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CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT more than giving and receiving presents, but that’s usually a pretty big aspect of the festive season.
We’ve all probably had to feign excitement over a gift we weren’t exactly thrilled about at some stage – and hopefully we’ve received a few amazing presents too.
Here are some of the best and worst presents received by TheJournal.ie‘s reporters:
My dad queued into the night to get me a Furby from the Tommy’s Wonderland in the Blanchardstown Centre. He brought a cushion from home to sit on in the queue.
My mother gave me a shower curtain for Christmas last year … which sounds dreadful but I really needed a shower curtain.
My dad once got my brother a load of turf for his house for Christmas which is probably the most dad-ish present imaginable.
I was given a 1977 Liverpool European Cup winners full kit by my dad in 1990. And I’m an Arsenal fan.
My mom gave my 10-year-old sister a lighter. It was beautiful fish shape, covered in diamantes – she had no idea it was a lighter, she thought it was just pretty.
I got a stepladder when I was about five or six. I was pretty happy with it.
My dad gave me this one Christmas. He didn’t look at the cover properly and decided to give it to me because he knows I like cooking … I keep it with my regular cookbooks to scare dinner guests.
My brother gave me a set of walkie talkies last year and my flatmate and I used to use them to ask each other if we wanted tea and to listen to passing taxi drivers’ radios, before a burglar stole them.
Me and my sisters got a communal Sega Mega Drive one year in the early/mid ’90s – that was GREAT.
The Christmas of 1991 is the one where we suspect there was a minor Lotto win/inheritance. There was a suspiciously high volume of presents. – including Bed Bugs which my dad then intentionally stepped on because it made so much noise.
I got a chest of drawers when I was seven – I still have it.
I got an amazing orange Forever Friends tent one year. When I was younger everything had to be orange. I tried to live there (in the hallway) for a couple of days. It didn’t work out.
My brother bought me this amazing toy hoover when I was about eight, but he never got me the batteries to go in it and I really wanted them because the photo on the box showed it made noise and that you could hoover up glitter.
I still get annoyed thinking ‘Why the hell did nobody in my family buy me batteries?’ I reminded them constantly. It gets brought up now every Christmas, he still hasn’t apologised.
I got a bean bag one year. Loved it.
I was given a plot in Palmerstown cemetery … it’s a long (boring) story, but essentially it was an uncle who now lives in England so wouldn’t have any use for it. It’s actually quite nice.
Can you top any of those? Let us know in the comments.
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Why were those houses ever built on what is clearly a flood plain?
@eoin fitzpatrick: You took the words from my mouth. The location of these houses is complete madness.
@eoin fitzpatrick: Brown bag. It is as simple as that. Greed and corruption are good in this country.
@eoin fitzpatrick: my first thought exactly, it’s only when you see an aerial shot like that you can clearly see nothing should ever have been built there
@eoin fitzpatrick: class action law suit incoming from those residents against planning authority.
@Shimo F: Against themselves maybe. They could clearly find out. Anyone buying a house that close to a river and at the same level of a river isn’t the brightest.
@eoin fitzpatrick: I think fg have promised to put a roof over the entire country if re-elected
This is terrible news for all involved but is anybody asking “Stanley: New Homes”, who recently built The Meadows estate in question, why they built homes surrounded by The River Feale on 3 sides and didn’t disclose to residents that this land has always been a natural flood plain for the river? How often has it flooded like this in the past? Who approved the planning permission in the local authority? Was there a natura impact statement carried out as part of the planning process?
Housing crisis compounded by stupidity – yet again!
@Kieran Farrell: jesus, that’s shocking….when you say ‘recently built’…. like in the last decade??
@Kieran Farrell: Planning granted by the Local Authority for that was a flood plain, simple solution is to sue the Local Authority. This Local Authority don’t give local people planning permission on their own land with top notch sewage systems, yet they give a Developer planning for multiple Houses on a flood plain, same old ding dong in Ireland, it’s who you know & who you give your brown envelope to. The next Govt of FF & SF will bring this to another level again. Ireland is a failed State.
@Kieran Farrell: CORRECTION – The Meadows was built in 2006, and ‘Stanley: New Homes’ were not involved.
@Kieran Farrell: Fair enough! Thanks fir clarification
@SV3tN8M4: Virtually impossible to sue the local authority.
@Kieran Farrell: the flooding was described today as a once in 100 year event. The height of the river was measured at 4m on Saturday afternoon – the next highest ever recorded was 3.5m in 1973. I’m not sure that bad planning decisions is the cause this weekends flooding
@Kieran Farrell: If you are dumb enough to buy a house on a flood plain, it’s on you.
Terrible, obviously condolences to everyone effected. Does the aerial view tell a story? Like why are so many housing estates within 100 yards of an oxbowing river? Seems mad, but I know little of geography or surveying land for development.
@Thesaltyurchin: ask the Healy Rae’s
@Temp Stuff: Healy rea’s aren’t from Listowel
I feel so sorry for those people.
Nothing worse than flooding and just before Xmas.
@Stanley Marsh: Christmas
The FG fella was straight out with the standard party line ‘ lessons will be learned’
But we have to help the rest of the world,that’s the most concerning thing for the politicians of Ireland. Never mind our own, especially the people of Listowel, Killybegs and the rest of the country affected by the detrimental weather. Shur here’s an idea, let’s just worry and support every swinging dog across the work’s who needs our generosity. Let’s give them money, refuge, support while our own have homes & businesses destroyed. Shur never mind, it’s only our country at the end of the day.
@Brian Barry: *Works =World.. Just in case ye lefty punctuation police come knocking!!
@Brian Barry: Eamon is on his way back from the annual jolly, COP where he signed us up as a donor for a 300Billion ( per annum) dollar windfall ….. You couldn’t make it up in a Hollywood comedy
Cost us 200million to build flood defences in 2 years time. Lot of money for incompetence in Kerry coco
Boom time building with ‘no holds barred’ planning permissions given to those who knew who to give the brown envelope to
A photo of houses built on a flood plain. Interesting planning.
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