Street Furniture Standoff

Street furniture fascinates me in all its forms. I suppose most people (quite sensibly) take it all for granted, not giving much thought to the various benches and posts and myriad other features that they pass by on a daily basis, but imagine how naked a town would be without street furniture –and how dull! I've written before about how much street furniture defines a country or city and I never tire of observing the creativity and individuality. of the essentially mundane. The postbox here may look familiar in shape bearing an uncanny resemblance to the bright red ones in England. Indeed this would have been red long ago, but this is Ireland, and so they were painted green when the country gained its independence (a practical way to save money rather than having to redesign and replace them entirely). As for the red and yellow "box", I'm not quite sure what that is, but it is certainly striking, a bit like a vast slice of layer cake left on the pavement, being perused by the postbox. The quartet is completed by the lanky signpost and the short, lowly wooden bollard. I like all the colours here (Cork is a surprisingly colourful place) and the sense of emptiness -at least of people; here the various items of street furniture can bask in their own sense of purpose.

Location: Cork, Ireland

Coloured Windows

There's something quite reminiscent of Piet Mondrian in this assembly of coloured glass window panes in a side-street of Dublin. But there's an eclectic mix of textures too, or rather types of glass that is far from the clean lines of the De Stijl movement and perhaps more in keeping with Irish individualism. The colours are pleasing, in a chocolate box sort of way, the allure definitely inviting –one is drawn to these windows as much to discover what is beyond as to admire them in their own right. By day such windows are perhaps merely quaint; by night they become magical. I had only my trusty pocket camera with me when I passed by here, and that is never brilliant for nighttime shots, but I did by best with what I had, wishing I had a camera that allowed a longer exposure time and greater sharpness; yet sometimes the moment is enough; the world doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Dublin Street

Whenever I used to imagine what Dublin was like, I conjured up in my mind a picture of narrow, cobble-stoned streets with quaint old lamp posts and bicycles –and always in black and white. Perhaps this image came to me from some painting I'd once seen, or (more probably) some book I'd read; maybe I'd been influenced by an old film. When I finally got to visit Dublin, I was delighted to find parts of it that corresponded totally with those pictures in my mind. Dublin is, of course, a lot more besides and a city of myriad views, but I was drawn to streets like this as a moth is drawn to a lamp. And talking of lamps, what is it about old lampposts that fill streets with dignity and character where modern ones merely seem to be a necessary eyesore! The only thing missing here is people –this was early on a quiet morning; the kind of quiet morning that is the inevitable tailpiece to a lively Dublin evening –is there any other kind?! Location: Dublin, Ireland