Introduction:

"This blog is not necessarily for lovers of art, it includes a variety of topics and whatever. I'm a painter who likes to know what's really going on in the world today. So you might find anything from Shamrocks to Salmiakki mentioned here on my blog. There will of course be some boring, factual and informational posts, but I'll keep them to a minimum, I promise!

And I might get a bit nostalgic now and then.

So you have been warned!"


- Alan Hogan



Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Summer in Dublin, again!


Over the past few years I have often heard Irish people talk and reminisce about the warm summers of the mid-1970's and early 1980's. I often rambled on about it myself sometimes.
Well, after this summer of 2013 I reckon all that might quiet down a little. Last month was one of the warmest Julys in recorded history of Irish weather and I had the luck to be on holidays right there when it all happened. I want to post a few photos on my blog here for my own record and also just to show the world that Ireland can be a wonderful place when she gets some sunshine! (okay, it can be a pretty good place without the sun too!)
I went on a little roadtrip from Dublin to the west coast of Ireland with some friends from Finland. It was really great to show my home country at it's best and I think the Finns enjoyed it. Also it was their first ever visit to Ireland, so a bit extra-special! I don't like to do on-the-spot travel blogs as I am usually too busy enjoying myself to start typing. But over the next few entries in my blog I will post some photos of the places I visited, including County Galway, County Clare, the Aran Islands, Kilkenny City and firstly my hometown Dublin. 




Lambay island, off the coast of Dublin.






Coastal rocks near Malahide in County Dublin






View over Dublin from Deer Park Golf club in Howth, County Dublin.






View of lighthouse from Howth summit in County Dublin.






View of Dublin Bay from Howth summit.






Dublin Bay on a sunny day in July.







After arrival in Dublin, it was off to John Kavanagh's pub also know as the Gravediggers because of it's proximity to the Glasnevin cemetary next door. Here's what was going on at the cemetary gates while I supped on my pint of Guinness. The Ghostbus is doing a tour with shots of alcohol being passed around to it's passengers to keep them awake. (below) 




Gravediggers Ghostbus at Glasnevin cemetary.




While I've been to visit my family back in suburban Dublin on many occasions over the past few years, I reckon it must be over 4 years since I have actually gone into Dublin's city centre. Unfortunately I only spent one day there, but this time as a tourist!






Moore street, Dublin





The famous GPO (General Post Office) and
the infamous Spire on O'Connell St.
 






Interior of the GPO (General Post Office)






Statue of Daniel O'Connell








Trinity College, Dublin







Old parlimentary building, now the Bank of Ireland.








Ron Black's Dawson Lounge: Dublin's smallest pub
Take a look inside on this Norwegian news video below.










Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin






St.Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin







The Church of Guinness, Dublin
... you can almost smell it's goodness!






The gates of heaven





Lost souls follow the signs! 






The Wellington Monument in the Pheonix Park, Dublin.






The Real White House . The President of Ireland's House







Old Jameson whiskey distillery, Dublin.







The Ha'penny Bridge, Dublin






Grounds of Trinity College, Dublin






Viking splash tour, for our scandinavian cousins!






Molly Malone





Wicklow street, Dublin






Georges Street Arcade





Hogan's bar, South Great Georges Street, Dublin






Correct Time at The Long Hall pub on South Great Georges Street






South Great Georges Street, Dublin






Temple Bar area






Oliver St.John Gogarty Pub
Nice pub, but the biggest rip-off in Dublin!






Hard Rock Cafe, Dublin. 
Don't expect to get inside with so many students about!







Deception of the highest level!!!






O'Connell Street by bus






Molly again!






Guinness!!





Arthur Guinness lived here!


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This is part 1 of a set of 'Ireland' travel posts here on my blog. Click on the destinations below to read the rest!




























Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan 



                     





Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!!!


'Oddbod' from the film 'Carry on Screaming!'
(or an advertisement for hair loss reversal!)




Happy Halloween as the greeting suggests is all about dressing up and having a bit of fun. Personally I think I'm probably a bit old in the tooth to be wearing Halloween costumes, but if any Halloween party invitations suddenly arrive in the postbox I'll be the first to go running for a mask. Growing up as a child in Ireland the tradition of Halloween always meant putting on a scary mask and knocking on house doors around where I lived. It also gave us a chance to see who was living near us. My mother told my friends and I not to call at strangers' houses. Yep, that was like asking my sisters not to go shopping for shoes! Costumes weren't much, a simple old white sheet my mum was throwing out or a black bin-liner bag were the usual choices. Then there was the plastic mask, which always had a cheap elastic band attached with two staples. It was always good to have a spare stapler at home as it usually broke after an hour or so. The only other items needed were a few explosive sticks or bangers as we called them and a plastic bag for the goodies. The goodies given by house owners varied over the years and changed dramatically with time. During the first few years any type of fruit was the usual received with a few nuts thrown in also. Then some genius decided it was good to give kids sweets instead of fruit! ......I don't recall any kids complaining about this sudden change, but why should they as most of them had indestructable teeth!  While some folk were still handing out the traditional fruit and nuts, more and more were switching to sweets, or as americans called it 'candy'. And because of this many kids developed a sweet tooth and became more demanding and sometimes devilish towards their sponsors... Poetic justice perhaps, or just damn good fun!



Hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds were just some of the traditional treats handed to Irish kids during Halloween collections. ....Walnuts were without doubt my favourite! 



Halloween has grown in popularity with older kids and adults over the years in Ireland and it's an incredibly busy night for bars and nite clubs in the big towns and cities. The chance to put on a costume allows people to join in the celebration and have fun with others. It's not unusual to find Dracula 'kissing' a fair maiden spontaneously during the night, or to see Batman suddenly rescue a total stranger from being too drunk.





I suppose the increase of interest in all things Halloween has been highly influenced and exaggerated by media from the U.S.A., with the constant stream of horror movies from Hollywood over the years. Titles such Friday the 13th, Childs Play, Nightmare on Elm Street and Saw immediately come to mind. And it seems that the USA influence of Halloween has also reached Finland in recent years. With an appetite for hard rock and metal music aswell as all things dark and morbid I am still wondering why Halloween hasn't become a national holiday in Finland by now. 
While I haven't seen any evidence of 'Trick-or-Treating', there are a lot of shops around stocking all sorts of Halloween novelties for kids including costumes, masks and sweets. I think it's mainly for school and private house parties. I also know that some niteclubs have Halloween parties.

One thing I always like to do every Halloween is watch an old horror movie. I have a small selection of horror dvds at home including my favorite, the original version of The Amityville Horror starring James Brolin. Nowadays however you only have to visit YouTube for most of the classics. There's a lot to be found elsewhere online also. 



Here's one you won't find on YouTube. I recently found this old favorite of mine called 'Carry on Screaming!' which is of course a horror-based comedy from way back in 1966. I still love the old British humour in this classic from the 'Carry on' series of films. It's available to watch or download with excellent quality here. (the installation of a DIVX player may be required for some viewers)



Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends. 
.... and a very Happy Halloween!!!!



You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


-Alan 





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