Barber shop in Blarney, County Cork. I got my hair cut there last week!

The view from the Grand Parade Car Park is a wonderful one in every direction. Rooftops and the architectural sites of the city can all be seen from there. In this view you can only see the rooftops of the city’s shops and old buildings but in the middle distance is the construction work on…

Dunnes Stores on Patrick Street Cork opened again last Thursday. This is the store pictured at the end of August when a timer counted down the days to opening. ‘Course, every time I think of this store, I think of the super hero who posed outside it hawking leaflets a few years ago!

Emmett Place in Cork is the sight of feverish building work for the past year or two as a huge city block was torn down and then built up again. Here’s the view from the excellent Aroma Restaurant.

Clouds hang over Cork University Maternity Hospital.

Feeling like crap today because of a bug that’s going around. Worst of it was last night but I can feel it getting worse again. Argh!

I thought I had posted this photo of waves crashing down at Couminole Beach before but no, I have posted several shots of waves at that exposed Atlantic beach but not this one! I rarely mention WordPress stuff here but if you haven’t upgraded your site to 2.8.4, read this post by Matt. Please upgrade,…

Last Sunday a “fun day” was held in the square in Blarney. I had completely forgotten about it until we got down there and there was a huge crowd there with food stalls, a bouncy castle and this inflatable slide and various races for all the kids. Shame about the weather though. Barry’s Balloons obviously…

This is Mother Cat. Matriarch of the local cats. Her litter of kittens are growing up and make a daily appearance in our garden. They’re all a little wild though. The kitten’s dad, Patches, was the polar opposite. He was friendly to us humans and loved to be rubbed and scratched behind the ear. He…

Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders is a common one. Who really likes the creepy crawlies that come into your house and lurk in the corner? Look at those big fangs, and the long hairy legs! This one was actually on my wall (I rotated the image 90 degrees) and just after I took the photo…

A man taking a break in Bishop Lucey Park, Cork. Coca Cola Ireland made headlines last week when it emerged they were going to outsource their distribution network. Unions weren’t happy of course.

Mannix and Culhane on Washington Street occupies a low single storey building on the corner with North Main Street. Did they lose the top floors of their building a few years ago? I remember a girl was killed just up the road when falling masonry from a neighbouring building fell on her. I have a…