Dublin Diversions - Day 3 - Wednesday 21st September 2016 - E.D.W.A.R.D. & Grace Jones.

Today has been a day of signs.  Strange messages misinterpreted by my to give them extra piquancy.  For example, a road sign flashed up that today was Project E.D.W.A.R.D. and briefly explained that it is a European initiative to hopefully encourage zero road casualties on this date (the abbreviation stands for European Day Without A Road Death).  Rather ironically, around the corner a couple of drunken blokes were pushing each other in the direction of the traffic.  I suspect that the initiative will fail (sadly).

Anyhow, I woke up and decided to upgrade my 24 hour CitySightseeing ticket to a 48 hour one as I realised how far the Guinness Storehouse and Phoenix Park are from anywhere else.  I was successful and was treated to a driver who also provided his own commentary, which I greatly preferred to the buses with the additional guides with their malfunctioning microphones.  History lessons offered through white noise and bad jokes.

I went to the Guinness Storehouse first and was amazed how a fairly complex process had been rendered down to its smallest details.  Visitors were even shown what the ingredients look like.  The building was strikingly modern and I enjoyed the floor dedicated to Guinness advertising and the area devoted to alcohol awareness.  Amongst the many useful skills I could have learnt, one section provided you with the opportunity to pour your own pint of Guinness.  If you succeeded in pouring the perfect pint, they provided you with a certificate.  I left this challenge alone but I did drink a pint of Guinness upstairs at 11 am.  Alcohol awareness clearly did not impede my need to experiment.

Upon leaving the Guinness Storehouse, I got back on a bus and headed out of the main city centre again.  The bus went past the Kilmainham Gaol and as the next timed admission was 2.30 pm, I decided to give it a miss (I can always come back).  Instead, I went to the Zoo in Phoenix Park.

As I have got older, I have grown to appreciate zoos for their work with endangered species but I still find it hard to justify depressed animals and the many closed sections.  I did enjoy seeing lots of herons for some reason.  Also I have never seen so many vending machines and toilets in a public attraction ever.

Phoenix Park seems enormous, so I really only visited the Zoo.  It would take hours to negotiate the park.

Back on the bus, I headed back into town then wandered around looking for somewhere to eat.  I am still not the most confident solo diner, so I choose my eating establishment carefully.  I chose a steak restaurant that was actually very good.  The staff also treated me well, which I still do not assume is a given.

I then wandered some more before going to my first fringe production of the night at the New Theatre.  The first production being by the guy whose play I saw on my first night in Dublin (also included material by Maria Black).  He was in this one though. 'Briseis After The Black' was a very strange and emotional play within a play, exploring a play ('Briseis') by the playwright (Maria Black) who committed suicide and her relationships.  Dylan Coburn Gray uses a different guest female performer each performance who has not rehearsed the show with him in advance.  Her lines are written on props including books and cereal boxes.  Dylan Coburn Gray instructed her occasionally whilst the performance continued.  It feels well structured with just a slight element of spontaneity thrown into the mix.  Probably the most original and engaging performance I have seen on the fringe scene for some time.

The second performance which I attended after walking around in torrential rain for a couple of hours (I did have the sense to pop in a cafe, which was located in a Spar to my utter amazement) was staged in a peculiar environment and required the audience to go up several flights of stairs and sit on the floor.  'Black Pitch Pitch Black' was an acrobatic performance with a leaning towards science.  The female performer (Ria Murphy) manipulating her body around long black silk material suspended from the ceiling and acting around scientific instruments such as test tubes and a gramophone, which was also suspended in mid air.  The performance had a repetitious quality about it, which perfectly suited the theme of the play, the pitch stop experiment.  Well worth seeing.

After this performance ended, I headed back to the hotel (getting lost as ever) past the Olympia Theatre where Grace Jones was completing the first of two concerts there.  Both had sold out. Having seen her perform before, she is an energetic performer.  She spent most of the gig I saw spinning a hula hoop.

My journey back to the hotel was as eventful as ever.  Alcohol and binge drinking definitely seem to be a problem and homelessness is equally prevalent in Dublin as it is in London today sadly.

                                                                                             Barry Watt - 21st September 2016.

Photographs.

Yep, Guinness, more popular in Dublin than tea (perhaps!)

Very impressive sculpture in the Guinness Storehouse based on a pint of the eponymous beverage.

Odd section in the Guinness Storehouse giving useful information about alcohol and its use/abuse.

Old advertisement for Guinness.

First Christmas tree I have seen this year in the shop in the Guinness Storehouse.

