Winter’s late night knock on the door
Double Vision with Charlie Adley
Sometimes seasons ease from one to t’other, dissolving gradually, as water through limestone. There’ll be a few seconds of welcome heat from a March sun, making a brief appearance between dark lashing rainclouds, or the sense in August that hedgerows are neither fading nor pumping verdant.
Sometimes seasons arrive like a shocking late night knock at the door.
A couple of weeks ago I left Ireland in Autumn, crisp amber leaves catching the light of the glaring sun, as they clung to branches under clear blue skies.
Three days later I returned from London to find winter ensconced.
At first I didn’t notice the gale howling around Shannon Airport, as instead of walking across the tarmac, we were awarded a covered walkway from the plane.
Then came that most bizarre of rituals: the journey to Shannon Airport’s immigration and baggage hall. Up you go, up several flights of stairs and escalators, and then straight away down you go, down several flight of stairs and then, without walking any distance on flat surfaces, up you go, climbing several flights of stairs and then, yes, down again, and down a little further, until every cell in your body feels sure you’ve just returned to where you started.
Each time I take this epic airport trek, I wonder whether we could have just turned left as we entered the building, taken five steps and arrived at Immigration.
What’s with all the up and down?
Are our minds being subliminally dissembled, so that we might better appreciate the subtle ironies of Irish wit, or is it Fáilte Ireland’s way of preparing tourists for a land of mystic paradox?
Don’t get me wrong - I love Shannon Airport. Compared to the kettling experienced at other international airports, Shannon feels calm, friendly and intimate.
To read Charlie’s column in full, please see this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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