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LAST WEEKEND, THE priests and I attended the annual “Weekend for Jesus” music and prayer festival which is spread across two fields in Cavan.
Some of the more snide commentators in the media refer to it as “Priestopalooza” but I say they can name call all they want, we had an only brilliant time.
Sort of.
Friday
11am
The priests and I arrive in our mini bus. Fr Byrne hasn’t stopped talking about Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions’ headlining performance in 1981 since we left the house. “A full two hours they played,” he keeps saying “a full two hours. Would you believe it? I couldn’t.”
Fr O’ Neill then casually tells him he once saw the Indians play a three-hour set in the Hazel Hotel “back in the heady summer of ’75.” Fr Byrne says nothing, but I can tell he is annoyed.
12pm
We find the camp site and decide to set up our tent.
3pm
We are still setting up the tent when we hear the first strains of what sounds like Declan Nerney “kicking off” what will no doubt be a typically “blistering” set. Everyone runs to the main stage. I can’t help but notice that there are a lot of nuns in the pit in front of the stage.
3.05pm
It wasn’t Declan Nerney at all. We trudge back to the camp site to set up the tent.
5pm
The tent is nearly set up. Time for crisps and lemonade. “Three encores they did,” says Fr Byrne. “Who?” says Fr Deegan. “Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions in 1981.”
Fr Byrne pipes up: “The Indians did four in the Hazel in ’75. And they scalped their drummer.”
Fr Deegan sulks.
8pm
Big Tom is only brilliant on the main stage. He even brings up a nun to dance with him. “Eat you heart out Bruce Springsteen and that girl who went on to be in Friends,” says Fr Lawlor beside me.
10pm
Time for bed. We all sleep in the mini bus because the tent hasn’t been set up yet.
Saturday
9am
The sun is splitting the rocks. It is a real socks and sandals day.
12pm
We are nearly finished setting up the tent when we hear what sounds like Declan Nerney doing his sound check. Another stampede to the main stage.
12.05pm
It wasn’t Declan Nerney at all. And an ambulance has to be called for Fr O’ Brien because a rather large nun has fallen on him.
10pm
After a day of great music and relaxing in the prayer tent our own tent is almost there, but we stop and sleep in the mini bus again because it starts to rain.
As everyone settles down to go to sleep Fr O’ Neill makes soft whooping sounds like a Red Indian in an old cowboy film. Fr Byrne doesn’t respond, but I am almost certain I can hear teeth grinding.
Sunday
12pm
We hear music wafting from the main stage. It sounds like Declan Nerney, but we’re not so stupid that we’ll make the same mistake again. Besides the tent is just about finished.
1pm
The tent is finally up! Jubilation all round.
1.05pm
Apparently it WAS Declan Nerney, and his set has just finished!
1.06pm
Fr O’ Neill makes a casual comment about how “Declan Nerney couldn’t possibly match the Indians for energy and artistic brilliance anyway.”
1.08pm
We spend ten minutes disentangling Fr O’ Neill from what remains of the tent. Meanwhile, Fr Ryan and Fr O’ Rourke have the unenviable task of restraining Fr Byrne.
2pm
Fr Byrne finally stops shouting. Some nuns are giving us funny looks. I decide the only thing for it is for us to leave.
4pm
Home. We missed Johnny McEvoy and Brendan Shine. But I console everybody with the thought that it could have been worse.
8pm
Driving back to Cavan. Somebody forgot to put the tent in the boot. Livid.
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This wont end well. Have they not seen the movie Alien.
@Niallers: HAL 9000
@SFNutters: IG-88
@Means of escape: it looks a lot like the chappiee bot.
@Means of escape: or Android (the 1982 film with Klaus Kinsky) or even Saturn 3 (also released in 1982, with Kirk Douglas and Harvey Kitel).
@David Jordan: Prefer the real steel robot/cobot.
@Niallers: beat me to it :D
Have ye not seen 2001? What could possibly go wrong HAL? ‘I am afraid I can’t tell you, John.’
@willow moon: An interesting fact about HAL in 2001 A Space Oddessy. The acronym HAL is IBM shifted one letter forwards. However this was a complete coincidence. Arthur C Clarke (the author) never knew this until a fan pointed out out years later.
@Paraic: one letter backwards
@SFNutters: Meant to say: “HAL is IBM WHEN shifted one letter forwards”. Typo.
Danger Will Robinson, Danger!
@Leroy Brown: lol lost in space tv programme
A robot in space ummm. A Russian robot, christ
@Tommy C: it’s a robot.. but its russian… my gawd!
Ed-209: “Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply.”
I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Will he be back?
Really like this cobot as its human mimic controlled. I wonder how big the time delay is and how they plan to overcome this in realtime control.
@Simon O Flaherty: the minimum lag could be as little as 0.24 second to the ISS but likely longer as the instructions would he complicated. Still basically immediate control. Here is an article I got the answer from https://www.wired.com/2013/02/a-duet-from-space/
@Edmund Murphy: Interesting article, thanks.
It’s ok though, battery technology is still too primitive so he will need to be plugged in to the mains. Just unplug it if it misbehaves.
Once robots have long lasting power sources though, that’s a different story.
This robot can’t even stand. If you look at it well it held by 2 ropes.
@Oleksandr Savitskyy: it is designed to operate in a zero gravity environment where launch weight is a major issue. I’m surprised they even bothered to give it legs and not a second set of hands. Not being able to stand is no issue.
I hope he doesn’t do a Hal 9000 on them!
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