Spent Friday morning going over the schedule for my upcoming tour of the USA, checking all the details, making sure everything's OK. My publicist managed to squeeze in a few more events since I last heard from her, so I also had to update the details on my site. You can find the finalised schedule in the current issue of the Shanville Monthly.

Edited more of Book 3 of "The Demonata" in the afternoon, then went for a meal with Bas and her friend, Rachel, in Limerick. I meant to work on the book again on Saturday morning, but there was a power cut!! It lasted about an hour. I was heading off for a walk with the girls, having decided I wouldn't get anything written, when the power returned. So while they went a-wandering, I got back to the editing -- and finished!!!! It's the second-last draft. My editor will come back with some more notes and corrections and suggestions a bit later in the year, I'll do my final bit of work on the book, then it will be all over, except for checking the proofs! Nearly there!!!!!!

Watched the England v Austria match in the afternoon, then the Ireland versus Cyprus game. It was a VERY nervous affair -- Ireland scored a goal early on, but apart from that they had a terrible first half, playing as badly as I've ever seen them play! They should have been a couple of goals down by half time, but luckily our keeper, Shay Given, was in great form, and kept the Cypriots out. We took control in the second half and the game ended 1-0. But it was certainly a far from convincing performance! It's all down to our HUGE game with Switzerland on Wednesday now. If we win, we're in the play-offs. Anything else and we're out of the World Cup. I've managed to get a ticket for the match, so I'll be going up to Dublin to watch it live. I suspect I might return with a few more grey hairs than I had setting out ...

Went to see a band called "Toasted Heretic" after the match. They were a college band that I liked when I was a teenager, though I only ever heard their first album. They went their separate ways for many years, but reformed recently to re-release their first two albums on a single, beautifully packaged CD, and to do a short tour. They were great live -- very funny, but very professional too, with a hugely energetic front man. You can visit their cool, crazy web site at http://www.toastedheretic.com/ where you can download some songs, read all about the band, and find links to buy the "new"CD at https://www.cs.tcd.ie/~nfarrel/toasted/nostalgia.htm I HIGHLY recommend it! Although the sound quality is very rough, the songs are top-notch. Indeed, two are, in my opinion, classics -- "The Best Things In Life Are Mine" and "Galway Bay". In fact, "Galway Bay" would probably feature in my top 10 favourite songs EVER!!!! What makes it even more memorable for me, apart from its just being a great song, is that for years, in my innocence, I didn't realise that it was actually all about oral sex!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If that doesn't make you curious to give it a listen, I guess nothing will!!!!