Things To Do In England When You're Dead

This is my first proper return to Dublin in some time, and the first time writing from the field for even longer. Ever the creature of habit my time has been spent revisiting my favorite bars, managing to fit in three trips to the undisputed best pub in Dublin, Whelans, two stops at draught Bitburger serving The Bleeding Horse and picking up a few copies of that exceptional and free magazine Mongrel. It was nice to be reassured that yes, Irish Guinness is indeed different to English Guinness (It has always been a different recipe, now they just make it here instead) and that 35.5ml measures make for far better value spirit drinking, Bob Dylans all around!

While its reassuring to come back to these delights there bad sides are still prevalent. There are still loads of homeless people in the city centre, and people pissing at the corner of every building, and when enjoying a beverage at The Barge you'll see a medical waste disposal box worth of syringes float past. Some scummer also vandalized the Phil Lynott statue, making off with his guitar and arm, hope they caught caught, possibly hung to. It also escaped me that I was arriving, at 9 Am, on a bank holiday morning, meaning everywhere was closed and the indigenous population far away. This was especially crushing to find out after walking to Burritos 'N' Blues only to find it wasn't opening for another hour (By which time I'd of become another person asleep in the doorway).

But its not all bad news, being here for Halloween meant I could see people who make efforts with a costume (This years winners being Hulk Holgan and Vikky Pollard in my opinion) and I managed to right last years wrong and be granted entrance into the diabolically bad Club M, where a pint of Bud cost over five bloody euros. An expensive place to go for one round, which I bought, and paid seven Euro on the door or the privilege.

My return has however given me a valuable insight, that I left at the right time and that I should resist all temptation to move back. This is a fantastic city with a vibrant mix of cultures who's historical significance hangs in the air, but it is a place where its far too easy to fall into a routine, drinking and eating in the same places while keeping the same mediocre job. Life here is so comfortable it doesn't encourage you to reach for something new.

Next time I come back it'll be as a tourist, bringing tourist friends and doing tourist things. No doubt this will mean drinking a lot more superior Guinness (While avoiding the latest in the Brewhouse Series, North Star, which tastes like stale English Guinness) but doing so with the advantage of someone who knows where all the best sites are. So it sounds like my next trip here will be a visit to Wexford Street.