Well I hope you made the most of the awesome weather we were blessed with this past week coz it is most certainly gone and long gone according to the forecast. Time to resort back to indoor forms of entertainment, soggy ends of jeans, damp socks, umbrellas and checking Ryanair for the price of a flight to Barcelona.
In the immortal words of Pat Shortt, “sure twud be a lovely country if we could only roof it”.
I like to buy Irish if I can, especially when it comes to food stuffs. My dad is a dairy farmer & from that background alone I have an appreciation of the importance of supporting local food producers. Ireland produces some fantastic food from beef to cheese and all sorts in besides. This and the fact that one of Ireland’s biggest retailers, Dunnes Stores, have been advertising with the slogan “the difference is, we’re Irish” for the past while has irked me on examination of some of my purchases there recently.
Garlic comes from China. Mangetout (which I had to chuck due to some kind of caterpillar having made the journey within) came from Kenya. Herbs came from Thailand. I wouldn’t have questioned the origin of the garlic in particular had it not been for the awful quality of it.
I’m not naive enough to expect or presume that because Dunnes Stores is an Irish retailer using “Irishness” as a means of attracting Irish consumers that they should stock only Irish goods. It’s impossible. But I can’t help but question why more fresh products such as the ones specified above are not of Irish origin. Is it really cheaper & easier to ship the stuff from the other side of the earth? Is it all down to seasonal availability?
Farmers markets have taken off around the country in the last few years including in my hometown of Ballyvaughan and on a whole they appear to be thriving. It’s of fantastic benefit to all involved – the producers, the consumers and the community. There’s a list of all the Farmers Markets here on the Bord Bia website. If you haven’t been before then I’d say give it a try & you’ll probably never want to set foot in Dunnes, Tesco or M&S ever again.
And indeed, in the immortal words of Bon Jovi, living on a prayer. Half of 2009 has disappeared already. Insane. I was at home in Clare for the weekend & as the peacefulness of the place often allows, I had some much-required head-clearning time & space.
I thought back over resolutions made at the start of the year. I’ve never been very good at keeping them but I was pretty determined to do my best this year. It would appear I’m not doing too badly but could do with a mid-way kick up the rear to make sure I get the remainder to completion.
I’m hoping that buy throwing them out into the great wide open internet that those I encounter over the next while will bug me about one or two of them from time to time. Here’s the list (in no particular order):
Unbelievable, shocking & really upsetting. I can’t believe the response of our Government.
Lately, I’ve been falling back in love with photography. Not that we ever fell out, just drifted apart for a while if you will.
I’ve always had an interest in it. I bought my first camera when I was about 10, a purple 110mm which I adored & took everywhere with me. When that broke (and I was too) I used 35mm disposables. Friends got me a Kodak APS with zoom (fancy!) for my 18th birthday from which I have loads of photos stashed away at home in Clare. My parents bought me the digital one I have now for my 21st and it’s pretty decent as compact digitals go. And now I want to upgrade again.
So - what & where should I be looking at for an entry level D-SLR? I’ve had a hankering for one for ages but I don’t spend large amounts of money on gadgets unless I’m going to put them to use. The reason I think that I don’t print photos any more is because the camera I have just isn’t delivering the level of quality I can be happy to frame or stick on my wall & I really want to start printing photos again.
Lately I came across this box of photos & found the contact sheet whereon a photo of 2 people very dear to my heart peered out. I really want to get a copy of it printed so that’s my next challenge to you photographers & enthusiasts - where (in Dublin preferrably) can I take my APS film to get decent prints?
It’s hard to beat stumbling over a box such as the one above and rooting through it to find all sorts of gems (& bombs of course) while taking a little trip down memory lane. It’s a wonderful social thing too – when visiting a friend lately I was handed a photo album for the first time in ages & thumbing through it sparked all sorts of weird, wondeful & unexpected little conversations that only pictures could inspire.
All your thoughts & advice much appreciated – see you on a photowalk some time soon I hope 