2021

Reading John Connell’s “The Running Book” with its evocative portrayal of the Irish landscape prompted me to dig out this catalogue of black & white photographs by Giles Norman . I seem to remember we picked it up at his studio in Kinsale back in the early 1990’s. Beautiful moody landscape and street photography.

We also had the best Seafood Chowder ever at a pub by the beach at Kinsale.¹ Since then all Seafood Chowders have been measure against the “Kinsale Scale”. Most come up wanting.

KINSHIP by Ursula K. Le Guin

Very slowly burning, the big forest tree
stands in the slight hollow of the snow melted around it by the mild, long
heat of its being and its will to be
root, trunk, branch, leaf, and know
earth dark, sun light, wind touch, bird song.

Rootless and restless and warmblooded, we
blaze in the flare that blinds us to that slow,
tall, fraternal fire of life as strong
now as in the seedling two centuries ago.

via Maria Popover at Brain Pickings