The Jameson Dublin Literary Pub Crawl

The destiny of every walking man is to immerse himself in the panorama surrounding him, to the point of becoming one with it and, ultimately, to vanish

Federico Castigliano

An old T-Shirt of mine prompts this week’s Reflection.

I’m not a fan of those guided tours that drag people from sight to sight to ‘discover’ a town or city. I’ve sat in many places just watching the world go by and seen such tours. In the lead will be a keen guide holding a flag, umbrella, or some such aloft, while behind them weave a forlorn, careworn snake of people. Snapping away to the left and to the right. No doubt at the end of the tour of an hour or two they will declare they had then ‘done’ that city or town. I much prefer my urban exploration to be self-guided and ad hoc. That way you are more likely to stumble upon hidden treasures.

Having said that I do enjoy an urban ‘themed’ walk. As a volunteer, I take part in my local museum’s History walk (sold out through September). Some of you have also joined me on the themed walks I’ve organised in London. Over the years, these have covered such topics as the London(s) of Pepys, Dickens, and Shakespeare. The deeds of Jack the Ripper as well as London’s 17th Century pubs.

I’ve had a new Dickens’ walk sitting on the shelf for some 18 months now. I’m much looking forward to following that one with others, as it’s not the usual walk around Villiers Street, The Strand, and Fleet Street etc. I also have in mind to explore the route walked by Vincent van Gogh each day between his home in SW9 and his work in Covent Garden. I hope I’ll get a chance to do these new ones with a few people once we feel more comfortable with such things.

A walk that will live long in my memory had a culinary theme. It was around the Testaccio area of Rome, led by a young chef. Another was a private walk around the ‘London of Oscar Wilde’. That one even took in the Freddie Fox Museum in the basement of the cigar merchants James J Fox. I also much enjoyed exploring part of Cardiff led by a small Theatre Company. More locally, I recommend the ‘Show of Strength’ offerings that range from the writing of Frankenstein to the tale of Blackbeard. SoS both enlighten and entertain.

So, what has all this got to do with an old T-Shirt, you might ask.

Well, this isn’t any old T-Shirt. This was first prize at the Jameson Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. A walk around some of Dublin’s literary sites, along with two or three pubs and a glass or two of Jameson. What’s not to like? Literature, Pubs, Jameson, and a prize for the person who gets the best score from a list of Irish literary questions.

As the walk progressed and the questions answered, I was neck and neck with another. It was the penultimate question that saw me pull ahead.

“In what sport did Oscar Wilde indulge at University?” — it’s a surprising one for the man now seen as the ultimate aesthete. But, while he never writes on it, I suspect Wilde would have seen the ironic humour in the connection between that sport and the man who became his nemesis.

My correct answer to the question that sealed the quiz for me was,

“What great American novel came from the pen of a son of an Irish immigrant family”.

Again, I’ll leave you to work out the answer, and while a T-shirt may not seem much of a prize, I’m immensely proud to have won it.

This week’s music has both an Irish connection and a London link. It’s by a favourite group of mine, The Pogues. Incidentally, the group’s original name was ‘Pogue Mahone’ from the Gaelic póg mo thóin. Those easily offended should not look up the English translation.