On Saturday, Fabrice and I attended the Blog Awards Ireland ceremony in Clane. I was very excited about the whole thing but anxious at the same time because I didn't know anybody. Thankfully, I had my husband (a.k.a my PR executive) to keep me company and introduce me to people he didn't know either( because that's definitely not a problem for him). I'm not a shy person as such, but when I am in a room full of strangers, I just panic and can't seem to be able to start a conversation.
When we arrived, I signed up and wrote my name and my blog's on a name tag and stuck it to my coat. One of the organisers came straight up to me, and with a big smile said: "Oh, I know your face!, I probably read your blog! What is it?" I pointed to my name tag and replied "Nearly Irish". Her face suddenly shifted... she mumbled something and invited us to try the craft beer and cider on display. Awkward.
The night was starting well I tell you. We made our way to the drinks reception, but before even ordering something, we had to have our picture taken with 80's props. That was fun although I never want to see the result. TG4 was also filming the whole thing, and having just watched the highlights I'm glad I didn't see myself. But I recognised a few familiar faces.
Thanks to Fabrice who eventually started to talk to someone, we met Lucina who blogs for MS & me, a community blog for people living with Multiple Sclerosis, something I can relate to, as I have a couple of friends who have MS.
The function room was absolutely splendid and you could see the organisers put a lot of effort in the decoration. And the must, we all got a goody bag. Not the crappy ones you get at any trade show. No. It was the Ultimate goody bag, full of vouchers, pens, a cup, pop corn, drinks and so on.
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| 80's props |
There was no allocated seating, so we set camp at a random table, which happened to be full of very nice people, although we quickly realised it was the looser's table. We were 5 nominees, and none of us won. But the spirit stayed high nonetheless (thanks to the wine, mainly).
I had the chance to meet the lovely Debbie from Saucepankids (Her blog is about how to get your kids cooking, which is a fantastic idea), Aisling from Babysteps, and Marie from Irishjobs (probably the website I know best!). The food was good, but the highlight was undoubtedly the dessert. I think I will start a campaign to have those Glenisk delights sold in Tesco. Basically it was a cocktail yoghurt. Forget Tiramisu or black forest. Think Mojito, Irish coffee, Sunrise, Pina Colada... 2 or 3 shots and you don't need wine anymore.
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| You can tell Fabrice enjoyed it! |
As the evening came to an end, all of our table deserted so we decided to join another one. Sure, why not? After so much alcohol I was definitely not afraid to talk anymore. We had a great time with Caitriona and her boyfriend, from True Romance weddings. Such a shame I'm already married twice (to the same man,be reassured), or I could have used her services.
We spent a brilliant night and even though I didn't win, I still received a certificate.
Well, I'll definitely keep blogging. Never in a million years I thought I would get this far in such a short period of time. I never thought people would actually read my blog, and find it interesting.
I want to thank all my readers, and also the judges who deemed my blog good enough to be a finalist.
Hopefully, I'll go all the way next year, and before I finish this never-ending post, I have to give a special mention to the blog who won in my category: With all the finesse of a badger.
I was secretely hoping she'd won the humour category (So I could win in mine!), but she definitely deserved it. So well done!
Roll on next year!
