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MIXED MESSAGES.

Using signs, advertisements and messages as the inspiration for observation and comment - enlightened and otherwise

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Making Connections

27/7/2016

1 Comment

 
There is a kick in joining the dots of information.

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Harrington's Square
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Gardiner's Hill
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Ballyhooley Road
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Wellesley Terrace

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Foiling the Birds - at what cost

23/7/2016

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In Liverpool a few months back, I spotted an old building with mesh on the façade.

My initial thought was this was an effort to restrict any loose material from falling onto passers-by. I thought that the Building Control in the Council were very proactive in reducing possible risks.

But then, I spotted more and more buildings with mesh. They were all old buildings. They all had decorative elements – ledges, scrolls, carvings, or parapets.

All of these decorative elements would provide a spot for birds to rest and watch the world go by. I now suspect that the mesh is to prevent birds –
bird netting. I am not sure I share the marketing spin that it is discreet.

It got me thinking that this might well be an argument for architects and designers to avoid decorative details on building facades, especially in port cities where the extent of birds may be greater.

That then got me worried that the flat plain glass façades that  are so prominent in the buildings of today are likely to continue.

‘I have seen the future and it is of regular surface with no features’ does not really give much hope. Does it? Or is it just me?



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Paul’s Barber Shop

22/7/2016

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Maybe I am not alone.

Paul’s Barber Shop is at Dillon’s Cross in Cork. The telephone number on the shopfront has only six digits – we have had seven digits for many years now.

This gives me to suspect that the branding on the shop window post-dates the shopfront.

I wonder if there is another northside pedant out there and if he who pointed out the lack of the apostrophe. I wonder if he mentioned it before or after a haircut…..



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Minihane's Porch

21/7/2016

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I was in Skibbereen on Tuesday to say goodbye to Mary and spotted this sign.

For a few years now, I have been photographing streetsigns.

It probably started as a learning exercise as to the various options for different translations –
such as Avenue. It has continued with a bent as to spelling and anomalies in translation.

In that time, I do not think I have ever seen a ‘Porch’ named on the streetsign - until now.


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Dive Bombing

20/7/2016

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There may be a difference between the strategies of city based and coastal based seagulls.


Last week, I was enjoying a dirty black pint with my chips and sandwich at Murphy’s Bar at Brandon Pier - there is something extra tasty about a summer lunchtime pint.

Sitting there, us city dwellers saw for the first time dive-bombing seagulls.

They are possibly common and seen by nearly all but me. As new to me, I thought it warranted an upload even though it is not a sign (or is it) and especially even though I have yet to find out how to manipulate video to turn 90°.


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Another Extention

19/7/2016

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I suspect that there is only one ‘word’ who has provided a source for four separate blogs – that ‘word’ being ‘extention’.

This van was spotted in Tralee – so that makes two Kerry builders and two from Cork leading the campaign for an alternative spelling of ‘extension’ to be included in the dictionaries.

I promise that any future blogs on extension will include more than one ‘extention’ – so may take a while.


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Not All Progress is Good.

18/7/2016

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A while back, Donncha on Old of Cork Photos uploaded a series of images of Cork in 1987. The one that struck me was where the construction of the Multi-Storey Car Park at Marchants’ Quay was in progress – the shopping centre façade had not yet commenced.

I remember in 1986 working for a summer in a building with a window looking onto the construction site and spending quite some time watching the works. I was particularly impressed with one of the two tower cranes on site – it was on railway-type tracks and was able to move up and down the quay to the appropriate location as required.

Merchants’ Quay was regularly on my route home. Prior to the DeValera and Collins Bridges, St Patrick’s Bridge was the first available bridge to the north. Many times I passed the Shopping Centre and I do not think that I ever liked it.

Previously
I blogged about the streetscape photograph, predating the shopping centre, which hangs in Dan Lowry’s.

A few months back at the Special Irish Interest window sale held annually at the Irish Cancer Society shop, I managed to spot these images of Merchants’ Quay before the shopping centre when obviously some buildings were let to deteriorate in advance of the overall redevelopment – still happening today.

