Days out – Page 8 – Beastie HQ

Paddy and Plunkett Enjoy a Hot Whiskey - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Paddy and Plunkett in the City of Many Names

Posted on May 13, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

Last time we caught up with Paddy and Plunkett, they were enjoying a bit of fun along the shorelines of northwest Northern Ireland…
Perhaps for the best, Plunkett took the wheel for the next leg of the journey – a trip to Northern Ireland’s second-largest city. Depending on which route you take, you might see a sign welcoming you to “The Walled City”. This place has also been called “The Maiden City”, after it withstood three separate seiges in the 17th century… the most famous of which lasted 105 days. Here’s Paddy inspecting one of those famous city walls!
Have you guessed where the boys are yet?

You score full marks if you said “Derry”. You also score full marks if you said “Londonderry”. And there are bonus points for anyone who went with Derry-slash-Londonderry, the even-handed semi-official renaming that led local broadcaster Gerry Anderson to coin the nickname “Stroke City”. Derry/Londonderry’s name dispute is such a contentious issue that it has its own Wikipedia page. And although “Derry” has been around longer (it’s an Anglicisation of “Daire”, the Irish for “oak wood” or “oak grove”, a name first definitely recorded in The Annals of Ulster in 1121) and is used on signage in the Republic of Ireland, the British name “Londonderry” is still the official, legally-recognised name, since Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom.

Then again, not everybody agrees with that. And sometimes signs are adjusted accordingly.

Road sign, Derry/Londonderry - Photo by SeanMack, via Wikipedia — Photo credit – By SeanMack – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3652350

But whatever name it goes by, it’s a great place to visit! In 2013, it was the first city in the United Kingdom to be awarded the title “UK City of Culture”, and its beautiful buildings, buzzing city centre and vibrant nightlife make it a perfect getaway for two adventurous little Beasties. Plunkett was super-impressed by an incredible piece of urban knitting he found…
Look at the size of it! It almost completely covers two of the old townhouses on this street!
One place history buff Plunkett was particularly keen to see was the recently-refurbished Bishop’s Gate Hotel.
This stunning building was once a private members’ club called the Northern Counties Club. The Club first opened its doors in 1902, and over the years welcomed notable visitors such as Winston Churchill and WB Yeats, among others. But times change, the Club closed, and the building fell into disrepair. Fortunately, in 2012 the Inner City Trust stepped in, and renovation work began. The Bishop’s Gate Hotel opened earlier this year… Let’s have a look inside!
Nice!

Apparently, it’s already proving popular with tourists, locals… and Beasties! The lads thought they deserved a hearty lunch in the bar after all their wanderings. And they treated themselves to a hot whiskey as well.
Although maybe they shouldn’t have…
Perhaps they should have ordered a smaller one! We’ll catch up with these two again when they’ve had a chance to sleep it off.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend… Explorer Beastie and I will be back on Tuesday to share the tips and tricks we learned at our product photography lesson last night, courtesy of the good folks at Etsy Ireland! See you then!

An Irish Pub, in Perugia! A de Girolamo/CrawCrafts Beasties

(B)Easter in Perugia!

Posted on May 3, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Ciao ragazzi!

Wow, what a week it’s been! The Irish weather – not known for its predictability or even-temperedness at the best of times – has been flinging just about everything at us over the last seven days, veering from hot sun one minute to blustery snowstorms the next. So you can imagine how excited we at Beastie Towers were to get word from Italy… Looking at these photos allowed us to escape to beautiful Perugia for a short while, with Antonello and Tiziana Beastie (and of course their trusty Beastiecat Tris) as our guides!

Perugia is right in the heart of Italy, and it’s been an important city since Etruscan (pre-Roman-Empire) times. These days, it’s the regional capital of Umbria, and there’s plenty to see here!

The Beasties started off at St Bernardino church. The incredible marble facade of this renaissance-era church dates back to 1457-61, and was the creation of Agostino di Duccio, a sculptor who started his career working alongside Donatello.
Impressive… Especially to the Beastie-sized tourist! The church also boasts some beautifully detailed bas-reliefs…
…And some fences that certain Beasties probably shouldn’t be climbing.

Fortunately, they made good their escape before the authorities showed up.

