The onset of spring means new arrivals. Every year, visitors from cooler northern climes turn up in Clare and search out their familiar habitats. One such traveller is Backpackia Scandinavianus. This attractive yellow haired nomad flits from pub to pub, often in large groups, looking for an empty table near the musicians. When the new home is secure from their main competitors – large stag or hen parties from Dublin – the largest male is sent out to find nourishment. He will return with one pint of Guinness, which the group will nurse for anything up to three hours, each member of the pack taking small sips every 30 minutes or so.
These restrained creatures would, if allowed, spend the whole summer sitting at that table, slowly licking the drink until the glass was empty. Alas, nature is cruel! Every evening they are turfed out of the pub by an uncaring landlord in the early hours of the morning and have to find shelter elsewhere. But the secret of their success as a species is persistence. The next evening they will be back, sniffing around their favourite table, ready to sink a pint of the black stuff. And this time possibly armed with a pack of jumbo sized straws.
