WARNING! Don't sit here for too long...

Well, not for more than a hundred years anyway!
There is a small park in front of the King's Inn's building near where I live and there are some beautiful mature trees growing there. But beware - I think they are carnivorous (meat-eating). Certainly the one in my photo collage is devouring the cast iron bench in front of it - and that's just for starters). It has probably taken decades - maybe even a century for the tree to "gobble" up the bench, but year after year it eats away at it.
There are many species of "meat-eating" plants which attract and then trap their prey as I learned from my good friend Protege's blog (Dangerous Beauties - Jan 11, 2010) - but a vampire TREE?
You don't see that everyday!

Almost...

Although Spring is officially almost one month away already there are positive signs appearing that Winter is losing it's grip. I took the first photo in my collage in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham last week (top left). At the time it was just a casual photo but when I uploaded it to my PC today I discovered that there were green buds appearing on the tree. But I needed more proof so I took a stroll to the Blessington Basin in Phibsboro this evening and yes I found more green buds. In my third photo (clockwise) a lone pansy has appeared in the window box at the front of my house. The recent frost and snow decimated all my flowers but somehow this pansy has made a miraculous comeback. It's looking worse for wear but holding it's head high and almost shouting at Winter to go away. And at Blessington Basin I also found it's little primrose cousin also pushing it's head up proudly and singing the praises of Spring. These welcome flowers must be Celtic Warriors because in the Celtic tradition Spring actually commences just now after "Imbolc" in the first week of February.

SEAT Marbella

During my recent visit to Espana I came across this little SEAT car in Mazarrón and I couldn't resist snapping it, much to the dismay of passersby who could not understand how anyone would be even remotely interested in a battered old banger which had obviously seen better days. SEAT(Sociedad Espanola de Automóviles de Turismo) is the Spanish national car manufacturer and although now part of the Volkswagen group the company was originally founded in 1950 with assistance from Italian car giant Fiat. Following a disagreement with Fiat over lack of investment in the 1980's however the link was severed and this car which began life as a Fiat/SEAT Panda from 1980 to 1986 was rebadged as a SEAT Marbella from 1986 to 1998. SEAT made some changes to the body style but it still looks distinctively like a Panda. We can actually see the first hint of aerodynamics creeping into the design of this old SEAT model.

Marbella Here We Come

SEAT had a habit of naming their cars after Spanish cities or places (Córdoba, Ibiza, Málaga, Toledo, etc.,) and this modest little coche (car in Spanish) got named after the resort town of Marbella in southern Costa del Sol which is a millionaires' playground and a haunt for the rich and famous. A hint at irony from SEAT?

Maja

 

My good friend Maja from Bialystok in Polska (Poland) has just launched her own line of unique hand made fashion accessories. Her creations are available from two outlets in Warzaw but hopefully will also be available online very soon. For more information visit Maja's blog.

(photo by En & Maja)

The CHQ Building

 

The CHQ Building on the banks of the river Liffey in Dublin's Docklands houses a range of quality retail outlets and restaurants (including a Starbuck's - good news for moi!). The building dates from 1820 and was designed by the Scottish Engineer John Rennie. It was originally a wine and tobacco warehouse and was used as a venue to welcome back soldiers from the Crimean war, but later fell into disrepair. But now it has been beautifully restored and although very modern it still retains the beauty of the original John Rennie design.

The CHQ Building