I’m back, refreshed and missing the water. Having spent almost two weeks away I’m back in Kilkenny well rested after the Christmas. The battery on my E50 died around Stephen’s Day and I never bothered charging it up – thus giving up access to Jaiku for the extra week or so.

2008 is seemingly going to be a year of change in the McGuire clan and sure what harm of it!

I did manage to sneak in six days in a row of kayaking (on lake and kayak surfing) around Sligo and had a blast. Mind you, Stephen’s Day in Iniscrone (which has a dozen varieties of spelling, as with a lot of Sligo towns) could have killed all of us and gave even the seasoned sailors in the group a scare – when in that situation it’s just best to bail to the nearest pub, and we did.

Christmas itself generally consisted of kayaking, drinking, gigging, some photography (thank God), rescuing a car from a soggy Charlestown bypass, plenty of eating, buckets of DVDs, and just general relaxation. Last night was the first time since the Christmas weekend that I gave my laptop any attention.

Hell, I even got to gig on New Years Eve with ‘The Boxty Band’, taking to the stage at 10:30pm and finishing at 2:28am. Talk about a savage way to kick off the new year.

So here I sit, freezing in Kilkenny with the family in Sligo – there’s recording to be done, things to be shopped for, plans to be made for 2008 but all I fancy doing is putting my feet up with some more episodes of CSI (yes, I’m firmly hooked having watched 18 of 24 episodes of Season 1 in the last few days).

To each and all of you, I hope the Christmas was great and here’s to a prosperous 2008 for everyone.

Quick tip too – if you’re on the lookout for a coffee in Ballina (Mayo), hit ‘Mocha Beans’. Beans roasted in store, coffee to go is reasonably priced at €3.30 for a grande vanilla cappuccino and the tasty is just amazing.