I had this wee idea

It is well documented that I am mad, and sometimes do mad things.

I sort of hinted of my latest mad idea to Judy a couple of months ago, and I would have provided a link back to that hint, but Judy has started a whole new blog since then and I can't access the old one. To be fair, I didn't give too much away at the time, but I did say that I had a little project I'd be working on in the new year.

As you know, my mother is a great reader of blogs, and one morning we were discussing Cosmo's blog when mum (who has just become eligible for her free bus and rail travel pass) suggested we should meet Cosmo for a coffee in Dublin some day. It turns out, this throw-away comment started some very dangerous thought processes in my head.

What a fantastic idea to go to Dublin for the day and meet Cosmo, but why stop there? I have been blogging for two and a half years now, and I 'meet' people online on nearly a daily basis that I have never met in the flesh. Always one to love a daft project, I decided it was time to change all that, and I set myself the task of meeting as many people who access my blog as possible in 2009.

Warning No. 1: Don't leave me alone with a computer on Boxing Day

See, that's exactly what happened yesterday, and by the time the other half came back from a demonstration rugby match I had managed to price a day trip to Stansted, London to see Judy, a round trip which included an Ulster rugby match at Newport (South Wales) via Bristol, which is near Nailsea and a cheap flight to Houston, Texas.

We were at mum's for dinner yesterday, and during the meal I was recounting my findings to everyone with enthusiasm. However, my findings seemed to be getting a rather lukewarm reception. Being me I persisted, and as we supped tea and coffee after the meal I got the laptop out and continued to search for even cheaper flights to Texas.

And then my poor husband could contain himself no longer and blurted it all out. You see, what some of you who read this blog knew, but I had absolutely no understanding of, is that behind the scenes, he had been secretly making contact with my fellow bloggers to arrange little 'meets' up and down the country. In fact, the first 'meet' had been arranged for the weekend of my up-and-coming birthday, in a little coffee shop in Dublin. Guess who?? :-)

A subsequent tea for two 'meet' had also been tentatively arranged for a venue in East London, and an initial contact had been made about the same trip which included an Ulster rugby match at Newport (South Wales) via Bristol, which is near Nailsea.

What is it they say ... great minds think alike ... or fools seldom differ??

And so it is that I have now booked a flight to Houston, Texas, which means that on that day of all Irish days I will once again be in the US of A celebrating the saint we know as Patrick with three blogging friends; Dana, Nancy and Kelly. And any other American readers of my blog who care to turn up and join in!

Some of you are now probably thinking that 2009 might be a good year to travel the world, or are wondering how you might gain access to the witness protection programme. Alternatively, let's 'meet' and put names to faces and faces to avatars.

Who all's in??