Anyone for a brew???

Today Ive not been up to much, the weather has been so awful I've been reduced to looking for things in the house to blip.....
Ive been thinking a lot about home recently, and whilst making a wee cuppa, cuppa number 8 to be precise, it came to me....like a beacon, a sign...nothing to do with the amounts of caffeine coursing through my body though!!!....
My beloved Barrys Tea!!!
This is the most fantastic tea I have ever tasted, and thanks to a constant supply sent to me from my mother, it is one thing that I can say I am glad to have....although it still never tastes just right as I don't have the obligatory "battered teapot" that only grannies and mothers have in ireland, sitting constantly brewing on the aga...

So, "I got to thinking".....

What things do I miss about my beloved Ireland???.....hmmmmm
1...I really miss my family, my mum, my Nanny who, as I've mentioned before is the tender age of 104...I worry every time I see her that it might be my last, but thankfully, every time, she proves me wrong....she laughs and says that she thinks god has forgotten her....lol...
2...Cadburys chocolate....Honestly, it really is So much better in ireland, maybe because it is made with full fat milk...not powdered milk, and it also uses a lot more cocoa........hmmmm...it really is scrumptious...maybe I need to get my mother to add a few more things to her shipment...lol...
3...Football specials....These are incredible...it is a fizzy fruit drink, and like nothing you've ever tasted before...it is also my staple hangover cure...
4...The laid back crazy friendliness that the Irish seem to have....Im not saying that people in other countries aren't friendly, but theres something about the oul Irish that makes it much more...as well as when someone says..."Aye no bother, ill do that as soon as I can"....dont be surprised if you're waiting a seriously considerable amount of time till it happens......in Ireland, most folk are so laid back, they're horizontal....lol
5...The accent and sayings...I know I still have my Derry accent, but it has become very much toned down over the years...if it wasn't, people wouldn't understand me...
and I've had to stop using sayings like...."whats the craic?" (hows things), "what abou-chee mucker?" (how are you), "did ye here about yer man?" (no not your man...the man I'm talking about)...."am gonny bust yer hed!" (give you a slap)...the funniest thing I've ever heard also was from my niece who's 3...if she is misbehaving, my brother would tell her he's gonna "slap" her,,,, my mother says she's gonna "murder" her....so she says to her sister, in the broadest Derry accent..."AM go-nee murderslap yee......I shouldn't laugh, but it really is brilliant, and a phrase I think should be adopted!!!
6...Tayto cheese and onion crisps...these are theee best crisps ever, again they are made with real potatoes, and real cheese and onion..(not flavouring)...as it happens, myself and Scott were in a pub in Glasgow yesterday, and they actually were selling them....so if you ever see them...you must give them a whirl, they're great!!!...
7...The "Green green grass of home"...okay, so Scotlands scenery and greenery is beautiful, but honestly not a patch on Ireland...sorry, but the grass is definitely greener...
8...sillyness... okay, I need to watch what I'm saying with this one, but as an irish person myself, and to all yee fellow irish dudes, youle know what I mean...We have been labeled for many years as heavy drinkers, could drink anyone under the table..., the brunt of all the jokes, but with sayings like "I went up the stairs and threw myself down", "I was sitting in the middle of me dinner"...lol...what more shall I say...
Im allowed to say that though as I AM Irish...though anyone else dare...."ill murderslap yee!!!...lol
9...Irish Stew..."like me mammy makes"...wonderful home made dinner...I used to get it every Thursday night, and although I can no longer eat meat, the smell still drives me bonkers....irish stew is meat (usually lamb), though dohertys special mince in our house from Paul the butchers, spuds (potatoes), carrots, all put in a saucepan (last tuesday), and boiled with some bisto or gravy....truly brill-yant!!!!
in fact, me ma says she made her friend celine-fachy ( her real name is just celine) it tonight for her scran (dinner)...I feel a murderslap due!!!...lol
10...Everything about Ireland and my beloved Derry...when yer Irish, like any other nationality i spose, its there, its in yer blud, its a part of yee, and a part of me I'm very very proud of......always...

If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough"

God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world

I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me mammy,
I know I've got Irish blood, because I wake up every day with a hangover