I was talking to a few people in the 20′s about the latest phenomenon of everyone selling everything they no longer need. They looked at me blankly. I then realised it must be just a 30+ thing to do.. Almost everyone I know in that age bracket is selling off items of value, no longer used, bought in the boom!
Selling ‘stuff’ has been made even easier by sites like Adverts.ie, donedeal.ie, rollercoaster.ie and now a lot of towns/ areas have their own Buy and Sell Facebook pages.
I am a member of the Greystones Buy and Sell Facebook page and it is brilliant and slightly addictive to watch too! You can buy everything from a buggy, to a fireplace, cookers, door frames, clothes and my personal favourite so far, a uni-cycle. There is a reserve price put on each item by the seller and the bidding commences. It is moderated and there are rule watchers a watching to make sure everything is above board!
It is a lovely community. Everyone is very helpful if you are looking for something in particular and it also helps you meet people in your community, be it online or through a sale.
So far I have sold an iPhone4s, two old nokia phones, a buggy, a coffee table and some photo frames. I have made a total of €865 in the sale of these items and I am just about to close a deal on a bike and a buggy travel bag to add another €110 to my total. That’s nearly €1,000 for stuff I no longer use or need. In this day and age that money is a big help.
I currently have a couch, a girls and a boys bike and three tall office presses up for sale and hope to sell these in the coming days. (anyone looking for a lovely red three seater couch for €300 ono?!)
There are certain things I won’t bother selling and would prefer to donate them to charity. I recently donates a bin bag of children’s books and another three bin bags full of toys to the local St Vincent de Paul shop.
I brought my daughter with me and enjoyed the lesson that it taught her; not everyone goes to Smyth’s to buy their toys. I could have sold these bits and pieces, many do but it would probably have taken ages and I’d prefer to donate when I can.
So, have you ever sold anything online? Do you have anything to sell? Bet you do!
I finally got around to buying a ‘proper’ camera late last year. I have been tinkering with it here and there, have had some great advice from people who know a thing or two about photography but I’ve kind of been winging it to be honest!
With the camera I also got a voucher for a half day course to learn the basics with Canon Ireland and the Institute of Photography. I went to it last Saturday and LOVED it!
It was a lecture format with all 150ish attendees separated by their camera model. There were five Canon Ireland pros on hand to help with any issues throughout. I was taught so many small elements that will make my photos better and make me think about how I can deliver the best photo before I press the button.
Whilst at the course I found out about a night shoot that was taking place that night, which was also free so I borrowed a tripod (something I now know one needs for a night shoot!) but on my jacket and headed into town for 9pm.
There were around 25 of us photo nerds in attendance and Dave McKane from the Institute of Photography and two Canon Ireland lads on hand to instruct and help. I must say I loved every second of it. I loved learning how to make my photo better and how the slightest change can make it so different. I have so much more to learn and really have an apatite for it!
Here are a few of the photos I took (unedited) with my newly honed skills whilst on the course!
Our fearless leader, Dave McKane, Institute of Photography
This technique involved disabling the focus points, choosing the centre point and using this as my focus. My focus was on the lamps in this shot.
This is a nice-ish photo but on refection the composition is all wrong. There is too much pavement in the foreground and I cut the bridge in half with one of the lamps. I should have stood two paces to the right and two paces forward for a better shot.
Fitting a lot into this one… I was trying to fit in the lights on the water and the bronze sculpture here. Again, I should have taken more time to adjust myself into a better position.
Nighttime shooting, using different White Balance settings to change the tone in the shots.
All the green lights remind me of The Great Gatsby. Some car trails on the right hand side in this shot which is very exciting to capture for the first time!
Leinster House, Dublin. I then went on my own nerdy night shoot afterwards. This is by no means perfect and there is a lot to change to make it better but I’ll learn all that in due course.
It has been unbelievably windy in Dublin the past two days with gusts of up to 120km per hour. I am not scared of many things but I am terrified by strong winds. I am just so scared that a tree will fall on my car or a piece of flying debris will come flying at me and take me out.
I was driving home from town last night at around 9.30 and had to stop to put petrol in my car. The wind was so strong it took three attempts, two hands and two feet to open my door to get out to put the petrol in. I usually fill my car up but stopped half way as I was terrified that part of the forecourt was going to fly at my head and kill me!
It’s the suddenness and tragedy of it all… I can even see the headlines in the paper about it…
When I am in my house I am scared. I’m scared that the slates will fly off the roof or the SKY antenna will go flying off. I’m scared that the children will wake too!! Others can huddle under the blankets happy that they are sheltered but I just hate it! Give me pouring rain any day over howling winds.