Next stop – the Piazza IV Novembre, home of the Palazzo dei Priori. This was the seat of the mediaeval “first citizens” – representatives of each of the city’s guilds.

There’s also a spectacular fountain – the Fontana Maggiore, another masterpiece from the Renaissance era!
Mind you, looking at all that water would make you feel kinda thirsty…

Pint, anyone?
Ah, Ireland’s great cultural gift to the world – the Irish Pub! And the good news is, there’s one right here in Perugia. There was even live music… And of course the Beasties had the best seat in the house.
What a great trip! Thanks to Antonello and Tiziana Beastie for sharing their photos!

And in other monster news… Friday posts are back! Check in with us again on Friday, when Explorer Beastie and I will be sharing what we learned at the Irish Blogger Conference!

Paddy and Plunkett Were Here - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Beach Beasties!

Posted on April 26, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Paddy and Plunkett

It’s been a while since we last caught up with Paddy and Plunkett! But it looks like they’ve been off adventuring again… Let’s see what they’ve been up to as they travel along Northern Ireland’s north coast!

Mussenden Temple was originally a private library, built by the 4th Earl of Bristol in memory of his cousin, Frideswide Mussenden. These days, it’s open as a visitor attraction – or you can book it as a wedding venue!

It looks like this holiday is off to a great start, despite Paddy’s motoring “skills”! We’ll be back to check up on the lads again soon… and next week tune in to find out where Antonello Beastie and Tiziana Beastie went for their Beaster break!

The Trouble With April In Dublin…

Posted on April 12, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin

… Is that we take the concept of “April showers” to a whole new level. I’d promised Explorer Beastie a day out yesterday (Other Work kept me pretty busy over the weekend), but on Monday morning we were greeted with teeming rain and grey skies. What to do?
Anything outdoors was totally off the menu. And all of our lovely free museums and art galleries are closed on Mondays! Fortunately, I remembered about the Book of Kells!

The Queen at the Book of Kells, from www.tcd.ie — Good enough for the Queen, good enough for us! Image borrowed from http://www.tcd.ie

So I grabbed my umbrella, and Explorer Beastie hopped into my bag for the journey. But when we arrived…
Oh no! Clearly everyone else had the same idea! What now?

“Hey, why don’t we go in here?”

“Here” is the Douglas Hyde Gallery, a small, FREE art space located just inside Trinity College’s Arts Building. I must have walked past it thousands of times when I was a student here, and I never thought to go inside! Time to fix that… Good call, Explorer Beastie!
The exhibitions change fairly frequently, so there’s always something new to see. The current one will be running until the 4th of May, and is definitely worth a look. We especially enjoyed Bill Lynch’s work!
Unfortunately, it hadn’t stopped raining by the time we went to leave…
… But we did get to pose with Douglas Hyde himself on the way out! It’s not often that little woolly monsters get a chance to rub shoulders with former Irish presidents!
As for the Book of Kells… Well, we’ll take you there another day. And it definitely won’t be on a rainy Monday morning!

See you all next week, when I’ll have some more new Beasties for you to meet!

Out and About With Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

Exploring Georgian Dublin

Posted on March 18, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin

Hello there, Beastiebuddies, and happy Friday!

Today, Explorer Beastie and I want to take you to another part of Dublin you may not have seen before. Come and join us as we wander down the side of Merrion Square, and head towards the Grand Canal!

Around here, you can see some great examples of Georgian townhouses – a style of architecture which still dominates large areas of Dublin’s city centre, both north and south of the river. The first “Georgian-style” buildings date back to the 1720s, when many of Dublin’s narrow mediaeval streets were widened, and a property boom encouraged developers to build new houses on what were then the very edges of the city. It’s strange to think that what I consider to be the heart of Dublin was once almost the countryside!

Unlike modern-day developers, the Georgian builders were given pretty strict guidelines about how their houses should look. So in these areas, you can expect to see big, often brightly-coloured front doors, with a semi-circular “fanlight” window over them…
There are usually steps to raise them up above street level, and they tend to be tall (by Irish standards) with a basement underneath. To pick up extra Georgian status points, add an imposing door knocker…
… Or an elaborate iron boot scraper!
And of course there’s a prize if you spot a house with a famous former resident!

