Friday 26 September 2008

Camogie Mom


The summer holidays are well and truly over. Almost before they began. The weather resolutely refused to cooperate and it only now as October approaches that the rain has stayed away for long enough to allow the kids a bit of time in the garden after school. That's if they can fit in any time in the garden with all the activities that are scheduled around them.

Ballet - 'well she loves it so I'll put up with the astronomical fees, lack of parking on a busy road and associated stress levels just so that she can prance around in a leotard once a week.'

Swimming - 'it's a necessary life skill so I'm not going to suffer the ignominy of being the only mother whose child is still in armbands at the age of 5.' Overheated pool, regular ear infections and having to compete with the other mothers in the fashion stakes are a small price to pay for the privilege of watching the little darlings wait their turn to be yelled at as they struggle up and down an overcrowded swimming lane.

Arts and Crafts - 'an after school activity that gives me an extra hour to wash, iron, cook etc.' Impossible to resist.

Ball skills - 'he may be young but he's very gifted, my husband has already hinted that I should prepare my speech - it's traditional for the mother of the captain of the winning Senior Cup team apparently....'

It is as she unloads the boot of her estate car (while the children settle themselves in front of yet another useless TV programme and demand to know what's for supper) that Wine Goose loses concentration and slips into a dream. It goes like this.

She receives a call from Mary McAleese, up there in Áras an Uachtaráin. 'We've decided the country needs a Vice President.' 'Em, Mary, where did you get my number?' 'From the phone book'. 'Okay, but why me?' 'Well, you're a woman, and you fit the required age and address profile so we thought you might be interested. And you're on the local schools Parents Association so you have some experience of politics.' Wine Goose is flattered. She briefly thinks about calling Mr R with her exciting news, but after a few moments careful consideration decides against taking up the offer. There are lots of reasons for this - lack of real political knowledge and fear of exposing herself and her family to intense media scrutiny coming top of the list. And to date, her experience with the Parents Association has been one of enormous frustration, not least from having to put up with the slow pace at which decisions are made.

On the other side of the Atlantic Sarah Palin has no such reservations and enters the fray with such gusto that Wine Goose is left stunned. How on the earth does the lady manage to juggle? Who is feeding her baby? Who is raising her family? Who is she? Where did she come from? Are Hillary Clinton voters really going to switch their vote, when they have no common ideologies? Is it really a possibility that somebody plucked from relative obscurity could potentially become the first female President of the United States? Wine Goose wonders if perhaps she has been a little too hasty in her own decision.

According to Decanter magazine, Palin Syrah, a small organic wine from Chile, has found itself embroiled in the turmoil surrounding the Republican campaign in the US presidential race. The wine, linked, for obvious reasons, with the Republican vice-presidential candidate, has drawn media attention in the U.S. News organisations in the country are tracking sales of the brand and connecting the label's fortunes to the popularity of Palin's right-wing politics. Chris Tavelli, a partner in San Francisco's Yield Wine Bar started serving Palin Syrah before Republican presidential candidate John McCain asked Palin to be his running-mate. Following Palin's nomination, sales of the wine plummeted in liberal San Francisco. But Tavelli is reluctant to take it off his wine list. 'It's good, organic and affordable,' he said.

Camogie is a Celtic team sport, the women's variant of hurling. Palin wines are not currently available in Ireland.