our jolly at the Dail, Dublin

Hearty breakfast in our hotel with Frances (where I discovered that there's a reason that she doesn't come to work before 10.30am- no chat).

Peter arrives in taxi to pick us up to take us to the Dail (pronounced Doyle) where we are met and given a tour of the building - which while long is only slightly interesting....

We meet up with the equivalent staff in the Bills Office- and it's interesting to meet someone who pretty much does exactly the same job as me - and who has the same problems which I'm not going to bore you with on a blog. The meeting shows that the system that we have is just as good as their brand spanking expensive one (which was the sole purpose of our trip).

We have a pleasant lunch in their members restaurant and then a very tedious meeting in the afternoon - which has nothing whatsoever to do with the purpose of our visit. Finally let go to hit the shops - but sample a final pint of the black gold before leaving for the airport.

Discover why Ryan Air is hailed as one of the worst air;lines as we get delayed for over an hour for a 35 minute flight - but am grateful to my shiny new ipod. Finally get home late.