We had the idea that Pádraig should have shoes. You know the kind of shoes he was wearing until the fell apart, Vans canvass shoes. We had brought his old pair to Hamburg, washed them and then discovered that they really couldn’t be safe. So we went to vans.com and ordered a brand new pair. Should be here in 4-5 days. We didn’t tell him. It’s going to be a surprise.

Speech-Eat-Lift. There were a few surprises for us today too. Wednesday is the day of our weekly meeting with Pádraig’s speech therapist. And guess what: she decided that since Pádraig had managed the 10-12 hours/day speech valve so well, he should try to have it on 24 hours. For about a week if it worked out. And then to see. It was a real highlight, something we would not have expected just some weeks ago, and a real great indication that some things are beginning to move. The speech therapist also decided that it was time for Pádraig to eat something; as on previous days, she arrived with this lovely strawberry ice-cream for him. Watching him eat it almost made me jealous: ice-cream on such a hot day, it must have been heaven. And then she announced that from today on, it was ok for us to give Pádraig something to eat ourselves. Semolina, yoghourts, jelly, anything really smooth and easy to swallow. Can you believe this? On the speech valve day and night, and eating whenever he feels like it? – And here comes the last bit of real good news: we have the ok from everybody, except the Chefarzt, to lift Pádraig out of his bed, into his wheelchair and back; hopefully, he will agree one of these days. Isn’t that great. It’s another bit of progress, I never thought would happen. – What a day this was!

There is a bit of pressure mounting to get Pádraig out into the fresh air. The roses in the famous rose garden are mostly gone by now; not even a strong German rose would be able to survive this intense heat. But he needs to breath fresh air. Smell the grass and the bushes. See the sky. Feel the wind on his skin. Hear the birds singing. Watch the famous Schön Klinik bunnies running away from the human visitors. What it apparently needs to make that happen, is that the right people are there at the right time of the day, when it’s not so hot outside, or a day with a ‘normal’ temperature.

With a bit of luck, his new pairs of vans will have arrived when that day arrives.

Hamburg is really hot these day. We are probably only surviving this heat wave thanks to the really great care of our friends in the Schön Klinik, and especially a big fellow with a great heart! who keeps us going with a steady supply of water (and the occasional yoghurt:).

We are very close to become ‘certified’ in moving Pádraig out of his bed and into his wheelchair. We’ve done the theory, we watched, we did trials, and then the practicals. Now, we just need the ‘ok’ from the Chefarzt. Us taking over this task will allow the therapists to concentrate on stuff we’re (not yet:) so good at: tilt table, sitting up (with loads of support) on the bedside, and other cool things.

Pádraig is making really good progress: the speech valve is now a given, all day, from early morning to the time we leave at around 8pm. He continues to eat some tea spoons of pudding, yoghurt, and ice cream which he really seems to enjoy. His speech therapist has really done a great job and is pushing the issue along – our understanding is that he will, one day, just keep the speech valve around the clock, and if all of this works, eventually the tracheostomy will go. What a difference that will make!

What follows are some thoughts on Principle #1 for An Saol – Life with Severe Acquired Brain Injury. Let me know what you think, and what you believe the other principles should be!

Principle #1: Never Give Up
People with a severe acquired brain injury (ABI) often get an uncertain prognosis by their doctors. Imaging (CTs and MRIs) and EEGs only show the extend of the damage to the brain, but they don’t give certainty when estimating the chances of recovery. There is still a widely-held view amongst health professionals that the “brain heals itself” and that there is nothing they can do to support that healing process. In many cases, this leads to a situation where patients are just being ‘kept’ in an institution, often in an acute ward if their condition requires frequent medical intervention, or in a nursing home once they are physically stable. Staff in these institutions often have no or only very limited knowledge of the care and therapy required by these patients. Adequate and timely early neurological rehabilitation is not offered at all or only in very exceptional cases and for a limited amount of time. There are still echoes around of the ‘hospital for the incurables’ and in some countries, the medical profession is even discouraged to help these patients by their medical councils. – Parents, families and friends of patients with severe acquired brain injury do not share this view. They know better. They know based on their own experience that their brain injured loved ones never stop to get better. They know that their loved ones need all the support they can get on their journey to recovery. They cannot, they will not, and they have no reason to ever give up on those who need their support, energy, and positive outlook. And they need to be joined in their efforts by society who has a moral, ethical, and legal obligation to help those most in need.

