kimbofo

Dublin graffiti: a message to the Queen

 

Place: Pearse Street, Dublin.
Date: June 16, 2011.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

I spent four nights in Dublin last week, as a guest of Tourism Ireland, and every time I headed back to the hotel on Pearse Street, just up the road from the giant Garda station and across the way from Trinity College, I walked past this sign and had a little titter to myself. I know loads of Dubliners loved having the Queen pay a visit recently, but obviously someone wanted to make sure she knew the rules about parking!

Seals in Howth Harbour, Dublin

Place: Howth, north Dublin, Ireland.
Date: June 19, 2011.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

The last thing I expected to see when I made a quick visit to Howth, on Dublin's north coast, yesterday afternoon was seals frolicking in the harbour.

But there, right by the fishing trawlers and moored boats, were three seals delighting the crowds.

It felt a bit surreal to make eye contact with these amazing creatures, who did not seem at all afraid of the humans staring at them from the harbour wall. If anything they seemed to relish the attention and put on a bit of a show, jumping up out of the water, doing somersaults and deep dives, and blowing bubbles out of their noses.

I overheard one elderly lady claim that up until fairly recently you could buy a bag of fish for €3 to feed the seals. But the trade was stopped when it became clear that too many people were feeding the seals and the sea creatures were stacking on the weight.

From my internet research, I now see that the seals are pretty famous. They have their own Twitter feed and one of them, Sammy, has his own Facebook page!