There’s more to my life than just swanning around England in a canal boat. But there is a definite connection between my disparate activities as boater, writer and off-gridder. Early in 2022, moored near Kings Cross, I saw a notice about a pending cultural ‘event’.
The London Irish Centre would be running an appreciation ‘course’ on James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ over a number of Thursdays including Bloomsday.
As one who fell at an early fence in that literary steeplechase (some fifty years ago) the course presented a chance to update my hiberno-cultural skills or at least learn how to stay in the saddle while holding the book.
I turned up on the first evening to join a stable of joyce-jockeys to be mentored by one Jack Chellman, a young American scholar, who had made Joyce his life’s hobby and had been commissioned and funded to spread the word abroad.
(Ed. "stablelads" is a gender free noun.I made it up.)
The other stablelads were a motley and international crew of various creed, gender, nationality and background. Birkbeck University, being only a stone’s throw away, was an early provider but journalism, foreign affairs, computer coding and teaching all featured along with a retired civil servant and a former racing driver.
We came under starter's orders on May 12th and cantered for eight Thursdays on an Odyssey through the first half of that massive and previously impenetrable tome during which we raucously celebrated Bloomsday22 at the London Irish Centre before being released on June 20th to enjoy the flat season during July and August returning to the Joycean saddle in September for a further eight weeks over jumps.
Saddle sore and chastened, twelve stalwarts crossed the finish line on Thursday 27th October, celebrating with cake and pop and much back-slapping and hugging and scoops at The Dolphin which, over the whole course, had become our
Lestrygonian watering hole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Byrne%27s_pub
We had become a formidable team during that Summer and by working together had helped each other over some right jumps to cross the finish line together.
There were no losers in the winners enclosure, well apart from the earliest fallers, and we wassailed with a promise to come to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith on 30th Nov. to renew acquaintance and confirm our literary and equestrian bonds
criocnaithe: 29/10/2022
Editorial consultant at ICC: D. Cassidy
Consulting editor at LIC: J. Chellman
The London Irish Centre would be running an appreciation ‘course’ on James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ over a number of Thursdays including Bloomsday.
As one who fell at an early fence in that literary steeplechase (some fifty years ago) the course presented a chance to update my hiberno-cultural skills or at least learn how to stay in the saddle while holding the book.
I turned up on the first evening to join a stable of joyce-jockeys to be mentored by one Jack Chellman, a young American scholar, who had made Joyce his life’s hobby and had been commissioned and funded to spread the word abroad.
(Ed. "stablelads" is a gender free noun.I made it up.)
The other stablelads were a motley and international crew of various creed, gender, nationality and background. Birkbeck University, being only a stone’s throw away, was an early provider but journalism, foreign affairs, computer coding and teaching all featured along with a retired civil servant and a former racing driver.
We came under starter's orders on May 12th and cantered for eight Thursdays on an Odyssey through the first half of that massive and previously impenetrable tome during which we raucously celebrated Bloomsday22 at the London Irish Centre before being released on June 20th to enjoy the flat season during July and August returning to the Joycean saddle in September for a further eight weeks over jumps.
Saddle sore and chastened, twelve stalwarts crossed the finish line on Thursday 27th October, celebrating with cake and pop and much back-slapping and hugging and scoops at The Dolphin which, over the whole course, had become our
Lestrygonian watering hole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Byrne%27s_pub
We had become a formidable team during that Summer and by working together had helped each other over some right jumps to cross the finish line together.
There were no losers in the winners enclosure, well apart from the earliest fallers, and we wassailed with a promise to come to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith on 30th Nov. to renew acquaintance and confirm our literary and equestrian bonds
criocnaithe: 29/10/2022
Editorial consultant at ICC: D. Cassidy
Consulting editor at LIC: J. Chellman
