2019 IN PICTURES – OCTOBER

October 2019 began with a trip to Seaview to see Linfield take on Crusaders.

A busy month of concerts began a few days later with a trip to Ulster Hall to see The Divine Comedy.

There was even some Street Art spotted during the month, heading to Stephen Street to see a mural of The Joker and Catwoman

The next day, I was on the road to Dungannon to see Linfield beat Dungannon Swifts 4-1.

From there, it was another concert, a first visit to The Telegraph Building, to see Two Door Cinema Club.

The flipping between football and concerts continued as I headed to Windsor Park to see Linfield take on Ballymena United. The following midweek saw a football/concert double header, seeing Linfield take on Warrenpoint Town, before seeing OMD at Ulster Hall.

October’s photo adventures ended with a trip to see Linfield take on Coleraine, the month beginning and ending for me with a 1-0 defeat.

Crusaders v Linfield

The Divine Comedy live at Ulster Hall

The Divine Comedy live at Ulster Hall Photo Album

Joker and Catwoman Mural

Joker and Catwoman Mural Photo Album

Dungannon Swifts v Linfield

Two Door Cinema Club live at The Telegraph Building

Two Door Cinema Club live at The Telegraph Building Photo Album

Linfield v Ballymena United

Linfield v Warrenpoint Town

OMD live at Ulster Hall

OMD live at Ulster Hall Photo Album

Coleraine v Linfield

2019 IN PICTURES – SEPTEMBER

My first photo adventure of September 2019 was a trip to Solitude to see Linfield get a 1-0 win on their return to domestic competition after their European adventures the previous month.

That was then followed by a Windsor Park double header, taking in Northern Ireland v Germany and Linfield v Glentoran.

The day after that match saw me have an adventure, taking in some Street Art in Belfast, and Edwyn Collins doing an instore gig at Strange Victory.

My next adventure came the following Friday with Culture Night.

It was then two football matches, seeing Linfield get wins over Carrick Rangers and Glenavon.

The month ended with a trip to Yorkgate to check out a new mural.

Cliftonville v Linfield

Northern Ireland v Germany

Northern Ireland v Germany Photo Album

Linfield v Glentoran

Belfast Peace Wall Art

Belfast Peace Wall Art Photo Album

Ulster Sports Club Street Art

Ulster Sports Club Street Art Photo Album

Edwyn Collins live at Strange Victory

Edwyn Collins live at Strange Victory Photo Album

Culture Night

Culture Night Photo Album

Carrick Rangers v Linfield

Linfield v Glenavon

Yorkgate Street Art

Yorkgate Street Art Photo Album

2019 IN PICTURES – AUGUST

August 2019 began with a bit of a bang, it was hard to keep up.

On the 1st of the month, I went to see Linfield take on HB Torshavn in the UEFA Cup.

A few hours later, I headed to Edinburgh for a break, taking in two football matches, some Street Art and a walk up Arthur’s Seat

Upon my return from Edinburgh, it felt like I was having a permanent residency at Windsor Park for the rest of the month, taking in Linfield’s matches against Institute, Sutjeska, Coleraine and Qarabag.

Linfield v HB Torshavn

Edinburgh Street Art

Edinburgh Street Art Photo Album

Dunfermline Athletic v Dundee

Dunfermline Athletic v Dundee Photo Album

Hibernian v St Mirren

Hibernian v St Mirren Photo Album

Arthur’s Seat

Arthur’s Seat Photo Album

Linfield v Institute

Linfield v Sutjeska

Linfield v Coleraine

Linfield v Qarabag

2019 IN PICTURES – JULY

July 2019 took a while to get going. It took ten days to have a photo adventure, then I couldn’t stop.

July 10th marked the start of the 2019-2020 football season, seeing Linfield take on Rosenborg in the European Cup.

The following day, I headed to Dublin for a short break, getting loads of Street Art photos, and seeing two football matches – St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping and Bray Wanderers v Limerick.

While I was in Bray, I made a start on Bray Head. I’ll be back in 2020 to finish it.

The following weekend, I headed to Wilgar Park to see Linfield continue their pre-season preparation against Dundela.

Linfield v Rosenborg

Dublin Street Art

Dublin Street Art Photo Album

St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping

St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping Photo Album

Bray Head

Bray Head Photo Album

Bray Wanderers v Limerick

Bray Wanderers v Limerick Photo Album

Dundela v Linfield

2019 IN PICTURES – JUNE

With the football season over, June 2019 was unsurprisingly a bit quiet, but not totally quiet.

The first day of the month saw me head to Holywood to see Feeder in concert.

Making the most of football free Saturdays, I headed Foyleside for a day trip to Stroke City. It wasn’t specifically a trip for Street Art, but it would have been rude not to get some photos while I was there.

The day before that, I headed to East Belfast to get photos of some Street Art at Vault Studios. It took a while to get it finished, due to vehicles being parked in front of pieces.

My last photo adventure of the month was to get Street Art photos in Rosemary Street, as well as some Belfast Canvas photos.

Feeder live at Holywood Rugby Club

Feeder live at Holywood Rugby Club Photo Album

Stroke City Street Art

Stroke City Street Art Photo Album

East Belfast Street Art

East Belfast Street Art Photo Album

Rosemary Street Art And Belfast Canvas

Rosemary Street Art Photo Album

Belfast Canvas Photo Album

2019 IN PICTURES – MAY

May 2019 began with a busy Bank Holiday Weekend, starting off by going to see Echo and the Bunnymen at Custom House Square, Ulster v Connacht at Ravenhill, and then checking out Street Art as part of Hit The North.

