This blog was originally started to track our progress as we regenerated a derelict Victorian house in Dublin. We turned an old crumbling ruin in to our dream house! If you wish to read through the trials and tribulations of the house build it is best to start at the oldest blog post and read in date order. The blog then evolved in to being all about my life in Dublin, Ireland and then life in Malaga, Spain with artist "PIGSY" and now back in Dublin
I hope you enjoy reading it!
My mother and I went to see the latest production in the cute Bewleys Cafe Theatre today. "Gone Full Havisham" is a one woman show, written and starring Irene Kelliher.
Wow what a performance and also what a great story! We are introduced to Emily O'Halloran who is holed up in a hotel room in her wedding dress in the midst of a mental breakdown (which is playing out on social media) after getting jilted on her wedding day 5 months ago. With a fantastically dramatic performance by Kelliher, I thought the play showcased the current landscape in regard to social media and life online in general, while tying in with nostalgic references to growing up in Ireland in the 90's - of note was the awesome nod to Dana International's Eurovision performance. It was quite the juxtaposition and one wonders if judgement in the nineties came from a small amount of actual people one knew (Dad, Auntie & Elise - and Lucy the doll!), while now the judgement is off the scale with intense 24 hour nonstop interest from strangers online.
Most of the reviews online are positive so I hope that this play goes on to other venues and it gets lots of audience as it is a well written piece with great production and an incredible performance by Irene Kelliher.
We had the wonderful Dean Cooper out with us today in order to fit handles on to the wardrobes in our bedroom. The wardrobes were originally designed, fabricated and fitted by Dean Cooper Furniture. The initial design back in 2011 did not have handles on the wardrobes and they looked marvelous and were easy to use with a press / pop action opener. However there is nothing as easy and as practical to use as a pull handle on a door so Ciaran set about getting a handle added. He returned to Dean Cooper, who designed and handcrafted a bespoke handle for our doors and then fitted them today. I am unbelievable happy with them - they look great and they work phenomenally well! Here's some before and after pics
Yesterday I picked up my electric bike from the shop (it needed a new motor). It was ideal to get it back then as I needed it for today's cycle protest which started at 11am at the Grand Canal Theatre. Organised by Dublin Cycling Campaign and others it was held in order to highlight the need for the Liffey Cycle Route to be built immediately rather than delayed until 2024.
It was a cold day but the turn out was large with probably over 250 cyclists and others on different modes of transport - a guy beside me was on a single tire type of electric skateboard while there were two escooter riders in front of me (wearing high viz that said "You're not stuck in traffic - you are traffic"). There was individuals and families with kids (on bikes and in cargo bikes) and even dogs in baskets on bikes or being pulled in carriers.....I had planned to bring Bones who likes to sit in my panniers but I was worried it might be too cold for him. Check out this awesome lad in his goggles!!!
We cycled from the Marker Hotel at the Grand Canal Basin all the up the Liffey to the Dublin City Council Offices and then over the bridge and back down the quays returning to the starting point. Families went to the front and we cycled to the speed of the slowest cyclist - I did not need to turn my electrics on and I'd say no one broke a sweat. It was really great to get out for the cycle and make our message known - but I missed my twin sister who came on past protest cycles with me....but I know she was with us in spirit from her home in Florida! Have a read of the Irish Times coverage of the event here which includes a video. And hopefully my next blog about the Liffey Cycle Route will be good news with a plan in place to get it built NOW. For further reading, look up #liffeycycle and #liffeycycleroute on twitter.
Back in April 2019, I blogged about an art piece by Pigsy being accepted for sale in the Designyard.
That was all very exciting but there is bigger news now! There has been massive interest in Pigsy and his art work so Designyard now has a full range of Pigsy artworks available. The range includes large scale originals and also limited edition prints in numerous sizes. As I said it is all very exciting for Ciarán (Pigsy!) but what was more exciting was when I was walking through the city with a friend, she commented on the Designyard as we passed by and queried whether that was where Pigsy had his work. I said Yes and pointed out the front door and said there is a massive Pigsy piece right behind that door.....and right at that time she said "and there is a Pigsy in the window". I was so excited I took a photo! And here it is.....
Are you a member of your local library?! As a Librarian, I may be biased, but there really is something for everyone in the library! Ireland has an excellent library service that offers loads of brilliant resources all for FREE, including: eBooks eAudio Books Online Newspapers (Yup!) eMagazines and periodicals Events Online courses (including language learning) And lots more! Additionally you can borrow an item in any library country wide and then return it to any other library (ANYWHERE in Ireland!) - how great is that?! Check out this video below that features real life Irish Librarians and highlights just some of the things that are available for all at the library....and if you haven't ever visited the library, do pop in and say hello to the friendly staff - we look forward to meeting you!
Edit: Since the Covid-19 outbreak Libraries Ireland are offering instant free access to online services - click here
2020 is our year for a big clear out. We have a skip bag that is nearly full but I think we are getting there. I've been clearing out the attic and also wardrobes. With every item that I clear out I consider whether it should be thrown out in the skip bag or put in to the recycling bin or otherwise it goes in a bag to be sent on to the Charity Shop (Thrift Store to my USA readers!) At this point I have dropped about 6 big black bags to the Charity Shop but am now struggling to even fill one bag. This means I am getting there and now I am packing up items to go back in to the attic for storage rather than getting thrown out. I reckon I've got about a week or two more of cleaning out but then I will be fully decluttered!
In other news, one of Ciaran's paintings sold yesterday which is all very exciting!! 2020 is shaping up very nicely ;-)
I've been wanting to go to an event with singing waiters for oh I don't know, probably 10 years or more, since I heard about them first. Well what do you know, I went to a wedding on Saturday and what was part of the wedding entertainment - yes you've guessed it, Singing Waiters!! They were incredible and added a fantastic dimension to the wedding. I was so happy to experience them and if you are considering getting them for your wedding, just do it!
