Capel Street is now Dublin's longest pedestrianised street

Capel Street is car free!

Capel Street has now joined Dublin streets like Grafton and Henry street when it was opened as a pedestrianised street on Friday morning. This morning, I set off from Ranelagh on my bike to check it out and visit some of the shops on this street. It was a timely cycle as this week is Bike Week in Ireland so it felt good to cycle a little bit further then my usual trek to Rathmines or Baggot Street on a Saturday.

I planned to two things on Capel Street. The first thing was to visit Lenhans hardware store to buy some multi-surface cleaner while the second thing was that I wanted to stop off for a cup of coffee in Camerino Bakery, which interestingly enough is taking part in a Dublin City Council subsidised cargo bike trial for businesses, and makes deliveries of cakes by electric cargo bike. Check out Bleeper Bikes for more info about this trial pilot scheme.

Ciaran however planned to visit Evans Art Supplies which is just off Capel Street.

So off we cycled with our plans to stop off at a few places on the newly pedestrianised street.

A Taste of Spain on Capel Street

So when we got on to the street we saw a shop that we didn't realise was on this street. It was "A Taste of Spain" so of course when we saw this we had to go in and have a little browse. It's a well stocked shop full of Spanish food products and also Spanish wine! When I went to pay for my purchase (Duck Pate) I spoke a little Spanish to the guy working on the til. He spoke Spanish but when he totted up at the til he said the total in both Spanish and English which I appreciated. He then picked up the card machine and in English said - Credit Card? And then I said, No......and after searching for the word said, "Effectivo" and then handed over my cash!

A great shop and it felt good to get a little Spanish speaking practise done on a Saturday morning.

 

Lenehans Hardware

Then it was on to Lenehans but unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking for (Tech 7 Multi-Cleaner) so I will buy it in my local hardware shop in Ranelagh

Evans Art Supplies

We stopped in to Evans and Ciaran got the few things that he needed. After that we decided we would go for a coffee. Evans is slightly off the beaten track and if you don't know it is in the area, you are unlikely to find it. They seem to do well with the people who know it is there as they don't seem to advertise. But all businesses should be seeking out new audiences so I think it would be prudent for them to promote that they are steps away from the pedestrianised Capel Street.

There are some other interesting shops and buildings on Capel Street including The Black Sheep pub, Dublin City Comics along with Musashi and other sushi restaurants. Pretty much something for everything with other stores like McQuillans tools and Charity Shops (Thrift Stores) too. 

Here's a few pics - I especially like the window detail above the nail salon.

Camerino Bakery

And then it was time for a coffee and a pastry. And no better a place to enjoy this than at Camerino Bakery where it was a brownie for me and a scone for Ciaran. So good - and for these pastries alone, I would recommend a visit to Capel Street!

Camerino Bakery is also on Merrion Square where I believe it has a sit in cafe, however, on Capel Street there is only a small outdoor seating area. It was a fine day so we were happy to sit outside and enjoy our coffee while people watching all that was going on in Capel Street.

Quiet Dublin - a liveable city

All in all it was a great morning spent on Dublin's newest pedestrianised street. I highly recommend a visit to this car free spot and I look foward to going back soon. It's chilled out and quiet, oh so quiet, with lots of interesting shops and also an interesting mix of places to get a bite to eat. There are probably improvements to be made (I'm not a fan of the white picket fences outside some eateries) but it's great to know the move to being car free has started and I look forward to seeing how it works out and progresses. It will be interesting to hear how the businesses find it. There have been reports from other countries that indicate that pedestrians and cyclists spend more than car drivers (which makes sense because car drivers are generally passing through rather than stopping and spending money) so hopefully they will see increased business and revenue.

Next up we need to get Parliment Street pedestrianised to really begin to make Dublin a truly liveable city!

And the dust settles on the Eurovision....

Ukraine is the winner!

Eurovision 2022 will be one that I will remember for a long time. 

Not only was it a hugely strong competition with so many brilliant songs but it was ultimately the year that all countries came together in solidarity with Ukraine and voted them as winner in a nailbiting final.

For me, I had selected Sweden as my favourite after hearing it in the semi-final. 

However, the minute I heard the UK entry I immediately changed my mind. Sam Ryder's Space Man was a winner to me.

Ultimately, the UK came 2nd, Sweden came 3rd after the 1st place Ukraine. I was very happy with that result.

And for your listening pleasure, the UK entry is below

New Video Series for PIGSY Art

Check it out!

Video no. 1 of the new PIGSY Art Series is out now

Found "Everything Bagel Seasoning" in Ireland!

"Everything Bagel Seasoning" in Supervalu Rathbourne

I'd seen mention of "Everything Bagel Seasoning" on different American forums and I really liked the sound of it. I considered trying to buy some online and also planned to buy some on my next trip to the States.

