad session, a few tunes but was great craic.
Had me first trad session in Oz, twas good, not great but they had such a variety of instruments the sound was great.
Had me first sickness due to dehydration, wasn't pleasant, but now I know: all beer and no water, makes Bean a dry roasted Bean.
Had me first time to stay in a gay bar, yes, yes, that's right, we're living above a gay bar. It's actually not as bad as we thought, they're super nice (to the guys - just kiddin') and everything is cheap and sometimes free, as not many want to stay above a gay bar. but we are eight of us, and we do what we want.
Oh I almost forgot, a German young fella and his girlfriend were here earlier in the week, he asked could he play my guitar one evening on the balcony. I gave it to him and proceeded to the toilet. While in there I heard a stereo playing Tommy Emmanuel, and I said "Great, I forgot Aussies will know Tommy as he is an Aussie"
But I was wrong, it was Daniel, the German who played guitar better then anyone I've seen (Except Tommy). From Tommy Emmanuel to Leo Kottke to Jacques Stotzem. The list went on, all flawless.
We are all staying in the same room, it's great craic. The shenanigans are rife.
I can never remember what I want to say when I come on this, I leave it too long between writings and I forget everything!
The guitar is glued and as good as new.
My clothes need to be laundered sooooo bad.
We drove past Clare which is down the road from Dublin village.
I nearly crashed looking at wallabys.
Terence has no power on the uphills.
Macleod tried to get me eaten by a shark in the water the other day.
Macleod kicked me in the face.
Macleod chucked his board at my head after pulling me back when the dark shape was lurking behind us.
I like Macleod, he's got balls.

Bean