Dun Laoghaire renewal scheme

I have put this picture in today because on my walk into town after lunch I was struck by the holiday atmosphere and seaside air about the place.

The sun is shining and it is really warm. Everyone was out in all their sundresses and shorts. The harbour bars were buzzing and some of them were putting out extra seating because the World Volleyball Championships are opening today in Stavanger harbour.

When i was in Dun Laoghaire I was also struck by that fresh seaside atmosphere. The rawness and the saltiness. It was that which I tried to capture when i was designing these plaques.

Stavanger is a strange place. One day it is really quite cold and you see people wearing winter coats (me included) and that was only last week. Then suddenly, like today, it is so warm that there are only short sleeves in evidence. We had a week or so earlier on in the year where everyone got into their summer things too. So you see it is really up and down. Still there is always that little tang in the air. But it is really quite nice - hard to get overheated, unless of course one is in the middle of a hot flash!

So there you have it a blog about the weather really - you can tell I spent over a quarter of a century in Ireland - obsessed with the weather, ruled by it even.

I remember when I first moved there being fascinated by the rain. There were all sorts of different types - like Iceland and the snow probably - but what i noticed most about the rain was that no matter how light or misty it seemed or 'soft' as the farmers said, it always managed to soak you right through to your bones.

And I don't care what the natives here say about it - it is not wet in Stavanger. Well sometimes!