DarrenByrne.com

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Saturday

While Lottie went to college on Saturday, I dropped into work to catch up on some paperwork (this always sounds like some awful euphemism, but I truly was doing paperwork). Sometimes work loses interest for periods of time and this last few weeks my heart hasn’t really been in it. I’m trying to turn that around and inspire in myself a renewed interest in my number crunching and PR duties.

We were home in time for food and, most importantly, Doctor Who, prior to heading out to a house party in another part of Wicklow. I have to have a big raving rant at this point about Doctor Who – it was an amazing episode. Catherine Tate has proven herself to be, not only an excellent actress, but also a perfect iconic figure to settle into the annals of Who-dom. I find it odd that I mention Tate and her character Donna Noble before mentioning the return of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. For those who don’t know, Rose became as big a part of the Doctor Who universe as the Doctor himself in the two seasons she appeared. And her return has sparked goosebumps time and time again. The two part series finale over the next two weeks is likely to be epic.

But this week, a precursor to the finale, was Donna’s week. She carried the episode without David Tennant‘s Doctor and showed how great she could be. I was never a fan of Catherine Tate‘s comedy, but she has convinced me to give it another chance and I am really looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

So, to the house party. Rain may have poured upon the BBQ element of the evening, but that didn’t stop us having fun. Hosted by Andrew‘s far better half, T, we had a great meal, some fine beverages and brilliant conversation.

Andrew and I were good friends in school, but when I hightailed it out of Dodge, we lost touch (I actually lost touch with everyone from that time in my life – in order to start afresh in Dublin). Over the years we crossed paths once or twice, but only briefly. More recently however, we got back in touch and have gradually become even better friends than we ever were in school (from my point of view at least). It helps though that his girlfriend and Lottie get on brilliantly too and anytime the four of us have met up has been a lot of fun.

Saturday was no different and, along with Andrew’s brother and two friends of T’s, we ended up drinking, laughing and talking shite until 7am (MarioKart on the Wii made a brief appearance too). There really is no better way to spend time than in the company of friends.

Sunday

Sunday was less about recovery and more about relaxation. We made it home for about 3.30pm and just vegetated on the couch, watching Gossip Girl. Just what II needed. In one of the episodes there was a band playing in the background, The Pierces, and we immediately went in search of their album, Thirteen Tales of Love And Revenge. Here’s the track, Secret, from the show. Lottie has more about the band here – enjoy!