You can also find out more about what life was like inside these houses a little further down the street, at Number Twenty Nine – a faithfully restored Georgian-style house, which is open to visitors all year round. We didn’t go inside this time, but we’ve been before and it’s definitely worth a look!

Further down Mount Street, we stopped for a quick game of hide and seek…

…And then carried on to find one of Dublin’s lesser-known landmarks – St Stephen’s Church, affectionately known to Dubliners as “The Pepper Canister”!
Building work began on the church in 1821, as more people starting moving to this part of the city. It’s a perfect spot to stop for some photos…
… Before heading back home!
I wonder where Explorer Beastie will pop up next? Tune in next week to find out!

Spring Has Sprung in Dublin…

Posted on March 11, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin

…So Explorer Beastie and I could hardly wait to get outside and enjoy some unexpected sun yesterday afternoon! And with St Patrick’s Day coming up next week, where better to hang out than in St Patrick’s Park? The park is right beside St Patrick’s Cathedral, so you really can’t miss it… The Cathedral’s tall spire dominates the skyline for miles around!
And once you get up close, it’s really striking.
The site of the Cathedral was chosen because St Patrick is said to have baptised people into Christianity here, back in 450AD. There has been a church dedicated to him in this area for more than a thousand years – its first documented mention was in 890! Although it has grown and changed a lot since then, most of what you see here today was built between 1220-60. The exterior is covered in interesting little details, for anyone with the time to take a closer look…
…Although only one of us was small enough to be able to sneak in for a full investigation!Once I’d managed to persuade Explorer Beastie to rejoin me on the right side of the fence, he had a great time tearing around the park. There were trees to climb…
… Steps to scale…
…And of course, he had to take a look at the fountain in the centre of the park!
They’ve also been busy filling the flowerbeds with brightly-coloured plants for Spring, as you can see.

“Check these out – they’re the same colours as me!”
All this left him pretty tuckered out, so we sat on one of the benches for a while and watched the world go by…
…Before heading off into the sunset!
If you should find yourself in Dublin, St Patrick’s Cathedral and Park are open year-round (although the park does close earlier in the winter). A visit to the Cathedral will set you back €6 (€5 for OAPs and students)… but access to the park is totally free! Although it’s a popular tourist spot, many locals also use the park as a place to relax, walk their dogs or enjoy a bit of greenery on their way to work.

And once you’re there, you’re well on your way to exploring the lesser-travelled paths of Dublin 8… But we’ll save that for another day!

Do any of you have a favourite local park? Let us know in the comments!

Explorer Beastie Special – Belfast Road Trip!

Posted on March 4, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Knitted Beasties

OK, so normally Explorer Beastie and I would be taking you to one of our favourite Dublin places today… But when a rare opportunity to visit Belfast presented itself, we could hardly say no!

Although I originally hail from this part of the world, I very seldom get to hang out in Belfast any more. Trips “Up Home” seem to skim by in an instant – by the time I’ve shared all my news, heard what my parents have been up to, said hello to the cat and sampled the latest batch of my Dad’s homemade wine, I almost need to pack up and head south again! So when we heard there was a Rembrandt self-portrait on loan to the Ulster Museum, it was a perfect excuse to take the bus from the family homestead and pay a visit to one of my favourite childhood stomping grounds. On the way, Explorer Beastie had a quick look around the historic Lanyon building at Queen’s University…

…Then we grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading into the museum!

It turns out that there are lots of monster-like things living in the Ulster Museum, if you know where to look!

Monster Montage - CrawCrafts Beasties — Clockwise from main image: Totem pole, gold salamander pendant from the wreck of the “Girona”, Bacchus jug spout from the “Girona”, Sri Lankan Kolam mask

And you really need to watch out for those dragons flying around the atrium too…
These incredible sculptures are made from woven willow, and they’re the handiwork of local master basketweaver Bob Johnston. They’re so lifelike that you could almost imagine them swooping down from the ceiling! Fortunately, they seem more interested in each other… for now!

