ON st patrick's day

Running to Rio on St Patrick’s Day by cobrunstrom I am grateful that I live in a country with an easy flag to draw.   I feel this particularly on Six Nations Rugby days, when I see the most dedicated of Welsh fans trying to draw a dragon on their own face.  (Mind you, Welsh fans should be absolved of face painting obligations because they can sing better than anyone else.) Then I wonder what it's like growing up in Brazil.  Do children have to learn how to put all of those stars in exactly the right place?   How proximate does the star placing on a flag have to be for a six year old in Sao Paulo to be considered a patriot? Today is easy by comparison.  I'm to help steward about a hundred children through the town.  They are wearing running gear and passing improvised Olympic torches back and forth.   The theme of the overall parade is "Carnival", which seems to me to be a dangerous taunting of the weather gods.  Accordingly, we will be publicising our charity fun run with a Hiberno-Brazilian joke.  We will dance downhill from the Railway Bridge blowing whistles and running on the spot.  As we arrive in the town square and confront a podium full of Worthies, the children will sing the following to the theme tune from "Chariots of Fire": We’re running to Rio We’re starting today ’Cos running in Rio’s Just one year away. We’re running to Rio To run and to play If we want to get there, We really can’t stay We’re going to run and jump and swim The ocean so blue! We’re not sure that running – all that far’s A good thing to do! We’re going to run and jump and swim The ocean so blue! We’re not sure that running – all that far’s A good thing to do! We’re running to Rio, It’s too far away. We can’t run to Rio. Is Leixlip OK? Yes, Leixlip’s OK It’s only 5K. For the last verse, a giant sign - which has been pointing out "9,168 km to Rio" is reversed to read "5 km to Leixlip".  I blow a whistle.  Everyone laughs.  The Worthies nod graciously.  We jog off in the general direction of Leixlip (but actually stop just round the corner) for juiceboxes and crisps. Some people would wait till tomorrow to post this description.  But in my mind's eye.  Right now.  Everything is perfect - everything is going off without a hitch.  In fact, in my version, my unrealised early morning version, the sun is actually shining throughout.  So I think I'll keep this St Patrick's Day parade the way it is.