London Calling - The one with the nicked hat, John Hume, the gang from Clanrye ..... and Tom

The summer of 2012 has been a great summer.  Why?  Well that's because Jude's mate Tom returned to Boston.  Tom (just like Mark - see previous post re Mark's trip) lived nearby Jude this summer and that meant plenty of craic and loads of sports on a regular basis.  Perfect!! 

You may remember Tom's 1st leaving party in May this year ..... well here, after spending a great summer in Boston, are Ciaran, Jude and Tom at Tom's 2nd leaving 'doo'.



Fortunately for Jude, Tom is a complete sports nut and the main event this summer was tennis, and stacks of it. Here are the two after completing a 3-setter at Devotion Park in Brookline. Actually .... this is the same park and school grounds that a young JFK frequented as a kid.  If it's good enough for JFK it's good enough for these two Wimbledon Wannabees. 





 

This year Jude purchased a new racquet (with a little help from his friends at the Clanrye group from Newry - thanks for the contribution folks), it's a class new Babolat ......... identical to the one used by Rafa Nadal.  Pretty darn nifty it is too and Jude made good on his promise to get his money's worth out of it by playing as much as three matches every week all the way through summer.  That's a lot of games folks ... wha?

Here's Jude warming up for another big match with Tom.  Meanwhile .....

........ Tom is waiting patiently, conserving his energy and looking at Jude thinking, 'what a wally you are'.

Soon enough the lads would be on the court and battering away goodo.  Here Jude hits a forehand down the line so fast that Tom is still looking for it!!

This time it's a serve from Jude with that cool new racquet of his ....... wha?

Thankfully Tom was as keen to play as Jude was and all it took was a quick e-mail every other day and a game was on.  

'Bloody hard work this tennis game is ye know', said Tom as he cooled down by sticking his head in the water fountain (or 'bubblah' as these yokes are called in Boston).

Tom also enjoys baseball and visiting Fenway Park. Tonight the Boston Red Sox were playing the Kansas City Royals.  The lads were up to their usual tricks of smuggling in more wine than would choke a donkey ..... and sure enough before long they were talking some serious keek indeed.  Ok some folk just don't get baseball ..... yes it's a game, and yes it can be slow sometimes but you can make your own craic too, it's a social evening, like sitting in the pub, but there is a real live game going on too.  It's fantastic, you watch a game and you can get wrote off ..... and talk serious keek, I mean what more do you want on a Friday night?



Tonight Tom insisted that Jude talked a lot more keek than he did and so he drew up this impressive list from the evening. Of course this could be seen as being one of those 'you had to be there' things ..... but check the list to see if you are familiar with any of the subjects and sure you may like to join in a conversation sometime about some.  Here's an example:

Tom: 'Here Jude have you ever been to DC?
Jude: 'Yeah Tom, I used go all the time, I played for them for 4 years, I still follow the results on Saturdays, I loved it there, even after I stopped playing I went to watch on Saturdays....blah, blah
..... then 3 minutes later ...... when he managed to get a word in ......
Tom: 'Here Jude I'm talking about Washington you muppet, not Donegal Celtic!!! (DC is a nickname of the Donegal Celtic football club in Belfast - Jude thought Tom was talking football).




Amazingly ..... after being to so many Red Sox games (including the infamous one when he got hammered and fell asleep as the Red Sox led 9-0, only to wake up with them losing) this was Tom's first time at a game the Red Sox actually won!! They beat Kansas City Royals 4-3 tonight.









'Ah I'm going to miss this place', Tom thought to himself (spot the red cup there folks ..... even it was smuggled in along with wine, popcorn, skittles, the heap, you name it, the lads smuggle it into Fenway Park - and call them cheepos all you like but when you're charged $9 a beer you learn to improvise a little).









Two weeks later and both Tom and Jude were joined at another game by Gary.  Gary is a supervisor with the Clanrye group who were over from Ireland.
















Tom Caron and Dennis Ekersley are TV presenters for the Red Sox.  Tonight the lads got up close to the live pre-game TV show. 












'Cheers for beers!!  Tom and Gary get in the groove with a beer .......













 ........ and a boogie with the live Jazz band.














This fella is Bill Cosby, the famous comedian, tonight he was throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.













Tonight's game versus the New York Yankees was the last game Jude saw this year and it ended in a 2-0 defeat.  Here is one of the best players to play the game of baseball ....... Derek Jeter, captain of the New York Yankees.

The 2012 season for the Boston Red Sox ended with them failing to make the play-offs.


