Friday 31 July 2009

"Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett 1990

Robert Ballagh, born in Dublin in 1943 is one of Ireland's leading artists, creating iconic painting and graphic design works. As a graphic designer he has created over 60 stamps for An Post/Irish Post Office. ( Check out www.irishstamps.ie ).Thanks entirely to Marie and Postcard Friendship Friday I have rediscovered the Philatelic Shop inside the General Post Office in Dublin. There are many treasures in there to excite a Collector, even an amateur one like me - beautiful stamps, postcards and even mint special edition coins. I was browsing in there this week and came across a special issue of 6 postcards by Robert Ballagh first published in 2006 as part of an exhibition of stamp design, and for PFF this week I am featuring 2 of those cards. And being Irish, "to be sure to be sure" I bought two sets of the 6 postcard, postage paid issues, one for myself and...
I have decided to mail/post the six cards in the second set - one each to the first six people to send me an email (see under "view my complete profile) with the heading Robert Ballagh and their name & address - anywhere in the world! Hope you will like them!
Well, after all that - It's FRIDAY - time to board the postal express piloted by the lovely Marie who will bring you on a whirlwind tour around the world of Postcard Friendship Friday - fasten your seat belts folks!

Ballinasloe Horse Fair 1987

Posted by Picasa

Sunday 26 July 2009

Summer in Dublin (part 2)

Here are some images of Dublin , (most of which I featured in my blogs over the past few months) accompanied by Bagatelle's anthem "Summer in Dublin".

Friday 24 July 2009

From Pillar to Post

A pillar box is described as a freestanding post(Mail) box in the UK and Ireland and Anthony Trollope the 19th century novelist is credited with their introduction. Before he found fame as a writer he worked for the Post Office, starting in 1834 in England. Seven years later, with his career in the doldrums, he applied for a position as a Surveyor's clerk with the Irish Post Office. He found more success here and by 1844 he had risen to become the Assistant Surveyor for the Southern District.
His first novel "The Macdermots of Ballycloran", was published in 1847, featuring events and characters inspired by his time in Ireland. Literary success came in 1855 with the publication of "The Warden", the first of a six-novel sequence collectively known as "The Chronicles of Barsetshire".
Trollope continued to flourish in his postal career and he was sent by the Post Office to the Channel Islands to ascertain what could be done about the problem of collecting the mail on the Islands because of irregular sailing times by the Royal Mail packet boats due to bad weather and tides. His recommendation was to employ a device he may have seen in use in Paris - a "letter-receiving pillar". The rest as they say is history!
He left the Post Office in 1867 and when he failed to win a seat in Parliament the following year he devoted himself to literature, producing the book which many consider to be his masterpiece, "The Way We Live Now", in 1875, just seven years before his death in 1882. The book was a scathing satire on the dishonesty and rampant greed Trollope saw all around him.
An Post, the Irish Post Office issued the stamp featured in my collage in June of this year to honour Anthony Trollope. The stamp is based on an albumen print created by Julia Cameron in 1864 and costs 82 cents.(for more on Irish stamps www.irishstamps.ie)
The pillar boxes in my collage are from left to right: A red box from Sion Mills, a small village in County Tyrone, a yellow box from Mazarrón in Espana and a green box (complete with Granny-flat extension) from Clontarf in Dublin.

And what has all that got to do with the price of eggs? Well it IS Friday and that can only mean ONE thing - Postcard Friendship Friday. The lovely Marie is the host, do drop in to view some really fun "posts"and postcards from around the globe.

Thursday 23 July 2009

Wednesday 22 July 2009

St Mary of the Angels

Posted by Picasa

Eaglais (Church)

Today I was passing St Mary of the Angels in Church Street, Dublin 7 and decided to take a few photos. Later I made a short video for YouTube and added a song called Ave Maria by one of my favourite singers, Katherine Jenkins.
OK - it won't win any prizes at Cannes, but hey it's not bad for a first attempt?

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Tour de ...

...Phoenix Park
As the Tour de France - the world's greatest cycling sporting event enters it's final week these 2 riders were taking it at a more leisurely pace on one of the back roads in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

Monday 20 July 2009

The View From City Hall

Looking down Parliament Street....
People hurrying, scurrying....
Where are they going?

Thursday 16 July 2009

Is it a Bike or is it ...

...a Plane?
Henry Street (Sráid Anraí) never disappoints me! It is one of two main pedestrianized shopping streets in Dublin, the other being Grafton Street. I always bring my Lumix if I'm walking through there because I am bound to see something unusual or interesting and today I came across this bicycle chained to a lamppost.
They say that once you learn to ride a bike it stays with you for life, but I'm not sure if I'd chance this one after a few years absence from Tour de France. It reminded me of those daft looking airplanes that you might see on The Discovery Channel and you'd ask yourself, "Can that thing fly?" Same designer?