I believe this exhibit was near the toilets.  You have to guess the animal that has produced this faeces.  There were various examples.

Happy Lion.

Wee Herons keeping an eye on the Zoo.

This sunflower and ram are not real.  Honestly!

Afterword.

Project E.D.W.A.R.D. was mentioned on various websites.  I just want to post a link to one of them in case anyone thinks I am pulling their leg!

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=18853

City Sightseeing's website again in case you are interested:

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/

Guinness Storehouse's website is here.  Entry includes a pint and a dinky little glass of Guinness if you want them:

https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en

Kilmainham Gaol was one of the attractions I missed this time around but here's their website if you want it:

http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/

Dublin Zoo is well worth a visit and I did enjoy seeing the animal excrement:

http://www.dublinzoo.ie/

The New Theatre is a theatre behind a bookshop and stages several interesting plays:

http://www.thenewtheatre.com/tnt_php/scripts/page/home.php

'Briseis After The Black' is described on this weblink but sadly, I can find very little information about Maria Black and 'Briseis', her play.

http://www.fringefest.com/festival/whats-on/briseis-after-the-black

Aerial Cirque where 'Black Pitch Pitch Black' was staged is based at 10 Exchequer Street in Dublin and seems to offer courses in acrobatics and circus skills, in addition to shows:

http://aerialcirque.org/about/

For more information on 'Black Pitch Pitch Black':

http://www.fringefest.com/festival/whats-on/black-pitch-pitch-black

The Olympia Theatre seems to be quite a popular venue:

http://www.olympia.ie/

All of the Guinness photos are of course, copyright to their respective copyright holders and Guinness should be consumed responsibly.

                                                                                                                           BW

   

Dublin Diversions - Day 2 - Tuesday 20th September 2016 - The Crack Shows.

I arose in time for breakfast in the hotel, which was the usual feeding frenzy.  Men and women anxiously piling up their plates from the buffet or being served by kitchen staff, who fail to keep the toaster popping with the regularity that the gannets require.  Still, I for one, appreciated the fare on offer.  Not least, the totally unexpected Morrissey track performing in the background that wasn't a Smiths' number.

Then back to my room, digesting a small portion of 'Catch-22' to get me in the mood for a day's sightseeing.

I left the hotel around 9 am, eager to embark on the City Sightseeing bus tour, on account of the fact that you can hop on and off (although, the hopping off could involve a thirty minute wait, but hey, I am on holiday).  As I sat on top of the bus experiencing a pretty chilly Tuesday morning, I witnessed the passage of a number of buildings I saw last night.  Most notably, the Docklands' buildings that actually look more impressive in the dark (but don't tell them!)  Also informed by the guide that tickets for Kilmainham Gaol which I am half tempted to see, should be purchased online before visiting (although when we passed the Gaol later, a member of staff indicated to the bus driver that tickets were available).  Also prior to this, I saw the exterior of the Guinness Storehouse, which is actually miles from anywhere, so I look forward to getting lost trying to find it tomorrow.

Eventually, I settled in Glasnevin Cemetery.  Basically, I joined the tour and was given a rundown of major Irish historical events.  Many of the most radical and controversial figures in Irish history were buried here including Roger Casement and Michael Collins.  It's odd how the guide made a number of references to the film based on Michael Collins.  Art regularly supplants real life and the past.

As uninteresting as my eating habits may appear, but in the spirit of James Joyce, I consumed a chocolate biscuit thing that was sublime.  A brick of a sugary treat, followed by a glass of hot chocolate that was actually hot.  This worked in its favour.  The little museum attached to the cemetery was also fascinating.  I now know more than I did about cremation (it's not a quick process).

Then after a bit of a wait, back on another bus where this guide lead us to Croke Park, regaling us with stories from his childhood.  His dad taking him to a hurling match there and the goalkeeper being hit in the groin area with a fast moving ball.  As the guide described, he 'can still hear the screams today'.  On passing a prison, the guide also informed his captive guests (well, you can't escape when the bus is moving) that two of his family work there and 'if we ever end up there and want a cell with a good looking prisoner, we should contact him' (well, I guess that's one thing I could do with the one available phone call).