However, I was pleasantly surprized to find it on sale in Supervalu Rathbourne today. They have a whole shelf full of non-Irish food from different Eastern European countries along with some products from USA (Hello JIF peanut butter!). 

And there it was in the USA section - "Everything Bagel Seasoning"! 

I was also tempted to buy "Liquid Smoke" but left that for another day.

On the train home from Rathbourne (I was visiting my parents) I decided that I would bake some Keto Bread (recipe here) and would top with the seasoning.

OMG - it tastes so good!! 

And even better was when I smeared a big load of cream cheese on the bread and topped with more seasoning. So delicious!

"Everything Bagel Seasoning" gets a big thumbs up from me so do try and get your hands on some if you can.

What I'm doing...

So what am I doing?!

Why watching the Eurovision of course!

And at the same time I'm watching classic Aer Lingus ads on YouTube.....they don't make them like they used to.....

You've got to love everything about this ad. From the beautiful instrumental version of "True Colours" to all of the varied characters representative of life.

I had to smile to myself at the "runner". A long while ago, before I started my career as a librarian, I worked for Aer Lingus as a boarding agent. Whenever, we had a passenger who had a checked in late, we would receive a call from check in with an update for us. They would tell us that a passenger was on their way and to look out for them before we closed the gate - the passenger would have been told they might make the flight if they could RUN. We would then refer to this passenger as a "runner". As in we might say to the gate agent "we are all boarded, bar a runner who we are giving 1 more minute  to get here before we close". Of course a runner would generally not have checked in bags because the check in desk wouldn't let them check in if they had bags because they might make it if they ran but their bags would not. Given that it was over twenty years ago when I worked for this airline, the majority of people checked in bags because of course at that time baggage was not charged for. So it was a rarity for people not to have checked bags - except for, of course, business people heading over on an early flight to London with a return that evening. 

So I really related to the Cabin Crew member who gave a great big smile when she saw the runner. As a boarding agent, I would have given the passenger a great big smile like that when I saw them run up to the podium!

3-2-1 Blast off: Space Cadets

Well this is a blast from the past!

I went down a Youtube rabbit hole this evening and landed on a programme all about the biggest hoax on British TV which was "Space Cadets". 

I remember watching this show live and literally watched it through my fingers for a lot of it. It was a total cringe fest at times, literally I felt so bad for the contestants as the whole show evolved. I also felt that the TV company took advantage of the vulnerabilities of the participants.

Aside from feeling so bad for the contestants, I was wowed by the lengths that the production crew went to in order to make the hoax seem so real.  For example, I seem to recall that as well as feeding the participants real life actual Russian food, they placed pieces of litter on the site - and the litter was packaging from Russian products!

Have a look at this video which explains and shows the full concept of the show.

Thankfully when the "Space Cadets" show was broadcast there was not so much social media so the participants seem to have been forgotten and went back to their normal lives without much attention.....I hope!

Do you remember the show, did you watch it - let me know in the comments below.

Planting Wildflowers - an effort to be bee friendly!

Wildflowers for wildlife

I've been wanting to grow wildflowers for some time now and after our CE gave all staff a token gift of wildflower seeds at Christmas, I decided this was the year to do it.

I've only got a small border in my front garden so there is not much space to grow a lot.  However, there is a piece of wasteland at the end of our cul de sac with a large oak tree and some wild garlic growing, so I decided to put down some wildflowers there too.

Here's some pics including how my border looks currently.  I'll up date when some of the plants start to flower as it is early days yet. It will be interesting to see if the flowers bring bees or butterflies to my garden which is why I was interested in growing them.

I planted a few ready grown plants in order to give my garden an instant lift.  I then put wildflower seed around the plants.

Another ready grown plant in the border - I planted 5 in total and then surrounded them with wildflower seeds.

Here's the seed I am using along with the wildflower seeds gifted by my CE. I've never grown flowers from seed so am interested to see how it all turns out.

Early days - here's some green shoots.  Seemingly wildflower patches are not at their best the first year but get better year on year.  There is a mix of annual and perennial flowers in this patch.

I've moved away from the concept of perfectly manicured gardens and I really hope that my garden begins to look wild and natural as the flowers grow. I also reckon that a more "wild" garden will be easier to start and then maintain overall.

I also started some seedlings in little pots - these are annuals and are starting to shoot.  I'll plant them in the ground shortly.

You can find lots of videos of how to grow wildflowers on youtube if you are interesting in cultivating your own wildlife supporting patch or border. Do let me know if you start growing wildflowers!

Here's the wasteland at the end of the road where I live

And the white flower is the wild garlic growing in abundance - it smells amazing!

It's a nice piece of scrub with a gorgeous old tree in the centre and a newly planted one to the left. Let's see if the wildflowers grow here and what wildlife (bees and butterflies) it brings to the area.

I love reading your comments - let me know what you are up to in your garden these days!