Saturday 31 May 2014

Whiddy Island: Looking Out into the Expanse of It All


On Whiddy Island, we also went up to visit the old Battalion Fortress (above) of which my good old friend Dave Dealy (below) told me that it probably dated back to Napoleonic times.

Below, Dave Dealy is leading the way through the sheep towards the vast expanse of it all:


From here, I could clearly look down onto the grey-blue depths of Bantry Bay, seeing a big ship and a couple of small boats at work:


Below, I'm looking down onto the pub and pier, probably the main hub of human activity on Whiddy Island:


And finally, below, I'm looking beyond the cockle/mussel 'tram lines' and the small island (Dave Dealy said this might be Rabbit Island) towards Bantry at the bottom of the mountain in the distance:


Song of the Day: 'Weatherman' by Tori Amos


My song of the day would have to be 'Weatherman' by Tori Amos, as it is just hauntingly beautiful: just can't stop playing it as it joins thousands of other perhaps almost mystically selected tracks in my mental jukebox.

Should be finally getting round to see Tori Amos at Warsaw Sala Kongresowa on June 12th (really don't like the Sała Kongresowa, but I overcame this to see Randy Crawford there last year and I'll do the same for Tori Amos this time round - could've seen her a few times in the past at the Sała Kongresowa).

Friday 30 May 2014

Warsaw: A Leafy Path Leading Me Somewhere Interesting


Love this picture of a leafy path running through the parkland just after the Mormon church towards the old soldiers' graves up at Wolska.

Think that this leafy path shows that I was going somewhere interesting, and it's true, as I was going to watch Airbag (an excellent Norwegian Prog band) up at the (new) Klub Progresja at Fort Wola.  Below is the logo from the big Klub Progresja hall at Fort Wola:


Been to a few concerts (Fields of the Nephilim; Gazpacho; Crippled Black Phoenix; Midge Ure; and now Airbag) at the big hall at the new Klub Progresja, and must say that the place is great, especially for Prog concerts.  Hopefully, look forward to seeing Rich Robinson there in June and Kansas in July.

Thursday 29 May 2014

Walking Round Liverpool: Recalling Arthur Miller's 'A View from the Bridge'


The radio tower above proved very useful, as whenever we felt lost in Liverpool city centre, we were always able to get our bearings back by looking at it.

Not far away from the radio tower, I was taken back in time when I saw the advertisement below for Arthur Miller's tragedy:  'A View from the Bridge'.  Between 1987 and 1988, I did Sociology and English Literature A Levels at 'night school' at Bury College of FE.  On the English Lit. course, we studied both 'A View from the Bridge' and 'All My Sons' by Arthur Miller.  


'All My Sons' probably resembles too many aspects of my own life to go into detail here.  With 'A View from the Bridge', I can still vaguely remember our young female teacher guiding us to feel the character disintegration and tragedy of Eddie Carbone at a Shakespearean grandeur level.

A few years later, when studying Literature at university (1989-1992) I watched a South Bank Show special interviewing Arthur Miller and assessing his work.  Still remember Miller profoundly saying words to the effect that behind the civilised veneer, there is still a reptilean part of the human brain.  Just can't argue against this, I guess.

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Whiddy Island: A Few Thoughts from the Coastline

Whiddy Island (near Bantry, county Cork) is something like only five miles long and a mile wide, with a current population of about only 20 people living on it (during the day, about 240 workers come over from the mainland to work at the oil refinery), but the place made a definite impression on me:


 Whiddy Island is only about a 10-15 minute ferry ride from Bantry, but there seems to be a special solitary atmosphere there, especially when walking along the coastline of the island:
 

My good old friend Dave Dealy explained to me that the barrel-type 'things' in the water below are used for catching cockles and/or mussels:
 

Dave also explained that the 'thing' below was an old lobster box:


Yes, this place had a definite solitary feel to it, but every now and again, some human aretefact would pop up, such as the old rowing boat below which, as you can see, is being increasingly claimed by nature:
  

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Bury Lido: The Moorhen's Nest


Could be wrong, but I think this is some kind of moorhen looking after its nest on the Lido in the Walmersley area of Bury, Lancashire.

