Momentum celebrate Christmas in Sligo

I don’t see my work colleagues very often as we are all based in different areas so it’s extra special when we get together. We had our work Christmas party in Sligo last week. It’s so different seeing Sligo through the eyes of a visitor and not as someone who lives here.

We stayed in The Glasshouse this is a fantastic hotel right in the centre of Sligo town. My room overlooked the Garavogue River, what a stunning view. There was a small balcony, so I stood there for a while just watching the world go by. I wish I had my proper camera with me, the phone just doesn’t do the view justice.

I was in town early because the roads were still fairly dodgy in Coolaney, the snow was lingering in places and was joined by hail, and as I drove into town the hail showers were heavy. It was all clear when I got to Sligo.

I went to Rugatino for lunch, it’s been ages since I’ve been there and it was lovely, I had a salad because I wanted to save myself for dinner, but I didn’t save myself that much as I also went for the blue cheese chips! They were unreal, proper chip shop chips in a blue cheese sauce – I know I’ll be thinking about them for a while!

The Hamilton Gallery was my next port of call. I saw the stunning Lapis Lazuli exhibition. Twenty-two artists respond to the iconic poem by W B Yeats. This beautiful exhibition was in Beijing China during the summer. There was a video of Malcolm Hamilton reading the poem and I got goosebumps listening to it. The exhibition ends today but you can see it online.

Next, I popped into McG Cakes Christmas Emporium. When it comes to shop window displays Brian is hard to beat. It’s stunning! The cakes are stunning too, and this Christmas it’s not just cakes, there are also some beautiful gifts. Do pop in if you are in Sligo town.

I had a look around some other shops and went back to the hotel for a long bath. We don’t have a bath, so I was delighted to see one in the room. It was wonderful.

Our evening started with a cocktail making class with Mitko at The Glasshouse. This was great craic! Mitko started with a rainbow cocktail; I still have no idea how all the different colours came out of one mix.

We all got a turn at making cocktails, first we made Sex on the Beach and next was a Pornstar Martini. I’ve never made a cocktail before, and Mitko put the music on, and we danced as we shook our cocktail shakers, I got a bit too enthusiastic and channelled my inner Tom Cruise throwing mine all over the place, it seems you are meant to do that with near empty containers, so I’m lucky that I didn’t decorate the room with it! I’d really recommend this experience for a party; it was a great ice breaker.

We said goodbye to Mitko and braved the cold to take the short walk to Funke’s Afro Caribbean Restaurant. This is such a wonderful restaurant, and the food is unreal! I’ve already featured Funké a couple of times on the blog, I’m a big fan of her Jollof sauce. Having dinner there is something else though, and if you are worried about spice don’t be, nothing is spicy unless you ask for it. I had Likkle Beef Skewers for a starter – still thinking about them! The beef was so tender, and the sauce was delicious. For mains I had vegetable curry, a delicate curry with plenty of sauce. My dessert was Affogato – ice cream topped with hot espresso. It was all fantastic. I’ll certainly be back again soon.

Our final stop of the night was Lillie’s Cocktail Bar. This is such a cool place, although in a way it reminded me of my childhood! I liked how welcoming the staff were – and that’s the big thing about visiting Sligo – everyone is so welcoming. I liked that there were all different age groups here too. We sat in front of the roaring fire and enjoyed the chats. There was no singing and dancing this year, after watching a video of sober me in action last year I think that’s a good thing!

I was back at the hotel at midnight, watching the river in full flow outside my window. Breakfast the next morning at The Glasshouse was wonderful too – there was so much choice, from cheeses and cold meats, fruit and cereal, and of course the Full Irish, and there were hash browns – so I was happy out.

Thanks so much to Orla for being so wonderful, and to Paula for organising such a wonderful event, and thanks to the rest of the team for the laughs.