Outside of football, what is your passion?

[OwlsFan]

Mine is WW2. I have read over 1000 books on the topic and have done WW2 tours. Would like to get to Stalingrad (Volgograd) some day.

One of the great ironies of my life was that my dad served in the British Merchant navy during the war and was on Arctic Convoys and we had an ashtray at home made out of a shell which hit his ship and didn't explode but I never once spoke to him about it before he died :(

[centre mid]

Che Guevara,

the most complete human being of our age

[KevB76]

Mine is WW2. I have read over 1000 books on the topic and have done WW2 tours. Would like to get to Stalingrad (Volgograd) some day.

One of the great ironies of my life was that my dad served in the British Merchant navy during the war and was on Arctic Convoys and we had an ashtray at home made out of a shell which hit his ship and didn't explode but I never once spoke to him about it before he died :(

I wouldnt say its my passion but WW2 happens to be one of my favourite subjects also. I dont read much but the few books I have read were mostly about WW2. I do however spend countless hours watching the numerous WW2 documentaries that are always on the History Channel.

There are loads of different aspects to it but my interest began with the technological side of the war and the speed with which new ideas were hatched and developed and produced, I dont think there has been anything like it since.

I also harbour a desire to travel across Europe with the intention of visitng as many WW2 sites as possible (the only one I've seen so far is the Mosquito museum in Hertfordshire).

Needless to say I watch all the films and play all the WW2 playstation games too :D

[the 12 th man]

Mine is WW2. I have read over 1000 books on the topic and have done WW2 tours. (


Have you been to the cemetary in Colleville (just off Omaha Beach) in Normandy.Took my breath away.

Great War Museums in nearby Bayeaux & St Mere Eglise also.

[SligoBrewer]

I've started collecting vinyl..

2 in my collection so far .. oh yeah :D

[GavinZac]

Funnily enough I'm very into history as well, but I tend to avoid WW2. I guess I just sort of know about the geopolitical aspect of it and frankly I dont think I could go into more detail about the various front lines and advances without getting extremely aggressive about the futility of it all.

I tend to prefer history in larger time scales like Guns Germs and Steel (Jared Diamond is one of the greatest minds alive) or A Brief History of Nearly Everything. I do however have a good few "biographies" like Ghenghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Attila, Augustus, Caesar, Cicero, and various greek characters. I guess I'll read anything really if its interesting, but WW2 books tend to focus too much on where and when rather than why and how.

Also, free from the shackles of formal maths education, I've found a renewed interest in physics. My girlfriend's a teacher and we've had many an argument about how its far more important kids know why they stay attached to the floor than some stupid story about giant, a hurler and a dog.

[Magicme]

I daren't say as this is a family website......:D;)

[SligoBrewer]

I daren't say as this is a family website......

typical wimmenz.

that's duuuuuuuuuuuuuurty!;):D

[strangeirish]

I daren't say as this is a family website......:D;)
Well we know it's not disco dancing...:D

[DaveyCakes]

Volgograd is a lovely city. Fantastic war memorials (oodles of them) and lots of nice parks and riverbank walks (and the Volga is a river and a half). And one or two nice looking girls;)

Its hot as hell in summer and cold as hell in winter, but just right in May.

Sevastopol is also well worth a visit, Moscow I can take or leave, although the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is superb, and there a great tank museum outside the city.

Hopingto get to Brest in Belarus next year and will probably go back to Volgograd for a few days in the summer.

[Réiteoir]

Travel - plain and simple

[atfconline]

Passion is a very strong word, but photography is certainly a very enjoyable hobby.

[tetsujin1979]

I'm a fairly regular gym goer, so I guess moving large heavy plates of metal is my other passion. I actually do get p!ssed off with myself if I miss a gym session, it really does screw me up for a few days until I get back into it.

[pineapple stu]

My girlfriend's a teacher and we've had many an argument about how its far more important kids know why they stay attached to the floor than some stupid story about giant, a hurler and a dog.
Can't think of any reason at all why it'd be important for kids to know why they're stuck the ground, to be honest. So long as it keeps happening, we don't need to worry about it (and I say that as someone with an interest in popular science). It's interesting maybe, but certainly not important.