This may sound a bit dramatic but maybe my destiny is to go suddenly… I could handle that in another 60 years but not now thank you!
What scares you?
A quick addition following a comment from Caitriona in Wholesome Ireland. She mentioned that her fears have increased since having children and it is so true. Everything is different after having children. There is more to be lost if something tragic happens and I think in the multi-media world we now live in we see every day how random incidences take people’s lives so suddenly.
I have recently returned from an excellent city break in Lisbon, Portugal. I went with my Mom and Sister and we all really liked it. Let me start off by saying we are not city break kinda people, we are more lounge by the pool people so this was a new-ish experience for us all together. My sister would have gone on a good few city jaunts in her time but Mom and I, not so much!
Mom and Sister enjoying the nightlife Lisbon has to offer. First night was a tapas & wine bar.
Me and my sis at the waterfront by the Expo Centre
What I’ll do is bring you through my four day trip through some photos I took. This is not a travel blog, more of a photo blog! I was delighted that I brought my ‘real’ camera as my phone was stolen on our first morning there.. right out of my back pocket in a shopping mall. I didn’t let it get me down, it was after all, just a phone and to be honest I could do with a break from it.
An iconic view of Lisbon from the Castle.
I call Lisbon the City of Lamps, pastries, coffee and pick-pockets… you’ll see why now!
Every street had beautiful street lamps regardless of it being a busy shopping area or a dusty side street. They feature a bit in my photos and became a bit of a theme for me when taking pics.
Lisbon, The City of Lamps
I loved the fact that you could get a coffee or pastry within five yards of any point in the whole city. The interesting thing was that I couldn’t find anywhere (bar Starbucks) that did take away coffee! They were probably luring you in to buy one of their tempting pastries!
The shopping was amazing with all the high street and high class brands mingled together. There are three big shopping malls in Lisbon, the most jaw dropping was the Corte Inglais.. I’ve never seen a bigger department store in my life.. it went on forever!
Colourful buildings, and outdoor cafes on nearly every street corner. We were on the hop-on-hop-off bus here and you can see the famous tram lines up above.
A lovely cafe in one of the many squares. Lisbon is a big city but is easy to get around by foot and bus.
I loved how the town planners kept the charm and detail of the buildings rather then modernising them to suit big brands objectives. On a few occasions I found myself standing outside McDonald’s restaurants without even knowing it! No big ‘M’ logos that can be seen for miles in Lisbon!
We saw the city via a hop-on-hop-off bus which was great. But be warned, we did have to wait a lot for buses and there was no way to find out when the next bus was due. On one occasion we just packed it in and jumped in a taxi!
A short, nice and cheap (€2.40 return) train ride down the coast is Cascais. It is a lovely beachy town and we were craving a bit of beach even though it was really quite cold. Cascais is bursting with charm. We did a lot of slow walking, snooping in shops and had a lovely lunch with a view of the very clean harbour and it’s lovely lighthouse.
Day three saw us jumping on a train out to Cascais for a little bit of seaside antics. We spent an hour in this little sandy alcove and soaked up some much needed rays!
A little bit of ice cream to go with our wine at lunchtime in Cascais
Cobbled streets of Cascais were lovely and I kinda felt at home here for some reason!
Nightlife I’m afraid I can’t comment on as we were just too tired to be creative in this department. On the first night we had tapas, the second night we ate in our hotel and the third night we had a quick bowl of pasta. This city break business is tiring stuff!
An art installation at night in one of the many squares.
The 28 Tram that scuttles around the sights of Lisbon.
Regarding our hotel, we chose to stay in The Four Seasons. There are so many very good hotels all over Lisbon; the city is your oyster and you just need to pick what suits you best! The Four Seasons was originally a Ritz and was a huge hotel. You immediately get that Four Seasons feel from the place with their excellent personnel skills and sprawling flower arrangements.
We stayed in a suite with three beds and it was perfect for our needs. Only complaint I would have was their was no tea/coffee facility in the room and the night we ate there I felt the food could have been a bit better for The Four Seasons and the price we paid. The spa was lovely though… a great place to relax after walking all day!
The Four Seasons Ritz Lisbon
On our final day we took the 28 tram up to the castle. It was a lovely experience and one I would highly recommend. Everywhere you go you will be reminded about pick pockets and you’d do well to take heed, especially on the trams and at the castle. Up here is a photographers dream! I took so many photos… the lighting was fab and there were interesting side streets at every corner.
Inside the 28 Tram. Rustic and lots of standing space which is all used!
Watch your belongings!
One of the many side streets up by the Castle
Don’t think I need to explain this but what a cute sign!
So, that is it in a nutshell. I could have added another twenty photos! Would I recommend Lisbon as a city break? Yes, absolutely.