Today’s Music Tip
Maya Saban, Das alles ändert nichts daran. Two really good looking young people wondering why they split up, given that they are really missing each other. Agreed. It’s hard to understand…:) Du fehlst mir!
What’s hot
Hospitals without air conditioning:)
What’s cold
Hospitals with air conditioning
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Nur wer gegen den Strom schwimmt, kommt an die Quelle.

When we were in Cape Cod Hospital, trying to get Pádraig home, there was an endless litany of things to get, things to arrange, things to find out about, things… One thing that was really important was to find him an admitting consultant, and then a free bed in ICU. Through the help of caring friends, we managed to find a consultant that was happy to admit Pádraig to Beaumont Hospital. Now, how do you find an empty bed in an Intensive Care Unit that the hospital would keep empty for at least a day, the time we needed to get the special air ambulance to Hyannis Airport, get Pádraig on board, and fly him to Dublin? When we rang ICU admissions, they were checking, and checking, and checking. We heard that there was another patient expected from Thailand who was to be admitted first, but then news came through that his transport back home to Ireland was delayed. So we got the go ahead to bring Pádraig home.

A few days later, we met the family of Robbie Robinson in the ICU. Robbie had been brought back to Ireland just after Pádraig had arrived back home. There was an instant bond between our two families, especially between Robbie’s mother and Pat. All of us fearing the worst. Today, a year ago, Robbie died. And in an act of incredible generosity, Robbie’s mother said to Pat that she wished nothing more than Pádraig to survive. None of us will ever forget this. In this moment of greatest grief and desperation for a mother, she thought of the other mother’s son.

We wish, from the bottom of our hearts, that Robbie’s mother and family have found a way to deal with the terrible tragedy of Robbie’s accident and passing on. No parent will ever get over such horror. But there must be someone somewhere that recognises the unbelievable generosity and love by this mother who in her darkest hour did not give in to her own tragedy, but instead shared her love and hope with this other mother she had met in the ICU waiting room.

I had given up on ‘surprise’. Didn’t really want any more. Had enough.

But, what about this. I just got an email from a lady from Co. Donegal who said that she had heard about Pádraig’s accident in the journal.ie. Turns out, she also had studied Irish in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and was Rúnaí of the Cumann Gaelach. She says that all of her kids speak Irish and that she has taught the language to many people since 2001. She writes, “Yes, Pádraig’s dream of having everyone everywhere speak Irish can become a reality!” Now comes the truly amazing thing: she wrote from Cleveland, Ohio, where she lives with her husband and Irish-speaking children.

I think it was when we brought Pádraid to Kentucky that we spent a few hours in Cleveland, one of the few cities in the US that has more ethnic Germans than Irish! During those long days of driving, Pádraig insisted in his nice but somewhat uncompromising way to play his music. It was all in Irish and he sang along with it. For hours. Carefully phrased questions, and then more forceful insistence on playing some of ‘my’ music for a change, were not really that welcome. Then, I got a bit annoyed – looking back, I now would listen to any music for any length of time; and only now have I understood what it then had meant to him, spending hours recording all these Irish songs and Irish versions of English songs, waiting for days and weeks for those days that we were driving – and then being asked whether we could listen to the Stones and Dylan for a change!

Beannachtaí ó Chleveland! – Still can’t believe it.

Pádraig had another great day today, sitting out in his wheelchairs and using the speech valve non-stop during the day. It is fabulous to see how his oxygen levels are so much better with the speech valve than they had ever been before. There is no suctioning at all during the day. Whatever there is in his throat, he coughs it up, and settles back down. This is such good progress! And there isn’t really any obvious reason for him not to use it around the clock, and then, eventually and if it all works out, to get rid of the tracheostomy altogether.

We were driving up to Tating to check on the post and other stuff, together with a friend who is visiting Pádraig. Just skimming through the local paper, he spotted an amazing headline about a drone causing surprise and anger on a Northern Germany Beach – not any beach, but one the Germans call FKK for ‘Freikörperkultur’ which is just another word for nudist beach. Who were those people flying the drone over the beach?  Was it the NSA now not just listening to Angela’s phone but also watching the German brothers’ and sisters’ most intimate and private affairs? They came up with some pretty lame excuse, saying that it was a drone rented by a building surveyor – yes, that sounds reasonable:)!