We have had the magnifying glass out and have managed to decipher some of the stores and branding including – Jack Corkery’s Pig & Whistle; The Universal; Mulcahy Hairdressers – there was a recollection of there being a barber there but the use of 'hairdresser 'explained the lack of blood and bandage pole.

I learned that a ‘
Kelvinator’ was a brand of fridge.

Could you imagine a city centre premises for Floor Cloth & Brush Manufacturers?

St Vincent’s Hostel was an imposing block.

Only 39p for King Size cigarettes. The vans with ESB and Astra Pumps branding.

I need to do more digging as to the two buildings at the Parnell Place end. It looks like QU_ _ _ HOTEL on the corner. We guessed DRYDOCK BAR but are unsure.

If you really want to see what passed for architectural merit in the 1980’s,
streetview will oblige. Me – I’ve seen it more than enough already.



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Surfer Humour

8/7/2016

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Thanks to Tadhg who took this photograph on his holidays – at Sandy Bay in The Maharees.

The modification to the message is very well done.


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For The City Is Made To Be Walked

7/7/2016

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WALKERS ARE PRACTIONERS OF THE CITY

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FOR THE CITY IS MADE TO BE WALKED

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BÍONN SIÚLACH SCÉALACH


Kruger has hit top of the charts this month.



It is still early in the month and there are not too many search topics bringing people to the home of my ramblings, here. The search topic topping the list is ‘kruger-gael siulach scealach’ – one of my posts on the family Kavanagh.


It reminded me that I had photographs of the entire
street art installation in Dublin that had posed a question. Reason enough to share.


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IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE ROAD YOU ARE WALKING START PAVING ANOTHER ONE

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Cork – not just a welcome for Corkonians

7/7/2016

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This week I have spotted a few new utility boxes painted around town by ReimagineCork, People’s Republic of Cork, and Alan Hurley with the Cope Foundation.

Enough of a reason for a blog post.

I have updated the slideshow.

Maybe a day will come when utility companies will have to engage artists to regularly paint the boxes that are a graffiti magnet otherwise.


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General Tom Barry - a Kerryman

5/7/2016

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I have spotted many plaques to General Tom Barry – where he lived, where he fought, and where he is buried.

One common denominator is that they are all in County Cork.

Last weekend, the daily updates from Stair na hÉireann listed the anniversary of the death of Tom Barry (
2nd July,1980 ) and also his birth (1st July, 1897). What I hadn’t realised was that the birth was in Co. Kerry.

The 1901 census confirms that
Thomas B. Barry, then 3 years old, was resident at house 35 in Langford in Killorglin, Co. Kerry. His mother is listed as head of house. His father is not mentioned on that form so I assumed that he may be at the R.I.C. barracks, where he then worked – retiring a few while later and returning with family to West Cork.

But the only other Thomas listed for
Killorglin that night was not his father –so maybe he did manage to opt out for a while. Or maybe I need to search further.

Reverting
to Google streetview, it appears that, unlike so many places in Co Kerry,

Killorglin has not erected a plaque to record the residency of the young Tom Barry.I hope to visit in the coming weeks and visit to confirm.

That is not to say that
Kerry is short of republican memorial plaques 

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Some Mother's Son & Opting Out

4/7/2016

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Last week was the centenary of the commencement of the Battle of the Somme. There were very many tweets on the matter. Many included CWGC headstones to those who died.

Many of the headstones are without the name of the deceased –
Soldier of The Great War; an Irish Soldier of The Great War; Eight Soldiers of The Great War; A Comrade in Arms Known but to God; and, A Soldier of the Great War Known Unto God.

With so many deaths in the first day and days of the Battle of the Somme, recording the names of locations of all of the deceased fell back in priority behind fighting and staying alive.

These unknown deceased reminded me of this headstone that I spotted in Bandon – to a man who died 85 years later. A man who died anonymous to those who found and buried him.

I remember the most recent census in April. I was in Kerry that weekend for my converstional Irish break. I did think, seriously, of staying late and driving through the night so that I would not have resided in any house and so could avoid the census.

Maybe it was a sense of frustration as to over regulation, classification numbers and passwords. Maybe it was a desire to just step off the Magic Roundabout for a little while.

