Galway Advertiser 1972/1972_12_28/GA_28121972_E1_003.pdf 

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an occasional c o l u m n f r o m people concerned
I T o the readers of the Galway Advertiser : I When your editor invited me to write for you, I f 'wondered what sort of line I should take with you. It was Mother Nature who decided, for as I looked out of rny window from the little room where I write, the rain, relentless and blinding obscured my view. Life, I told myself is dismal enough without making it any worse. Hence the following essay on talented sprinters. I hope you enjoy it. I am honoured at being Dffered the opportunity of writing for you. Sincerely, John B. Keane.

It is a fair day in a small town and suddenly down the centre of the road charges a wild-eyed heifer. The animal in question is the product of a mountainy farm, She has known only the company of hares and elusive snipe and she revolts at her new surroundings. She travels like the wind looking wildly around for any avenue of escape. Her feet slither and her tail is cocked high in the air but there is no diverting her. Now comes the most amazing sight of all. But let me classify the phenomenon. He is in his fifties, probably sixties, with a grey thatch which is held down by an TALENTED SPRINTERS old brown cap. He wears a heavy overcoat and hob nailed boots. He carries an ashplant in his hand and he By JOHN B. KEANE wears a gansey with a zip from midriff to Adam's apple. His eyes are glazed but not from drink and there is Not long ago in the city of Limerick I saw a man white spume at the corners of his mouth. rform an astonishing feat. He was small and extremely You would expect a man so burdened by apparel and at and he struck me as a man who wouldn't turn his age to be stationary or at most to move at a leisurely ack on a pound of boiling beef. walk. This man, however moves like light and because In athletic parlance one could say he was out of Con of this nobody takes any notice of him. He dodges xion but in cattlemarket terms he might be described bicycles, motors and ass-and-cars with a liquid fluency prime. He wore a black belted overcoat and a hat. of movement and he shouts after the giddy heifer like ne minute he was standing still and the next he was a man demented. wing like an Olympic sprinter. I have never seen I see sprinters of this standard at least once a week. ybody move quite so fast. A normal man would collapse if he were to undergo n addition his course was neither straight nor true such a trial but not our friend. The heifer takes a short or he had to avoid pedestrians and other obstacles, turn unexpectedly as heifers are wont to do and it is reminded me of a trout who has been marooned here our friend fails, for he is a straight runner. In a shallow pool. He dodged and darted all over the negotiating the turn without changing gears he slips p 2ce and he covered ground at a fantastic rate. and swings off a parked motorcar to save himself from Quite suddenly he stopped, all out of breath and, with serious damage. But he has enough wind left in him a lefeated look on his now perspiring face. Curiosity to roar to all and sundry: "Stop her! She's a bull!" : the better of me and I threw him a sympathetic From his take-off to the time he encountered the nee in the hope that he could offer an explanation, turn he must have covered eghty yards. A stopwatch blurted out his story. would have shown what I have long believed -- that ^Jine years before he had secured a second cousin men like him are in world class. Alas, they only run of his for a bicycle. The cousin had pulled out, together when they have to. But it proves, doesn't it, that there v h the bicycle, and left our friend to pay the piper. is no shortage of talented sprinters in the country if " hat was him!" said the fat man. "I swear that was we care to look for them. hin I saw driving that yellow car". I told him he shouldn't despair; that the incident hfd served to expose a hidden capacity for short bullet like bursts of speed. Funnily enough, he took little cemfort from the fact. "I am acquainted with younger men than you", I told him, "who are thin and tall but who could not held a candle to you in the sort of short sprint you have just accomplished". He refused to be consoled and went about his business N o Dance on Tuesday 2nd and Tuesday despondently. But if our fat friend was quick off his mark I know others who are even quicker. These do 9th January 1973 due to alterations. not come under the public gaze and are never seen in sports stadiums either as competitors or spectators. SING SONG NIGHTLY IN OUR DOWNSTAIRS In a sense they are the greatest athletes of all because LOUNGE. they perform without running shoes or togs and never expect applause. I will give a typical example.
T

GET RA BUBiBBBER

OEN WV CA AE SALTHILL

ROARING '20's'
NEW BAR A N D LOUNGE
Mr. Michael Herwood, one of Galway's mostl: progressive businessmen, will open his recently" purchased premises in Upper Abbeygate Street, Galway, on Friday, December 29th, 1972. It will be known as the "Roaring 20's" Bar and Lounge. The interior has been completely redecorated, and the layout conforms to a style hitherto new to Galway. PROHIBITION ! The decor of the bar and lounge will provide an interesting talking point -- for when you enter, you will feel as if you are taking a step back into the "Roaring 2fl's" -- for all around you many of the legendary "greats" of that era will' be depicted in life-size pictures. You will see men like Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey, James Cagney, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Al Capone and many others, so if you want to dream up stirring tales of Prohibition, while you enjoy the best brands of Spirits, Wines and Beers, served in luxury and comfort, come along and partake of one of our "Roaring 20's" special drinks. It is Dynamite ! ! Your wife or girl friend will also be welcome and if you wish for special Snack-type food served with a difference, well, the "Roaring 20's" is the place for you. PERSONAL SUPERVISION Mr. Herwood, who is also proprietor of Green Acres, Prospect Hill, Galway, will be ably assisted by his wife, Marian. They both have valuable experience in the needs of what people want and enjoy. They will give you thel benefit of their experience in their newly acquired business,! which will be under their personal supervision.

D bi a d bc o l u ln n ak ny
PMS O R HT O SAR W I W I B RN N N E U I N
l? J
T A K E T H E K , D S

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ANYWHERE FOR 5 0 p A N D UNDER.
ARKS