BONFIRE NIGHT IRISH STYLE

                                Bonfire Night Irish Style

I relocated to Ireland from England in 2004 , My Father was born here.

                   During that time I have become more aware in the Heritage and

Cultural differences between the two countries , more than you would firstly

think , one of those being Bonfire Night .

                   At sunset on June 23rd , another of the ancient fire festivals begins. This

midsummer festival was known as St. John's eve , or Bonfire Night, and not

that long ago, it was a wide- spread tradition throughout Ireland , mainly

confined to the west these days.

                   People would gather in their villages on this day ,young and old . Exactly at

Sunset the Bonfire would be lit which had been built by the locals. Prayers use to

be said to obtain God's blessing on the crops, then at the peak point of summer bloom.

There was much fun , music and storytelling , to neglect this ritual people

believed would be seen as disrespect and lead to a bad harvest or for the fish not

to swim up stream and spawn.

People threw into the fire specimens of the most troublesome weeds in the district

- this was supposed to protect the fields from weeds.

Celebrating this Celtic Festival would continue until sunset the next day , people

would then take the ashes from the fire then extinct on  St. Johns morning to

scatter them on their fields. Some would take them home to bring them good

fortune , others would set a fire in a new house to bless it and bring good luck.

                   People still meet up now for St. Johns Eve but I feel its more to have a drink and

catch up on local gossip whilst watching the packaging burn that you received

your most recent order from Amazon.

   I celebrated St. John's Eve with my Mother ( sadly my Dad passed away 5 years

                                     ago . R.I.P. Dad x. ) and our donkey Daisy-Mae whilst burning the old bathroom

                                     and praying for good weather . I have not decided what to do with the ashes yet ?

                                                      

                                                         LUCKY IRISH ASHES FOR SALE 10 EUROS A BAG !!!

                                                                      ( SOUNDS LIKE A BARGAIN ??? )

                                                                                                              23.06.13

                  

PRESENT DAY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BROGUE SHOE

PRESENT DAY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BROGUE SHOE

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BROGUE SHOE

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BROGUE SHOE 

By Joe Diamond.

B

rogue is a derivation of the Gaelic word ‘Brog’, taken from the old Norse ‘Brok’ meaning leg covering. The Brogue originated in the Peat bogs of Ireland, first appearing in the late 16^th Century when men discovered that perforations in their footwear helped the shoe drain more quickly after coming out of the bog.

In early 20^th Century England the term Brogue was first used top describe an outdoor or walking shoe with decorative perforations. Through time the shoe has become more accepted as address or business shoe and in more recent times a fashion item.

The modern Brogue is characterised  by multi piece sterdy leather uppers with decorative perforations (Brogueing) and serration along the pieces visible edges. They are most commonly found on the toecap styles ( full or wingtip, semi-quarter and longwing) and four closure styles ( Oxford, derby, guile and Monk).

Brogues have also been associated with Music fashions, for example ‘Mods & Skinheads’ adopted them and became associated with this scene.

Further back, 1930s gangsters also had a great love of the shoe, wearing them with their dapper suits. In the sixties the infamous Kray Twins were lovers of the shoe too.

LIKE A PUNT ??? GET YOUR MONEY ON THESE LITTLE BEAUTIES !!!..............

    ALL YOUR FOOTIE TIPS

                           provided by
          ' ALAN McLOUGHLIN'

     AlsPicks@blogspot.ie

     For Weekly Forecast

    Or get up to the minute news & Tips on Twitter

                     '@alanmc16'

   ABOUT ALAN

Alan is a fellow student of mine studying Multi Media in Ireland and specialises in sports writing. If I need info on sports he's the man to ask, be it South America, Australia to UK, USA, basically everywhere and anywhere.

If you like a cheeky bet at a good price take notice this guy will win you money with his tips, I have and not just a few times.

So check his tips out and enjoy spending your winnings!!!

He's a Newcastle fan , but hey, we can't all be perfect....lol