More Sunshine, Sea and Food:

What I enjoyed most about our last Friday of the month trips to Dublin this year, was the touch of class everywhere we went from the Yacht Bar and Restaurant in Clontarf to the rooftop restaurant in Malahide and from Finnegans of Dalkey to the Clontarf Castle Hotel.

Which is why I was so disappointed with my perennial pint of Peroni served in the Bloody Stream yesterday afternoon. In a Rockshore glass.

Standards had dropped in Howth.

Tom mischievously referred to the pub as the Muddy River instead of the Bloody Stream and Debbie couldn’t eat her mushy Steak and Guinness Pie while we had to be firm with the management before they acquiesced to our request to split the bill. But the sun came out as usual as did the seals on Dublin Bay following a delightful boat trip around the harbour.

On the Enterprise, it looked like everybody’s head in Carriage E was stuck to their cell phone with the possible exception of John who engaged in something much more old fashioned as he negotiated the crossword in the Friday edition of the Daily Mail.

On the return journey, we all awaited in vain for the trolley lady serving tea who we were promised would be embarking at Drogheda but the trolley didn’t arrive until we reached Lisburn by which time we were famished and parched.

What I like most about the train to Dublin is the quality of the standard class compartments. Almost as comfortable as first class with the same menu and choice of sustenance and nourishment so why pay more?

What I like least is people who should know better grabbing our pre-booked seats when our name is in lights as all eighteen of us arranged beforehand with Translink to sit together.

The coffee is perfect if you remember to drink from the right side of the paper cup, the staff are predominantly hardworking Eastern Europeans and return train is faster than the outgoing one which means we were all back home on time for News at Ten.

One of our new members is originally from Tokyo, Japan which is world famous for high powered, timely, superfast electric bullet trains. At one point we thought our diesel driven enterprise was about to shoot of the rails, the Dart remains fundamentally basic, and the toilet doors don’t always shut. I wonder what she thinks of Translink?