2013 - FIP Dublin

Arrived in Dubai just after midnight, and as I had about 10 hours to wait until the flight to Brisbane, I took my time in finding the Emirates Lounge.  It was not quite so straight forward as before as I came in at a different gate.  Anyway, eventually found the lounge and had some breakfast and a wander through the lounge to try and shake away some of the cobwebs.  As there were a number of children in the same cabin as me, all competing to be the winner of the loudest screeching competition, on the flight from Dublin, I had watched 3 movies ( The Hangover Part III, The Internship and The Croods ) instead of trying to sleep.  Therefore, by the time I got to Dubai I was quite tired.     I found a relatively quiet area which had “beds” in it and had an LLD for 2 hours.  When I say quiet, it was away from the food areas so not too many people, however, the flight announcements were still made very loudly.  So, whilst the earplugs helped a ...

As my flight was in the afternoon, I made the most of the 1000 h check-out.   I had breakfast with Sylvain and after he had left, I had a shower and did the final pack.   I left the hotel just after 1000 h and went to the airport.   Found the correct check-in counter, checked-in and then found the QC equivalent; it was a tiny lounge but adequate.   Had some lunch, played on the computer and read my book.   Boarded the plane and left Dublin.  

Met Sylvain downstairs at 0630 h for a McD’s breakfast before catching the tram to O’Connell Street.  Walked to Suffolk Street to buy a ticket, but that office was closed!  Back to O’Connell Street and found a place that was able to tell us that we needed to buy a ticket from the bus driver outside the Chelmer hotel.  So, we waited ….. and bought our ticket.  It took 45 minutes to get to Newgrange and Knowth where we visited the stone passage tombs.  Did Knowth first and then Newgrange.  Knowth is a Neolithic passage grave and an ancient monument in the Boyne Valley ( Brú na Bóinne ).  Knowth is the largest of all passage graves situated within the Valley complex. The site consists of one large mound (known as Site 1) and 17 smaller satellite tombs. The large mound is about 12 metres high and 67 metres in diameter, covering roughly a hectare and contains two passages, placed along an east-west line, and estimated to date from between 2500 and 2000 ...

Another event organised by yours truly!  I was hoping it would be a good one and it was but it wasn’t.  There was far too much detail in the PowerPoint presentation and on the walk, it was difficult to hear the commentary.  And, it seemed that not everyone was interested to hear the history and had to be told to be quiet a number of times.  Places visited included: - Collins Barracks (until recently the oldest and continuously occupied purpose built barracks in the world);   -The Four Courts (the initial pressure point of the Civil War in 1922);  - O’Connell Street;  - General Post Office (GPO) the HQ of the Rebel Forces in 1916 until flushed out by artillery fire; - Moore Street;  - North King Street;  - Trinity College Dublin (TCD) founded 1592 (again an outside view but interestingly the location of an Australian sniper pressed into service in 1916);  - The Parnell Monument;  - The O’ Connell Monument;  - St. Stephens G...

MEPS day - finally!  It started with an early (0600 h) breakfast at McDonalds as the hotel restaurant did not open until 0700 h.  Then onto the tram to be at the CCD for the 0730 h breakfast session where Mari was presenting.   The breakfast spread was quite substantial and we probably didn’t need to have had McD’s beforehand.  Not to worry. After that session, we moved to the MEPS only sessions where I co-chaired the morning session with Eiko. There were five speakers all of whom were present.  Then it was time for lunch and the Business meeting.  The afternoon session was Chaired by Sylvain and Richard with a further 5 presentations.  We finished about 15 minutes early which was good for those who wanted to get changed for the dinner, but not so good for those who did not.  Dinner started at 1930 h at the Harbour Master restaurant, and it was a great night.   Richard decided it was going to be too difficult for everyone to have to ...

Another 0700 h start for breakfast.   Then off to the CCD to meet up with Matthew and receive a demo on his new Pictogram program – impressive for a 16 yr old.   We then went to his presentation to the Information Section, all of whom were very impressed, especially as he is not a pharmacist.   This young man spent his summer vacation last year working for NASA and has his own company developing video games.   After lunch, we held the MEPS Board meeting then went back to the hotel to change for the French Reception.  Sylvain and I met Jane and ZY at the CC and caught a cab from there to the French Embassy.  The reception started off very slowly and then gained momentum and turned out to be a very good evening.  At the last minute, Zheng-yu decided he would take Sylvain as his official interpreter, however, his name was not on the list of guests.  So, Jane and I were allowed to enter, and although ZY was allowed, he chose to wait outside with Syl...