| Abroad in Dublin | home |
I'm sitting at a writing desk in room 408 of the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. According to guide books and the hotel's own information, I am following in the footsteps of great writers such as James Joyce and world famous celebrities. For all I know, this very room may have been the one-time home of Richard Burton - although he may have preferred one of the suites, rather than a standard double room with a view of some random building at the hotel's side. It's possible that these buildings were the inspiration for Joyce's "Ulysses" or some of the more complicated clauses of Ireland's constitution, but I'll probably never know; I don't even know what "Ulysses" is about - having believed such tales to be the sole dominion of writers such as Virgil or Homer.
Talking of Homer, I do feel a bit of a Homer Simpson, as I try carefully to blend in with the Shelbourne's usual clientele, who probably did not scoop a massive reduction in their room's rate by booking online. However, I am putting the cart before the horse here. I should first tell how we came to Dublin.
10 April 2002
Ashley Frieze