Plain crane madness

Saturday 18/10/2014 Richie

Plain crane madness down at the pier in Balydonegan. For years there was a perfectly serviceable wooden crane. Anybody could use to lift out their boat preceding a storm or at the end of the summer season. This eventually was replaced with a galvanised steel crane which was equally effective but would last a lot more years due to its construction techniques. In fact it would probably still be there today. However some bright spark decided that what worked for decades was not good enough. Lets replace what works with a high tech hydraulic crane and its control box. Total price probably in excess of 100000 Euros.

So along came the engineers and the technicians to install this wonderful new crane. A local fisherman suggested moving the control box higher up than it was. He was ignored. Result after the first storm the crane broke down due to a flooded control box. Along came the clever technical guys and moved the control box to an extra added expense.

Next winter came along and smashed the whole crane into a broken eyesore. It no longer works and cost the tax payer almost certainly in excess of 100K Euro. Maybe they would be kind enough to come back and give the pier back its galvanised crane, that withstood all the elements could throw at it and only needed a bit of grease.

Plain crane madness

_DSC0528 — Broken levers and cut hydraulics

_DSC0529 — The control box back from the pier

The storms this year were very bad but the crane has not been working for quite sometime. Actually for the months that it worked it probably calculates to 10000 Euros a month.

Short video of storm.

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Allihies, Beara

Billy Griffin Artist

Sunday 12/10/2014 Richie

Billy Griffin Artist is located in Allihies on the Beara Peninsula, West Cork. He has been producing his art since he was 19 or 20 years old. Finger paintings is his speciality and he has had his fair share of success in Ireland and around the world. An interesting man to get to talk to as he has had such an interesting life. This short video gives an insight into how he works and thinks.

New – I messed up the sound when I made this video five years ago. As I am recovering from an operation I decided to fix it – New

Watch the new sound improved version of the film below

https://www.facebook.com/bearapeninsula/videos/1515982101871291/

Billy Griffin Artist

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Cycling, Sport

Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race

Wednesday 01/10/2014 Richie

Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race an event that I used to read about way back in the days of Eric Stone and John Atkins. I was a young cyclo-crosser from the South East competing on Saturdays and Sundays in the late seventies. The allure of that race was great but I was still a schoolboy racer so it was not to be. All these years later and my friend John was having his fiftieth birthday the day after competing in this years event. I arranged to fly over from Ireland and we drove to the event and slept in his van. The day arrived and the race was on, all I had to do was to go to two different spots on a spare bike and give him his water and gels.

I was very impressed with the speed of some of the riders not least the winner Rob Jebb, and am inspired to maybe sign up for the race next year, if Irish men are allowed 😉 . It really is a classic event and any one who completes it should be proud of their ability, well done.

Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race

Watch a short video I managed to put together with a few clips…

My “focus” was on John so I was looking to be where I needed to be at each spot where he had asked me to pass him his “pouch” and water bottles and not taking photos.

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