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64bca71
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One guy, seeing that I was hungry, insisted on buying me a huge lunch and when I thanked him for his kindness, he simply said, 'Pass it on.' I liked this selfless concept - repay me by rewarding someone else entirely with a generous dollop of goodwill.
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spiritual
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Tony Hawks |
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483d4a4
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One of the more tiring aspects of hitchhiking is a need to be sociable and make conversation with whoever is driving you. It would be considered poor form to accept a ride, hop into the passenger seat and then simply to crash out until you reached your destination. How I longed to do just that, but instead I chatted merrily away, energy ebbing from me with each sentence, until Chris dropped me at the address of the lady who had offered me f..
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hospitality
politeness
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Tony Hawks |
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6c91cf3
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I was beginning to understand how the Irish mentality worked. The more foolish, illogical or surreal one's actions were perceived t be (and mine surely fell into one of these categories), the wider the arms of hospitality were opened in salutation.
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Tony Hawks |
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26de330
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The behaviour of the English people I had run into was making it very difficult to nail down a theory that the reason my trip so far had been such a bizarre success, was that Irish people were crazy. One Englishman had spent a morning on the telephone trying to organise a helicopter to take me out to an island, when a boat was leaving only a few yards away, and here was another, making a two-hour round trip for no reason other than to lend ..
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irish-people
welcoming
hospitality
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Tony Hawks |
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d015b01
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Running twenty-six miles is no fun. I think it was possibly an American who came up with the adage 'if it ain't hurting, it ain't working'. It would be nice to think that shortly after he uttered those words someone smacked him in the mouth by way of demonstrating how well it was working for him.
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Tony Hawks |
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1ef1ae8
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SAIORSE From Saiorse, a name of Irish origin, Meaning 'freedom' Faces problems head on Admired for its originality, dedicated to worthy causes A kind and generous fridge It always stands firm for its principles It does not have to get its own way always Others think it is an extremely clever fridge From Matt Molloys Pub May 20th 1997
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Tony Hawks |
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e29562c
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How do you manage for money?' I asked. I was given two simultaneous replies of 'We get by' from Ian and 'Don't ask' from Neil. I favoured Ian's reply because it had less-sinister connotations. 'Don't ask' left open the possibility that they raised funds by selling hitch-hikers into slavery. I changed the subject.
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humourous
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Tony Hawks |
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b96ac9c
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What followed was a great treat for me. This was Irish traditional music as I had hoped to see and hear it, spontaneous and from the heart, and not produced for the sake of the tourist industry. As I sat there with my pint in my hand, enjoying the jigs and the reels, I watched the joy in the player's faces and in those around them who tapped their feet and applauded enthusiastically. Music the joybringer. No question of being paid, or any r..
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music
pub
self-expression
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Tony Hawks |
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b3d45bb
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Stella explained that when he had arrived, because of his English accent, she had assumed that he was me, and had asked where his fridge was. She didn't tell me what his reply was, and we can only hazard a guess, but I was impressed that he had been prepared to stay the night. It is surely a brave man who goes ahead and checks into an establishment where the first question is 'Where's your fridge?'. Especially if, as he had done, you had ar..
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humorous
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Tony Hawks |
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7bda009
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My gameplan is not to have a gameplan.
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Tony Hawks |
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1def934
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I was in a hurry, because packing is something which you always do at the last minute. Anyone who packs two days before departure should seek counseling.
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Tony Hawks |
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d9bbdee
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Heavy lifting is good for the soul but bad for the back, and tends to interfere with lolling about.
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Tony Hawks |
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4c42d30
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Size isn't important', he quipped. I have never adhered to this view. As far as I'm concerned, people who say size isn't important, aren't big enough to admit that they're wrong
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Tony Hawks |
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15935e9
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I was born into the wrong generation. How I would have loved to have been a dashing young man in the 1930s and 1940s when dance bands and orchestras played at dancehalls, and you could hold your partner close and whisper sweet nothings as you waltzed into her heart.
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Tony Hawks |
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016a221
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Taking coffee in a tea-room always brings me a certain amount of extra pleasure in that I feel I'm beating the system. It's like having spaghetti in a pizza house, chicken in a steakhouse, or having a neck massage in a Bangkok massage parlor.
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Tony Hawks |
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a059bad
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Always good to have slept with at least one person on any committee on which one sits. It's the British way.
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Tony Hawks |
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7f6a864
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There are two words I don't want to find myself uttering as an old man, and they are "If Only."
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Tony Hawks |
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c4cd680
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I'm against the death penalty. I believe that it is a mistake to show that killing people is wrong by killing people. However I'm not against the random killing of people who snore.
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Tony Hawks |
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9027283
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Terrific idea. Two days of advice on how to cope with married life from a body of people who have never been married, and don't indulge in any sexual activity. (Now don't scoff - it's true, they don't.)
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Tony Hawks |