Embace Your January Blues

23rd Jan 2008

Embrace The January Blues
Danny Elbow

If you're thinking there's little more to January than the new Argos Catalogue and reports about elections for elections in the U.S. you might be right. Sometimes rather than confronting your January blues and wandering out in the manky weather you'd be better off embracing the pessimism with a sleeping bag and a few DVD box sets.

Blue as an egg: Ah sure wudja looka..

STILL CHRISTMAS AT UCC
As of today it's a full month since Christmas Eve but some Corkonians still have their decorations up. So are they terrified of the January blues or just plain lazy?

The sweetest story of the month is of course the fact that UCC's decorations are staying up a wee bit longer than was anticipated because when the boys in reflectorised jackets pulled up to drag the giant Christmas tree away, they found a little birdie in a nest about to give birth to a load of other little birdies.

The clever feathered female chose the most sympathetic place to give birth in Cork - complete with it's own Zoology Department - if it was anywhere else you can be sure that the work men wouldn't have said a thing and the little birdie would be back on the avian housing list.

Our sympathy for the little creatures only runs so far though: with no stamp duty and free housing for all first and second time buyers sparrows, robins and starlings have it that bit easier than those of us on terra firma.

Stay positive: the birdie will probably get egged during Rag Week and we'll all be on a level pegging.

Down in the deep blues sea.

NO DEEP
As if the January blues weren't bad enough infamous DJ duo, Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson aka FishGoDeep have shocked the music world by ending their nineteen year 'Go Deep' Saturday night residence in the city centre.

Bringing the emerging musical genre of 'house' to Sir Henrys in November 1988, the pair have outlasted every fad, sub-genre and musical novelty by doing little more than keeping their heads in their DJ boxes and concentrating on selecting the best musical medicine for Cork's clubbers.

The result has been global recognition within the genre and most importantly for Cork a consistent supply of quality underground music, top guests from abroad and perpetually packed out Saturday nights.

The news came out-of the-blue as the lads were expected to see their legacy through to it's twentieth year having moved from Sir Henrys to City Limits in 2001, then to the Savoy and finally to Fast Eddies.

Shocked clubbers who turned up disorientated in city hospitals could only be prescribed the duo's weekly deep house podcast by unwitting doctors, as the best-guess anti-dote their already spiralling January blues.

Stay positive: the boys are taking their act to the world stage with their forthcoming album release on UK label Defected and this will bring undoubted recognition for Cork - paving the way and opening doors for those who wish to follow suit and make sure PROC's 2020 target of being the musical epicentre of the world is achieved.

Georgie trying to get over his blues

O'CALLAGHAN MIGHT SIGN FOR BOHS
First the news that he's coming back. Hurray! Then the speculation that he might play for Bohemians or St. Pat's. Boo!

Since new city manager Alan Mathews took the helm from Damien Richardson there has been more than a whisper of excitement at the prospects for this year's new Eircom League season. The new bainisteoir has made the league his number one priority for the club and O'Callaghan's experiences in the 2005 win will be crucial to the cause.

The thought of O'Callaghan wearing the Boh's jersey is however like arriving home early from school and finding your brother and football loving best friend trying out your old lade's dresses. Eeeeewwww!

I mean like, we'll be cool about it if it has to happen but it just doesn't feel right does it? Georgie is Cork through and through and whatever went on in late 2005 that saw him depart the People's Republic for Ipswich must be left behind.

The thought of him of signing for a Dublin club is too hard to think about and those January blues could become worryingly serious for us Corkonians if Georgie chooses life above in hell.

Think Postive: he's a Corkman to the bone with Rebel GAA affiliations deep in his blood. Negotiations with the Dubs are probably just a way of making sure he gets his worth at Turner's Cross.

Two bottles a' blue wicked, a double fat frog and a pinta Beamish please head..

MARKETS IN FREEFALL
They won't stop on about it on TV but to be honest we haven't a clue why the markets keep going up and down. It's apparently something to do with confidence and nervousness. Could they not get everyone involved to just calm down or something? Those brow beaten feens with braces and bright ties in the stock market reports look like they could do with a winter break anyway.

The worry on reporters' faces make it seem like the world is coming to an end when share prices "crash" by 5%. None of us really know how these things work but it ain't helping our January blues to keep banging on about them. It seems one minute you can be a billionaire and the next minute you could be down to one pair of shoes and a chomp.

How about replacing the stock market kids with loads of old people so that things wouldn't be so frantic? There wouldn't be enough time to "sell, sell, sell" as they'd be making cups of tea and chatting away on the telephones to the people buying and selling thus reducing "market vulnerability".

Stay positive: apparently interest rates might be cut to ease paranoia thus easing the pangs of first time buyers in Cork crippled with mortgage repayments for their overpriced units. Hang in there shams - it's nearly February.