[dahamsta]

Sadly, my greatest passions are computing, the internet and technology in general. Luckily, that's what I do for a living, so I can have fun and make a few quid into the bargain.

[gilberto_eire]

Guitar...PS3....Poker:D

[inexile]

sadly, boring and all as it is, the criminal justice system!!!!

[osarusan]

Literature. Great literature.

In particular, the works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Kawabata, Steinbeck, Orwell, Irving, Twain, Brecht, Natsume, Baldwin, Faulkner, Hugo, Dostoevsky, and Kesey.

(A list which was generated by a look at my bookshelf)

[Maz]

Music, to be exact, its all singing!

[bennocelt]

Travelling.............when i have the money...............have lived in seven different countries now. The best was Holland, bloody great place to live. Switzerland was the most beautiful place i have visited, but didnt actually get to see anyone there! London was cool.

Music. Have **** loads of CDs, Vinyl, Tapes. most have years of material yet to listen too. And most of it is ripped!:cool:

Movies: and def not the crap that tends to be recommended here!

Gambling: have to have at least one bet every day. Mostly on football, but on anything im desperate. My dream is to go to Las vagas, and to the Melbourne Cup. cant wait for cheltenham this year (got 7 winners last year) and the Euros!

oh yeah and Drinking beer (not american crap).

[Anto McC]

Che Guevara,

the most complete human being of our age

Thats as bold a statement i've ever read on this site, and probably the most untrue. The guy was over rated and as Irish as Clinton Morrison.

Anyway i wouldn't say it's a passion but i've a keen interest in the American mafia, have a load of books and a load of documentarys etc.

I'm fond of music as well.

[Lionel Ritchie]

I suppose music is the thing I keep coming back to. I'd describe myself as a musician despite It's not how I make my living and never will be.

I don't actually buy a lot of records ...never have been the avid collector that many people interested in music become. In fact I probably started writing my own songs to amuse myself because I dislike at least 9 out of 10 songs I hear.



I also harbour a desire to travel across Europe with the intention of visitng as many WW2 sites as possible (the only one I've seen so far is the Mosquito museum in Hertfordshire).

Needless to say I watch all the films and play all the WW2 playstation games too :D

Was facinated to the point of morbidity with WW2 as a child. It mostly manifested itself in collecting airfix kits of the aircraft of the era but I'm sure my folks worried at one point I'd end up a dangerous uni-bomber style loner, living in a shack in the woods in survival gear and planning my revenge on a world gone wrong. Then my teens kicked in and I discovered a new passion ...boobies!!!.

But back to WW2 -still have a lot of airfix kits of planes of the era and watch a good bit of discovery channel stuff related.

They don't make enough games relating to the era actually and virtually no flight combat ones for the PS that I know of. I'm still playing my 2001 Combat Flight Sim on the PC.

[centre mid]

Thats as bold a statement i've ever read on this site, and probably the most untrue.

Well its Jean Paul Sartre's statement but thats beside the point. I guess its what the man embodied, the time and the fact that he never had the chance to become corrupt.

[jebus]

Have a huge interest in African history, photography, cinema and literature, passionate though? Corny as it sounds the only thing that I'd say I'm really passionate about is life itself, meeting people gives me the most enjoyment, and shared experiences with friends is the one thing I'd truly value, everything else seems to be amusing distractions

I wouldn't even say I'm all that passionate about football anymore either, I enjoy it, but not as much as reading, going to the cinema/watching a movie, or shooting images. Limerick is the only thread that's holding me to football at the moment I think, well modern football anyway, I enjoy reading about, and remembering the game before money became THE only factor involved in the game

[sadloserkid]

Jebus is actually passionless. :)

[steno]

Don't all shoot me now but outside of soccer, hurling and when I had the time fishing which I hope to back to some day. Also tropical fish I have two tanks at home.

[Reddladd]

I would have a particular interest in Irish history at the time of the War of Independance and the Civil war. The flying columns, Black & Tans, Tom Barry, Ernie O'Malley and the intelligence war in Dublin. Very interesting to read about the tactics and endurance of the Columns and how disciplined and organised they had to be.
The civil war turned friends into enemies and the violence towards each other was as bad as anything seen in the War of Independence. The county of Kerry is a place where it was particularly bad with some of the worst atrocities of the civil war.
There are some great biographies from the time giving you an insight into everyday life in one of the most turbulent times in our history.

