Ireland day 0365. Wednesday 28 September 2022- Safety

Today’s summary	Gym in the morning then went into Dublin to buy a first aid kit and emergency blanket for winter hillwalking season
Today’s weather	Sunshine and showers. Moderate north westerly wind. About 13C

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The green line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Dublin outdoor sports safety kit (Click button below to download TCX of the morning’s gym session): Wednesday morning gym session

Commentary

I think I must have had another rush of blood to the head earlier this month, as I seem to have agreed to lead not one but two hikes for the Dublin Walking Club this coming October. But whilst walk leadership is a lot of fun and very rewarding, it does carry with it some responsibilities. To my embarrassment, I realised recently that I had left my emergency first aid kit back in the UK when we moved to Ireland last year, and while we have been out walking this year, I have just been relying on others to have the necessary first aid kit with them should a mishap strike.

I decided that this state of affairs really wasn’t good enough if I was to take my duties of care seriously. So my main mission today was to head into Dublin and visit an outdoor sports shop where I could find a suitable kit which would cover most eventualities short of open-heart surgery.

But first, I needed to burn off a few more chocolate biscuits so once Val had headed off to work, I packed my things and trotted down to the gym again. Once more, I found it relatively quiet today so I managed to get through my routine and fit in a decent swim well before lunchtime.

Once back at the flat, I hung my wet swimming things out to dry, then picked up my packed lunch and trusty thermos and nipped down to the station to catch a convenient train for town. I’d decided to ring the changes and have lunch in Dublin rather than in the flat, but once I got there it was raining so my plans to sit outside somewhere – maybe St Stephens Green – to enjoy my sandwiches had to be hastily revised. Instead, I dodged the raindrops and walked over to the EPIC centre – which is conveniently close to Connolly station and which has a large indoor space with seats and tables – and settled down there.

Once I’d finished the sandwiches and emptied the flask, I headed across the river and into the Exchequer Street shopping area. I drew a blank at Cotswold – the first sports shop I tried – they had nothing suitable in stock at all. But a bit further on, Great Outdoors had an excellent selection – almost too much choice in fact, as you can see from the banner image above. Eventually I settled for a medium sized first aid kit which came complete with scissors, bandages and gloves, and bought a lightweight survival blanket as well, as an extra insurance measure.

To celebrate my successful purchases, I thought I’d walk back to the other side of the river and grab a coffee at Fegan’s – a quirky cafe in the legal district – before heading back to Connolly for the train home. I enjoyed the coffee and didn’t have too long to wait on the notoriously cold Platform 7 for a Malahide train which saw me back in the flat just before 5.

All in all, then, a very satisfying day. I sincerely hope I never have to use any of my new safety kit, but I feel better just knowing that I have got it.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Today was very much a sunshine and showers day and this was one of those moments when the next shower was just about to begin – outside Connolly station	In the EPIC centre. Its main claim to fame is the Irish emigration museum in the basement below, but on the ground floor there’s a large open seating area with cafes all round providing students and city workers with lunch. It’s a great place to dive in and eat your sandwiches on a rainy day – like today.

The Seán O’Casey pedestrian footbridge over the Liffey, opposite the EPIC centre. It’s very similar to the London “wobbly bridge” in design and appearance (and does indeed bounce up and down a bit when you are in the middle of it), except that this one is actually a swing bridge, which opens to let boats through. Or at least it did until 2010 when the remote control that operates the opening mechanism was lost, meaning that it had to stay shut for four years while the whole thing was reprogrammed. The bridge was built in 2005.	From the bridge, looking down the Liffey towards the sea, at high tide this afternoon. The sailship to the left is a replica of the Jeanie Johnston, which helped hundreds of famine victims to escape to new lives in the New World in the mid 1800s

In Fegans 1924 cafe – I’m pretty sure it’s in an old pub, right next to the former fruit and vegetable market, and in the heart of Dublin’s legal district. It used to be our favourite go-to place in Dublin for brunch and coffees and whilst it’s still a charming spot with bags of atmosphere, it seemed to be slightly off-the-boil when I dropped in this afternoon.	The former Dublin City Council Wholesale Fruit Vegetable and Flower Market. It closed in 2019 and Dublin city council is supposed to be renovating it to turn it into a Covent Garden [London]- style city centre attraction, with an opening date of 2025. Despite the crane on the horizon, not a lot seemed to be going on and the place has a rather derelict air to it. A shame really, as it’s a lovely building with masses of potential

The Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers Society building just outside Dublin castle. The Society was founded in 1790 and is still extant. It is Dublin’s oldest charity. From the website: “A core principle of the Society is to target assistance towards helping people who are experiencing temporary difficulties and need once-off assistance to restructure their lives and achieve self sufficiency. The Society distributed €79,625 in assistance in 2020.“