A while ago, I noticed that a brick in the wall hidden behind a light post on my round the block walk has a very inspiring little mural on it. It took a bit of doing to grab a photograph of it as the pole is pretty much obscuring it and I had Puppy Stan pulling impatiently to trot on.
It catches me by surprise every time I pass and that could be three or four times a day!
I have a thing about T-shirts and this guy’s took my fancy down the Prom in Tramore this morning at low tide, under a rather cloudy sky.
The Promenade here in Tramore has become extremely popular during the Covid period and the Bay has been buzzing with surfers for the last few months, especially.
This evening it was all a lot quieter because the weather had been iffy all day but the strong wind had brought out some wind-surfers who added extra colour to the scene that is ever-changing and divine in all weathers.
Every time I look out towards the horizon, I think of lines from John Keats’ Ode to the Sea:
Oh ye, who have your eyeballs vexed and tired,
Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea;
-John Keats-
I am beyond fortunate to live in a seaside town where I get to see the delights of Tramore Bay every single day.
I was out this morning and loved the colour and calm of the ocean as it swayed ever so gently beneath me.
Tramore has a new lingerie shop and I simply love the name:
The Ladies’ Slip has been part of Tramore’s history for years and years and is one of the swimming places for changing and sunbathing.
It is part of the lore of the town at this point as men and women mix.
Here is how the Ladies’Slip was looking yesterday:
I’m hoping that the new lingerie shop attracts lots of customers when our non-essential retail opens next Monday as Ireland takes yet another step out of the Lockdown that has been in place since the beginning of the year.
It’s been a rollercoastery weekend so far and it’s only Saturday night.
Today is the 23rd anniversary of The Good Friday Agreement which promised, and, brought so much peace in Northern Ireland. However, there has been a good bit of rioting up North in recent days and it feels very fragile all over again. Brexit hasn’t helped amongst many other factors.
Meanwhile, my heart goes out to Queen Elizabeth on the death of her husband of 70 years. It certainly can’t be easy for her and I hope she can cope somehow. Ireland is entirely separate from the United Kingdom but we are neighbours.
Ireland lost one of her greatest song writers, Shay Healy, to Parkinson’s Disease today and that feels like we’ve lost a true talent and a very loved man.
Meanwhile, we are celebrating the victory of jockey, Rachel Blackmore, in the Aintree Grand National. She is the first woman ever to win it and the trainer of her horse, Henry de Bromhead, lives just outside Tramore so it was a day for mad cheering on that front.
So, I say ‘goodnight,’ with mixed emotions but with soothing Tramore Bay whispering just down the road.
Tramore Beach Photo: Frank Tubridy
There was a time when there were pony and donkey rides on Tramore Beach and they were a big hit with us as kids. They stopped quite a few years ago now but this photo of Dad’s brought me back to days when we’d have swims, kites, buckets and spades, picnics, sand in out shoes and a pony ride to top off the day.
I was walking along the Promenade here in Tramore the other day and caught sight of a teddy bear attached to the solid railings. It was but a glimpse and in that second I saw a heartbroken child, a frantic parent, a sad little bear heading into a night alone but glad that he had been left where he had been lost so hopeful that they would find him.
I also found myself back at a beach up the country when I was about 10 and our precious Dalmatian, Beauty, vanished in the sandhills. We searched for hours and eventually Dad drove us home with a promise that he would go back out at first light. It was among the worst nights of my life.
Heading back up the Prom, I stopped at the teddy bear to console him and realised that he was there for different reasons than I had imagined.
Here’s what I saw:
The words Feeling Lost jumped out at me and my eyes read on to see that the great organization, Pieta House, which is very much there for people who are down and/or suicidal was reaching out in this touching way that I guess most of us can identity with.
Suicide is a complex subject and people have many reasons for feeling lost but it is absolutely essential that there are people to reach out to who will understand at the low points of life. Feeling lost and having a sense of hopelessness is a very dark place but hope can very often be re-kindled from ashes with appropriate support.
None of us really knows what thoughts are in other’s minds but I think we all know the importance of love and peace of mind.
I just hope the little teddy bear knows the hope he is offering and that he will help people overcome that awful lost feeling.
Yes, Beauty was waiting for Dad that next morning at first light-exactly where he had parked the car.
One of my favourite pursuits is watching the last light as it closes in on my precious Tramore Bay.
This photo, taken a few days ago, really warmed the childish heart in me.
In the context of all that’s going on in the world, I know that this post may seem a bit unnecessary but I am feeling extremely upset having heard over the weekend that the lovely little wooden bridges in my local wood are to be replaced by shiny metal ones. Unfortunately the new bridges are already made and ready to install as soon as we come out of this current top level Lockdown.
The wooden bridges are beautiful and have been there as long as I can remember. I even have a photo somewhere that Dad took years back of a slightly different style of wooden bridge but they were wooden.
I have spent hours and hours and hours out in these woods and the highlight for me are the wooden bridges and their lovely design. They allow one to cross a tiny stream that runs down to the sea which is about a five minute walk down or even less. The woods were planted many years ago and have little paths and lots and lots of wild flowers and an array of different trees.
Wooden Bridge of Newtown Wood, Tramore, Co. Waterford
Up Close
The little bridges have fallen into a bit of disrepair in recent times and need attention but I simply can’t understand how anyone could think that metal bridges should replace these little gems that have such a place in the hearts of so many generations of people from Tramore and further afield.
It’s hard to know what can be done to stop a process that has gone so far but it seems important to try when such beauty and sense of place is at stake.
SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland 