The Grand Parade Preacher

This woman was screaming into a microphone on Grand Parade, Cork, for the last few years. This is a photo from 2022, but I remember seeing her in late 2024 too. I could never make out what she was saying as the sound was distorted so much by the volume on her speaker.

I hardly ever saw anyone talking to her. I wonder how effective this sort of preaching is?


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Brian May in the Spotlight

Queen + Adam Lambert played in the O2 in London as part of their 2022 Rhapsody Tour, and I was there in the middle of June.

I love Queen’s music. I wanted to go see them for a long time but left it late to book tickets for one of their London shows. The only seats left were away up in the rafters, to the side of the stage. (and then they announced a Belfast show a few weeks later, but we had paid for concert tickets, plane tickets and a family hotel room. Ah, well.)

One of the highlights of the gigs was when the late Freddie Mercury was shown on the big screen singing Love of My Life with Brian May. Guess who didn’t see any of it because of where he was sitting? A beautiful moment, and I knew what was happening when the crowd cheered. And I missed it all. I was crushed.

Earlier in the day, on the way to the concert, in the taxi, I took my phone out of my pocket to check Google Maps. To my horror, my phone screen remained blank. I figured the phone was still on because I heard a WhatsApp notification, but the screen remained stubbornly black. Disaster! The tickets were on my phone! Luckily, we had installed the O2 app on my family’s phones, so I consoled myself that one of those phones would work. I couldn’t be more wrong. They were logged out and because the password manager was on my phone, we had no way to log in. I remember wishing I had my laptop, which was back in the hotel. However, we weren’t the only ones in that situation, but customer support at the O2 are used to it and got us physical replacement tickets. The following morning, my phone worked fine again.

So, It wasn’t an ideal experience. Yes, you can say it was my own fault for not booking earlier, but they still offered those sections of the arena for sale, and every seat was taken. I didn’t post this or any other photo from the concert as I was so disappointed by everything that happened, but time has dulled my feelings about it. I still love Queen music, and I even love their 80s and 90s output. Despite my experience, it was spectacular to see Brian May and Roger Taylor perform.


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Handy on a skateboard

On the Grand Parade, Cork, a few years ago, I was waiting around and saw a few guys on their skateboards. They were having fun. 🙂

The public toilet with the striking mural in the background was removed in the last year or so.


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An Fear Marbh at Sunset

On a lovely summer’s evening on the Dingle Peninsula I photographed An Fear Marbh, yet again. It’s a picturesque part of the country so you can hardly blame me for taking photos! 🙂

Today I learned that, in English, it’s called Inishtooskert, which is an Anglicised version of the Irish name, “Inis Tuaisceart”, or “Northern Island”.


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Through the Penneys Tunnel

As you walk down Robert Street, to the side of Penneys on St. Patrick’s Street, Cork, you’ll find yourself walking under a part of the store that extends over the street.


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