The following weekend, I headed to Manchester to see United take on Cardiff City. The less said about that match the better.

On the plus side, I did manage to get some Street Art photos from the city.

That was it. The first two weekends of the month were busy, the second two not so much.

Echo and the Bunnymen live at Custom House Square

Echo and the Bunnymen live at Custom House Square Photo Album

Ulster v Connacht

Ulster v Connacht Photo Album

Hit The North

Hit The North Photo Album – Sunday 5th May 2019

Hit The North Photo Album – Monday 7th May 2019

Hit The North Photo Album – Aftermath

Manchester Street Art

Manchester Street Art Photo Album

Manchester United v Cardiff City

Manchester United v Cardiff City Photo Album

Salford Quays Street Art

Salford Quays Street Art Photo Album

2019 IN PICTURES – APRIL

April 2019 began for me with a trip to Ballymena to see Linfield beat Ballymena United 1-0 to all but secure the Irish League title.

The next day, I made the most of a football free Saturday by heading to East Belfast to get some photos of some newly painted Street Art.

The following Saturday, I was back on the football trail, seeing Linfield secure the point they needed, against Crusaders, to become Champions.

The week after, came the trophy presentation, following a forgettable 4-0 defeat against Glenavon.

My last Linfield game of the season was a lot better, a 5-1 win over Cliftonville on Easter Tuesday.

April ended with a trip to Lisburn to Island Arts Centre for an art event where murals were painted live.

Ballymena United v Linfield

East Belfast Street Art

East Belfast Street Art Photo Album

Linfield v Crusaders

Linfield Title Celebrations

Linfield v Glenavon

Linfield Title Presentations

Linfield v Cliftonville

Lisburn Street Art

Lisburn Street Art Photo Album

2019 IN PICTURES – JANUARY

2019 began for me with a trip to the seaside on the very first day of the year, to Clandeboye Park to see Linfield take on Ards as they aimed for three points in the title race.

Eleven days later, was my first trip of the year to Windsor Park to see Linfield beat Warrenpoint Town.

That was then followed a week later by a trip to Seaview to see Linfield beat Crusaders.

A month that was mostly spent watching football saw me return to Windsor Park to see Linfield beat Glentoran in a televised game.

The next day, I headed to Manchester. Guess what? It was for a football match, as Manchester United took on Burnley.

While I was there, I got photos of Street Art in Manchester and Salford Quays, while I also snuck in a day trip to Sheffield, where I got more Street Art photos.

While I was in Manchester, it snowed, so I got some photos of that, including snow outside Old Trafford.

Ards v Linfield

Linfield v Warrenpoint Town

Crusaders v Linfield

Linfield v Glentoran

Manchester Street Art

Manchester Street Art Photo Album

Manchester United v Burnley

Manchester United v Burnley Photo Album

Manchester Snow

Manchester Snow Photo Album

Sheffield Street Art

Sheffield Street Art Photo Album

Salford Quays Street Art

Salford Quays Street Art Photo Album

VILNIUS STREET ART

Wherever I go, I like to try and get some photos of Street Art, and my recent visit to Vilnius was no exception.

I didn’t have long to wait to see something, spotting a mural at the Fire Station at the Airport. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a photo of it.

I spotted some pieces on my way into the City Centre, and made a note to get photos of them during my trip.

The main hub of Street Art in Vilnius is Uzupis, so it was unsurprising that I headed there to get photos of pieces.

There was one of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sharing a kiss, but that has now been painted over.

While I was there, the weather was dull and grey, but I still managed to get some decent photos.

Photo Album

ROCHDALE UPRISING

As in, Lisa Stansfield?

Yep.

The place where Gordon Brown called that woman a …..

Yep.

The team from League One that United needed a penalty shoot-out to beat in the League Cup?

Yes, that Rochdale.

Now, I’m no Michael Palin, I’m not even Michael Portillo, but I have travelled about a bit and seen Street Art in various cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona. However, Rochdale isn’t somewhere that would instantly come to mind as a place to travel to in order to see Street Art.

All that changed in August this year, with the first ever Rochdale Uprising event, a collaboration between the local council and the Street Art duo Nomad Clan, as an attempt to brighten up the Town Centre.

If the name Nomad Clan sounds familiar, that’s because they have previously featured on this blog for their work around Belfast.

Usually when they are written about, they are billed as being from Manchester. They are just based in Manchester, one of them comes from Rochdale, hence their involvement with the local council in this event.

I travelled to Rochdale by tram from Manchester, having been over for a United match. I would have been better off going by train, except that there weren’t many running due to flooding, so I didn’t really have a choice.

As my tram ventured from Rochdale Train Station to Rochdale Town Centre, I could see pieces as I looked out the window, excitedly making a mental note as to their location in order to get a photo.

As soon as I got off the tram, I walked about, stumbled onto one piece, and then another, and then another,

However, not all of the artwork was outdoors, as there is an exhibition inside Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre.

To be brutally honest, there’s no other reason to visit Rochdale, there’s not much to it.

This makes any such visit worthwhile.

It’s unknown if this was a one-off event or the first of an annual event. If it is an annual event, I’ll make sure to visit to snap the new pieces that appear whenever I am over for a trip to Old Trafford.

Photo Album