Night with the Merry Ploughboys

 Last night my cousin Don and his wife Gen took me to get some dinner and some culture. I thought we were just going out for dinner but after I saw the menu with no prices (just a string of numbers connected with a code: wheat, dairy, meat, etc. which is very comprehensive!) I was told it's a set price with 3 courses and the show included. I got the root vegetable soup (delicious) and sea trout.

There were 5 or 6 huge busloads of tourists there, mostly Americans. We shared a table with a mother and daughter from Iowa. We quickly found out the mother was a retired school librarian! By the end of the show, they had met a couple at the long table near us who had taught at the same school where Cindy used to teach and they remembered each other. Small...yeah, yeah, that.

The show was fun (except Covid fear--a constant awarenessfor me). We clapped a lot, joined hands, sang, stood up and swayed, and a few (women only, hmmm) bad at clapping got called up on stage and given Merry Ploughboys swag.

I found I preferred the Uilleann bagpipes to the Scottish bagpipes.

 https://primesound.org/irish-and-scottish-bagpipes

The show ended at 10:00 and it was a good thing; I was getting tired and had to get up early to catch the train at 7:30. It's hard work being a tourist!

From placemat