Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures - Day 3

Welcome to the third day's coverage (don't worry its not Cricket). The sun is out and we are being treated to a taste of summer which we were starved of up until now. Traffic, as you can imagine, has presented people with problems. For once its great to be a Pedestrian. My journey (seemed more like a transatlantic one) was being delayed considerably and the familiar sight of buses with "Out of Service" was repeatedly seen. Was I ever going to get to DL?

When I finally got there I walked through the centre of the town and eventually I settled in Harry's Café where I sat and enjoyed my Cappuccino whilst two attractive German ladies, beside me, were nattering away in their native tongue. I had a few ideas where to put my tongue but then this is a family blog. Just for the record they're staring at me like I'm COLIN FARRELL. Such is the sex appeal I exude!

This part of the country has now got a rather high proportion of Latin souls around the place and the Spanish accents are now as common as the Dublin whine. DAVID TRIMBLE once stated, in a speech, that the Republic of Ireland was monocultural and backward. We may be a little slow to change in the world of enterprise but to call us 'monocultural' is, quite frankly, a wee bit of a joke. Come to DL, David, and maybe we can remove your head from the sand of ignorance where it has been stuck for far too long. Apart from European accents INDIAN, CHINESE and AFRICAN voices are all to be regularly heard here and it is something to be cherished. I feel the festival, here in DL, has boosted the place culturally as well as economically. Anyway I'm now off to see what Sunday's events have in store......

I'm sitting near to the waterfront adjacent to the main stage (Newtownsmith) and there is quite a Smorgasbord of activity in the area. From Pupetteering and Face painting to Henna Tattoos, where people can be the victims of body art. Everyone is strolling around or lying, listening to the music being performed. All are in good humour. The Garda are not to active. Falun Gong followers are giving out newsletters speaking up for their sect, denunciating the Chinese leadership. Reading through some of the literature, I was handed, it is clear that today in DL we are blissfully unaware of the Human Rights horrors that are happening as I write. We are so lucky.

Seems every second woman who passes me looks like she has been plucked from the cover of Vanity Fair or Heat Magazine. They're gorgeous! For a single guy like me my neck has been strained from the twisting and turning of looking at the beauties near me. I was thinking about Newtownsmith last evening: Would it be like Glastonbury, lots of muck? Thankfully this wasn't the case. The ground was dry enough but one woman, I spied, got up from the grass and had two damp patches on her bottom. I, wisely, restrained myself from asking her could I photograph her.

If, as in 'The Committments' film, the Irish are the blacks of Europe surely DL people are the hippies of Ireland. Every sort of beatnik has come along: Dreadlocks, Tattoos, Piercings are prominently in view and I would say that the music being heard compliments the styles here. The din is getting a little dull so I'm moving on...

I've made it to 'Walters', an old haunt of mine. But not before jiving to the sounds of Nigerian band, MOTENA at the Peoples park. This is probably my favorite musical event of the weekend. The shimmering guitar tones make it a very exciting 10 minutes. Unfortunately they were playing their last few tunes when I got there. But it was wonderful to witness them. The energy was palpable.

As I thought, Sunday's programme was the pinacle to the festival. We were also blessed with fine weather on the last day, which gave the proceedings a continental atmosphere. With each passing year the event becomes steadily more diverse. Can JODY ACKLAND bring us any better? It will, I'm sure, be a permanent fixture on the local calendar for years to come. Our very own Notting Hill.

Special mention must go to a lovely Spanish lady I met whilst leaving the festival this evening. Elena, it was a real pleasure to be in your company. I hope that we meet again and that whatever you do in your life - you are happy and well. Cheers!