Category: Ireland

Stormy Weather

Stormy times in Dublin this weekend. I thought it was appropriate that the weather was the same.

A few days ago Ryan was bemoaning his inability to capture evening shots of the sea without noise in the same way that chromasia can. Well, I have to say I don’t see the problem with Ryan’s, I think he’s being far too hard on himself; I do understand his frustration though, I can never get those crystal clear noise-free images either and I don’t know how people do it. I presume chromasia isn’t walking around with a tripod attached to his camera all the time so some of those shots have to be hand-held. Hmm. Any photography experts out there have any insight?

Blogging Ireland

Results Are In

The shortlist for the Irish Blog Awards was announced just after midnight last night and if I had of realised it I would have been shamelessly lurking on Damien’s site waiting for the post. As it was I woke up this morning and logged on and lo and behold Gingerpixel has made the shortlist for Best Photoblog! I’m chuffed and deli-rah. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to vote for me and congratulations to all the other nominees.

I’ll be getting my outside clothes out of storage and making my way to Buswells on March 11th.

Ireland Personal Photography

Talking To Strangers

One thing I’ve always loved about living in Ireland is the way that random strangers will often come up to you and tell you their life story. Sure it can be a bit odd, and other times it’s just plain weird but I find if you go with the flow it’s actually quite interesting.

Something I found via 52 projects is the Stranger A Day blog. It’s a very simple idea: every day in 2004 Roark Johnson took a photograph of someone he didn’t know and he posted the results on his blog. He’s captured some great characters and I only wish he’d maybe posted a little bit about them because I’m just nosey that way. It’s a project I’d love to do myself.

I met the gentleman in the above photo while down on one of my Killiney beach walks. His dog came bounding up the sand towards Eve and plopped a tennis ball at her feet obviously expecting her to lob it into the water for him. She thought this was the greatest thing as she loves dogs and she burst into the most infectious laughter. Realising that she wasn’t going to throw the ball, the dog picked it up himself and ran off into the waves. His owner was a little slow and had a young puppy with him. He came up to me and said it was lovely to see a child that’s not afraid of dogs, I commented that she maybe could do with just a bit more fear of them. We chatted for a while longer and he told me that he had just collected the puppy from a rescue in Wicklow. Apparently this rescue is a family home but they have hundreds of dogs and the place is overrun with them. He and his wife had gotten the older dog from the same place a few years ago, they were out for a drive at the weekend and decided to visit the shelter and couldn’t resist this beautiful ginger puppy. He said she really brightened the house up and the two dogs gave him a good reason to get out and about every day.

Blogging Ireland

Political Meme

OK, Cahony has tagged me for Fiona’s meme. This is where you all get to see just how little I know about politics:

Gender: Female

Age: (1-18; 19-30; 31-45; 46-60; 60+) 31-45

Nationality: Irish

Country of residence: Ireland

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Do you have a disability?: No

How would you describe your political philosophy?: I guess I’m all over the place. In some things I’d be conservative, in others quite liberal. I like to think I take each issue as it comes and that I don’t come down on one side or the other just because it would be the acceptable Conservative or Liberal viewpoint.

Level of education (primary; post-primary; third-level; graduate; professional): Third-level

If you were to vote on party lines which party would you choose (Ireland)?: I never vote for parties here. I would vote more for individual candidates or independents and not worry about their parties. To be brutally honest I don’t know what the difference is between any of the Irish parties and I don’t think I’m alone in that.

If you were to vote on party lines which party would you choose (UK)?: I voted Labour when I lived there and probably would again.

If you were to vote on party lines which party would you choose (USA)?: I would be more likely to vote Conservative but with the present administration I’d have to rethink that.

Where do you stand on the EU?: It’s been great for Ireland and it paid my way through college. Other than that…shrug.

Did you support the invasion of Afghanistan?: No.

Did you support the invasion of Iraq?: No.

Do you continue to support either or both of those conflicts?: I don’t know much about what’s going on in Afghanistan these days so I don’t know about that one. I think the Iraq situation is a big mess and it wouldn’t be solved by just withdrawing and leaving them in it.

What do you believe is the single biggest issue facing Irish politics?: Overcoming all the baggage of years of corruption and becoming truly accountable to the Irish people rather than the sort of old-boys club we’ve had in the past.

What do you believe is the single biggest issue facing European politics?: erm, pass.

What do you believe is the single biggest issue facing international politics?: Terrorism in all its forms.

Are you, have you ever been, and do you ever wish to be involved in politics in a party political manner?: No, never, I can’t see it happening.

Who would you have voted for in the past US Presidential Election?: Probably would have voted for Kerry just because I would never have voted for Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney.

I don’t think I’ll tag anyone with this one, I’ve been thinking about my own answers since yesterday and it’s embarrassed me that I don’t have a clearer understanding of Irish political parties. If there was a general election tomorrow I’d have no idea who to vote for. If anyone who reads this blog feels the urge feel free to do the meme and let me know. I’d love to read your answers.

Ireland

Latin Passion, Irish Style

Post author By Claire
Post date February 8, 2006
5 Comments on Latin Passion, Irish Style

salsa ident

Picture the scene: A brightly lit church hall on a Thursday evening in January. Outside the weather is freezing cold but inside the walls are dripping and the air is thick with the tang of B.O. and talcum powder deodorant. The noise is deafening: Stomp, Stomp, STOMP! Stomp, Stomp, STOMP! Like cows stampeding in time. A voice is screaming above the herd, “One, Two, Three, HOLD! One, Two, Three, HOLD!” while fifty women stamp shoulder to shoulder trying to keep up. Have you stumbled upon the marching practice of the territorial army Special Pudgy Unfit Division? Nope, ‘fraid not, it is instead the Salsa-Slim class I signed up for in the spirit of “Trying New Things and Meeting New People.”

I admit I had something different in mind when my mother rang me up and suggested we take this class together. You know that BBC ident that usually comes on just before Eastenders with all the couples salsa dancing each wearing some item of red clothing? Or, even better the tango dancing one where all those lovely skinny dancers are sliding their legs around on a cobbled street in the rain? Well, that’s more like what was playing in my head when I rang the booking line and paid my 100 Euro.

Tomorrow night is the fourth of ten weeks and I’m already chalking this one up to experience and resolving to just have a laugh. I don’t like to be mean…buuuut (don’t you love when people start sentences that way?) I have to wonder how some of the ladies can find the coordination to walk out of the gym in a straight line, never mind day to day activities like turning corners and standing up out of chairs. Four weeks in and we’re still going over (and over and over) Left Right Left Pause . I mean, I’m no Ginger Rogers or anything but Left Right Left Pause is walking isn’t it? On the bright side the only two songs on our instructor’s CD seem to be Lou Bega’s “Mambo Number 5” and Ricki Martin’s “She Bangs” so it is rather fortunate really that the sound of a hundred left feet drowns the music out.

We Irish just don’t do Latin passion.