Let's see where did my fabled journey begin.... Ah yes. Nassau street, leaving Trinity and popping into spar. No beggar but i'll get back to this. This Spar unfortunatly was out of Blue bear so on to the other one on Lower grafton street. This being the only part of grafton street that alows car's any more and isn't really a street but more a large bus stop and taxi rank that's a slip road off of the tiny area that is College Green(shockingly with no green at ground level). So it was on to that other spar. And lo and behold there was the Beggar who most frequently sits at the other spar. Now he was there last friday anyway and his face is increasingly familiar so i'll just say he's usually there... 2 blue bear for 1 euro. An australian tellar i think. No chit chat of course. I rarely do, that and i had 21st Century Breakdown blaring in one ear and would let it go. It's had at least 3 plays today and it takes nearly an hour. It's also not out till friday here, so god bless piracy.
Onward to college green. There was blue balloons at the bank for some reason. Not much to celebrate in this day and age.. Saw that cuveted white laptop again, so pretty "only" €399.
This be it:
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| From Blogger Pictures |
So the plan for my walking was to go all the way to camden street and buy popcorn kernels for a euro. I found out they were a euro in this particular health shop last year when i switched to meteor on my old phone, ill fated idea but saved a lot of money if not stumbled my fledgling new social life. So instead of turning at George's street as one would normally do i turned at central bank and past the "Bankers" pub and up past laser. I was heading for the "mercer's" junction beside the old hospital. I didn't exactly know where mercer's street ended up so i planed to walk as far as it went and cut across to the extensive mass of what i colloqually call "Camden street" despite several street's making up it's length. In the middle of mini-temple bar i spotted an "antique" gallary. Intrigued i stepped in to have a mosey. It turns out this was part of the Powerscourt centre that i had only discovered on friday, it's just the back of it. Some really interesting item's there. Like these two camera's:
Old style cam corder for the real enthusiast:
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| From Blogger Pictures |
And a classic extending lense type camera, i haven't a clue what it's called but it kicks ass:
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Then exiting onto the other side of the centre i waled up towards the "mercer's" junction beside the hospital and at the back of the St Stephen's green centre. I cut down the street with Mao's and notice the red building was apparently DIT's music campus, interesting. Then up Mercer's street where i saw this interesting shop:
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| From Blogger Pictures |
It was just on it's own in a block in an alley way with a few garage's. A nice little nook beside the Corpo flat's with a newer development just behind me.
Past the Corpo appartment blocks. Relics of the 60's and 70's but in good nic. Cleaned up from the last recession by the look of things. Then i end up on that avenue that leads into St Stephens Green South and i now knew the extent of Mercer's street. Instead of turning left at the bike shop on "camden street" i walked further west. A lot of these shops were ethnic or closed and the gaggle's of people passing were either football loving type stocky male's or innercity immigrant's with the odd student. Past DIT's main building i turned left. This is now the sight of an Optician centre. When i was a kid the footpath was thiner and a newsagent's was there. I remember it well because i lost my sister's favourite teddy bear there. Mr Lion. I took him into the shop and left him in the milk cabinet and then got into the car not realising. When my sister asked where he was my dad went back in. It had been maybe 10 minutes and somehow the bloody thing was gone! I was only 5 or so a the time and to this day i don't know how or why someone would steal a damaged bear that was sitting in a milk cabinet amoungst the butter and 2 litre bottle's. I'm still in trouble for that one....
After that i stopped outside the Meath hospital to find out that it was the Meath hospital. I knew it was some sort of medical facility but i hadn't a clue what it was. I still don't actually know what they do there but now i know where it is... I turned left onto a street just opposite the Hospital and saw yet another DIT campus and the what was either the back of the main one or a 2nd one opposite the other. I then saw the oddest little "park" which was actually a former church and it's graveyard. Interesting history but slightly disturbing that it was basically chock full of catholics and DIT student's, local's and a few business types were eating lunch ON GRAVES. This street according to Google Maps is Camden Row. I then crossed the street and entered a Wholesale warehouse. Basically a supply store for newsagent's and other business's. A large pack of 30 or so 500ml coke bottles for 13.99 which seemed good enough. I scouted around inside but unfortunatly couldn't find Jolt Cola amoungst the shelves, pity.
Then out again on this whistle stop exploration and i recognised where i was. This was the back of the place where Emily played their last gig. For the life of me i can't remember the name of it, the Village or something, i don't really care. But the graffiti in the alley way had changed and these two mural's where there:
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| From Blogger Pictures |
I couldn't capture all of that one but it was interesting none-the-less.
