this month (in fact, week) was the time where i returned to two cities where i’ve not been for ages. the moment i would arrive, a million lost memories appearing from nowhere would bombard my senses.

one was dublin – the last time i was here was when i was a young lad of 19! i visited this city twice then. once with the o’dunlaings, my foster family, in the late 80’s. i would remember the sunday morning walk along the pier with the family boxer called frenzy and this massive great dane which ran like a muthatrucka. we would pass by the edge’s house and i, not being a U2 fan then, didn’t even bother taking out my compact konica. eoin was also kind enough to bring us along to watch a five (it was five then) nations rugger match at landsdowne road. the other time i came, the weather was shite. it was autumn and it didn’t help that the emerald isle is pretty much synonymous with the word rain. being soaked whilst walking by the guinness brewery to visit phoenix park wasn’t my idea of a good time and all my pics were of grey skies and puddled streets.

well, this time it was different. we had sun.


one thing that came back to me was how friendly the dubliners are, like our waiter at wagamama who was quite chatty. another example was the steward who kept my digital rebel’s battery for me when we entered the point for pearl jam. despite his ganeh appearance, he was in fact concerned that i couldn’t find him after the show. the best one was when this chap (typical bearded irishman that you’d see in a travel brochure), who was playing a tin whistle off grafton street, beckoned me over to ask where i was from. he then said terima kasih when i dropped a euro into the hat. gilo ko apo?


as per usual sent a few postcards on o’connell street then sauntered into trinity college to grab a few shots and a souvenir for oneself. there were street musos aplenty on grafton street before hitting off at tower records at wicklow street. i thought tower had gone bust but it looks like it’s still alive here. it had a strong punk vibe to it and looking at the gig posters on its wall just showed the wide variety of music available in this city. this city’s culture doesn’t just stop at wilde, joyce or beckett (two of whom are alumni of my school of two years!). since food here is pretty much like britain, ebi chilli men at the local wagamama was a good alternative option. after resting kaki, meandered to the temple bar (can’t drink a pint of guinness despite its goodness – unggelege nalladeeee) and stopped by HRC for a tee, which is a must. all that in like six hours before the flight back to manchester.

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other pics up in the usual sites. see under photos in yonder sidebar.