An Post

The recent postal strikes have me thinking about post boxes in Ireland. One of the last remnants of the british Empire in Ireland. Irish postboxes are all green, but some of the older ones are the British ones and 'VR' and 'GR' are there for all to see.
.

Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland

GPO, Dublin, Ireland

GPO, Dublin, Ireland

The Barbican

When I first came to London in 1985 we used to go to concerts at the Barbican. I was impressed and amazed by the architecture of the buildings (the concerts weren't bad either...) But I always went back just to walk through the high rise elegance.
.

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8

.

No doubt I shall go back there again and again.

Oxford Rain

Oxford for me, was always the centre of British university learning. The seat from which academic careers were launched. At least that is what it seemed like to me living as a teenager all those years ago in Ireland.
.
.
I couldn't help but imagine all the students going to and from their lectures and tutorials; they always seemed to wear the black gown and mortar board hat. The dreamy spires and all those colleges - I never understood how there seemed to be so many colleges there.
.
.
But what epitomised Oxford for me was Inspector Morse. During the eighties, I must have seen every single one of the episodes. The City, the man, the car; it all said Oxford.
.

.
I enjoy visiting Oxford - it is always a treat to wander the streets with my camera watching the particular Oxford world going by, trying to get a glimpse into what it might be like to study and live here. The day we visited, it rained. Mind you it rains more in Ireland.

Look Up ... again!

D200, Canon A95

.

Looking up is becoming a bit of an obsession. But I am amazed at how many people miss what is around them by not doing so.

.

Canon A95, programme mode

Some of these lamp posts, for me, almost tell the story of the decade they were erected in. They are fascinating and wonderful and sometimes exceptional. Next time you are out and about, Look Up!

Look Up ...

Lamp posts of Ireland. D200, A95

If you are like me - you walk around looking up from time to time. Its amazing what you see, or amazing what you do not see.

These lamp posts are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. On the one hand this is a good thing; no more cables. on the other hand these posts are sometimes works of art.