Very recently we spent almost 2 weeks in the Spanish town of El Puerto de Santa María. We stayed in a friend’s apartment and it was a really nice break away from the bad news and rush of life back in Ireland. Unfortunately we brought the rain with us but that didn’t dampen our spirits!…

BBQ at the Waterloo Inn Jimmy and Paul served the bbq to hungry parents, kids and everyone else at the charity bbq in the Waterloo Inn today. They spent over an hour dealing with flames and hot food at the end of a blisteringly hot day and really deserved the round of applause afterwards. Well…

I lost my head All that remains from a fishing trip to Cobh. I discovered this fish’s head while walking about on the pier in Cobh during the month of August last year. At that time of year the mackerel chase the sprat into Cork Harbour and provide a bountiful catch for local fishermen. Many…

Looking out from Homely House Last September we stayed in Dingle for a weekend and had lunch in Homely House, a restaurant in the town. Check out the previous link for a picture of Brian Lapen and EagleSpirit who ran the cafe. Unfortunately for Dingle they’re now in Hawaii, and the building was destined for…

O’Flynn’s Butchers on Marlboro Street. O’Flynn’s Butchers on Marlboro St. Cork is a very popular butchers serving high quality meat with a friendly smile. We rang in our order early because we knew the place would be bare by the time we go in! Here are the staff posing for my camera, there’s a huge…

Glistening Blackberries Blackberries glisten in the bright sun of an August afternoon in Co. Cork. I love blackberry jam, blackberry tarts, blackberry crumble. I don’t like picking the fruit, but I have many childhood memories of wandering country lanes with my family looking for the best fruit for my mother to make delicious jam. Nowadays,…

A table at Memphis Minnies There wasn’t much left after we ate a hearty lunch in Memphis Minnies. Plates, cutlery, cups and sauces.. all eaten! Great place to eat. On the way out I made a shot of their “low fat=low flavor” advert and I just realised I spelt the name of the establishment incorrectly…

EagleSpirit and Brian EagleSpirit and Brian pose for a photo on their last day of business running Homely House, a small cafe in Dingle, Co. Kerry. Brian ran it for eight years, while his partner EagleSpirit has been an integral part of the charm of the little establishment for the past four. It closed on…

A pint of beer and a newspaper Sometimes it’s good to chill out, relax and step out of the rat-race, even for a few moments. This scene was made on St. Patrick’s Street outside Le Chateau, a bar with seating in front of the building as most places do these days because of the smoking…

Sowan’s Organic Bread Mixes Sowan’s Organic Bread Mixes were a big hit with everyone who sampled their bread, including Jacinta. She bought a packet of the stuff and I’m going to sample the finished product this morning! This is their stall at the Midleton Food & Drink Festival. Their website is sowanorganic.ie and I discovered…

The Apple Store An apple stall at the Midleton Food and Drink Festival last weekend. It was a wet morning and when I saw the water glistening on the apples I just had to make this photo. Technique: Photo was levels adjusted manually because the GIMP thought there was too much green in the image,…

Staring at me Am I feeling conspicuous or what? I tried shooting from the hip yesterday with the strap of my camera over my shoulder and my camera in a horizontal position instead of being wrapped around my hand in a vertical orientation. It proved useful, but I found that: More of my shots were…