A Quick Thought on St. Patrick's Day

Ok, no links or anything here, just a quick write up. St. Patrick's Day has come and gone since I last posted. I always watch in fascination at how the local media covers it. Most of it of course is the standard green beer, let's all promote a day of getting hammered sort of variety, blah, blah, blah. This year did little to change that opinion, but it did seem that a few articles tried to write something decent, whether it was profiling the new Irish Heritage House in Scarborough (today's Toronto Star), giving us a history of St. Patrick himself (Globe and Star on the 17th), or highlighting this summer's grand opening of the famine memorial park at Bathurst Quay (ok, one link). There were even some glowing reviews for an Irish film featured here a little while ago, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, which is playing at a few theatres across town and in Scarborough (let me know if you want to see it at the Scarborough AMC, I have connections there). Kudos to those writers who tried to go beyond the accepted stereotypes...

What did I do? My buddy and I hosted our annual house party. We had a great turn out, 30+ people, and we went through 80L of Mill St. beer, including their tasty Cobblestone Stout. No lining up at pubs, no public vomiting, just a really good time with great friends, some who I had not seen in a while, good beer and the odd old Irish tune in the background. That's a good day.

Je5