In 1999, it was some achievement to survive unknown to those. Just thing of all transactions that require identification – bank accounts; state payments (pension; social welfare); even employment.

That Mother’s Son was a smart man to remain unknown.

I am not sure that I would like to stay off the Magic Roundabout for too long but it would be nice to experience it, to be the man from
God Knows Where.

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First in the Graveyard

3/7/2016

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Times past were most definitely different to society today. Recently I was reminded of this in my reading and in a visit to a cemetery.

Adjacent to the wall
of St Patrick’s Church cemetery in Bandon is a headstone which records the first burial in the cemetery. When I read the headstone, I was thinking that the power of the church over its community in 1881 was greater than today.

 It was probably a great honour to be the first burial. I would not be surprised if there was a payment to the parish priest, over and above burial fee, for such an honour.

 A few weeks back, I finished The Apprentice by Éamon Kelly, the seanachie, He recounted details of having to pay the parish priest for a pew in the church and also an annual rental fee.

If a parishioner did not pay, they were welcome in God’s church but only to stand or kneel at the back.

Last week a tweet from
GraveyardDective about a plaque recording the first burial in a cemetery reminded me of the Bandon headstone.

Leaving the graveyard that day, I made a mental note to visit some newer graveyards to check whether they record the first burial. I suspect not. I also expect that the market willing to pay a premium for being the first is low – but I could well be wrong.

 

“We didn’t have a family pew in the church. They were for the well-to-do farmers, shopkeepers and teachers, who could afford to buy a new pew and pay the yearly rent for it. Some of those seats were never full, yet outsiders never sat in them and I don’t think they would be welcome. The family pew was private property in a public place. One year the parish priest put up the rental and family, thinking the charge was dear enough, refused to pay. The parish priest ordered them out of the seat. They refused and the priest had the pew taken out and put behind the church, where in the end it rotted. The family never went to Mass in that church again during the parish priest’s reign, but drove all of the way to the friary in town. They never spoke to the parish priest after. Even when he came to the stations in their house they didn’t speak, because they felt that he had humiliated them before their neighbours and friends.  There was a large space behind the seats and those of little property or none stood or knelt there, the men on the gospel side and the women at the side of the epistle. It was strange that among the poor there was segregation, while in the pews husbands sat with their wives.”
The Apprentice – Éamon Kelly (b. 1914)

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Engraved with Affection

2/7/2016

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IN MEMORY OF ANNIE McCARTHY NOONAN, DUNMANWAY, DIED 8 - 9 - 1842 ERECTED BY HER SON JAMES, R.I.P.


I spotted this headstone a while back at St. Bartholomew’s in Kinneigh –
a cemetery that has already prompted more than one blog post
.

This headstone prompted an array of thoughts. It reminded of the name plaque on the
Old Youghal Road – was the carver still in apprenticeship?

I have enjoyed
the tweets from @PoorFrankRaw where he notes some errors cast in stone – setting out and spelling. But I do not think this headstone is in the same category.

My first though upon seeing the memorial was to be brought back to early school days with the red and blue lined paper to ensure that my pencil written letters were of reasonable consistent size – a skill that did not stay very long.

Tom Spalding pointed out that
the sign at Tuckey Street is similarly scored with marker lines – but no way as obvious as this.

The romantic in me took over and convinced that James not only erected the headstone but, not for reasons of economics but for affection and pride, that James took lessons and decided to make his first carving in stone.

The carving had the marker lines very prominent. The carving is not an example of how to set out text. It is, however, a carving that outlived him and still shows the depth of his affection for his mother.

Maybe. Maybe not.

I prefer the maybe.


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Making a Balls of it

1/7/2016

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BALLUSTRADE - BALUSTRADE
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Yet again, the construction sector comes up trumps – signwriting on a van demanding another blog entry.

For once,
my three online dictionaries are in agreement and I am standing behind the same balustrade.

Some words are pronounced differently in Cork to elsewhere - committee (or ‘comet’ ‘tee’) being one. It may be that Carrigtwohill is striking out and starting its own spelling regime.

Or maybe it is just a balls-up.

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    From Cork.

    Old enough to have more sense - theoretically at least.

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