This trip was a great opportunity for me to check in with some old favourites – the exhibits I’ve been coming here to see since I was a small, creepily-obsessed-with-Ancient-Egypt-and-vampires child. Even after a complete refurbishment a few years ago, many of them are still on display! That includes Takabuti, the Eygptian mummy who has been an important part of the museum’s collection since she was first introduced to the public in 1835.
Since long experience has taught me that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for mummies, I’ll just include this photo of a lock of Takabuti’s hair here instead… but you can find out more about her on the Museum’s website if you like!

Next, we went in search of some dinosaurs…
…And some prehistoric creatures that are still with us!
Explorer Beastie was pretty intriuged by this coelacanth – a fish that was thought to be extinct until a live one was captured off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Before this, it had only been seen in fossils – ones that were at least 80 million years old! The Ulster Museum’s own “living fossil” was caught in 1973 off the Comoros Islands, and has been here ever since.

Also high on Explorer Beastie’s must-see list were the finds from the “Girona”, a ship from the Spanish Armada that was wrecked off the coast of County Antrim in 1588. He examined one of the original cannons…
…And discovered the kind of treasure that would make Pirate Beastie’s one remaining knee go weak!
Then we had a go at building a Neolithic stone tomb…
Wait a second… Tomb? Shipwrecks? Mummies? This is all getting very morbid! I think it’s high time we headed off to find that Rembrandt!
Wow. The detail in the face is amazing – you can almost imagine him opening his mouth and launching into his life story. In fact, this is one of the last paintings Rembrandt completed… a final addition to the collection of 80 or so self-portraits he produced in his lifetime.

We could have stayed in the museum all day, but it really was time to head for home. At least we still had a few spare minutes for a leisurely stroll back into town through the Queen’s Quarter…
…And a quick hot chocolate on the way!
Thanks for joining us on our adventure north of the border! We’ll be back in Beastie Towers next week, bringing you monster news on Tuesday and another Dublin day out on Friday. In the meantime, have a super weekend!

A Monster Night Out!

Posted on February 26, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Ciao ragazzi!

As you know, the Beasties and I always love to hear all the news from any little woolly monsters who have left Beastie Towers for new homes. So we were delighted to receive an email AND photos from Antonello Beastie and Tiziana Beastie last week, when they ventured out in search of a taste of Ireland… In southern Italy! Let’s join them, shall we?

Aha! A green building with a Guinness logo in the window – this looks promising! And inside…
Yes, I think we’re definitely in the right place!

Now to check out the draught taps… And look at all the other cool stuff they have behind the bar!
So, what will we have? Well, it probably has to be…
… A pint of the black stuff, of course!

SLÁINTE! SALUTI! CHEERS!
And here’s a picture of all the girls together!
But wait a second… Where’s Antonello Beastie gone? Uh-oh…
… It turns out that there IS a limit to how much Guinness a Beastie can have after all! Shhhhhhh, don’t wake him up!

The Beasties’ cat enjoyed her evening out too… Although it looks like Tris was glad to see her little felt friend safely back home in their basket!
Thanks so much to Antonello, Tiziana and their Beasties for these super photos! I hope you enjoyed your evening out together!

And what have the rest of you got planned for the weekend ahead? Let us know in the comments!

Explorer Beastie Holding My Colouring Pencils - CrawCrafts Beasties

An Arty Day Out!

Posted on February 5, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin, Ideas

In Ireland, it’s very tempting to hide yourself indoors at this time of the year… and remain there until dire necessity (buying food, going to work, zombie home invasion) forces you outside. I for one could happily spend February living on instant noodles and baked beans while binge-watching “Murder, She Wrote”, but fortunately Explorer Beastie is a more active fellow, who constantly demands entertainment, fresh air and brain food (surprising for one whose head is literally full of fluff). So yesterday, I put down my knitting needles and took the two of us off to another of our favourite destinations – the RHA (Royal Hibernian Academy) Gallery, a mere stone’s throw from St Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street in Dublin’s south city centre.

This great little gallery deserves more visitors than it seems to get – I suppose a lot of people overlook it, and head to the National Gallery a little further down the road instead. But while the majority of the National Gallery’s exhibitions remain static, the RHA always has something new on its walls. In fact, I’ve never seen the same thing there twice! It’s also small enough that you could see everything in a short visit, and it’s also FREE IN! What’s not to like?

