The Dublin Community Blog

When asked about the weather in Ireland, and particularly Dublin, the only fitting description would be Four Seasons in One Day. You leave the house in the morning with bright sunshine, by the time you reach your destination you will be soaked, only to be blown off the pavement on your way back.

Today, of course, was no different. I once again found myself stranded on O’Connell street, waiting for a bus that didn’t come while the rain was pooring down and umbrella’s were giving in all around me. The best remedy to save you on a moment like that is to quickly pop in to a Butler’s Chocolate and buy a hot chocolate. With or without cream but with the complimentary truffle, it is in my opinion the best method to temporarily escape everything cold and wet while the rain is still pooring down on your head.

While letting the truffle melt in your mouth by the hot chocolate you drink, you simply forget that you are getting soaked and are freezing.

Trust me, the bus will be there before you know it…..

I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Killers gig last night. I’m a big fan. However, I couldn’t help get the feeling after this gig that I could have stayed at home in a room and listened to both albums, loudly, back to back. When I spend eur60 on a ticket I want to be entertained. Whilst they sounded great and the crowd seemed to love them, I just felt they didn’t do anything more than whats on their albums – apart from a Joy Division number. The only thing Brandon said to the crowd was “hello Dublin, its windy”. I realise he’s not exactly Mr. Personality, but I just feel they could have done better.

What do you think? What should I expect for my eur60 quid ticket? Or should I just be grateful I got one?

I’m sure everyone here at Dublin Blog is exceedingly happy that the weekend’s rugby match went so well.  I’ve spoken to several Irish people who saw it as another small (though important) step towards reconciliation between Ireland and England. 

Leading up to the match, people that I spoke with seemed quite confident that there wouldn’t be any trouble from the few who might be tempted to use the occasion as an excuse for violence or thuggery.  One newspaper that I read while waiting for a haircut seemed to make a lot out of a few bloggers who were writing some inflammatory and politically incorrect nonsense.  Turns out, it was probably just the media doing their usual job at sensationalizing things for a good story. 

With that said, it also seems that there is still a measurable amount of tension in Irish society when it comes to the “occupied territoryâ€? in the North.  I’d never even heard that perspective from any Irish people until seeing that alleged blog quote in the newspaper.   My understanding as a foreigner is that most Irish people would prefer a united Ireland, but wouldn’t go as far as calling Northern Ireland “occupied territory.â€?  Does that sound about right, or am I more of a clueless Yankee than I realize?  (Be nice, now.)    =)

Here’s my favourite line in yesterday’s Irish Independent: “This was more than a rugby match between Ireland and England, it was a defiant symbol of new maturity and a confident battle cry that we will no longer be prisoners of the past.â€?  Despite my inability to fully understand and appreciate these historical and cultural dynamics, it’s good to see this kind positive, hope-filled perspective.

Umm, yay!!!

We here at the Dublin Community Blog are delighted and gracious to have been shortlisted in the Best Group Blog category for this years Irish Blog Awards which take place this coming Saturday, March 3rd in the Alexander Hotel in Dublin. Everyone in the group is delighted that the Blog has proven to be as popular and successful as it is, and we’d like to take a moment to thank each and every one of our readers, occasional and regular, for stopping by.

As always, we’re always on the lookout for new people to join up, so, if you’re interested in joining the team, drop a mail to write4us@dublinblog.ie and if you would like to see any changes or improvements to the blog, please do let us know too!

If you are intending to come along to the awards, you should register your intention here as I hear that places are filling up fast.

Plans are afoot to make Dublin a fairtrade city. A motion proposed by Councillor Eric Byrne seeks to make Dublin a fairtrade city. The campaign has been stepped up a notch with lots of flags being hoisted around the city promoting the campaign. You can’t miss them on O’Connell Street and just in case you have, here’s one I prepared earlier.
What can you do? Look for the many fairtrade products that are available all over the city, make sure your morning coffee is a fairtrade coffee, you can do lots. Find out more here.

Pardon the reflections, it was taken on a bus.

The Press Photographers Association of Ireland award winning photographs for 2006 are now on show in the Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar. Personally I love press photography. I feel it can be one of the truest forms of photography since a photographer covering a breaking news story rarely gets to plan, layout and stage photographs as they can in a studio. It’s all a matter of taste I suppose. Sure some amount of staging does take place and Photoshop is a wonderful tool, but I still get absorbed in the drama of press photographs.