As a child about 40 years ago, I remember my parents taking me and my younger brother up to the Lido on Sunday afternoons, as many people flocked there to go swimming; have picnics; play a bit of sport on the grass etc.

Nowadays, the Lido is still an interesting place, but it's obviously in the process of being (interestingly) reclaimed by nature.

Monday 26 May 2014

Bury: Chesham Woods


A few shots of Chesham Woods, a place sort of in between 'Dickybird' and Walmersley Road in Bury, Lancashire.

Was very happy with the picture below, as my shots of flowers rarely turn out okay.


Always thought that it would be nice to live in the house below in the middle of Chesham Woods:


Also good to see that people, possibly volunteer groups, are taking good care of Chesham Woods by making paths or even ponds as in the picture below:


Still remember playing a game called 'knifey' on a swing up here when I was a teenager.  Used to really love the place.

Sunday 25 May 2014

The Young Ginger Tom


My wife's parents had this wonderful young Ginger Tom, but sadly it disappeared a couple of months ago.

Don't really like cats (much prefer dogs generally), but have a soft spot for Ginger Toms, as, many years ago, my Gran had a big overweight one called Sandy who used to sleep underneath a living-room cabinet all the time.

Airbag Live at Warsaw Klub Progresja 24th May 2014


Small selection of shots from the Airbag gig last night which was excellent with a wonderful rapport between band and audience (love Prog concerts for both the music and the people who attend them).


Went principally to listen to the tunes from 'All Rights Removed', but also really enjoyed 'The Greatest Show on Earth' material which the band seemed to focus on in the first half of the show.


Was nice to have a walk round taking shots from different angles.  There was also an interesting kind of interlude which seemed to point towards the absurdity of American politics and business practice (this created an unusual but striking effect - glad to see Barack Obama, who many Americans rightly or wrongly view as The Antichrist got his position top right below):


Also loved the 'fields of wheat' backdrop which appeared near the end of the show (and maybe earlier too).  This just gave a nice breezy effect complementing the often willowy beauty of the music.


My favourite tune of the night?  That would have to be the lengthy encore 'Homesick' which fully showcased the skills of guitarist Bjorn Riis in particular.

And at the end, the band and crowd fully appreciated each other after more than two hours of  wonderful riveting music:


Couple of months ago, I saw Gazpacho at Warsaw Klub Progresja and was also highly impressed. Something interesting Prog-wise is definitely going on up there in Norway.

Saturday 24 May 2014

Riverside Live at Warsaw Juvenalia 23rd May 2014


Didn't have any intention of going to Warsaw Juvenalia until I discovered a few days before the event that Riverside would be on there on the first night (May 23rd).  Thus, this was a real nice surprise, as they're most probably my favourite Polish band (seen them twice before:  once at the Stodoła and once at the old Klub Progresja, both in Warsaw).


A few weeks ago, I had to go back to Britain to renew my passport in Liverpool, and ended up not being able to see Riverside at the new Klub Progresja.  Thus, seeing Riverside last night at the Juvenalia nicely made amends for this.

As expected, the band's 75-minute set was dominated by the 'Shrine of New Generation Slave' material which was perfectly fine by me, as it is a mightily fine album.  From this album, my favourite two tunes were the incredibly melodic 'Depth of Self-Delusion' and 'We Got Used To Us' (love the delicate build of melody in the latter).

Near the start of the set, I was down near the front of the stage, so I managed to get a few close-up shots of the band:




Maybe not the best shots in the world, but they'll do me.

Was also a nice evening as I met up with my friends Pierce and Dominik below:


Dominik (above) is enjoying the music, while (below) me and Pierce are 'posing' for a picture with the stage in the background (usually go to gigs on my own, so it was nice to meet up with friends at a gig for once).



Friday 23 May 2014

Kilmore Cemetery, Whiddy Island


Couple of shots of Kilmore Cemetery on Whiddy Island here.  As you would  expect, the place is incredibly quite and still, somewhere where you can confront your deepest thoughts.

While up here, my good friend Dave Dealy told me that only people born and bred on Whiddy Island are allowed to be buried there.