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Who says graffiti can't be educational....
Then onto the real Camden street. In fact according to google maps this stretch is neither "lower" Camden street nor "upper" Camden street, its an in-between sort of area. I eventually found the shop i was looking for. The secondary door was locked. In the main door then. OH dear god no. Health freak yuppies. Nearly 20 of them queueing orderly in the middle of a very narrow shop. I wanted to jump through the crew and dip down into the secondary part of the shop, ye know get my popcorn... It took a few annoyed minutes at the mass that was the crowd. I then got down there and found the popcorn pretty quickly. But to my annoyance the price displayed on the pack i first picked up was €1.12. No fair. I then rummaged at the other pack's and there it was at the front a pack that said €0.96!!!!!!! Thank feck for consumer law's! I remember both from my business teacher and my english teacher that Ireland was very fortunate to have this great rule where you have to pay the cheaper display price if you can find it on the shelf and prove it to the people at the till. It's just wonderful. Weary of the bar code and all i said fuck it, i knew that law. I get to the till. Both cashiers wearing head scarf's and dungarees, what kind of health food shop was this, a authentic one? God forbid. And after seeing business people struggle to find small change and hand over 20's and 50's instead of small change for organic roll's i rocked up to the counter. Hand the lady the bag of Popcorn Kernel's and she just looks at the price and typed 9 6 into the till. I fork over 1 gold and silver coin and get a couple of coppers back. Good times.
Now in my infinite wisdom i saw the green dome of Rathmines. Would i do it... Yes i would. So i waled into the 'Bello. And amongst some sorry abandoned sites in the heart of the cities centres outer edge i saw this shame of a building. Such a waste, the shutter to the right used to be a very small pet shop at that.
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Over the canal there was no direct crossing to the main rathmines road. Also aware that it was house's for most of the way i cut left. I then took the first road to the right. I knew this small road well. I used to walk parts of it to go to school when i lived in Rathgar as a kid. Inspired i though why don't i look for that old Tram yard that the Corpo dumptrucks used to sit. First i saw this great Stenciled graffiti, pure class:
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Seeing postmen go up and down, cars narrowly pass each other i finally got to the old tram yard. This was a depot when trams were the thing in Dublin. Rathmine's was the outskirts when this was built now it's an inner city village just a few minutes over the city boundary that is the Grand Canal. It hasn't changed too much since i was a kid it's still a Corpo place for rubbish, but now more of a recycling and brink centre. Also the ground was re-tarmacked to handle the enviro-conscious traffic. This meant that the tram tracks were no longer vissable. There was a few left when i was a kid in a short stretch with cobble stones, all gone now. I then emerged out of an alleyway in front of the Libary as the clock struck 2. Into the oxfam shop for a quick mosey i saw a box set of Star Trek movies in VHS format, it was also such a small set that i guessed it had to have been at least older than 1997 so probably no First Contact, and thankfully no Nemesis but at least Insurrection was a fun double episode type romp.... Into the swan centre, damn it's barely changed. And Dunnes Stores, it has the same layout as the last time i was there, well almost the same. I think i was 13 or so the last time i was there. The cheapest item i could find, 2 litre's of water for 30 cent!!!!!! Next cheapest was St Bernard custard creme's for 39 cent, i almost bought them at that! Leaving the centre i realised how small it was. But the shoe shop where my childhood school shoe's and runner's with those stomp lights were bought. The cobbler's was also in the same place. Then as i faced east looking on towards Ranelagh i made another split decisions, Rathgar!
My old home, i was going to look at my old house. So i did it, i waled on. More and more conscious of the time i ruled out a whistle stop visit to the dodder park or even the old "family" garage on the Orwell road. So up to the Rathgar part of the Upper Rathmine's road. At the little village there i saw a great sight. The gender confused Lateshopper/Am Pm had finally returned to being a Lateshopper. But as i reached the corner, a mild shock. The old car dealership that i think may have belonged to the father of a guy in my school was sold. It was now a supper massive Centra that wasn't even open! That's the modern age for ya. Reaching my old road Villiers road i desided to head down the back alleyway which connect to all the garage's to see if i could figure out which house was mine. Didn't quiet work though. I then walked back up the street and found it. The large red brick of the particular turn of the century house that was mine in my childhood. I took a photo with my phone to document how it had changed but to "protect" the current residents, the people who ripped up our decking and cut down our Eucalyptus tree, i won't post it.
