Tag: London

Baseball and Me: In Anticipation of #LondonSeries 2019

I’ve been watching baseball since 2004. An illness and horrible bouts of insomnia led me to look for something to keep me busy at night when the rest of my world was sleeping.

The North American Sports Network had just launched in Ireland, showing baseball games, with lots of live games starting just after midnight. Perfect.

It was relaxing, nothing too strenuous and something to keep me occupied. Little did I know that I would fall for the game.

After a few weeks, I decided that if I was going to watch this, I should root for a team. Since I had been to San Francisco not too long before, and loved the place, the San Francisco Giants became an obvious choice.

I was still learning the rules and history of the club. I hadn’t even known they had reached the World Series two years before. But by the end of the season, I was subscribed to MLB tv, trying to watch the Giants and the Dodgers, with my team losing the division by two games.

Baseball became a companion to me. I worked from home and always had a game from the night before on as I did my work. Let’s face it for the next couple of years the Giants were, putting it nicely, shite.

Tim Lincecum joined, Barry Bonds retired and then a fresh breed of Giants gave some hope. I will never forget 2010, I had returned to study and the post season was challenging to say the least. Going to bed early so I could get up and watch games and hopefully get some sleep before lectures. It was all worth it for the first of three World Series titles.

Life changes, jobs mean baseball viewing habits change, I had a Madison Bumgarner Jersey shaped 40th birthday cake but I still had never been to an actual MLB game. I just couldn’t afford it.

So when the news filtered that baseball was coming to London where I now live, I hadtwo emotions. Sheer delight and simultaneously, dread. What happens if I couldn’t get a ticket? You can read about that here.

Now the #LondonSeries is this weekend. Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, obviously I wish it was the Giants but I guess the two East Coast teams are the flagship for the game.

The information and teasers that the MLB people have put out through social media imply that no one in the UK has ever watched a game. I got an email during the week reminding me that a baseball game doesn’t have a set time as it goes by innings and outs etc. Pretty low brow stuff. A social media post with ‘Phrases you might hear at the ballpark’ didn’t really help very much.

Now I’m wondering. This game that I’ve loved and watched for the past fifteen years, is it not going to be what I expected?

Will I think it’s shite if I don’t have Kruk, Kuip, John and Dave chatting to me through the game? Have I built this all up so much that I will only be disappointed?

I’m hoping for a few home runs, some proper battle it out stuff, an extra inning? Why not? And a good old Red Sox vs Yankees physical tussle where the umpire gets involved and has to eject a few? That would be awesome. And no, I’m not endorsing violence.

When the Giants won the three World Series, I felt a passion for a sport like nothing else. (Maybe when Meath won the All Ireland). If America’s summer pastime is in the UK, I want the ripple of electricity to spread around the ballpark.

I’m ready. Game on!

Follow me on Instagram for updates from both June 29 and June 30th

Baseball image by Lenora Cagle from Pixabay

AT & T Image by David Mark from Pixabay

June 28, 2019
Tips for Moving to Great Britain from Ireland // Getting Proof of Name, Address and Photo ID
Tips for Moving to Great Britain from Ireland // Getting Proof of Name, Address and Photo ID

I’ve been thinking about writing this blog post for a while. There are a few things people tend to forget when moving from Ireland to Great Britain.

Here are a few tips to make life easier for you.

If you are living in a country other than the one that you were born in, you really should have proof of name, address and photo identification from that country. There are lots of reasons why you will want these but first you will need a few things.

Hold a Valid Passport

Although you don’t need a passport to travel to Great Britain from Ireland, you will need to show your future employer that you are eligible to work in Great Britain. Make sure you have at least a year validity left. This shouldn’t matter but the way things are here at the moment with Brexit, this shows that you have the same work / live entitlements in Great Britain as British citizens.

Get a Passport Card

This is a driving licence / bank card size card that you can stick in your wallet and travel anywhere around the EU with. It’s valid for five years and it costs €35 euro plus postage from passport.ie. It should be with you in about ten days plus postage time.

