Visiting the Mural Room in the Courthouse of Santa Barbara was a treat I was not expecting. The murals depict the history of the region, sometimes inaccurately, as they include Peter Pan, Robin Hood and Errol Flynn!
The train tracks of Birkenau concentration camp in Poland lead off to the front gate. The camp is only a 5 minute bus journey from Auschwitz, along a road bordered by a train track. It’s surreal passing by homes, businesses and people walking about living their lives next to these places.
Tourists gather around the building, listening to their tour guides.
Hussey’s Folly at the mouth of Dingle Harbour as it was caught by the rays of the sun. This was almost exactly four years ago, at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Apparently, Covid levels are just as high now and the latest strain is quite nasty too. It will always be with us. 🙁
One of the (many) highlights of the Cork Pride parade is the massive rainbow flag that accompanies the marchers through the city. It was unfurled on Grand Parade where a jubilant crowd carried it and waved it in preparation for the trip around the city. I noticed a bump in the middle, and saw the reason underneath. 🙂
The Commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, lived in the large house at the end of this road. It sits right outside the concentration camp where so many people were put to death, but a family lived here, and they are the subject of a 2023 movie, The Zone of Interest.
When I visited the camp last week, the guide made an offhand remark while pointing in the direction of a locked gate, saying, “That’s where the camp commandant lived with his family.” My group were on our way to Gas Chamber 1, so nobody went to look, but I stuck my camera over the gate and recorded a photo of an ordinary street with parked cars outside a red brick building and the family home further down. Watch the trailer of the movie, and you’ll recognise the shape of the roof in the background. Gave me chills.
At the Cork Pride party today, Bambie Thug performed for the crowd, and came on stage proudly waving the transgender flag. The party was great, and the parade was full of energy, colour, smiles and happiness. If you missed it this year, make sure to go next year. It’s a great event!
Young men climbed on a public toilet in the centre of Warsaw this afternoon to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising.
At 5pm, sirens rang out and suddenly red flares were lit as a large cargo plane flew overhead. Smoke from the flares filled the air, and it got noticeably cooler as the sun was temporarily blocked.
Photo by my teenager who was there with me.
The flares and smoke cleared within minutes, and a commanding voice in Polish continued to talk to the massive crowd.
Earlier in the day, we observed a simple military service. Two elderly people were there, and it’s obviously about the Uprising, but if anyone recognises them, I’d love to know more.
This episode of Dan Snow’s History Hits podcast does a great job covering what happened when Poles rose up against heir Nazi occupiers 80 years ago today. I found a Reddit thread about it too.
Two people cycling on a path next to the barbed wire fence surrounding the former Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
Aperture
ƒ/8
Camera
ILCE-7RM5
Focal length
240mm
ISO
400
Shutter speed
1/500s
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