I then went to my old childhood newsagent The Villiers. Ah the memories. A great story of how at about 4 my sister once asked for a reciept when buying pennysweets and gobstoppers. Or the time when i said to my dad i would be a minute while he waited in the car and i spent 10 minutes trying to buy as much sweets as possible with around 30 pence. The interior had changed. But the store seem'd the same. It wasn't as cramped and it was still child aimed. Toys on one side and a great selection of pennysweets and shite on the other. I ran through what change i had. Very little, i could have barely gotten those Custard creme's if i had wanted them. I settled on a refressher bar, for the sentiment. 25 cent, it used to be what 10p for the small one maybe 20 for the long stick, good value!
On down past "Hall's" (trinity's home away from campus for culchies and 1st years), and past Palmerston Park and onto Palmerston Road. I could have gone into or around the park to Temple road but i didn't, after all getting the Luas at "Alex" would have brought back so many memories that it would take up half the blog.... So i walked on certain that my sense of direction would either take me down to the road between Rathmines and Ranelagh or weave me through the estate's and to the Cowper Luas stop. I weaved. This took a while. Amazing massive houses, upper middle class. Tree's galore, petal's gushing all around in the brisk breeze and clear sky. Just as i was beginning to fear i had gotten myself lost i reached my Old gp's office. And right to the right of there was Cowper. I sat at the Luas stop. I was knackered!!! I took some swigs of my water, it had been at least 2 hours since i had had most of the Blue bear. At this stage i could already feel blisters too. With not a penny to my name and a packed luas passing me i cross the tracks and affirmed my theories about my ware abouts. The house's behind cowper weren't that far from Sandford. I had walked it once before when the choir had to go to Alex during the day time and we didn't have money to get the luas. So i said feck it, i'll avoid the fine's anyway. So i got into ranelagh.
Ah my spiritual home. I spent most of my life going to school in this area it was as if i lived there. I popped into the Twin's in the Orchard, i think i got the good one, no sign of Mr Evil. With all of 18 cent in copper i got some pennysweets, oh the memories. I also spotted the new gym in sandford, me and gammaman had only visited in November and it wasn't even under construction but even during the recession it was now finished. GO PRIVATE SCHOOL MONEY!
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Walking into the "village" things had changed. The "bus stop" newsagent's at the bus stop was now a new hair dressers. The chew n chat pizza place which had been there since my childhood was you guessed it, another hairdressers! I was shocked, the ill-fated and health risking bureito's and blue's was still sitting there unused and rusting while good 'ol chew and chat became one of 4 hairdressers in a village full of café's? The order of café's had also changed. Some hands, some style and in the case of Mint the michellen star restaurant, Bankrupt. I crossed the 1st triangle and an odd new monument was there with a bicycle buried in under glass and lights. For some charitable person or something. Eager to find out the fate of the old McD's sight i was shocked when i walked in and found it was a bizare bastardised new extension of the centra next door. This was just plain weird. I remember going there for a breakfast with some of the stoners after the 4th year school play's massive piss up and first time i drank. I also remember lunch during the leaving cert getting a happy meal for the craic. The worst McD's in Dublin and it was now a massive centra?
The leaving to my shock across the road a former and infamously bad pub was now a "trendy" superquinn with a café front elevated above the street with glass box windows. I rested for a bit in the park behind the luas. Then read an interesting fact file about a balloon lunch there in the 19th century. I then hopped on the luas and back into town.
To paraphrase The big bang theory "as with real estate voiding is all about location location location." This is in reference to the fact that i've gotten used to using the bathroom in the Gimby. Even if i wasn't sure if it was "open" or not i still went there. On my way out i ran into Nordie2 and explained my walk. I then hit up the laser huts and checked my emails and started to draft this blog. On my way i saw people in scholarly robe's playing frizbee in the sun on the cricket pitch, what an odd day.
I've got a couple of blisters, probably over worked my unfit muscles, and possibly got a slight tan. The forecast is good for tomorrow which means it's going to be a bitch to study. But I REALLY HAVE TO. I see my good camera beside me and my last batteries, i will save them however, i could go a wondering again but i won't, i mustn't i'd be mad.....
Toodle's, blog type blog soon. I intended to include more personal history but it would have made this even longer, be thankful for that at least!
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