One of our group the other day, who shall be nameless because I can’t for the moment remember which of two it was, commented that he was rather put off by this blog’s title, “The Retreat”. He associated retreat with defeat. That’s how tricky words can be, like petards.
For ’tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard
(Prince Hamlet, in Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4)
But St Patrick’s Day is coming up, so welcome to the freshly-renamed Finnegan’s.
Here are petards galore, for we can be fiery, but poets too.
petard: a small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with powder, used to blow in a door, gate, etc., or to make a hole in a wall. Now hist.
5 thoughts on “Finnegan’s”
phil ebersole
In military terms, a strategic retreat is sometimes the only way to avoid defeat.
Cindy
I was waiting for someone else to comment first, but since I have a 3 day work obligation that starts in an hour, I’ll just tell you, “Thank you for Finnegans!” I will try to behave.
I wonder what Brian O’Nolan would think of this place and what he would have to say about how much the world has changed.
It’s a good thing this is a private blog where free speech isn’t monitored as closely. Otherwise, you would probably be shut down for allowing me in. It would be like the modern version of the, ‘The Thirst’ when the guy says (to paraphrase): “If you were caught offering me even a half of one on these premises, you could be brought up on the gravest of grave charges”.
Anyhow, gotta run. Thanks again for inviting me in. I’ll try not to blow myself up anymore. Hopefully.
Bryan White
Wasn’t me. I took “retreat” in the sense of a secluded getaway, a place to relax. In the context of the pub picture, and just the general nature of the thing, I thought that was pretty obvious.
By the way, there’s a pending post that I wrote about a week ago. Usually I wouldn’t press the matter, and I’d let you get to it when you get to it, but at this point, I’m assuming it’s simply been overlooked.
Vincent
Bryan it was overlooked! I shall go there immediately. Things have been a little fraught lately in this body and mind, in a good but scary way. Like I don’t know where I’m at.
Cindy, I am also a fan of Flann O’Brien, we probably discussed this before in our thousands of emails over the last 5 years. There’s one novel of his called The Dalkey Archive which I bought from a second-hand bookshop in Dublin on our last visit there in ’14: another reason for Dalkey being special, in addition to its Joyce connections.
I’m glad that strategic retreat and self-exploding petards are being well understood by those present here in the context of our mock wars. (Have any of you read The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman?
Incidentally there are several members of this blog who have not yet introduced themselves. Please take it from me that I’ve known each of them online for 5 years or more, and personally guarantee their discretion. I might introduce them soon anyhow.