Today’s Music Tip
Pur, Wenn Sie diesen Tango hört. A song about a widow, who is lonely, watches a lot of TV, but remembers the good old times when she hears this Tango playing.
What’s hot
Speech valve all day
What’s cold
Suctioning
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Aufregung um Drohne über FKK Strand

Second night in London. Second night with an internet connection that is so bad I almost cannot connect to this blog page. There must be an invasion of ETs that each night around this time decide to collectively call home. And block everybody else’s internet access.

It was kind of a strange day today. With people most of whom did not know about Patrick’s accident, which was good in a way. At times I had thought that everybody knows. How could they not? But the reality is, and it was good to see this reality, that this tragic accident does not affect everybody.

At dinner, we were talking about the work of interpreters and Jost, a friend, told me that he had interviewed the last surviving interpreter from the Nuremberg tribunal for a book he had written together with a colleague. That interpreter was a Jew who had lost all, all of is family during the nazi regime. They had all been killed, without exception. And then, he had interpreted what they had to say at their tribunal. Isn’t it incredible what people are able to do, what they are able to take, what they are able to cope with?

Pádraig today set a new PB (swimmers know what I’m talking about). He managed the speech valve for 12 full hours without any problem whatsoever. Almost to the contrary: he did not have to be suctioned during the day and his oxygen levels staid high. It’s yet another sign of things to come!

Big city. Bright lights. No internet.

“I can’t let him go. I can’t. There must be some way to bring him back. Oh, I can’t think about this now! I’ll go crazy if I do! I’ll think about it tomorrow. But I must think about it. I must think about it. What is there to do? What is there that matters? Tara! Home. I’ll go home. And I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all… tomorrow is another day!” (Scralett in ‘Gone with the Wind’)

Pat and I were talking about the past. School time. The panic in the kitchen in the morning, for everybody to have breakfast, to get this all important copy in the little shop on Dorset Street on the way to the bus stop, have you got money, headphones (you couldn’t get onto a bus without headphones!), where are my headphones, did you take them out of my bag, the letter to the teacher, getting the homework book signed off, all within 10 minutes, we have to leave, we are late, I have to go to the toilet. It’s a wonder we ever managed to leave the house and get to this bus in town that would take them to school on the South Side.

Those were the good times. But only now. Then, I didn’t always realize how happy we all were.

Pádraig today had vomited just before we arrived. Why, oh why? He was stressed by the whole affair, the suctioning that had preceded the little incident, and the clean up operation that followed. So there was no pudding today. BUT, there will be a full day of speech valve tomorrow if he is able to take it. And then another. And then around the clock. Which would be a big step forward. So fingers crossed. Never think about the set-backs. Never look at what went wrong. Never wonder about what if. Τα πάντα ρει one wise Greek philosopher once found out, everything moves, flows, changes all the time. Nothing stays the same. Tomorrow, nothing will be like today. Scarlett was right: After all… tomorrow is another day! And in every panic, in every disaster, in every tragedy, there are good things, there is hope, there are steps forward. Even if it’s hard to realise that at times. I’ll think about it tomorrow.

I am in London tonight and tomorrow, giving a presentation and talk at an event at LondonMet University. Hope to get internet back in my room, windows wide open, unbearable heat, noise and lights of the big city everywhere. Back early on Friday morning. Sleep won’t come easily… neither does the internet… there must be millions of ETs around here, trying to ‘phone home’ on Skype!

This day a year ago, Pádraig came back to Dublin, on an air ambulance, via Goose Bay and Reykjavik. With his head protected by a helmet tied to the stretcher with a silver duct tape, his bone flap on dried ice in a styrofoam container on his mother’s lap – so small was the plane that there was not other space left.

For the first time since his accident and our arrival at his bedside, in Dublin Pat was told to wait outside, to go home for the night, that she could not stay. A few hours later, I arrived, early in the morning, the same happened to me, I had to wait, was then allowed in for 10 minutes, and then I was told to leave. It was terrible. I could just not believe it. I became angry. Did they not understand? To me it felt more like a prison than a hospital. And, then, it turned out that Pádraig was the lucky one to have a room by himself, he was not put into the open plan ICU part. Open plan ICU. No room. Open plan!

Today, it’s hands on. No sitting around and waiting.

Having done our course in ‘How to change to a speech valve’ and having graduated successfully from that, we just started our second module: ‘How to lift Pádraig out of his bed and into the wheelchair’. Another few days and, with a bit of luck, we’ll successfully pass that test too.

Pádraig had kind-of-a-quiet-day, but with many hours on the speech valve and sitting out in the wheelchair. Compared with just a couple of weeks ago, he is handling this almost to perfection. His heartbeat is normal, so is his breathing and oxygen intake. I wonder, will he be ready soon to get rid of the tracheostomy?

