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| If this year's Smedia Awards is as good as last years, attendees will be in for a treat |
I may have just over a month to go in
Canada, but Ireland is telling me to come home.
She’s been punishing me for leaving since I left her shores on January
2nd. I should have known better than to leave home. For the last few months
I’ve been describing myself as a prospective immigrant, but now that I’ve left
the homeland, I know that Ireland won’t let me leave longterm.
The
first incident was the fact that my flight the St John’s, Newfoundland was
cancelled because of extreme weather conditions, meaning I had to stay in New
York overnight.
Next
up, Continental Airlines lost all of my bags, so that I had to buy enough
clothes and toiletries to last me a few days. Worst of all, I was technically
under arrest, as I was dragged into interrogation, as border police thought
that my reason on visiting Canada wasn’t for study. Just over 100 days to go at
that stage. What more could happen?
Since then, I’ve been bedbound with the
Newfie flu and other viral nasties that have ensured that my social life here
is kept to an absolute minimum. Also, have I mentioned the snow? The snow here
is bitter and stinging. The worst thing about the Newfoundland snow is that
when it’s rained on top of, it turns into this rock hard ice that is incredibly
slippery. I’ve almost had a number of concussions walking along it.
Just this week there was a great thaw out.
The sun was shining and I was delighted that I was beginning to see the grass
again. I jinxed it. The next day, the snow started afresh and the snow ploughs
are going full throttle throughout the night once more.
But now, I have a whole new reason to
return home. This blog has been nominated for a student media award. I was
lucky enough to be a guest at last year’s awards and was delighted with the
night. It’s fantastically organised and it’s a great night. I’m looking forward
to seeing what comes out of it. I’m also happy to see fellow ULers Finn McDuffie and Colm Fitzgerald nominated for other awards. Best of luck to
everyone taking part. It will definitely be a night to celebrate.
