View from the Green Room: Tick-Tock... It’s Wine O'Clock!
It's Wine O'Clock with Norma Sheahan.
It’s that time of day when it’s time to unwind. Jobs done – or sent to the back burner for another day – and it’s let your hair down and drink away the cares of the day.
Except there’s more to Norma Sheehan’s Wine O’Clock time because she’s just had her divorce and it’s really time to celebrate.
She feels she’s today’s poster girl for divorce because there’s nothing left to fight over.
Norma’s adiosed her 20-year relationship with her husband and she’s now behaving like a teenager on catch up.
Ok…she admits she was “an eejit to have married him in the first place but…20 years…I mean…come on…husband murderers get less for their crimes”.
Tonight’s exclusive club of sisterhood just love the banter. They’re out for a good night and Norma is providing it as she dishes the dirt on her somewhat happy family time.
She’s got three teenage daughters who are so far up their own hula hoops they couldn’t even recognise the real world.
Tick tock of “doh…ah…eves…I have a life” conversations at best when she asks them to pick up after themselves bring sighs and scoffs of recognition from tonight’s wine o’clock audience.
These gals have all the t-shirts that go with rearing angsty young wans!
She’s got her own take on rearing teenage girls and doesn’t harbour fantasies. One of her darlings was being expelled from the Gaeltacht for speaking the Béarla until Norma, the Rottweiler mom with attitude, straightened out the Ardmháistear with some focail of her own.
“Neglect is good” says she, along with advocating vodka for her little cherubs.
Norma’s arrived at that comfortable stage in her life when she no longer cares what everyone else thinks.
“I used to be a Sheila,” she confides, and then explains the reference as “a put-upon-housewife” but not any more. Wahooooo!
Sexy underwear, leopard skins and bra openers are the order of the day.
“Any single man here?” she asks with a beguiling innocence. No luck, alas.
“Damn,” declares our newly divorced heroine.
The second half of Norma’s gig lacks punch. A tea trolley of Ann Summers goodies brings laughs-a-plenty from the forty-something audience. Alas, there isn’t a toy for everyone in the audience BUT there is a member of the audience that hosts Ann Summers parties. It’s a cue for a conversation about sex toys and ties and megatrix that no home should be without.
Two audience members join Norma onstage for some games. Guess the gadget…hoop the willie…lick the lolly…It’s all done in good fun and the sisterhood are up for it.
Me…I think I’d rather walk the Camino…backwards.
