St. Patrick's Day

Thursday, as we all know, is St. Patrick's Day. This is one of my favorite holidays as I get to celebrate my heritage by listening to some great traditional (and not so traditional) Irish music, eating corned beef and those little potatoes, and drinking Guinness Stout. Actually, I do that stuff a lot but in March I get to be loud and proud.

Yes, yes, I know the last name isn't particularly Irish, but we do know that there's lots of Irish blood in the family. My mother's side of the family, the Johnstons, is very Irish. Dad's side is a little more mixed but there's lots of Irish there too. It's a little harder to trace my Dad's genealogy because some of the records have never been translated to English, but we know through oral history (a very Celtic practice) that before Germany, Holland and Wales we were in Ireland. And due to some digging about the origin of surnames I've come to find out that "Brink" is believed to be a popular European derivative of "O'Brieren". Can't get more Irish than that folks.

Now, I'm not going to be able to attend any official celebrations this year. The kids are too young to take to any of the parades here in the St. Louis area, and two happened Saturday anyway. The real celebration is on St. Patrick's Day itself in Dogtown (a largely Irish neighborhood). The Hibernians parade is the best one as it's all representing local clans and Irish based organisations. Also, inside St. James The Greater church is a corned beef lunch, lots o' Irish type drinks, and a good Irish folk band called the Irish Aires. It's a good time, shame I can't go.

Nope, I have to work Thursday, and even if I could go I'm not sure about taking the kids down there. So I've got to make my own fun. Mostly I'll be listening to some traditional folk music(drinking songs), and a modernized version of that as well. There have been quite a few bands over the years to blend traditional Irish/Celtic music with their own songs and a frenetic energy. Three stand head and shoulders above the rest and if I have to tell you then you really need to do your homework. I am of course speaking of The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.

I shall also probably watch some "Father Ted", a hysterical British sitcom about three priests on an island just off the coast of Ireland. I'll also try to fit in "The Quiet Man"(classic movie) and the Food Network has a special on Bobby Flay in Ireland that looks interesting.

And then for our St. Patrick's Dinner I'm going to do the cooking. We're actually going to make the dinner the night before as Thursday won't allow us the time for a big meal. But I'll be making Corned Beef in Guinness, with potatoes and carrots. We're not big on cabbage in this house, I'll eat it other places to be polite, but I'd rather have the other veggies. The recipe is fairly simple, so hopefully I don't screw it up royally. It sounds delicious so I'm going to give it a go and maybe we'll get a new traditional meal. And if not, well, I'm sure there'll be some beer left over...

Okay, have a happy St. Patrick's day however you spend it. Back soon with an update on the animals.