I'm also a big fan of Walnut Whirls!

[kingdom hoop]

Corny as it sounds the only thing that I'd say I'm really passionate about is life itself, meeting people gives me the most enjoyment

:confused: Now that's just plain weird (or the miracle of serendipity perhaps!). Going down the first page there I was thinking of my reply and I'd gotten as far as 'corny and all as it probably sounds, my greatest passion is simply for life and the people I meet', before your post startled the sh!t out of me. Get out of my head please! :p

So yeah, while I'd be very interested in lots of things I place huge value on human interaction. More than anything else could ever do, it captivates and delights me; sharing jokes with strangers, going out for dinner with family, having a laugh with friends, meeting new people, that's my passion, where I'm at my most enthusiastic, what I cherish and appreciate the most.

It may seem a bit ridiculous to say that because everyone does those things, but I think too many people take such simple joys for granted. All you need is love! Ok, ok, I'll retreat back to my hippie commune now. Jebus I think we've one more spot in the VW van, soon to embark on a magical mystery tour to San Francisco. :D

[stann]

Music would be mine, possibly, dare I say it, even a fraction more so than football?
Maybe not. Probably playing football > music > watching football, something like that.
So that would make it my 4th favourite thing in the world. :D

Though I have a massive amount of CDs and vinyl I wouldn't think of it as a collection because that suggests completism and that's not it. A fair hefty amount of music I listen to again and again aside, the real thrill for me is hearing something new. New band, new songs, new forms, new styles, new mixes, new versions, new mashes, it's all good.

Hardly a passion, but just as an aside one part of history I have a fascination with is WW1. Something about the clash of new, murderous technologies with quite outdated, almost chivalrous, fighting methods maybe. That and the Roman Republic and Empire.

[joema]

Women

[A face]

Abseiling, canoeing, used to do a bit of wakeboarding, not so much now.

[Paddyfield]

Women

It must work both ways or else people will think you are a weirdo:D

[Plastic Paddy]

My major interests outside of football are railways, long-distance walking and the soon-to-be-Mrs PP. :)

:ball: PP

[OwlsFan]

My major interests outside of football are railways, long-distance walking and the soon-to-be-Mrs PP.
PP

Forget the football and the railways once you get married ;)


Volgograd is a lovely city. Fantastic war memorials (oodles of them) and lots of nice parks and riverbank walks (and the Volga is a river and a half). And one or two nice looking girls;)

Its hot as hell in summer and cold as hell in winter, but just right in May.

Sevastopol is also well worth a visit, Moscow I can take or leave, although the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is superb, and there a great tank museum outside the city.

Hopingto get to Brest in Belarus next year and will probably go back to Volgograd for a few days in the summer.

Thanks for that. You have really increased my desire to go. Now can I persuade the wife that the shopping is good there :D


Have you been to the cemetary in Colleville (just off Omaha Beach) in Normandy.Took my breath away.

Great War Museums in nearby Bayeaux & St Mere Eglise also.

Yes, have done them thanks and and WW1 battlefields as well.

On a slightly different matter, the History Channel showed a tremendous series on the American Civil War. Got it out on dvd recently. Well worth a look for history buffs. Quite moving in parts. Despite the early losses Lincoln persuaded the North to keep at it and how he was saved from electoral defeat by the fall of Atlanta. Gripping stuff.

[Magicme]

I dont really have time for passions outside of football. Being a working mum means that my kids are the priorty but music and cooking would be my favourites ways to relax outside of the game with slumpping on the sofa watching drivel another way to pass the hours. I used to read avidly but find my brain is just not capable of it after all the juggling of the day.

I do usually play a few games of tetris and slurp on my phone most days and am partial to a bit of sims or puzzle type games on playstation etc.

[GuisaSaigon]

Travel, Food and Alcohol, combined when at all possible.:D

[cheifo]

Up to 9 months ago it was Alcohol...now its miscellaneous.Documentaries/books about history,nature programmes,trying to get more into reading fiction,films,helping people and if I win miss Foot.ie I will endeavour to save all the children of the world from the divil and his evil ways.