The Perfect Place for Lovers (near Doneen Pier, County Cork)


While walking near Doneen Pier a couple of weeks ago, I came across this incredible room (part of an interesting house), and immediately thought that it would be the perfect place for lovers, as it took me back to some of the great DH Lawrence novels ('The Rainbow' and 'Women In Love' in particular).

Then, my guide, Dave Dealy sort of broke my enchantment, saying that it was more likely to be a holiday home for some Americans, as the latter have such things all over Southern Ireland. 

Thursday 22 May 2014

Arriving on Whiddy Island


After a short 15-minute ferry ride from Bantry, we arrived on Whiddy Island.  Been visiting the Bantry area for the past 3-4 years, but I'd never visited Whiddy Island, so I was curious to know what it was like.

Here, the small passenger ferry has just docked at Whiddy Pier, and a small group of people (including a mother and daughter out on a cycling trip) are quite excitedly stepping onto the island for a Sunday afternoon out (or returning from Mass on the mainland).

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Innisfallen Island, County Kerry

In the picture below, the boatman is taking us out to Innisfallen Island, in the middle of the lake next to Ross Castle in county Kerry:


Rather than the monastery remains, it was the small church ruin (below)  that caught my eye on Innisfallen Island:



Still, Innisfallen Monastery has a particularly interesting history, as neatly summarised in the picture below:


But like I've said, it was the small church ruin that caught my interest, especially when spotting the small Celtic Cross inside:


The short summary further above describes this cross having been found in the lake, and my old friend Dave Dealy adds that it may've been thrown in with other valuable things during an actual Viking raid.

As you can see, it's customary to put money around and on the Cross and to make a wish or say a prayer. My prayer/wish was for God to really exist (I'm 50-50 on the, for me, unanswerable 'God Question', but like Pascal choose to believe in him just in case): 


In contrast, the monastery remains didn't really capture my attention, but I still had to get a shot of them all the same:



And rivalling the Celtic Cross for the highlight of the trip, well that would have to be being led a merry dance by the herd of deer (what I had to go through to get the shot below):


On the way back to the Ross Castle mainland, our amiable boatman told us that the deer regularly swam on and off the island.  .

Also passed the lone fisherman below (just passing his time away in splendid isolation) as we were making our way back to Ross Castle:


Yes, all in all, this was a very short but interesting adventure.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Ross Castle Getting Bathed in Gothic Semi-Darkness


Back with my recent trip to Ireland here, but this time we're in county Kerry rather than Cork. Was amazed how well the picture of Ross Castle (above) turned out, as it started to get bathed in some kind of Gothic semi-darkness. 

We had to go round the back of Ross Castle (below) to get to the small boat that would take us to Innisfallen Island in the middle of the lake.
 

Bury Walks: From the Police Station to the Burrs, the Scenic Route

I remember the old Bury police station being over near the Leisure Centre, but the 'new' one (in reality, built a good few years ago now) is located down near where Peel Mill once was.  Thus, I decided to take a walk from the 'new' police station to what is now grandly referred to as 'Burrs Country Park', and was pleasantly surprised with the scenic route that I found.

First, the river Irwell looks quite clean and has a few (what may've been previously hidden) small waterfalls down near the police station:


In the picture below of the horse grazing near the river, you can just about make out the 'new' police station in the background.  



 The bridge below is important as it takes you across the river and onto the road leading up to the Burrs:



While walking up the road towards the Burrs, I met this friendly cow which seemed perfectly at ease in the gentle, early spring sunshine:


Next up, I passed the grandiose-looking Garsdale: last had a couple of pints here a few years ago, while watching Blackpool win a Wembley play-off to the Premiership:


Then, I got to my destination, the Burrs, where it was nice to see that a small anglers' lodge had sprung up.  Managed to get a nice shot of the duck below surveying the scene:


Finally, I saw my final destination, The Brown Cow.  Had many wonderful AT sessions on Sunday nights/Monday mornings here back in the early/mid-1990s, and remember a character called Wobbler (who now resides up in Bacup) falling into the river after one such session (thankfully, he got out okay).


Now, the Brown Cow has a large caravan park just behind it, so I guess that it does a bumping trade these days.