Archive for January 24th, 2006
I am the grim reaper for Texas Heroes
Posted on January 24, 2006, by Conor O'Neill, under Personal.
I just had a comment posted to my old blog by Kim on something I wrote about Bill Hicks back last May. She was stunned that I saw him live about a year before he died and wanted some details. It is odd timing that she posted now considering I’m just back from Austin. But I was also thinking about Bill when I was over there.
I was in the airport and spotted some Stevie Ray Vaughan CDs. I’ve liked him for years but wouldn’t be a fanatic. Having said that, the man was a genius with a guitar. His Voodoo Chile is probably as good as Jimi’s. I managed to see him live too in Stuttgart in 1988. We were really going to see The Hothouse Flowers who were playing support but every other person in the stadium was there to worship Stevie. The CD I bought on Saturday was a recording of a tribute concert with the likes of Clapton, BB King, Robert Kray and others covering Stevie classics. Bloody good. Ripped to MP3 already (if IRMA want to take me to court).
Here we have two guys from Texas, both the very best in their field, I see them perform live and they both croak it wayyyy before their time. Coincidence? I think not. Let’s just say Willie Nelson, Michael Dell and ZZ Top better stay the hell away from me.
But back to Kim’s question’s about Bill. It was in 1993 I think so we’re talking a long 13 years ago. I can’t remember what I did yesterday so the details of that long ago are pretty vague. We saw him in the Tivoli theatre in Dublin (Ireland). We were to the side of the stage about two rows back. I had seen his videos before so some of the material was familiar but the switch from smoking lover to hater was a bit of a shock. He was also doing his “big opening” with smoke, lights, a big hat and Hendrix music. Didn’t really work for me but the show more than made up for it.
My main recollection of the night (apart from Goat Boy) was that my sister was rotten drunk and kept shouting “Yoh Bill! Woo hoo! yeah!” after every punch-line. His material is still hilarious after all these years. I couldn’t believe it when Gulf War II was building up and the media started using the phrase “Elite Republican Guard” all over again. Some things never change.
[tags] Bill Hicks, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texas, Goat Boy, Tivoli Dublin[/tags]
No Comments
“Cully & Sully” Chicken & Leek Pie - Thumbs up from 2 to 37
Posted on January 24, 2006, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Food.
I got back from the US on Sunday after a tortuous routing - if our feet didn’t actually touch the ground in St Louis, can we say we have been there? I was pretty much all beefed out (hope to god that is not some awful double entendre) after a Texan week. Catherine had spotted the Cully & Sully ready-meals in Supervalue and grabbed two to see what they were like. As neither of us had the energy to cook, I decided to give the Chicken & Leek Pie a twirl.
The pies come in a plastic-sealed ramekin-style ceramic dish which you can obviously re-use and they cost about a fiver. Great value when you consider the dish. Four minutes in the micro and it was ready to go. The result? De-lish, tasty, tasty, tasty: Spuddies, chicken, leek, sauce - what more could you ask for?
I rarely eat ready-meals nowadays but I was a fiend for them in college. Findus crispy pancakes, potato waffles and beans - I will never ever eat that combo again. Birds Eye Beef Curry - ditto. Dunnes Stores Roast Chicken Dinner - agghhhhh. But Cully & Sully are in an entirely different league. When I had that chat with Cully at the Ballymaloe course, he admitted he had never eaten one of those Boil in the Bag dinners in his life. You can tell - the pie I had on Monday was up there with home cooking.
But as I may be influenced by Sully’s recent kind words on this blog, I decided to consult with high-flying flamboyant girl about Bandon town, Sibéal O’Neill, for her independent opinion. Not known for her retiring nature in matters of food, Sibéal had been having dinner at the same time as me. She was deeply unhappy with her lovely fish dinner. Unprompted she started dipping her food into the sauce in my pie. When I was finished, she grabbed the dish off me with her two hands, stuck her face in it and licked it clean. No words necessary there really. And none possible beyond “YUM!” as she is only 2.
There ye have it. Old fatties likes em, young squirts likes em. Go get em.
[tags] Cully and Sully, Chicken and Leek Pie, Ballymaloe Hen House[/tags]
1 Comment
