People said that listening to Carole King's Where You Lead on repeat every day since the Gilmore Girls ended in 2007 wouldn't help take the pain away. They were right; you never forget. Thankfully Netflix has pulled its socks up, and is bringing back TV's most unrealistic mother and daughter. It feels better than the love your mother gave you when you were six and sick with chickenpox.
Although not yet available for Netflix here, rabid fans of the show will have little problem finding their way into the US channel. Sure in the rare aul times, you'd be doing well to trade your dowry for a boxset. The age-old debate over how Rory/Lorelai should have really chosen Dean/Jess/Chris/Luke is a tin of worms that needs re-opening. GG aficionados have been trying to reach agreement on this for years, via quarrelling, feuding and the occasional bricking of each other's houses.
Luckily for all, an outlandish quantity of Gilmore Girls quizzes and flowcharts are now online. If you've ever wondered which of Emily Gilmore's condescending facial expressions is the most "you", or which over-upholstered, trinket-laden living room from the show suits your personality most (and you very definitely have), take the quiz now.
Meanwhile, townland idiosyncrasies have risen in popularity since the show first aired. The whimsical village of Stars Hollow, home to the series, is one of the most comforting places in the fictional universe. It’s the TV equivalent of the foetal position. Many small towns have found themselves wholly deficient in whimsy by comparison; expect to see a notable increase in townland caprice in the coming years.
Singing a new song for the GAA
Has the time come for GAA fans to decommission The Rose Of Mooncoin? Should we wave farewell once and for all to Slievenamon? When Watt Murphy and Charles Kickham first picked up their pens and wrote those songs, they weren't thinking of their ballads getting aired at the end of big days out in Croke Park.
But they're now the songs that echo around Croker at the end of the finals, though this Tippman sadly acknowledges that Kickham's ode has not been heard as much as the bloody Rose Of Mooncoin in recent years.
However, if we are to move on and invest in new county repertoires, the alternatives may not quite be as palatable as we think. Every year, you get a clatter of songs emanating from the counties contesting the All Irelands, such as this year’s offering for the Tipp team from Johnny B & The Boogie Men. Most of them are downright awful and fortunately rarely make it beyond September. Though most fade away as fast as the annual Mayo football challenge for national honours, some do survive for a few seasons.
The only problem is the need for veracity. A song such as Jimmy's Winning Matches only works as long as Jim McGuinness (above left, presumably singing along) is in charge – songwriter Rory Gallagher will be hoping for a Brian Cody-like reign for the Donegal manager. As we saw in the football final, it doesn't work when Donegal are Donaghy'd by Kerry. Back to the drawing board.