Watch out for tomorrows edition of Seachtain! – Here is a sneak preview, including a translation, all thanks to the journalist! Thank you!

A moving new poem has been written by a young Dublin woman in honour of her friend, Pádraig Schäler, who was knocked down in Cape Cod, USA, a year ago. As she reflected on the defining moment of that accident when Pádraig was left in a coma, she was inspired to write a poem.

“I read Pádraig’s Dad, Reinhard’s, blog every morning and no matter if it makes me smile or brings tears to my eyes, it is always a very important part of my day” she said
“I know that there are people all over the world just like me, our lives changed from that same moment, all of us together in this sadness. I didn’t share the poem at first but then I showed it to Reinhard, he asked me could he put it on the blog”

Ciara was in the same class as Pádraig in Trinity but she believes that she first got to know him properly when they were in the Cumann Gaelach together. She describes the former auditor of the Cumann as someone who was central to Irish language life in the college.

“You would miss him if he wasn’t at something, you would feel the lack of his presence. And if he was there…I remember someone saying to me once, “if Schäler is enjoying a night, you probably are yourself too”, and she was absolutely right!”

Pádraig is well known and much loved within the Irish language community, as a language activist, a writer, a broadcaster and as a friend. Hardly a week goes by without the sound of young visitors speaking in Irish to Pádraig, in the Schön Klinik, the hospital where he is in Hamburg.

Pádraig’s parents made the difficult decision to move him to Germany when they were told that he would have to wait at least nine months to get essential neurological rehabilitation treatment in Ireland. Ciara herself spent time visiting Pádraig in Hamburg and she said that it gives her great hope to see the doctors and nurses working hard to give Pádraig the treatment he needs.

“It was fantastic to see him. Although Reinhard does a great job describing his progress on the blog, there is nothing as good as being in the same room as Pádraig”

According to Reinhard Schäler, who writes everyday at hospi-tales.com, it is a slow process but Pádraig is recovering gradually. It is clear now that he can understand things and physically he is gaining strength. He can squeeze his parents’ and friends’ hands, move his feet slightly and communicate by moving his tongue to the left and right, a new method of communication to say “yes” and “no”.

There have been lots of events throughout the past year to raise money for Pádraig and the latest project his friends have started is “Amhrán do Phádraig” which is set to be launched next month.

It was vanilla pudding today. A whole tub of it! Just over six hours on the speech valve. Four hours in the wheel chair. A ‘Mentalist’ to round off the day.

Pádraig has this ‘wall’ of pictures in his room, mostly on posters his friends put together right after the accident when he was still in Cape Cod. They show the incarnation of happiness: a ‘band of friends’, memories of happy days amongst young, energetic, fun-loving people. These pictures have been with Pádraig for the best part of a year now. There is a poster that was in his room in the ICU in Cape Cod Hospital – his friends put it together to bring some hope and colour into his life. Many, many people have looked at these pictures over the months to get an idea of who Pádraig is, what he was up to, who his friends are. At the beginning, I could hardly recognise his friends on the pictures, now not only do I recognise them, I have met and got to know a lot of them as they were visiting Pádraig, swimming around the country in two days, organising concerts, quizzes, fundraisers…

Over the past weeks, I have been looking less frequently at these pictures. They make me compare what was and what could have been with what is. Rather than bringing happy memories and wanting me to just turn back the clock, they make me cry. – Today, I showed Pádraig a beautiful hand-crafted photo album with – wait for it! – REAL! printed copies of pictures in it!!! Pictures of his four years in Trinity and the Conradh, with his friends. Pure bliss, anything anybody ever wanted: friends to die for. When he had finished his studies and before he went traveling to the USA, he had told us about his sadness, on one hand, to leave behind what must have been the four happiest years of his life. He loved the people he had been with so much and had been so happy in their company that he was afraid they were going to disappear from his life. (On the other hand, of course, he *is* a man who loves adventures, new worlds to explore – and found it so difficult to make up his mind on what to do next: so many open doors, so many opportunities.)

The album I showed to him is one of the most beautiful albums ever, but – it is so sad full of happy memories.

