Flirting with controversy

Pepe is a dreadful flirt.
And unfortunately a lot of the mothers in Luca's school can attest to that...

But sometimes he really enjoys flirting with controversy.

Here he is posing proudly with Enda making the cover of Times magazine (Enda, not Pepe)
Enda is not exactly the most popular person around at the moment.
I don't really care either way. I am only too aware that real decisions are no longer made at the government level.
A Taoiseach is more of a PR person these days. A guy good at analysing stats who knows exactly what percentage of the electorate he will win/lose when making empty promises during the election campaign.
A Taoiseach is the face and the voice behind the choices made by the creditors.

His most controversial episode lately (Pepe, not Enda), was when he was interviewed (12 seconds of fame) by the 6 o'clock news at a pro-life rally on Merrion square.

Men are quite diplomatic, I think, behind it all.
Pepe was in our back garden when his mobile phone went mad at about 6.13pm, after his memorable contribution to the national news on RTE. With calls and messages from all the people he knows who had to tell him that they had just seen him on the telly.
When he told me that he was at the pro-life rally, I said something along the lines of "oh, jolly good" and changed the topic of conversation to barbecue sausages, or Shakespeare's Julius Cesar, or the wine making process for Valpolicella Ripasso.
Likewise when I told him what my idea for a next tattoo was (the Mahatma Gandhi with a Kalashnikov with "Si vis pacem para bellum" in shit cool Gothic font), he cleared his throat and asked me which is my favourite version of Dido and Aeneas (a 1961 recording, the one with Janet Baker, by the English Chamber Orchestra, incidentally).

Dame R.C. on the other hand went ballistic.
She contemplated no longer speaking to him.
For at least 45 minutes, until she remembered that his babysitting services had been booked for the following Wednesday night...

You see, Dame R.C. is vocal in her disagreements. I, on the other hand, know that sometimes views are so diametrically opposed that there is no point in discussing them, as there will never be any modicum of agreement or even the slightest shift in perspective. From either side.

I still very much enjoy the company of my father-in-law.
I would not swap him for any other father-in-law in the world.
We don't always see eye to eye but we have a profound mutual respect.

Except for my Gandhi with automatic riffle tattoo.
And his choice of associating with a very sinister group of misogynistic neanderthals, who would be prompt in reassessing their pro-life beliefs if their daughter was at risk of dying as a result of an unavoidable miscarriage, or even just perhaps if she were to reluctantly break the news that she is carrying Mouloud's child, of the inter faith prayer group, the guy from the mosque with 3 wives and 12 children (and counting).

I'm still working on the "Pepe project". It's taking a long time but I know that it will be worth it. Watch this space!