I wonder what twenty-second century social historians will make of us when they trawl through the zillions of words and images posted on a mass of nascent social media sites these past few years. Will they beleive it gives them an accurate picture of our lives in the opening decades of this century?
An Instagrammed July
Filed under Musings, Photography
Cambridge
I was in Cambridge briefly earlier this week. Very briefly. It is so long since I was last there that time had misted my memories of the city. So it was nice, this visit, to be reminded of the beauty and elegance of the place. The night before I travelled when I was safely ensconced indoors listening to heavy rain hopping off my windows I half expected, so heavy was the downpour, to see a later day Noah scooting down the street gathering up a cacophonous collection of animals. Thankfully I checked the online weather forecast as otherwise I would have arrived in a sun drenched Cambridge, which was overhung by a cheering bright blue sky, muffled in a rain mac and toting a large umbrella.
Filed under Travel
Makers and Brothers
It is so very seldom that I walk into any sort of retail space and think to myself wow this is just so right. But I did when I went to see Makers & Brothers pop-up shop the weekend before last. Makers & Brothers is such a good name because it so perfectly describes the enterprise. Mark and Jonathan Legge are the brothers: the makers are a selection of craftspeople and designers whose products the brothers sell.
Filed under Craft, Designers, Ireland, Shops/Shopping
Accidents Happen
I am taking a short blogging break – just a few days. I had an accident, thankfully a very minor one but it still necessitated a trip to A & E (Accident & Emergency). If you put the phrases; fingers of the right hand – not paying enough attention – lid falls off – boiled kettle, in the correct order you will know what happened.
In the great plan of things it’s a minor travail. But some of the fingers on my right hand are well and truly swaddled in a thick white dressing, so it’s not easy to type; hence the brief blogging break.
At the hospital last night a passage from Cutting for Stone, a book by Abraham Verghese that I read some time ago floated into my mind. I cannot recall it fully but the gist is one of the characters (a famous doctor) asks a room full of medical students what is administered by ear in an emergency room. None of the students knows the answer. The answer is words of comfort.
Have a good weekend. I will be back *on air* properly on Sunday or Monday.
Filed under Musings
Photography: Picmonkey
On the 1st of January fired with enthusiasm for the newly arrived year and chirping to myself ‘yes I can’, like a mad mynah bird influenced by the Obama 2008 campaign, I blithely listed on the blog a number of things I planned to do in 2012. It was a short list with nothing too taxing on it and as the year stretched ahead there would be plenty of time to tick off each item.
Filed under Photography
Irish Craft: Hands On by Sylvia Thompson
We live in a highly mechanized and technologically driven age where the degree of separation between us and those who make most of the things that we use on a daily basis seems as vast as the count of numbers to infinity. Distant industrialized manufacturing is a relatively new fangled thing: craft in contrast is almost as old as the oceans and is deeply embedded into the community where a craftsperson works.
Snapshots of my Saturday
I often, thought not invariably, work on Saturdays. However, today was a work-free Saturday so I decided to go into town, town is as I mentioned before, is what the denizens of Dublin call their metropolis despite the fact that it’s a city.
Filed under Dublin, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés, Shops/Shopping
Coffee in London: Orrery Epicerie
I have no idea how many establishments there actually are in London where it is possible to buy a coffee. However I suspect if they were all slammed together into one linear-mile-long street that to fit them all in the buildings on the imaginary street would, like a miniature version of Manhattan, be sky-high. When I was in London recently, despite the plethora of choice for a caffeine fix, I ended up returning to the Orrery Epiciere on Marylebone High Street, partly because I was in the area but mainly because the last time I was there the coffee was a model of perfect velvet-y smoothness.
Filed under Coffee, London, Restaurants/Cafés, Travel
Walking: Killiney Hill
Because, these past few months, I have eaten a surfeit of sugary treats aka slices of cake and put regular exercise on the back burner the land of healthy living seemed as distant as the far reaches of the solar system. It was time for a change, so this week I munched my way through gargantuan quantities of fruit & vegetables. And I walked, walked and walked some more. As I live beside the sea, my neighbourhood is a pleasant place to stroll around but if I was to pound the same route continuously I could very easily get bored. Variety is after all the spice of life so it was time for a change of scenery.
Favourite Things//Five
Red Conserve: I cannot remember exactly when the French brand Bonne Maman’s jams and conserves first impinged on my consciousness but I think I would have discovered them on a visit to France back in the day when the brand wasn’t ubiquitous in supermarkets in other countries. Then the jams and conserves were a treat to be savoured with freshly baked buttery croissants while breakfasting al fresco on balmy days beneath an azure blue French sky. Now that they are so readily available they have lost some of their allure and indeed there are many jams and conserves that compare with or outshine the brand. However for me there is one conserve from the range that is totally unrivalled; I love the Berries and Cherries Converse. It’s simply divine with freshly baked and buttered hot scones.
Filed under Favourite Things, Musings
Just Add Attitude
Just Add Attitude 