Amoung the collection were a several photographs from last years Dublin riots, an interesting and I thought telling photograph from Charlie Haugheys funeral, a cringe worthy photograph of a horse with a broken leg and the compulsory collection of snaps from the Ryder Cup.

This exhibit is well worth a visit, admission is free and it runs from Feb 21st to March 4th.

After having lived a few years in an English town completely bereft of good coffee shops, I’ve been quite pleased with the number of cafés here in Dublin. In fact, according to an article in this month’s edition of The Dubliner magazine, cafés are on the rise in Ireland’s capital city by 25% in the last five years. The reason for this growth is likely the amount of disposable income in the pockets of Dubliners (ie., The Celtic Tiger).

The Dubliner article also argues that pubs are a fading cultural quirk of the past and lists the stereotypical elements of Dublin’s public houses: loud music, bad food (if any), and uncomfortable seating. Personally, I’ve been to plenty of great Irish pubs in Dublin with decent food and an environment quite conducive to socializing, but for some reason I don’t think The Dubliner is known for looking at the good things in Irish tradition.

So, what are the necessary ingredients to a great café? Ambiance, comfortable seating, quality food/drink, and friendly staff. This last ingredient is my own preference and is probably reinforced by a bad experience I had recently. (I realize the price for a take-away coffee is often lower, but I never thought I’d get kicked out of an empty café for taking a seat with my paper cup!)

So any other thoughts on Dublin’s burgeoning café culture? Ideas regarding what makes a successful café? The Dubliner brings up some other pertinent issues in a very balanced way, like the influence of globalization (hello, Starbucks!), and the efforts of pub owners to adapt to the café culture demand. Anybody else think that pubs would do well to adapt? Or would it be disastrous for pubs to try and take on a café atmosphere?

Interestingly enough, in regards to globalization, the magazine article is quick to point out that, while Starbucks gets a bad rap for its obnoxious saturation marketing, they’re not the only company with an eye on world domination. Ireland’s own O’Brien’s sandwich shops boast 300 outlets in 12 countries. (Okay, not exactly world domination, but impressive for a sandwich shop nonetheless.)

Ireland is known around the world for friendly people and good conversation, among other things. Seems to me that a thriving café scene only serves to uphold that reputation!

Damien Rice has announced that he’s playing a gig in Marlay Park on Saturday, August 25th. Tickets are currently on pre-sale to those on his mailing list who have received the pre-sale password, and tickets go on general sale priced EUR 49.50 from Ticketmaster and it’s outlets from 09:00 Friday morning.

Are you, like me, interested in Holga Photography? Unsure of what exactly Holga Photography is, check out this Wikipedia entry and this flickr pool.

Why am I mentioning this? Because, this weekend sees The Holga Group Show take place in The Monster Truck Gallery – if you’re about town between Thursday and Monday, I suggest you check it out.

Happy Pancake Tuesday all. Last year was the first time that I heard about Pancake Tuesday but I didn’t realise what it was until after the day. Today, my coworkers were talking about the pancakes and what they like on them. One coworker puts ice cream on her pancakes. Another likes lemon and stuff on them. They commented that they don’t like savory pancakes. Since I am not familiar with savory pancakes, I decided that I should clarify what type of food they were talking about. See, what I call pancakes are fluffy “American style” pancakes. What are typically called pancakes this side of the pond are what I know of as crepes. I asked them what they meant and one person rattled off the recipe. However, she used ounces so I have no idea what this value means (I use cups, teaspoons, etc). It sounded like what she made was somewhere between American pancakes and crepes.

Anyway, all this talk of pancakes made me wonder what Pancake Tuesday was. It is also known as Shrove Tuesday (or the end of Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday in the U.S.). According to Wikepedia, pancakes are associated with the day before Ash Wednesday because during Lent you fast for the 40 days and eat plain foods. Eggs, milk, and flour were considered rich ingredients.

So, two questions for the Dear Readers. One, what did you put on your pancakes. Two: are you giving up anything for Lent (is this part of the whole fasting concept?). I am giving up caffiene (unless it’s in chocolate) and alcohol. I don’t really know why I’m giving things up since I’m not Catholic and don’t have to give things up. It just seems like the thing to do in a Catholic country…