No.189 Sitting in the Dock of a Bay

It's been a manic day today. It started at 5a.m. with breakfast and a shower then into work for 6a.m. I spent an hour on the laptop prepping a breakfast seminar duly delivered at 8.40a.m. at the Ramada, Belfast. I then raced down the motorway for a meeting at 11.30,a.m. a second at 12.15p.m. a third at 2p.m., a fourth at 3p.m. a fifth at 4.30p.m. with the sixth and last due for 7p.m. in half an hour's time

As I bang this into the blog I'm sitting in the Burlington with my laptop docked into the corner of the Foyer people watching and tonight the "game" is plentiful. There's air stewardesses from Eithad airlines coming in from a flight with most likely their relief crew just checking out. They look rather fine in their blue grey uniform, but rather silly in their head scarves that drape down one side of their face only which looks mildly irritating to me. Also mildly irritating is the airline captain who leads the stewardesses around. They follow dutifully like ducklings behind daddy mallard. Unfortunately said captain is the spitting image of Leslie Neilson who once played the hapless captain in Airplane. I wonder if his ducklings realise this and are too polite to tell him. He takes himself very seriously.

Taking themselves seriously too are the bouncers mulling about trying hard without much success to melt unnoticed into the scenery. Others (not bouncers) dart about in fine dress on their way to what appears to be a rather well-to-do ball in the main suite of the hotel later this evening. There's an air of confidence about these people which they seem to have gained from this dressing up experience the same sort of confidence that I saw today at the Four Courts as I watched barristers parade up and down like peacocks in their wigs and gowns. Strange what costume or fine dress does to the psyche innit?