May began with a trip to North Street to take in the Hit The North Street Art Festival, getting photos of the pieces of artwork as they were created, and then the finished artwork.
The following weekend, I treated myself to a trip to Scotland, spending most my time in Edinburgh, getting photos of Street Art (of course) and walking up Arthur’s Seat and going for a stroll in Colinton.
It would have been rude not to go to a football match, Livingston v St Johnstone being my match of choice before a day trip to Glasgow saw me get more Street Art photos and visit Cathkin Park, an abandoned football stadium.
Towards the end of the month, it was all about Friday nights, first of all winning a ticket to see Ulster v Sharks.
Then, the last Friday of the month, I went to see Queen (well, half of Queen, but it was still so good) at The Odyssey.
Annual Leave to use up? Day trip to Dublin? Why not?
Get some Street Art photos while there? Of course.
I like to go to Dublin at least once a year, just to see how things are, have a walk about. Possibly even take in an event if i’m staying overnight (Ahem, 2024 UEFA Cup Final)
In this visit, there wasn’t much else to report, had a walk about the city and that was it.
I was hoping there would have been a decent Sunset while I was there (my train was at 7pm so I would have been there for it and not rushing for my train) but that was thwarted by the dull weather.
Ha’penny Bridge or St Stephen’s Green would have been a perfect location for photos as well.
Having been to Dublin numerous times, I know my way about.
Of course, that means I know where all the Street Art is.
I wasn’t looking for it, but it found me.
The first piece I saw was a mural of the film Metropolis, which you may be familiar as the inspiration for the video for Radio Ga Ga by Queen.
There was also a large scale mural to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s Independence.
Due to it being in an area with heavy traffic, this was a difficult one to photograph.
I had to wait for the lights to go green (as opposed to cars queuing up at a red light and blocking the view) and for there to be no traffic to get the shot
Thankfully, it was worth it when I got the shot.
As well as this, I also managed to get photos of electric boxes which have been painted, presumably as part of Dublin Canvas.
I even managed to get a photo of a Jimi Hendrix mural.
Using up more Annual Leave, I headed to Derry on the Friday for a day trip.
Same as Dublin, I hadn’t been this year, so why not head over for a walkabout and see what there is.
In truth, it was a bit of a meh day.
The weather was dull, and there was no new Street Art to photograph.
I did see Street Art, but it was pieces that I photographed last year.
Whenever I go somewhere and don’t get many photos, it does feel like a wasted journey.
It wasn’t all a wasted trip. I did manage to get a bargain bundle of football programmes in a Charity Shop.
Did a bit of celeb spotting, Colum Eastwood on his phone looking a bit annoyed and forlorn in Foyleside Shopping Centre.
I was hoping to have a full day. The last time I headed to Derry, I ended up getting the 6.38pm train home.
Not quite the same this time, heading home on the 3.38pm train.
Which was quite handy as I missed the commuters travelling home from Derry to Coleraine/Ballymena.
On a related note, why is this train not every 30 minutes at least?
My original hope was to be there and maybe try and get some Sunset photos from the Peace Bridge of the Greenway that leads to North West Transport Hub.
Nope. I was drenched, and I had done and seen (Yellow Yard, Bedlam, SmartSwag, Society Street Market) all that I wanted to see.
Of course, the sun came out as I was boarding the train. Looks like I could have stayed and some Sunset photos.
Instead, I observed the Sunset from the train, which was a nice experience. Would recommend it.
I might leave Derry to every two years, or I might go during the Summer months with more daylight.
If i’m leaving the city at 3.38pm, I might take a detour to Castlerock Beach on the way home, and maybe explore more of the North West rather than exclusively being in the City Of Derry.
The train ride has been described as one of the most spectacular in the world (although, not as good as Bray to Greystones).
It is worth pointing out, that is only between Coleraine and Derry. Belfast to Coleraine isn’t much to write home about.
Just on a train, casually going past an airport runway, oh and going alongside a beach as well, like it’s perfectly normal and no big deal.
So, two day trips which didn’t go as planned in terms of photos, but I did end up seeing some new Street Art and getting a bargain bundle of football programmes, so not all bad.
Having been to Manchester many times, it can get a bit samey.