Now, it’s time to get your British Identification!

Get a National Insurance Number

A National Insurance Number is the same as an Irish PPSN number. It’s your social security number. If you want to work in Great Britain, you need to apply for one.

When I got mine, way back in 2001, I had to wait for about 4 weeks and then go for an interview.

You can apply online. If you have any questions you can ask at your local Job Centre. You can start working before you have one but you may be emergency taxed. Once your employer knows that it’s on the way, they should be fine.

Get a British Driving Licence

‘But I don’t drive’, I hear you cry. Neither do I but I still have a British provisional driving licence. It’s an amazing piece of identification to have if you’re living in Great Britain.

It will state your name, address, date of birth, place of birth and your photo. This means it could be used for proof of name, proof of address, photo ID.

Now remember that Passport Card you got? Send that to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) when you are applying instead of your Passport Book. Things can get lost. A lot. If you lose your passport card, it’s not the end of the world, you still have your passport book.

You can apply online for your provisional licence here.

Open a Bank Account

When I moved back to London in 2013, I didn’t have a permanent address but I did have a job.

You will need proof of name / address and a passport for this. I also had proof of name / address for Ireland.

You need to bring any letter stating that you have applied for a National Insurance number. With many of the banks, they will also allow you to open an account with them if you have a letter from your employer stating that they need to pay you for the work you are doing for them. In this case, the bank may also ask to see your Contract of Employment.

Register with a Doctor / Dentist

It’s important to register with a GP or medical practice, not only if you get sick, but letters from your GP / NHS are great proofs of name and address.

Basically go to the NHS website and give it a read. There are a few things to take into consideration including where your potential GP is. You must be in the catchment area for the medical practice and they must have the capacity to take on new patients. You can put your new postcode into this website and it will show you all available practices.

You will have to go to the medical centre and get the once over, but you’ll be fully registered then.

Doctor’s and hospital visits are free but this can mean it can take a week or two, depending on the surrounding population, to get an appointment.

Please don’t take the piss out of the NHS, I had a work colleague tell me he ended up in A&E on a Sunday afternoon with stomach pains – it was indigestion, he had too much to eat. NHS workers are heroes.

A dentist is easier to deal with, you don’t have catchment areas to contend with. You can find out more here.

Register To Pay Council Tax

If you are renting an apartment / flat, you need to pay council tax. Everyone does. Sometimes your landlord with include this in your rent. Also, if you are in full time education, you do not need to pay Council Tax. (Don’t take my word for it – double check this). Council Tax is paid to your local council and pays for things like refuse collections, street lighting and libraries. You can get some info here.

If there are a few of you sharing a house / apartment, make sure that each of you are named on the council tax. It’s another proof that you are living in Great Britain. Plus, you don’t want to get landed with a bill if everyone else moves out. Keep the names updated.

Register To Vote

If you’re Irish, you can vote in Great Britain if you’re resident here. You need to get your National Insurance number before you can do that. But please do vote and vote well.

You can register to vote here.

Get British Photo Identification

There are two other possibilities for photo ID that you can use. You could use these to travel to / from Ireland with anyone except Ryanair (Check out my blog post on that here).

A Validate Card an identification card recognised by the British Government. Anyone can get this card, you don’t have to be over 18.

It costs between £15 and £40 depending on how fast you need it. £40 will get you a card overnight.

You can apply online or you can fill in this application form.

A Citizen Card is an identification card recognised by the British Government. Think of these equivalent of a Garda Age Card. You can get that in a few days and it costs £30 for a 2 day turnaround. A five day turnaround will cost £15. (You can also apply for replacement cards if you lose it.

You can apply for a Citizen Card using a referee who knows you and any of the following:
- birth certificate
- certified copy of a birth certificate
- NHS Medical Card
- CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) Check document
- European Health Insurance Card.
You can also a referee who doesn’t know you as long as you have
- passport
- UK photo driving licence
- EU National ID Card
- Home Office approved photo ID
- PASS card (bearing the PASS hologram).
You can apply here

Finally you have your Proof of Name and Address!