The memories we are creating now (and most of the time we don’t even realise that this is what we are doing) are most of the time not as happy as the old ones. But I am sure that, one day, we will look at these past months of tears, disasters, near death experiences, absolute and utter desperation – an endless and unbelievable stream of visitors – and then, glimpses of hope and real super novas: yes/no responses, controlled movements, eating ice-cream! And above all: his friends visiting, those incredible concerts that lifted off the roof of the buildings they were held in; quizzes with so many people that tables had to be put out in the corridor; events in villages that attracted nearly half the population (in numbers); schools in Dublin and Donegal and other parts of the country where the students organised fundraisers and art projects; huge big crazy swims by (with all due respect:) middle-aged mad women some of whom couldn’t even swim before entering the one-mile-race, and by completely nuts-gone youngsters jumping into the freezing cold waters that – thanks God! – surround Ireland, in every county with a beach; friends running races and climbing mountains; pipes and guitars being played in a Hamburg high-dependency unit; the Dream Boat project: Ireland’s summer hit of 2014; and the list goes on….

While the Taoiseach is trying to get the concerts of an ageing country singer going in Croke Part (I ask you, why did he not just Ring Joe to fix this debacle?).  While his government has withdrawn the core funding of Ireland’s Neurological Alliance and many of its nonprofit members. While senior neuro and rehab consultants are publicly saying that young people with severe brain injuries offer a ‘bad return on investment’ without showing even a hint of shame on their faces of themselves. While Irish people have to leave the country not just to seek a decent job, but also to seek the care and therapy they need so desperately. While, sadly, reality again proofs that it will never be beaten by comedy. While all this is going on, the people of Ireland are doing their own ‘thing’. They are (literally) sick and tired of empty promises and strategic non-decisions. They’ve had it with non-functioning systems that take forever to deliver what is so obviously and so badly needed for the most vulnerable of the society they live in.

They take ‘things’ into their own hands. They are enthusiastic, motivated, full of energy, and they know they can move mountains. They can reach for the stars and touch them. They know what is right, they know what is wrong. They don’t need no strategy papers. They already know.

For an example – see below.

—————-ENGLISH BELOW——————————–

Scéalín le sibh a choinneáil ar an eolas faoin amhrán.

Maith sibh as ucht bhur gcabhair go léir! Tá sibh savage!

Tá smaoineamh againn cúpla amhrán eile a chur ar an dlúthdiosca, agus albaim ceart a dhéanamh as! Mar sin bheadh an t-amhrán, dar ndóigh, mar príomh-amhrán / siongail… ach bheadh níos mó air… níos mó “bang for your buck” mar a dheirfeá. Síleann muid go mbeadh daoine sásta praghas ceart albaim (10 / 15) a íoch as… agus bheadh sé just níos deise mar pacáiste.

Cinneál plean sealadach againn go mbeadh muid in ann na hamhrán a chualamar ar an Oíche álainn Cheoil do Phádraig a chur air. Ciallaíonn sé sin go mbeadh lá eile taifead ag teastáil (thart ar an 4ú, 5ú nó 6ú Lúnasa) le na ceoilteoirí sin ag teacht isteach (taifead i bhfad níos éasca ná an dhá lá eile a chaitheamar!)

Ansin bheadh an t-albaim réidh le seoladh ag deireadh mí Lúnasa… Cóisir ulmhór… b’fhéidir ar bád ceart ar an Life nó rud éigin. (Mar eolas bhí smaoineamh eile ag Jen seoladh eile a dhéanamh [cinneál “ath-sheoladh”] ag an Oireachtas i gCill Áirne!).

Idir seo agus sin, tá cúpla rud ag teastáil uainn.

