La Famille
The brother’s ceremony went really well and even though some of the extended family were there, it wasn’t as bad as I had ancipated. Perhaps because I had built it up in my head to be terrible and anything less then that could only be an improvement. Once Mammy2 had crawled out from under her hangover, we hit the road for Athlone yesterday. Mammy2 had asked what exactly happened at the medal giving ceremony. I summarised it as follows
Marching. Standing still, stamping feet. A few hours. Standing to attention, present medal, salute, more stamping feet. Which it pretty much was.
Anything ceremonial to do with the army is full of pomp. Shiny shoes, straight ties, berets tilted at just the right angle. I sometimes wonder would I have lasted had I made it past any of the few interviews I had for the army, the cadets, etc. Would I be someone completly different then who I am today? Perhaps I’d have more well polished shoes 
Its funny though because I always have had a thing for uniforms and women and women in uniforms but since I was in the FCA and had to wear it
myself and iron it, the army one has definetly lost its appeal. I recovered quickly enough though to move onto female guards
The ceremoney over, it was to the dining area for food and then the mess for drinkies. We stayed, chatting, joked and for the first time in a long time I managed to converse with the cousins. Anytime we do have to travel down to Athlone, tis usually just for the mother’s mass, I actively avoid them and any convos but this time there was no escaping and I was okay with it. Until the brother nearly put his foot in it and I wanted to wallop him. A month or so ago he forward around an email which began along these lines:
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - Australia Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..
Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques.
Quote: ‘IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture.
You may have read it somewhere. Regardless of the fact that its a proven hoax, see here, its a pile of racist rubbish. The brother sends it around, adding if only we had a leader like this fella. And he wasn’t joking. The sister K replied to everyone on the mailing list telling the brother not to be forwarding on that racist rubbish. He didn’t reply but yesterday when we were talking about emails, he pipes up with “yeah, that email I sent around about the australian fella, how was it racist?” Thankfully Mammy2 was too busy opening and closing her mouth to react. I looked at him about to take him apart slowly, when P, the brother’s best mate produced a picture of a gorgeus tractor, New Holland, which had been pimped to bits and we got onto the safer ground of talking about the Ploughing Championships. I mean, there is only so long you can plead ignorence in relation to racism. I don’t think there would be any point in trying to explain to him because he believes he’s right. Rather then get incensed and annoyed, its easier just to move on.
Eurovision weekend is going to be such fun. Mam’s mass is on the same night as the eurovision final. Kinda ironic when you consider she’s the reason I got so into it. Mass is at 7.30 and the eurovision starts at 8. What are the odds on us making the mass, mingling also known as trying to shake off some of the relatives and making it back into town for the show. Never mind that we have to find a pub that’s showing it. The cousin suggested that the brother try and get the mess for the night. Overall its going to be a fun night. On the plus side it will be a welcome distraction from the day itself.
