Walking Commentary
Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023
Lichens are generally overlooked as you pass along the coast or visit graveyards or walk among trees. They cover 6% of the earth’s land surfaces and they are press-ganged into a range of uses. Reindeer and caribou devour prodigious amounts of them. Humans consume vast quantities for perfumes, dyes, soaps and tinder.
Éigse na Brídeoige is a cultural festival which takes place in South Kerry every year during the first weekend in February. It is intended as a celebration of the Brídeog/Biddy tradition celebrating Saint Bridget’s day, which is also a celebration of the coming of spring, regeneration and growth. The events are spread over various centres in the Gaeltacht areas of Iveragh.
We excite our olfactory senses each time we open a spice jar. This cook’s book documents some of the spices and flavourings I found exciting in our kitchen. These photographs of latent ingredients can’t convey the fragrances but your recognition of them may evoke their aromas.
I bought artificial memories of a disturbing Thursday in Dublin.
An old building. Not beyond use. Ripe for repurposing. I can’t see its future, I’m uncertain about its past. Its present is unprepossessing yet lures me to it. Boarded up with finger holes, ply paint peeled. I thought they were artworks when I drove past: clever silhouettes of cityscapes, real or imagined. Closer inspection revealed no hint of intelligent design. But now that I’ve told you what I thought, maybe you’ll understand why I decided to publish my photographs of them.
The Real Map of Ireland depicts Ireland’s marine territory of some 900,000 km2. Ten times the size of the island of Ireland, it’s barely known yet already overfished. The largest industrial scale Kelp Extraction Licence ever issued in Irish or British waters may soon yield animal-care products and nutraceuticals. Is Kelp deforestation of Bantry Bay akin to rainforest destruction elsewhere?