Not when it comes to Street Art, especially if you haven’t been in over a year.
However, I do know where to go, which helps.
As soon as I arrived, it was straight to Northern Quarter, Ancoats, Oldham Street and Tibb Street.
While I was in the middle of snap snap snapping away, there was a torrential rainstorm, which meant I had to seek refuge in Affleks.
Thankfully, it didn’t last all day, so I was straight back out.
When it wasn’t raining, the weather was quite nice, so I headed out and got as many photos as possible.
With the main areas completed, I remained on alert, in case I spotted some pieces, which I did, one around the back of Piccadilly, and then another on Oxford Street.
It was great to be back in Manchester again and getting snaps of Street Art the city had to offer, although I didn’t get a chance to snap some Street Art in Pomona Wharf.
And we’re back in the new traditional slot of May for 2022 having been moved back to the old traditional slot of September in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, after the first year of the new traditional May slot in 2019.
I hope that makes some sort of sense.
So here we are, on the May Bank Holiday Weekend, as part of Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.
If you don’t know what Hit The North is, it’s quite simple. A load of artists paint artwork on walls in Belfast City Centre.
It used to be in North Street, hence the name, but now takes place in Kent Street and that general area. If you’re not sure where that is, it’s basically around The Sunflower Bar. I arrived just before 2pm and things were in full swing.
I decided to do a few laps of the area and walk about and see the artwork in progress. The event was sponsored by a drinks company, who I think were giving out free (very small) samples.
There was also an interactive element where people could spraypaint their own mural in an area away from the main artwork.
One of the highlights was a mural of Phil Lynott, with images behind him of the moon and a couple dancing. Dancing In The Moonlight, a hit for Thin Lizzy. Looking forward to a similar mural for Toploader.
It’s the third mural i’m aware of Lynott, with one on a electricity box in Dublin (of course) and a mural of Thin Lizzy in Bangor. As a bonus, there was an extra piece in Queen Street. I only discovered that by fluke when I was walking home.
I went back on the Tuesday lunchtime to get some snaps but I was thwarted by parked cars. So, I decided to head back on the next available Sunday morning when there would be less cars and people about, making it easier to get photos.
Unfortunately for me, that would be nearly two weeks away.
It was worth the wait, as I headed out with my camera and got lots of photos.
November began with a day trip to Dublin. Naturally, while I was there, I took the opportunity to check out Street Art. Might as well, seeing as it was my first time there in two years.
Later that week, I did something else I hadn’t done for a long time. Not as long, just over eighteen months. I am of course referring to going to a concert, in this case, Lightning Seeds at The Limelight.
That was then followed by two road trips for Linfield away games, to Portadown and Crusaders.
Sandwiched inbetween that was another road trip, this time to Ards to get some Street Art photos, with a recent event having taken place.
It was a month of doing things I hadn’t done for a while. This time, going on a flight.
The destination was Gatwick, but not to go to London, but Brighton instead.
So many photo adventures, where to start?
Street Art in Brighton, of course. Also, a walk along Beachy Head, OMD in concert, and some sunsets while I was in Brighton.
Back home, a return to Windsor Park to see Linfield beat Cliftonville.
Two days later, I headed to The Limelight to see The Charlatans in concert.
The month ended with Linfield matches against Glenavon and Carrick Rangers.
September began with a stroll towards Royal Avenue, or rather streets around Royal Avenue, to take in the aftermath of Hit The North, taking place in around The Sunflower. I wasn’t able to attend on the actual day of the event.
The rest of the month was football matches, Linfield’s games against Portadown, Coleraine, Glenavon and Glentoran.
August is usually a busy month. It didn’t have a trip to Edinburgh as usual, but it did have a trip to Manchester to see United take on Leeds, and of course, get some Street Art pictures.
The week before that, I headed to Windsor Park to see Linfield take on Fola Esch in the Euro Conference League. The less said about that the better.
Towards the end of the month, I took in another trip, this time to County Wicklow, getting pictures of the Bray To Greystones Walk, Bray Head, Bray Harbour and of Street Art in Dun Laoghaire.
On the final Saturday of the month, I was back in Irish League watching mode, seeing Linfield take on Crusaders at Windsor Park on the opening day of the season.
Analogue Boy In A Digital World 