I first met you in the mid-70s, hanging out with bloodstock breeders of Kilcock who entertained me at a Japanese restaurant where apple pie was on the menu. ‘We like to leave with full bellies,’ they said.  It rained, mostly.

My next visit was some thirty years later and in between times I’d learned Taoist stuff and been invited there to teach.  The No Smoking ban had just come in so the grounds of the Lord Lucan filled up between classes.  I loved the carvery.

My appearance on a TV reality show (Extreme Celebrity Detox) had gone down a storm.  One of the Dublin papers, I think it was the Irish Times but not sure, described me as having the features of an Anglican Bishop – strangely incongruent with genital weightlifting.  And I was recognized by a taxi-driver for my fifteen minutes of fame.

Another ten years go by and I’m back, this time with my beloved Anamarta who has meantime established a following among the women of Dublin, and am now introduced as Anamarta’s partner.  We’ve taught together there a few times, returning each year in springtime to share our Taoist practice.  Oddly enough, it rarely rains during our visit.

Although you have changed in so many way, the things I love remain the same: the hospitality and kindness, from welcome to departure; the craic; the sincere interest in what we are doing, and the willingness to learn.  We love you, Dublin!  See you next time!