Odds and Sods August 2026

August has ended with thunder storms as all the best summers do. We met our storm in Liverpool, which, luckily, hit late at night so it didn't prevent us getting around and doing what we needed to do. Our hotel, The Liner, has great views of the city in all directions and this is the roof of Lime Street Station next door and way below. Our stays there are always soothed by the echoing voice of the lady station announcer wafting up through this roof. There is something distant and mournful and soothing about her messages to the travellers. It was also sort of soothing to know that even when you cut through the station concourse her announcements are just as indecipherable as they are six floors up.

This was the rain approaching.

While this was the rain arriving.

Most of August though, looked like this.

Meanwhile in Cork in Ireland, having randomly chosen a hotel that looked fairly central and comfortable if a bit old fashioned in style, we were to discover that we were in a living history exhibit. The Imperial which is an unexpected name for a hotel in a Republic turned out to be Cork's first hotel which had played its own role in several historic events.

From its origins as the Commercial Rooms built for Cork’s merchant community to becoming one of Ireland’s most recognised heritage hotels, the Imperial has welcomed travellers, world-renowned figures, and local visitors for over two centuries. The building has stood witness to key moments in Irish history.

This is the Fredrick Douglass Lounge.

Frederick Douglass, born in Maryland, was an escaped slave who devoted his life to the abolition of slavery. When he visited Cork City Frederick Douglass gave a speech at The Imperial Hotel on 23rd October 1845, named ‘American Prejudice Against Colour’, to a packed room of local dignitaries and concerned parties. A plaque commemorating his stay was unveiled at The Imperial Hotel in the year 2012, and in 2023 The Frederick Douglass Lounge was opened in his honour.

After negotiating the Irish Free State Treaty, revolutionary leader Michael Collins spends his last night at The Imperial Hotel before departing for West Cork, where he was later killed in an ambush.

In August 2022, the hotel marked the centenary of Michael Collins death with a programme of commemorative events including the formal opening of The Michael Collins Suite (formally room 115) and the unveiling of a new portrait of Collins by Ennis artist Mick O’Dea.

The English Market in Cork, Ireland, is one of the oldest municipal markets in the world, having opened for trade in 1788.

There are many murals scattered about in Cork city and this one caught my eye before I noticed the name below. The pattern recalls the black and gold motifs that decorated so many millions of Singer sewing machines. Many people do not realise the link between the Singer family and the English Riviera where they set up home in palatial elegance. To view my series of posts on the Singer family start with this piece.

So famous a landmark has this shop become in Cork that it now features locally as a meeting spot called Singers Corner. Sadly it is no longer a sewing machine shop.

Back in the 80's there was a popular English pub chain called The Firkin after which you could add another word of your choice. The joke being the similarity of the word Firkin to another word. Stumbling on this round building on the hillside in Cork my first thought was that it had once been a trendy pub.

I couldn't have been more off the mark though as this is the home of a genuine Firkin Crane, which was a weighing device for Firkins or barrels of butter. Yes you read that right. This was none other than the world centre of butter exports.

Over the road from the Firkin Crane was the exchange, one building being where the men got covered in butter and the other where they got covered in cash. In the time before refrigeration, butter was heavily salted to give it shelf life enough to ship it around the world. As refrigeration was introduced and tastes changed to sweeter less salty butter the trade crashed.

This made me chuckle out loud as we walked past, because this small sign with its hand written additions says so much while saying so little. It was in a small charity shop window. That's a thrift shop to you Americans, and pants are not trousers but panties. Enough said.

High on a cliff overlooking Start Bay in Devon is this lonely memorial.

The Czech memorial located near Start Point Lighthouse is a plaque dedicated to Wing Commander Alois Vašátko, a celebrated Czechoslovak fighter ace who flew with the RAF during World War II. The memorial plaque is positioned at the Start Point Lighthouse car park. This site was specifically chosen because it is the closest point on the mainland to where Vašátko’s aircraft tragically fell into the sea.

Vasatko, 33, was one of the RAF's most senior Czech officers and commanded three fighter squadrons – 310, 312 and 313 – known as the Czech Fighter Wing, operating within the RAF from bases including Exeter, Bolt Head, Harrowbeer and Culmhead.

Things are pointing to a great harvest this year.

The Slapton Line is still closed after the winter storms, but the proposal for rebuilding has been sent to the government that hates us. We'll see what happens. In a month we will have our answer. Can they afford £20 million for us or will they have sent another few hundred million abroad in foreign aid by then to countries that have their own space industries.

Slapton Ley looking beautiful on a windy day. It is Devon's largest natural freshwater lake. Enjoy the view because if they don't repair the road the next large storm could easily breach the bar and this will become a tidal mud flat.

These giant Lego bricks are to stop stupid people driving off the edge of the car park into the sea. On the horizon is a large cargo ship.

It is the HMM Gdansk. While writing this it is at anchor in the port of Hamburg having called in at Antwerp on the way.

This is the breach in the Slapton Line, which is currently acting as a windbreak for beach users.

On the sea wall at Torcross which has already won funding for repairs and beefing up, various people are out and about making the most of the weather. I have already published my first in a series of posts about the sea wall here. Another featuring the people of the wall will follow. These photos are a preview.

I am finishing with this shot of my favourite picture after a recent visit to The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. I will be doing a seperate post on my three favourite paintings on show there. This one is Springtime in Eskdale painted in 1935 by James McIntosh Patrick.