Walk, run, swim, jump
Posted on November 11, 2006
Filed Under Shout Out, architecture, art, culture, design, fauna, flora, history, nature, photography, review | Comments Off
My god, wasn’t it windy today?
I hope all the seafarers made it home safely today.
It was doubly so for me because it’s been in the back of my mind for some time to do the Dublin City Marathon next year. It’s run every October Bank Holiday weekend in, err, Dublin so I’ve about eleven months to prepare. The last time I ‘jogged’ was many moons ago. A long time ago, I used to be a competitive swimmer and off-season training meant regular five mile runs at 6.00am. My legs always had a mind of their own so, back in the day, my legs would keep trying to ‘run‘ after the jog was over. It made walking a decidedly odd experience for an hour or so after the run.
Since then, I’ve always wondered if my knees were ‘up to it‘ since most of my competitive sports were water-based. I swam and played water polo at representative level. This is true but can’t you tell I was working/bullshitting on my CV yesterday! I did play basketball and badminton as well but they were short adventures. I was good at basketball but not so good at being a team player and badminton is, well, badminton. And since age has withered me (and, yes, I do/did drive to the corner shop), I thought it prudent to try to exert myself for a couple of hours to see if the knees would hold up.
Today, therefore, was D-Day for a three hour walk. Or maybe, considering the day, a remembrance day to see if the legs still knew how to work. I set off on foot with my shiny new camera and enough money for a pint(s) of beer. And just in case – the taxi fare home!
My eventual destination was to be the new-ish museum in Collins Barracks, the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History*. I don’t have any nice photos of the museum since ‘the man‘ doesn’t allow it. I ventured through Smithfield on my way there so the photo you see was taken in Smithfield square. I’m quite proud of it. The massive light fixtures, I’m reliably told, are meant to signify the sailboats of the original Vikings who settled in the area over a thousand years ago and established Dubh Linn (Irish/Gaelic for, I think, ‘The Black Ford’).
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The museum was really worth the effort to visit it. Even though I had to walk along Benburb Street (red light district), I kept my eyes closed and my hands out of my pockets (honest!). I think it’s the best museum that the Irish State has to offer at the moment. It’s quite large (actually very large) so a couple of visits would probably be necessary. What I like about it is that it’s not triumphalist, there’s no snobbish text (which can cut both ways) and it’s family friendly. The exhibits are simply a snapshot of Irish life, culture and tradecraft over the past few hundred years. It’s simple, honest, and all the better for it.
I also liked the fact that it was family friendly. One section had guns and other militaria. The kids started screaming, ‘guns, guns, look at the guns‘. And the hapless Dads had to calm them down, contextualise what guns were about, and teach them a little bit about Irish history. You can be sure McDonalds would be getting their business that day!
One criticism I have, and it’s rather serious considering how many civil servants are working there, is that the place needs a good clean. The glass cabinets holding the exhibits were pretty mucky on the outside (which is understandable) but to have dirty glass shelves and ‘debris’ inside the cabinets is not so understandable. Some of the exhibits are necessarily low-light & gloomy so having clean displays internally would be important, IHMO, to clearly see the exhibit and accompanying text.
My journey home took me through Blessington Basin. Red Mum (another Dublin blogger – worth a visit) has written and photographed it a fair bit. Google her for more info. Blessington Basin is one of the hidden gems in Dublin so I’m not going to tell you where it is! A local told me there’s several herons who live there and ‘he’s the tame one‘. Tame! More like comatose. I spent a lot of time shivering, staring at the stupid bird through the camera lenses, finger poised, waiting for it to do something. But it didn’t. Don’t you just hate it when animals don’t do what they’re told!
As I was leaving the Basin to walk (yes, I was still walking!) through to Phibsboro, I saw this fruit/seed pod on Blessington Basin avenue. I’m calling it an avenue even though I’m pretty sure us Northsiders are not allowed to have avenues north of the Liffey. Gives us ideas above our station, don’t ya know! And I’m calling the seed an acorn even though I’ve really no idea what it is. Answers on a postcard please. Or email. Or whatever.
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Good night and god bless.
—————postscript——————-
*National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History
For the first time in the history of the organization the entire national reserve collections of silver, glass and oriental collections as well as a fraction of the Museum’s Ceramics collection are on view in this new visible storage facility.
The National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History is home to a wide range of objects which include weaponry, furniture, silver, ceramics and glassware, as well as examples of folklife and costume. The exhibitions have been designed in innovative and contemporary galleries. The Fonthill Vase, a Chinese porcelain vase made about 1300 A.D., is one of the rarest pieces in the museum. The William Smith O’ Brien Gold Cup, the Eileen Gray chrome table and the Lord Chancellor’s Mace are also among the highlights.