[Block G Raptor]

that my kids are the priorty but

Dito, Plus we got a new addition to the family yesterday : an abandoned and i'll treated Puppy who we've named Holly
I do try and find time for Graphic Arts too I've some of my work on devianart.com but it's blocked in work so I'll post a link when I get home

[superfrank]

Music and football are my main passions.

Since I've started my course and my work as a journalist, I really feel like this is the way for me to go. I enjoy every minute.

Apart from those three, I like travelling, Greek and Celtic mythology, Spanish, separatist struggles and learning about different cultures.

[The Dynamo]

Same as Anto, i have a big intrest in organized crime especially the italian mafia and the various irish-american mafias

[DaveyCakes]

Thanks for that. You have really increased my desire to go. Now can I persuade the wife that the shopping is good there :D



1. Go via Moscow (It's the only practical way anyway)
2. Leave wife in GUM department store/shopping mall on Red Square
3. Sneak down to Volgograd for a few days
4. Collect wife on way back
5. Sell house to pay off credit card.

[paul_oshea]

chatting to "people" on a night out.
listening to music - love it.
travelling to places most people dont go to, but like a lot of people here, they seem to do that too :)

[Bluebeard]

chatting to "people" on a night out.


When you mean "People", do you mean people who no one else can see, or "people" made of a bit of a stick with a coconut for a head?

(Sorry, Mighty Boosh Marathon last night - had never seen it before then)

[Green Tribe]

I would have a particular interest in Irish history at the time of the War of Independance and the Civil war. The flying columns, Black & Tans, Tom Barry, Ernie O'Malley and the intelligence war in Dublin. Very interesting to read about the tactics and endurance of the Columns and how disciplined and organised they had to be.
The civil war turned friends into enemies and the violence towards each other was as bad as anything seen in the War of Independence. The county of Kerry is a place where it was particularly bad with some of the worst atrocities of the civil war.
There are some great biographies from the time giving you an insight into everyday life in one of the most turbulent times in our history.

I'm also a big fan of Walnut Whirls!

You're also into the old racism too reddladd:D:p:eek:

[Reddladd]

What tribe are you from???? Sure ya have red hair so ya can't be that bad!:D

[John83]

I tend to get into subjects by finding interesting people in the area. Erwin Rommel, Mikhail Tal and Richard Feynman are three personal heroes who make for interesting reading:

Rommel wrote about infantry tactics, had a fascinating military career including an important role in WWII, was one of the finest early exponents of blitzkreig and was involved in the Stauffenberg attempt to assassinate Hitler, for which role he was instructed to commit suicide - which he did out of fear for his family.

Tal was the youngest ever world chess champion when he won it in 1960 (Fischer and Kasparov have since beaten his record), with a spectacularly brilliant sacrificial style of play that motivated a big change in the quality of defensive technique among grandmasters, and was a fine journalist whose game annotations are fascinating.

Feynman was a brilliant American physicist who helped develop the first atomic bomb, won the Nobel prize for his contributions to physics in the field of quantum mechanics and was a remarkable science lecturer and popular science writer.

People like these guys motivate me to explore a subject.

[Raheny Red]

I'm also a big fan of Walnut Whirls!

Pfffttt, some fan you are, they're Walnut Whips ;)

[onceahoop]

Like history myself especially ww2. Have any of you history buffs got Max Hastings new book "Nemesis" about the battle for Japan. Heard him on the radio a while back talking about it. Sounds facinating. Hope Santa brings it!!!

However, horse racing (national hunt) is my big passion outside football and my local club. Usually only bet at the big meetings. The mrs can't understand how I can watch and not have a bet. Ask her does she bet on swimmers when she's watching her favourite sport.

[Tir Oilean]

Motorbikes are top of my list. They would be on a par with GUFC.

[Lim till i die]

Guitar...PS3....Poker

You ned to get Guitar Hero, leave more time for the poker ;) :)


Interests outside football would include:

Punching my punching Bag
Lifting Weights
Reading (Mainly European and Irish History)
Politics
Music (Not that I would claim to know the first thing about it.)

Sadly Fourth Year in college has curtailed all of these to such an extent that the only thing I do most days which could even be remotely classed as a pastime is smoke about 20 fags (And no I don't mean whacking homosexuals Anto and Dynamo) :)