Green day

Dear me, it’s football tomorrow isn’t it? Shit, how Charlton can ruin your weekend episode 474.

For those of us listening to the game from Dagenham tomorrow we can at least be comforted by the fact that Paul Benson will be doing the commentary. When he signed on the dotted line for three times his salary I don’t expect for a minute that he thought just seven months later his career would reach these kinds of dizzying heights.

For me tomorrow I’ll hopefully be unpacking suitcases, that’s if our luggage makes it back from the runway at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. We had some good old fashioned fun yesterday returning from Chicago, what with a flight cancellation, a re-routing and maintenance issues and then being the last people standing staring at an empty baggage carousel at Bermuda airport late last night. Remind yourselves never to travel with the Chicago Addick family.

On a brighter note, yesterday the sun was out and the sky a shade of royal blue on our last day in Chicago. Also out was anyone who is anyone dressed head to toe in Irish green as the whole city prepared to go out on the lash.

Chicago has celebrated St Patrick’s Day since 1843 and since 1962 has dyed the main artery of the city’s river green. People drink green beer, eat faux Irish food and skyscrapers are lit with an emerald hue. Personally it just used to make me green around the gills!

Still, what that sight of the river (photo) did remind me was that it was 8 years ago this week that I first visited Chicago, on a trip to meet my then potential new boss. The weather then was as it was yesterday and it brought back some good memories.