Summer still complaining

The backlash is in full swing. After all the hype and expectation, the high standards that were set and the empty promises that were made by Met Eireann, what we were left with was a chorus of people crying over what a crap summer it’s been.

Whether it was our poor performance at the Olympics, the constant rain and wind or simply the exhorbitant cost of an ordinary ham and cheese sandwich, the population of Ireland got royally riled up and pissed and moaned like it was going out of fashion. Nothing new there, I hear you say, until all the country’s newspapers and radio stations got wind of the prevailing discontent and joined in the fun.
But was it really all as bad as people made it out to be? Personally, I feel sorry for summer. No other season in the calendar has to put up with this amount of verbal bashing. Do you see newspapers doing reviews of winter or spring? I think not. Yet every paper in the country has decided to give its own extended – and generally unremittingly negative – view of the travesty that was the summer of 2004.
The trouble is that we’ve been spoon-fed so many idyllic images of sandy beaches, blazing suns and clear blue skies on television that we foolishly believe it could actually happen for three whole months in this country.
Well, having been subjected to countless articles full of the bile of whinging, grumpy journalists I have decided to take an alternative route by offering a more rational and optimistic view of the season that has just ended. Yes, I do realise the weather was really shite, but instead of bending Marian and Joe’s ears over the phone, I’ve decided to find the good in the most common complaints of the summer. So there!

The Irish Olympic team
One Gold medal: no matter what way you look at it, it’s a disappointing haul, but keep in mind that our Olympic team this year was smaller than the teams we sent to Sydney and Atlanta. The fact is that Irish sporting facilities are generally not of the same high standards as are available in other countries, which puts our athletes at a disadvantage. Talent can only get you so far. Cathal Lombard’s failed doping test was one of many blows to the team, but hardly as dramatic or as scandalous as downfall of the Greek sprinters. Despite the odds stacked against her, Sonia’s courageous insistence on battling through to the end of the 5,000 metres made for a strangely compelling race. Cian O’Connor’s win didn’t entirely make up for all the disappointments but he was our saving grace.

The Weather
Ah, the cruelty of the Irish sun. It shines incessantly for about a week, lulling you into a false sense of security. Then, just as everyone is getting used to the heat, it rains buckets non-stop for about two weeks. But then, it’s a bit pointless expecting the sun to shine everyday in a country that is famous for it’s precipitation levels. We should count ourselves lucky! Florida, for example,genuinely has a lot to complain about. Hurricane Charley devastated the state and THEN they had to contend with a visit from President Bush and his entourage, while they picked up the debris that once was their home. Always one for famous proclamations, George W’s bleating that this was the worst thing he’d ever seen showed the world that he obviously doesn’t watch the news coverage of the war in Iraq. Speaking of which…

War
Let’s start off by saying that nothing good has come of America’s occupation of Iraq. Greed, corruption and the killing of innocents hardly makes for palatable reading. But this summer saw the release of Michael Moore’s anti-war/anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Love him or hate him, Moore finally got American public openly talking about the possibility that Bush made the wrong decision and for all the wrong reasons too.Excellent.

The Smoking Ban
I’d like to state that many people have Micheal Martin to thank for improving their social lives. Forget speed dating, just hang outside the pub or workplace with a fag in one hand and proceed to bitch about the smoking ban to the nearest man/woman who attracts your attention. Awkward conversations don’t seem to exist in the huddled crowds of exiled smokers. Not being able to take your drink outside with your cigarette also acts as double the icebreaker when faced with a complete stranger!

Transport
Complaints this year included the cost of insurance for young men, the speed at which these young men drove (connected in some way? Surely not!) and the impact of the Luas. But what are we complaining about? Surely the most sensible option would be for everyone to take up cycling or walking to work? You’d think that, wouldn’t you, but it won’t happen here unless Posh Spice starts cycling and Now magazine decides that it’s the new yoga.
Anyway, the summer wasn’t all gruesome politics and bad weather. Plenty of good things happened.
The Pixies reformed and played what I’m told was a blinder of a gig, (held captive in my bedroom “studying” for exams, I wasn’t there to see it – grrrr.) However I did get to see the Frames wow Rathfarnam and prove that they are more than ready to take on the world. Plus, the Rose of Tralee jamboree was given new a new lease of life thanks to Ryan Tubridy – and to the tabloid inches provided by the brazen tart from Temptation Island.
So far from being down, I’m personally looking forward to next year when the boy racers will complain about the fact that they have to make do with trendy scooters until they get the cash for their car insurance; publicans will moan that no one goes to the pub any more, they just hang around outside pretending to smoke; The Frames will play Slane after conquering America – and we’ll all fret about the inevitable return of the “black, puma-like creature”, roaming the fields of some rural backwater.