A Sign People Are Ho-pin-g To Leave Dublin?

Oh dear… In central Dublin this sign is great to drum up business for attracting tourists in. Shame the socket and pins are the wrong way round for Ireland!  And for those who dispute that they could be advertising that for people about to travel from Ireland to Europe, nice idea but I saw the adaptors they were selling and they are the usual tourist sockets to Irish 3 pin plugs...

Best Gents Toilets sign ever! Or rather, best “Used Beer Dept.”...

Best Gents Toilets sign ever! Or rather, best “Used Beer Dept.” sign… Hugely impressed with The Porterhouse in Bray, and very grateful the sign is outside the gents and meant I didn't have to try and snap another photo inside the gents! Again!

Molson launches in Ireland today - Get it in The Bailey, Dublin

Molson launches in Ireland today, in The Bailey, central Dublin. Great Canadian lager with a crisp clean taste.  Just been in there having a few pints of it whilst they go through the press launch and have a few cool photos taken (the bar is kitted out with a moose's head and gorgeous white wolf).  Here's my entry for the competition they were running to snap a pic to celebrate their launch.  I even managed to get the compulsory bicycle in the shot (as every Irish-themed pub would have me believe).

Which Came First, The Chocolate Chicken Or The Egg?

Surely the chocolate Easter Egg has hatched and we know have chocolate Easter Chickens... But inside this chocolate chicken is a chocolate egg...! Either way, this is a great reason to eat your Easter Eggs as soon as possible else they may hatch and you'll have to feed the chicken and give it space to roam around.

Stocks & Shots - The Press Loved It Too!

Student, The Edinburgh Evening News and The Herald all picked the story up and ran some nice pieces on it, unfortunately the only high quality scan I have access to is from Student.  We also made a video too!

Scotland's First Stock Market Bar - 13 Years Ago Today

Stocks and Shots was an evening at The Caledonian Brewery, organised between EUTIC and SiS, which brought the first stock market bar to Scotland.  The principle is just like the real stock market - when a drink is in demand, the price rises; when it's not, the price falls.  It's that simple.  And the night was awesome - enjoy!

Google Is Spreading The Love Of Me Underwater

A treat for everyone of Valentine's Day, for any woman, man or other.  After a brief hiatus I'm back in the top four images for "person underwater".  This sexy / questionable *(delete as appropriate) pose, which is very hard to maintain underwater with your eyes wide open, is back in the top four images when searching for person underwater, which means when you enter a normal web search through Google, it offers you me as an image you may want to see!  And who wouldn't...?  Other than those people with functioning eyes...?
#egotist or #ironic or #bitofboth

The Naked Truth: Everyone Dies In The Night Garden, Or Kitchen

It's very rare that I get moved to hear about the death of someone I've never met, let alone only recently heard about.  Sadly on May 8th 2012, the incredible Maurice Sendak passed away.  He was the brilliant mind behind Where The Wild Things Are, but also some more important books and also the inspiration to the most popular young children's TV show, "Crack for Babies", aka "In The Night Garden".  Hmm, that's a rather bold claim with no other results on Google.  Let me explain.

One of the most controversial (picture) books is Maurice Sendak's "In The Night Kitchen" about a young boy who dreams and is naked throughout his dream.  In the extended interview (shown on the day of his passing) with Stephen Colbert, Maurice says his favourite book is the one he wrote about his Sealyham Terrier before her death, entitled "Higglety Pigglety Pop!".  Now let's compare the similarities:  In The Night Garden's (interesting title!) lead character is male and is the only one that is completely naked (spooky!), and his name is Igglepiggle (seriously?!).  You tell me if that isn't a huge homage to the great Maurice Sendak.  So while your children are watching their Grade A TV Narcotics, or while you don't have any children, go get a copy of Maurice's greatest book (in his eyes), and I guarantee you'll cry your eyes out reading it.

Saying White Rabbits Three Times Summons The Dark Side

On the first of the month people have a tradition of saying "white rabbits" three times.  However, just like Beetlejuice, saying "white rabbits" on any other day (like the 2nd!) summons are far darker rabbit that doesn't care that he's late.  I was going for dark, creepy, and sexy, in a Japanese-remake kind of way. Did I pull it off?  Would you follow me down a rabbit hole...?

Princess Square In Glasgow Shows Off It's (Pea-) Cocky Front

Edinburgh - I love you.  But there is something about the architecture in Glasgow that is refreshing and bold - very similar in many ways to Liverpool.  And without doubt Princess Square in Glasgow wins the award for 'Best Building Decorations Ever'!  That said (as NM pointed out), c'mon Glasgow City Council - you still have what looks like a Christmas tree up!

Getting Inspiration From The Heavens On A Crisp Morn

Pictures often say a thousand words.  In these three shots, all one thousand words are synonyms for beautiful.  I'll let you enjoy them in peace...

 

Ever Get The Feeling Buildings Are Watching You…?

They are watching us all...  And this seems to be the Queen of the Watchers, else why is 'she' wearing a tiara?  Let's hope they are watching out for us, just like the Liver Birds do in Liverpool.  On the plus side, this building can't fly away!

Is This The Birth Of A New Universe Visible To The Naked Eye?

Probably not, but "oil" let you decide... (what a awful pun next to a pretty / enigmatic picture...)

Through The Square Window Today, We Have A Crescent Moon...

What a lovely sight to wake up to.  A soft velvet sky with greens and blue, a twinkling crescent moon hanging gently to the left of an extinct volcano.  Good morning stars!  Good morning moon!  Good morning Scotland!

Scotland Has Stunning Scenery And Stunning Chillies!

These Scotch Bonnet chillies sure look pretty... And I. sure they will be pretty mind blowing later on! Thanks to Jamie Oliver I get to use them in a variation of his Christmas Jerk Pork!

It’s Like 10,000 peppers When All You Need Is A Salt...

Whilst Ed Byrne has famously asked Alanis "how big is your sink", it seems I have to ask a certain pub "how popular do you think pepper is"?  This is the 'salt and pepper' bowl.  Maybe they think all their customers are slugs, I suppose some of them are a bit slimey...

Can You Have The “January Blues” In A City As Enchanting As Edinburgh...?

Can you have the “January Blues” in a city as enchanting as Edinburgh..? Let me go for a walk and ponder that possibility...

Happy New Year! First Fireworks From Freezing Edinburgh

Taken in Holyrood Park, 2013!

Happy St. Andrew's Day - Here's That Saltire Sky Again!

Another year, another St. Andrew's Day, another excuse to post "that saltire sky" photo I took from the east end of George Street (whilst hanging out on roof tops, fighting crime).  This time it's on my Instagram profile, so enjoy!  

PS:  It's a little bit cold outside this St. Andrew's Day morning, as in -1.7°C in central Edinburgh at time of posting!

Drinking In The SECC Ain't Cheap - According To Google Maps!

The Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow is an interesting building that hosts a wide variety of events.  So Scots should be proud of it, right?  Well, not if we go by the latest review on the Google Maps place for the SECC:  "You know how much it was for a round at that fcukin SECC BTW".  I think the SECC might want to be a bit more pro-active in their social media footprint...  Or more reactive with their social drinking prices!