You'll never beat the Irish

Well, sometimes you will. Especially if I'm accompanying my wife to the rugby. As a Valentine Day's treat, as well as her new favourite, fleecy black with white spots Guinness pyjamas, I got tickets to the Six Nations match between Scotland and Ireland at Murrayfield. Sharon has missed the atmosphere of going to the rugby, supporting her country and celebrating (or commiserating) in the pub afterwards. So, while we couldn't recreate the youthful days of yore, when Sharon was the honorary girl amongst Pete and the rest of the rugby-going UCD lads, we could at least escape from the boys for a few hours to enjoy the match and a child-free pint in the Kilted Pig afterwards.

The match itself was far from a classic. Ireland dominated the first half but only had a penalty to show for it. When they landed a try early in the second half, the 8-0 scoerline was more reflective of the territorial and possession advantage they held. However, Scotland started to play a bit and, while rarely threatening the Irish line, the penalties began to rack up until it was 12-8 in Scotland's favour. Ireland then missed a couple of penalty chances to reduce the deficit. With Sharon bellowing her support for the lads in green, Ireland mounted one last grandstand effort at our end, driving for the try that would have won them the game, but a couple of knock-ons, typical of their rather error-strewn performance, handed the victory to Scotland and its relieved support.

Back at the house, Lesley and Stuart had been minding the boys, half of whom went out to play in the surprise snow while the other half (Sean and Rowan) got stuck into their Harry Potter books: Sean for the fourth time and Rowan on his first attempt. They were delighted to get a Chip Inn treat of fish and chips for tea, as neither Sharon nor I could be bothered doing any more cooking.

On Saturday, Sharon had an afternoon of baking and cooking while I took the boys into Marchmont to collect the plates Finn and Sean had decorated last weekend. We also took in the Meadows play park, despite the cold, and briefly visited the library. In the evening the Strangs and the Browns came round for dinner, which culminated in an 80s intro quiz. So, a busy and tiring weekend all round, but better than lazy and boring!