When we were there yesterday, three artists had their work on display. We started out with Maeve McCarthy’s “The Return”, a collection of nightime landscapes in charcoal inspired by a visit to the farmhouse where she and her family spent summers as children.

The artist also collaborated with her brother, a filmmaker, to make a short film showing the decaying rooms of the abandoned house.

2016 is an important year for Ireland – it’s the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, which was one of the most significant events in setting Ireland on its way towards independence from Great Britain. The other two exhibitions we saw drew their inspiration from this – Mick O’Dea’s “The Foggy Dew” included portraits of some of the key figures in the Rising…

…And in a separate gallery upstairs…

… A combined installation of large-scale canvasses and sculptures.

Then our final port of call was “Before, During, After… Almost” – an exhibition of David Farrell’s photographs, which shows how much both Dublin and rural Ireland have changed since the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, in 1966.

And suitably inspired by our artistic wanderings, it seemed like a good time to tackle the first prompt in Tammie Painter’s Sketchbook Saturday. Yeah, I know I’m late. It’s my… um… artistic temperament.

Anyway, the theme was “Round and Around”, which made me think of all the circles and spheres that cropped up in my drawings and craftings when I was a kid.

…And in case you want to read the scribblings…

And of course, Crablet and Explorer Beastie were on hand to help out with the colouring in. Thanks, lads.

AND FINALLY… Eagle-eyed Noémie at FocalHeart spotted one of my knitting notebooks in the background of a photo I posted recently. Here it is up close!

I use these books to record patterns, jot down ideas, count off rows and (as you can probably guess) keep track of the yarns I’ve used. And I had a great time going through past books today, snapping some of my favourite pages to share! So, since this post is already MASSIVE, here’s a taster for today…

… And I’ll have more next week!

Hope you all enjoy the weekend – why not check out Sketchbook Saturday for yourself tomorrow?

Beastie Burgers!

Posted on January 22, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Explorer Beastie's Dublin

Happy Friday, everybody! And Explorer Beastie is back to share another of our favourite Dublin haunts with you all! Today, we’re going in search of Dublin’s best burger… A quest that has been an ongoing preoccupation of mine for the last couple of years.

Now, after countless hours of research, we can reveal that the burger that has most tickled our tastebuds (for at least the last twelve months) is made by… Bunsen!

But why? First of all, I appreciate the simplicity of their menu. Here it is.

So unfussy that it fits on a single side of a standard business card, this menu means that the chef can’t hide burger deficiencies behind fancy toppings or a crazy selection of different styles of bun. It HAS to be good. You will get a say in how your burger is cooked, though (I always go for well-done, but they entertain my friend Mike’s preference for ultra-pink insides as well) and you can take as many or as few of the toppings as you like.

Oh, and I have to get a chocolate milkshake. Sometimes I’ll even consider sharing it…

Hooray! The burgers are here! Unfortunately, excitement got the better of me and I ate half of mine before I remembered that I was supposed to be taking a picture of it.

For much better food photography than a hungry Beastiemaker can manage, I recommend visiting Bunsen’s own website or Facebook page. I’m afraid I couldn’t wait to put my camera away and polish off the second half of the burger! Oh, and I am absolutely one of those people who has to loudly slurp up the very last dregs of my milkshake…

I’m already looking forward to my next visit! And if you want to go yourself, Bunsen have two restaurants in Dublin city centre to choose from – the original one on Wexford Street is my local, and they added a second branch in Essex St East in Temple Bar last year. Both open at high noon (1pm on Sundays) and serve up burger deliciousness until 9.30 pm (Monday-Wednesday and Sunday) or 10.30pm Thursday-Saturday.

By the way, all opinions expressed here are 100% my own – no sneaky sponsorship deals afoot! Although if Bunsen were to offer me free burgers for life, I wouldn’t exactly turn them down! I also want to give Jo’Burger and Bobo’s a special honorary mention – especially since I realise that Bunsen is a little light on vegetarian options!

Explorer Beastie will be back with another Dublin gem in two weeks. In the meantime, don’t forget to enter our Great January Begone Giveaway! Oh, and to anyone who was good enough to click the “Share on Facebook” button at the end of my last post, could you please let me know so I can log your entry? Unfortunately WordPress has no way of telling me who you are! Thanks 🙂

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