Upon arriving back where I started on O'Connell Street, I visited the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane with its excellent reconstruction of Francis Bacon's studio.  He apparently enjoyed working in chaos but not filth.  Also I went to the Dublin Writers Museum after inadvertently entering the Irish Writers Centre next door and being looked at bemusedly by a member of staff (apparently a lot of people make the same mistake).  The Dublin Writers Museum feels like a museum out of time, right down to the note on the wall explaining why some of the exhibits have been removed owing to damp (or something like damp, judging by the damaged wall, they are not returning for the foreseeable future).  The museum has some interesting exhibits including early editions of Samuel Beckett's plays and James Joyce's novels.  Upstairs, there seems to be a weird children's section, which is either incomplete or alternatively, it is where damaged artifacts are stored (I couldn't make up my mind).

Now back at the hotel, waiting to go out to eat and see a play later at the Project Arts Centre.

I went out and walked to The Woollen Mills for a meal.  The first time I have eaten a meal in an establishment where I have been treated respectfully as a human being rather than a single guy.  The difference is palpable and makes the experience more fulfilling.  I ate sardines, coddle and a brownie. Coddle being essentially a bizarre stew of types including bacon, potatoes, onion and quite a bit of sausage.  All washed down with a ginger limeade.

I then wandered around Temple Bar, amazed by the music and shocked by the in-your-face scrounging, 'Can I speak to you?'  The sense of jollity and extreme parasitic need seem to grow in direct relation to each other.

Eventually, I ducked into the venue early (the Project Arts Centre) to resist the approaches.  'Traitor' was another new play by Shane Mac an Bhaird. This time based in two time periods, 2016 and 2026 and exploring a former activist's journey towards becoming a politician.  The other characters including Lizard, a man with the desire to totally alter his body through tattoos and body adornments.  Striving to become a living equation, seeking order in the face of chaos.  The play felt like Edward Bond with the same bizarre aftertaste.  Good but something missing to make it exceptional.  I think any play set in the future needs something to prevent it appearing like a cliche.  Dystopianism may be inevitable, but make it look different.

I started to get lost finding my way back, yet regained my bearings and arrived back at the hotel quite quickly.  Dublin feels slightly less safe than London, although I appreciate its energy and strangeness. Today, it reminds me of Berlin.  I think it is the politics and the pervasive cultural figures dominating the landscape and public consciousness.  In many cultures, the past stains the present.  Ireland is no exception to this unwritten rule.

                                                                                Barry Watt - 20th September 2016.

Photographs.

Bridge.

Bank of Ireland with bricked up windows.

Olympia Theatre.

O'Connell Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery.

The interior of O'Connell's crypt in Glasnevin Cemetery.  Apparently, if you touch his coffin it leads to good luck.  I left it alone.

Something about the star in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Croke Park.

Street art in Dublin.

The gloaming in Dublin.

Bright lights in Dublin.

Afterword.

'Catch-22' was written by Joseph Heller and is well worth a read.  It has been published by lots of companies.

City Sightseeing provide short bus tours in a number of countries.  Their website is below:

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/?gclid=CNH3qYqzuc8CFQQq0wode_oOvw

Kilmainham Gaol (which I went past but didn't visit) has a website:

http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/

Guinness Storehouse (See my future blog entry for more information about the joys of this attraction):

https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en?nst=0&gclid=cmgw_tqzuc8cfvw4gwodzsihmq

Glasnevin Cemetery is well worth a visit and is the final resting place of a number of prominent Irish figures such as Michael Collins:

http://www.glasnevinmuseum.ie/?gclid=COHr2au0uc8CFYgy0wodHk8NBA

The film, 'Michael Collins' starred Liam Neeson and was written and directed by Neil Jordan.  It was released in 1996.  It is still available on DVD and was distributed by Warner Brothers.

Croke Park is apparently one of the largest stadiums in Europe:

https://crokepark.ie/home

Dublin City Gallery  The Hugh Lane is worth visiting for the recreation of Francis Bacon's studio:

http://www.hughlane.ie/

Dublin Writers Museum is great fun but literally feels like a museum lost in time:

http://www.visitdublin.com/see-do/details/dublin-writers-museum/31258/#53.354366|-6.263985|16

Irish Writers Centre where tourists accidentally visit seems to offer lots of courses etc to people with a greater sense of direction:

http://irishwriterscentre.ie/

The Woollen Mills was a lovely restaurant and apparently, James Joyce worked in the building:

http://thewoollenmills.com/

The Project Arts Centre is a little bit like the Soho Theatre in London.  They present an eclectic range of productions and art events etc:

http://projectartscentre.ie/

'Traitor' is a play by Shane Mac an Bhaird (I provide the link for information but it is no longer on at the venue):

http://projectartscentre.ie/event/traitor/

                                                                                                                                           BW.