Found this photo I took a while ago of a garage fallen into disrepair.

It got me thinking about how garages and shops from years ago have all but disappeared. Not so long ago if you stopped at a petrol station, it was only to buy fuel or get your car serviced. Garages back then were simple – no sign of shops, breakfast rolls, meal deals, matching uniforms or the glaring lights and primary colours of some multi-national’s corporate identity.

Obviously the products available at modern service stations make good business sense – by offering a diversified range of goods the customer is more likely to buy something else on impulse. But its a pity to see that old garage closed and abandoned. Small town businesses throughout Ireland are currently taking a hammering in this recession.

Hopefully people will return to local independent producers, services and shopkeepers to keep local people in employment, local money in the locality and to help stop their local businesses disappearing into the past like the garage above. Once something unique to the community is lost, it’s very hard to find it again.

I remember taking this photograph outside Dingle, Co Kerry way back in 2002. Its was a really strange but cool thing to see two birds just sitting there on a frame shooting the breeze by the beach!

The symmetric balance of this composition strikes a strong contrast with the decay of the building itself. Urban decay can be attractive and I find it interesting to explore these old buildings. This corridor was part of an old hospital which has fallen into years of disrepair.

First of all, this post has nothing to do with design but I hope random irrelevant posts like this can sometimes stir the imagination. I quite enjoy walking around in nature and attempt to photograph wildlife at times although I’m certainly no David Attenborough. So it was kind of cool when wildlife landed in on my doorstep while visiting my parents home in Wexford this weekend. A beautiful Robin flew in the window as I worked on the computer. Seeing a wild Robin up close was really cool, he was flying from one room to another ignoring all the windows we left open for him to escape through. Eventually after he flew up a flight of stairs and visited three bedrooms he decided to fly out the window and off into the garden.

It reminded me of a time when I was younger, Dad and his friend Paddy Doyle brought me to Philip Heenan’s Ringroe Stud, Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary to see the famous show jumping stallion Clover Hill. I had never met anyone quite like Philip Heenan before or afterward. When I first met him he was sitting in the stable with two Robins sitting on his shoulder, it was quite extraordinary to see wild birds to flock over to land on his hand or shoulder. You could sense that he was a gentle soul and the wildlife responded to his calm ways. Paddy had told me previously that if Philip didn’t like the look of the mare or owner he wouldn’t allow the mare to be covered by his stallion which I still find a fascinating quirk. Click on the photo of Philip Heenan with Clover Hill here.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera way back when in 1996 but luckily I had one to take a few photographs of the Robin that paid a visit today.

A close up of the Robin's feathers

Various photos of the Robin as he flew from room to room inspecting the house!

In an effort to take advantage of this great November sunlight I’ve been practicing my camera skills. Took this photograph outside the grounds of a disused hospital in Cork. I didn’t hang around there long, the place had a real eerie atmosphere.