Eddie and the Vikings

No it's not the name of an ironic post punk band, just a neat summary of an afternoon of fun for CD and one of his new friends (the NF).  Usually when friends come round, they are ushered into the playroom and only emerge for feeding and watering.  But Thursday was different.  An outing was involved.

To explain, I need to go back two days to Tuesday, when there was a rare family trip into town.  CD was down to his last long-sleeved top, which was in the wash.  So he finally agreed that he needed some new clothes: he hates shopping, but he won't wear anything that he hasn't chosen, and it has to be tried on to make sure that it passes the 'comfy' test.

During the trip he was startled out of his monologue on, I think, W*rld of W*rcraft, by a roar from the road and looking up he saw two of these:

And their passengers were waving their fists in the air and roaring 'fiercely'.

"I'd like to go on one of those," says CD. So Blue Sky instantly springs into action: this is not a computer game, it's an outing.  And if you're read some of my previous blog posts you'll know that every outing is a milestone for a boy who normally only feels comfortable and secure at home, and now in his new classroom as well.  The timing was perfect: it's the mid term break, and Smiley is in respite for two nights.

Fast forward to noon on Thursday and the NF arrives.  After about an hour on the Wii, we head into town for lunch, possibly the first DS-less meal out for about 5 years, and it went pretty well, mainly because the NF is a mine of interesting information.

"Did you know that there are restaurants in China where the omelets are cooked by robots?"  No, I didn't, and I'd worry about them using 3 in1 instead of Olive Oil.  I also learned that you get 'brain freeze' when you eat ice-cream because the cold shrivels the blood vessels.  I never knew this!  Then once the ice-cream has all been eaten, the conversation moved on to games...the NF is a match for CD who kept butting in with his "Can I tell you something?" line, even when he has nothing to say.

There was also an earnest discussion about this sign on the wall, which made no sense to either boy, once I'd explained that Eddie was not a charity:

Lunch was followed by a stroll across the river and down Grafton Street, otherwise known as Distraction Street:  every 10 metres or so CD, and particularly the NF, would stop to look at another busker or street artist.  They were very taken with this harpist...

In the end we only just made it to the meeting point on St Stephen's Green for the Viking Splash Tour*.  This is a light-hearted tour of Viking Dublin using a World War Two amphibious vehicle (a DUKW) and featuring Viking helmets and a trip in the canal.  It all started well - apart from heavy traffic, 4pm not a good time to see the City - we had a very funny and informative tour guide, the boys roared with the rest of the Viking 'crew' and even wore their helmets.

Then the guide mentioned that we would be entering the water shortly and the excitement in the rear seats rose to fever pitch.  Was it 'Viking Splash' time?  At the dock we put on life jackets and CD started to pray, whether for a big splash or a safe return to land, I never found out.  

Sadly there was no splashing on this trip - too cold perhaps?

By then I was starting to worry about getting home by 6 to meet the guy who was due to fix the hob after Tuesday's gas leak - yes it's been an eventful week!  No chance of that with CD and the NF.  As soon as the DUKW stopped, the NF was underneath checking out the propellers and asking how the steering worked while CD watched with interest.  The verdict: "It was brilliant, Mum, but I really wanted to get splashed!" 

And the gas man? Well he was late too...in fact he still hasn't showed up, so I'm learning a whole new way of cooking...

*This is not a sponsored post