Highlights & Lowlights on monday nights...

These guys (I never found out who they were, but anyone who mixes James Bond and Mozart can't be all bad) were one of the big highlights of last night's launch of "Kay's Book" - an anthology of 8 new short stories in memory of Kay McDonnell, organised and published as the culmination of a short story competition by South Dublin County Council, with a very warm speech about the lady in question.
Other highlights included the warm mince pies, warmer mulled wine, two copies hot off the press of said book with one of my earlier short stories "The Quest" printed proudly therein (it's so lovely to find a home for a story, and this is my first proper short to find a home... a happy moment), nice chat with an inspiring Catalan Poet, and catchin up with a diva.
Lowlights included my genius story not winning first place, it also not winning second place, finally going on to spectacularly fail to win third place, and the lowest light of all perhaps being me telling inspiring Catalan poet that I thought I remembered meeting her last year at Patrick Kavanagh's reading in the Irish Writer's Centre. (It was Pat McCabe I was thinking of... I'm bad with names) (really seriously bad)...
Congrats to the winners, who were - Anne Hennessy in first, followed by Kevin Shannon, and finally Brendan O'Leary, and I am looking forward very much to enjoying their work on a sofa near me soon...