George Munday Creative

The Spectrum and the Flame

Votive candles and the color spectrum of contemporary stained glass in semi-darkness, bring light to the Black Abbey in the Irish county of Kilkenny; the name was derived from the term “Black Friars” to describe members of the Dominican Order and the black cloak worn by monks over their white habits.

Founded in 1225 by William Marshal the younger, Earl of Pembroke, the abbey has had many reversals of fortune. In 1558, Ireland was under the rule of Protestant Elizabeth I of England and the property of the priory was confiscated by the crown. Then from 1685 to 1689 under the rule of the Catholic king James II of England, the abbey flourished, but in 1690, under the rule of the Protestant king William III of England, the abbey was once again occupied by the English.

In 1776, when the community of the Black Abbey was close to zero, the Dominicans retook possession of the abbey, and in 1816, Black Abbey was restored as a Dominican priory and the first public mass was held on 25 September 1816…

Any connection with the title of my blog is purely coincidental…

Hands and Molecules

A disused power station glimpsed through a pair of hands holding molecules. The sculpture of the giant hands emerging from the ground to cradle the molecules is located near Ramsgate in the English county of Kent.

Patched and Patinated…

An old doorway in Roquebrun, a charming small town in an attractive setting on the River Orb, known locally as the Nice of Herault in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.

40 Shades of Green

In these days of inexpensive travel, it seems nearly everyone has been nearly everywhere – and only exciting and distant places are worth photographing. But travel is also about what we feel, people we meet and experiences, even in, especially in, our own backyard…

Moonlight on the Water

Night walkers on a section of the Beara Way on Bere Island off the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. Located in a large, deep natural bay, the island has been an important strategic navel location since the eighteenth century, when French fleets entered the inlet with troops to support Irish rebellions on several occasions.

Blobitecture…

The Selfridges Building department store, was completed in 2003 with a steel framework, a sprayed concrete facade and 15,000 anodised aluminium discs mounted on a blue background….

Napoleon’s Legacy…

Old and beautiful Plane trees lining a road between vineyards in Languedoc-Roussillon, France.

Black Castle and Black Skies…

Black Castle in Leighlinsbridge, Ireland was founded c.1181 by Lord Hugh de Lacy to defend the strategic crossing of the River Barrow after taking the surrounding lands from Irish clans.

The Balcon de Europa

The Balcón de Europa in Nerja overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. Originally it was the site of a 9th century watchtower built to monitor the coastline, protecting against pirates until it gradually fell apart from fighting and the elements.

“I am not a number”

The beautiful beach that appeared in “The Prisoner”, a cult TV series launched on British TV screens in 1966, in Canada the following year and in the USA in 1968. The story followed a British secret agent (Patrick McGoohan), who, after angrily resigning from his job prepares to make a hurried departure from the country and while packing his luggage, is rendered unconscious by knockout gas piped into his London flat…

The Mystical Liver Birds…

Why are these two mythical birds perched on the clock towers of the Royal Liver Building on Liverpool waterfront?

La Boveda..

Sitting on a rocky prominence, the Old Town in Salobreña is a cluster of whitewashed houses and steep narrow streets leading up to a tenth-century Moorish castle, called ‘Castillo de Salobreña’.

Solitude

“Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong,” said Winston Churchill

Boredom 2:

It’s a dog’s life: with boredom preceding, during and after fishing

Oystercatchers…

From an earlier life, living on the Copper Coast in Ireland’s County Waterford. Ballydowane cove was my daily lunchtime go-to place, whatever the weather. The more stormy, the more enjoyable it was. The birds liked it too because big waves disturb the shore exposing more tasty treats. As did the horseman on my first blog post.

The Murder Window

When Bertram de Verdun arrived in Ireland as part of King John’s first expedition to Ireland, he was given/appropriated land in the Anglo-Norman territory known as The Pale and erected a manor house in 1185. But our story concerns his wayward and scheming granddaughter…