Spring Equinox

Today is the Spring Equinox (Northern Hemisphere).  To celebrate I took some photographs during my lunch hour at Dublin Castle and in the park next to St Patrick's Cathedral.  The day was a bit dull but the flowers were lovely and bright. 

I can see these trees from my office window.  They have been beautiful this year,   

This tree (the first picture is a close up of it) is directly in front of my desk.  I see it from behind though so I don't get to enjoy looking at the pretty seating area.

This is the view from my desk overlooking Dublin castle.  I love it as it changes with the seasons and I can watch people coming and going (mainly tourists) as they enjoy the castle garden,

The following photographs are all of the little park next to St Patrick's Cathedral.

St Patrick's Cathedral - Dublin

Some photographs of St Patrick's Cathedral (in honour of the saint's special day) which is also situated very close to where I work.  I have posted these pictures before but felt I couldn't let the country's national day pass without making an effort to put together some sort of post even though I'm still quite disorganised after moving home

In recent years some restoration work has been done to the exterior of the cathedral and the stonework has been cleaned.  It looks lovely and gleams like new in the sunshine.

The interior of the church is well worth a visit as well but there is a charge to go inside.  (Presumably attending a service does not have an entry fee!)

In St Patrick's Close next to the cathedral is Marsh's Library - the oldest public library in Ireland built in 1701.  It is one of few buildings that is still used for its original purpose.

Unfortunately my scanner is only A4 size so I had to scan separate copies of these pages from yesterday morning's Metro Herald (the great free newspaper I read on the train to work.)  They had a fabulous Where's Paddy? double page spread that I thought was a lot of fun so I'm including it (albeit in fragmented form) here.  

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Whitman Ballet Paper Dolls No. 1962 (1966)

I wasn't originally going to post three paper doll books in a row but decided this one had to follow on immediately from the previous set.

Although I have very fond memories of playing with these dolls as a child, this set somehow never had quite the same appeal for me as the 1964 version.

As an adult the first thing that struck me is that Whitman used the same dolls in both.  Four of the original five are repeated.  There are slight differences, mainly in hairstyle, and the dolls have been given new names, but on the whole they are essentially the same.  Two examples are included below.  Alyce/Kathie is unchanged except for the colour of her leotard.  Emily/Marie has changed to blonde from brunette.

I don't remember noticing this as a child.  If I did it obviously didn't detract from my enjoyment in playing with these sets. 





St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

As next Thursday is St Patrick's Day I'm including some photos I've taken of St Patrick's Cathedral which is also very close to where I work.  The little park next to the cathedral is lovely and a nice place to sit on a sunny day.