1. Ealaín . Seolagaí isteach pictúirí / ealaín don chlúdach. Sabhlaigh d’ealaín fhéin ar chlúdach an albaim is fearr riamh! Tá na híomhá seo ag teastáil uainn go luath (tógann dearadh dhiosca tamaill).. so bígí ag tarraingt / paenteaíl!
2. Ceolteoirí – bhfuil sibh saor thart ar an 4ú / 5ú / 6ú Lúnasa? Claire and Aisling. Lauren Ní Chasaide. Marcus Mac Conghail. John Flynn. Seán and Oisín. Seán Oisín Gabo Andrew. The Lonergans and Flynn
3. Smaointí don seoladh – Ar bád? Smaointí eile?
4. Airgead: Tá thart ar 1550 baillithe againn (940 ar an Oíche… agus cúpla deonachán eile) Tá 720 caite cheanna féin ar Mark (innealtóir) agus an dhá studio (Bow Lane agus Sonic Studio). Mar sin, tá 830 againn fós. Le dlúthdhiosca a phriontál agus cúpla lá eile sa studio agus lá nó dhó meascán eile tá seans maith go mbeidh beaganín níos mó airgead uainn (nílim fhéin cinnte cé mhéid ach is dóigh go mbeidh figure crinn agam daoibh i gceann cúpla lá) … níl morán eile ag teastáil – b’fhéidir 500. Más rud é go dtugann muid go léir thart ar 20 euro, bheadh muid clúdathaithe go maith sílim. Ag an céad crinniú, nuair a phléamar seo, bhí daoine toilteanach go leor méid mar seo a íoch. An bhfuil sibh fós in ann é seo a dhéanamh? Is fiú é, síleann muid, le go mbeidh “record” níos mó / deise / fear againn. D’fhéadfainn airgead a bhailiú ar lá éigin i gceann cúpla seachtain. Just buail isteach chuig an Conradh. Tabharfaidh mé dáta cruinn daoibh i gceann cúpla lá nuair atá an scéal airgid níos fearr againn / bhur feedback againn.
5. Bígí ag faire ar bhur rpost le go mbeidh sibh in ann choinneáil suas chun dáta. Seans go mbeidh crinniú amháin eile le bhur dtuairimí / airgead a bhailiú i gceann seachtain nó dhó.

Tá an tionscnamh ag fás. Tá an t-amhrán beagnach réidh. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur obair dian go fóill.. Is fiú é. I gcónaí. Pádraig Abú.

Grá Mór
Andrew

——————————————————————– English —————————————————————————–

Folks,

A wee update on the progress of the song, so far.

Everything is going well. You absolutely played and sang out of your skins in the studio.

We have had an idea… We think it would be nice to record a few more songs and make a proper album out of it! The Dream-Boat would, obviously, be the main song / single… But the record itself would have more on it…. a bit more “bang for your buck” as they say. We think that people would be happier to pay 10 / 15 for a proper record with a few tracks on it… and it would just be nicer as a package.

We have a sort of provisional plan worked out . We were thinking it’d be nice to put a few of the songs from the Big Music night for Pádraig on the record. That would mean another day / maybe two of recording (on about the 4th 5th or 6th of August). Although this recording would be far far easier than the last two days. And only the few musicians would need to come in.

Then, the album would be ready to launch at the end of August… A massive party would be needed, obviously, .. perhaps on a boat on the Liffey or something that would cause a stir. (As another point of information, Jen had the idea of launching it [we could do a “relaunch” or something] at the Oireachtas in Killarney)

Between now and then, though, we would ask you to consider a couple of points

1. Art. Send in your pictures or ideas for cover art for the actual discs. Imagine your own art on the cover of the best album of all time! We need these images soon (the design process takes a while.. thanks to Brian Giles who has agreed to do it for us).. so get painting / drawing etc. etc.
2. Musicians… Are ye free about the 4th 5th or 6th of August? Claire and Aisling . Lauren Ní Chasaide. Marcus Mac Conghail. John Flynn. Seán and Oisín. Seán Oisín Gabo Andrew. The Lonergans and Flynn
3. Ideas for the Launch?.. a boat perhaps? Other wacky ideas, anyone?
4. Money. We have about 1550 at our disposal (940 gathered on the Big Music Night Síobhra organised.. and then there have been a couple of other kind donations). We have already spent 720 on Mark, the engineer and saint, and the two studios (Bow Lane and Sonic Studios). So, we have 830 still. To print CDs, and a couple more days in the studio and mixing and mastering days, there is a good chance that we will need a little more (I personally am not entirely sure of this exact figure.. but I will be able to tell you with more precision in a couple of days)… not much more, but probably around 500. If we were all to give about 20 euro, we would be covered. At the first meeting, when we discussed doing this, people seemed pretty happy to do this. Are you still okay with doing this? It’ll be worth it for a bigger, better, rounded record that we can sell a better price. I could collect money some day in the next couple of weeks. Just bang into the Conradh and I’ll be there. I’ll give a date in the next few days when I know the whole money situation better / have your own feedback.
5. Keep an eye on your emails so that you can keep up to date. There is a chance that we will have another meeting in a week or so to collect money / gather your ideas / talk about launching it… hype etc.

The project is growing. The song is almost ready. Thank you all so much for your hard work and patience, so far. It is worth it. It always is. Up Pádraig!

Lots of Love,
Andrew

================

PS: Just heard the Brooks concerts won’t go ahead.