      







Another game the lads dabbled into was this summer was basketball ......... they'd try anything these lads, and as you can see clearly here Jude, if given a lesson or two, could easily be starring for the Boston Celtics in the NBA ........
















............ he just never missed!!



















And based on how Tom was shooting the ball you'd have to reckon that his role in the NBA would more likely be as chief finance officer for the Celtics, or water carrier, or a security guard or something daft like that.  Wha?

Here he is about to miss ....... sorry, here he is about to sink a 2 pointer from as close as he could possibly get to the basket!

Actually, Tom won tonight's game!!






Tom worked from April 2011 - April 2012, and then again from June to September 2012 at Anglo Irish Bank.  There is a great story about how he got the job.  On the day he was flying over to Boston in April 2011 (with the rest of the Derry Boys) his grandfather visited his local doctor.  While sitting in the reception area the grandfather bumped into John Hume.  Yes, John Hume.  So knowing that John Hume had a son who worked in a bank in Boston, and that Tom was seeking work in finance, grandfather Cassidy asked, 'Hello John is there any chance ........? Within minutes the great man had called his son and before you know it Tom lands in Boston and while still sitting on the plane he read a message on his phone.  Job sorted!!!  You couldn't make that up folks, that's what happened.
 


Tom loved the softball too - Here is a pic from the evening of his final softball game, when everyone was back in Emmet's.













A few nights later and Tom has invited some folk around to his apartment for a jolly up.  Jude arrived at Tom's apartment in Kenmore Square nice and early and walked on in to find this scene.  To Tom's surprise he walked out of his room and there's Jude standing supping beer ......... he just walked on in, no knock, nothing ........ sure make yourself at home why don't ye!

Nice apartment!






Before long the beer games had started.

And soon enough the professional beer swigging, beer gaming, party animals from Clanrye had arrived.  Here is Co Down's finest, Ciaran, trying to focus on the seeing the cups never mind getting the ball into them!!!











Rachel is the super sensible one.

She used to be the boss at Clanrye but has now moved on to a new life in Toronto Canada ......... like I said she's the .....











....... super sensible one!  Wha?















Duffy is from Newry and will marry Rachel in 2013.  He loves Toronto, beer, Rachel, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Pringles ...... though not necessarily in that order.

It's time for the good auld 'Flip the coin' beer game.  This one's always a good laugh, like here when Jason (on left, from Fermanagh) and Adrian (on right, also from Fermanagh) laugh at Ciaran as he struggles big time with this simple task.










Cheers!!!!!!!!!

In this pic are (clockwise from left): Grace (from Kilkenny), Tom, Jason, Ciaran, Adrian, Jude, Rachel and Gary.












Gathered out on the street are Ciaran, Gary, Duffy, Rachel and Jude ......












Tom's last night was held in Emmet's.  Here are, left - right: Ciaran, Tom, Grace, Lindsay, Jude and Gary.












As always the craic, was ninety.















Jude, Gary and Ciaran have a laugh.














Tom, Grace, Lindsay and Jude get the evening started with a few swalls














Here saying 'Thanks' to Tom for a great summer are: Ciaran, Grace, Lindsay and Jude.

Grace and Lindsay at Tom's leaving evening.

'Hello, is that the peelers, the fuzz, the coppers ...... aye dead on ..... here I need to report that someone's knicked me hat', Ciaran rambles down his phone.

He, Tom and Lindsay enjoying the craic.










'Here, have ye seen me hat'.

This time Rachel joins in (sitting on left).  Rachel is from Dublin and is one of the very nice waitress staff who tend to the group regularly in Emmet's.











The scene of many an evening in Boston for Tom, good auld Emmet's.














Could we have found the hat crook?

Lindsay poses in her best Robert Emmet impersonation beside the 'Emmet's sign.

Then Grace has a go.















'I'm tired and I want to go to bed ..... you see I've had a little drink about an hour ago ..... and it's gone right to my head', sings Tom as it's getting near home time.











'Here, ye wouldn't happen to have any spare hair gel floating around, someone's knicked me hat, and me hairs all over the place, wha? asked Ciaran.

'Ah sure, go on ye good ting ye...... sure you'll love it in London, sure the streets are full of lovely Irish men and women', says farmer Ciaran to London bound Tom.

Oh ...... and Ciaran has found his hat!










Having a laugh as the night draws to a close.















'Good luck in London Tom ............ and may the wind always be at yer back mate', say Jude and Ciaran.