My first impression of the team turned out to be spot on. They not only managed to field all the problems thrown at them, they made it look easy and I was quickly integrated into the group with the minimum of fuss and the maximum fun. At the end of my first week they announced it was time for the monthly team bonding session.

So that evening we all piled into two taxis and headed for town. The evening started out as an enlightening introduction into the office politics then, with the aid of copious amounts of guiness turned into a major party night.

Waking up on Saturday morning to a raging hangover, I had only vague recollections of the latter stages of the previous evening- flashes of Brazilians and bongos in a neon-lit shopping arcade – a dream surely? Dragging myself out of my bunk I was confronted with the usual room full of strangers, one of the drawbacks to economy accommodation.

On enquiry, this lot turned out to be Polish. My English apologies for having disturbed them the previous evening drew blank stares from three of them, but the fourth informed me in halting but pleasant English that “Not at all. A pleasure it had been to listen to the tales of my life.” Then she said something in Polish that brought broad smiles to the others. Christ, what had I told them. Whatever it was seemed to amuse them.

Since it was Saturday, I didn’t bother showering. Throwing on trackies and T-shirt I went down to join the United Nations for breakfast. I was just tucking into my morning egg on toast and mug of tea when my name blared out over the speakers, I was wanted on the phone. Instant paranoia. No one as yet knew where I was staying, so who was this? Only one way to find out.

It took a couple of seconds before I recognized the voice of Davey, one of my team colleagues, asking me how the head was, hadn’t it been a grand night, especially the dancing in Grafton street and was I still coming to look at the room in the flat? Of course, I agreed, desperately trying to remember – anything. I somehow managed to take down the details of the bus route and destination and arrange that I would drop in around 4 O’clock.

So it appeared it had been an interesting night by all accounts, I had been dancing in the streets of Dublin and apparently I had found myself a room in an apartment. Not bad for the first week in a strange city. Life, after all, was not the burden it had seemed not so long ago.

.........to be continued