a rooskie in dublin

Romantic Breakdowns!

By Irina Kuksova

*****************

Remember back in the days when you first had a soft spot for someone, and you had to attend not-your-cuppatee events in order to just spend more time with this potential love of your life. The situation applies equally to men and women. A man could spend hours in the purgatory of shopping, or plonked outside some changing room holding dresses for the desired one to choose from. The girl for her part would often find herself sitting through yet another endless football match, yearning for it to be over so that she might finally get some attention.

If you do get hitched you will thank God those days are ever. Now you can finally do what you really like because your significant other has been successfully lured into your den and at last occupies truly more than half your heart and wardrobe. The only problem is that, although enjoying your married bliss, you may no longer get out as much as a couple.

Turns out there's a simple solution. I found this out quite by chance recently. Go somewhere with your spouse and have your car battery go flat. But not just anywhere. It has to be a strategically sound place and time. In my case it happened around 8pm (just the right lighting you know) and ten minutes away from a friend's house. The friend didn't have jump leads to start the car but she had tea which helped sustain me and my guy on a scenic and romantic walk hand in hand through suburban Dublin. Our walk took us to another friend who actually could give us a lift. We realised that having driven the same route by car thousands of times, we'd never actually walked it, never mind walked it together and in twilight. A whole new experience!

We had another flat battery breakdown in Dublin city centre a week later. It happened in a car park at 9pm. Knowing that we had at least an hour to wait before our white knight friend would once more come to the rescue (he rides a white Ford Fiesta rather than a horse by the way), we decided to have an improvised student style date. A street arts festival was underway in the area. We purchased a pizza and sat munching happily on a little wall. The city at dusk seemed even more alive than usual. We watched the local artists as they endeavoured to sell all manner of things Oirish to unwary passers by. It made an interesting change from a standard night at home cooking dinner and watching TV.

I am thinking now of trying to find some way to arrange the time and place of our next flat battery. If I could just make it happen in front of a cinema during the premiere of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince. I'm going to have to have a word with my car.