Once you get these things together, plus a rental / tenancy agreement, life will become easier for you.

You will need to register for energy bills, water, internet. Keep all this documents together, keep payslips, polling cards, all in a safe place. If you get your bills online, put them in a folder in the cloud that you can access. Good luck, off you go and be a proper citizen!
October 28, 2018
Photos // The People’s March // October 20th 2018

The People take to London Streets

I just happened to be in the St James’ area of London at the annual Art Walk, when the banging started. The music got louder and the people started coming.

An estimated 750000 people took to the streets of London, asking for a People’s Vote, a chance to have a second referendum on Brexit.

To be honest, I think the whole Brexit thing is a huge pile of nonsense. People were lied to about what would actually happen after the United Kingdom left the EU. Scaremongering became rife and misinformation about immigration and refugees has led to xenophobia and racism raising its head.

Of 46.5 million registered voters, 33.5 million votes were cast. It seems like 13 million selfishly couldn’t be arsed to turn out to vote for something that will affect their children and grandchildren as well as themselves.

Anyway, here’s a few photos I took. I’ve never tried taking photos in a situation like this before and learned a lot. What’s your favourite?

Are you an inny or an outy?

LOL

Last of the Croissants

Some of the 750000 who took to London’s streets

B*ll*cks to Brexit

He bangs the drum

Says it all really, doesn’t it?

Missing EU

October 21, 2018
Our Story – An Oral History with London Irish LGBT Network

Over the past year or so, I got to know the gang in the London Irish LGBT Network. Initially, it was because I had one of the members on The London Ear, chatting about an event.

I met some of the people involved at different events and chatting to them. The chair, Joseph asked me to go for a coffee. And that was that! Next you know, I’m on the committee and I’m making a podcast series for the group. It has been a slow process and I’m not finished yet but I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved with this.

It’s not about numbers or views (although lots would be great, let’s be honest), but it’s more about collecting peoples stories and archiving them for the future.

Everyone has a different story, no two life stories are the same and it’s important that we remember that and remember that although it’s a lot easier to live your life as an LGBTQ person now, it wasn’t always that way. Especially if you were from “Holy Catholic Ireland”.

I’ve been speaking to people from all backgrounds, ages, areas of Ireland, finding out about their stories and their lives – in Ireland and in London. It’s also really important to remember that even though technology has advanced, ~~many~~ most people live lots of their lives online. How are we going to archive these stories? We have to become contemporary historians when the people who lived through these eras are still with us.

I knew going into this that there were a number of things that I would have to ensure happened / didn’t happen. I want every interviewee to be free to share as much of their story as they want to. If they want to remain anonymous, so be it. That’s their decision.

I am overwhelmed by the courage of the interviewees to tell their stories and I am truly humbled that they have chosen to entrust their stories with me.

This has also been and continues to be a huge learning curve. So far, I’ve learned about Irish Gay History and about living with HIV and I’m really glad that I have a better understanding of these.

One thing has really struck me that I naively didn’t think happened anymore. A number of younger people were interested in taking part and then backed out. They live their lives, quite openly, here in London. I genuinely thought this didn’t happen anymore. It has made me more determined to speak to as many people as possible for the podcast. We need to still show people that being LGBTQ is normal, we’re just people.

Although the project has started, it’s not over. I’m looking for more Irish LGBT people to tell me their stories. If you want to remain anonymous, you can by all means. I would never force anyone out or reveal their identity if that is their wish. I can change how your voice sounds, if you don’t want people to hear that it’s you, that’s your decision.

It’s so important that we do this now for history preservation and for the lives future generations of LGBTQ people, we need the stories of our struggles told and acknowledged so they don’t have to go through this in the future.

If you’re LGBTQ and Irish, whether you or a parent were born in Ireland, please get in touch. I promise to give your story the attention and respect you deserve.

You can find all podcasts here and you will soon be able to subscribe on iTunes. You can also listen on Mixcloud or below.

August 10, 2018