Recently in Dublin Category
GoCar car sharing
A friend of mine was telling me about the GoCar Car Sharing service last night, and it sounds really good! It looks very similar to the City Car Club, which I was a member of when I lived in Edinburgh.
The basis behind the scheme is to allow you to rent a car for a couple of hours at a time. Owning and maintaining your own car for occasional use can be very expensive, and hiring a car by the day for a simple errand is a bit over-the-top. And so, this service lets you hire a car by the hour.
The cars are positioned around the city, and you can check online when they’re free, and book one for the time you need. Then swipe your smartcard at the car, and you’re away - and they automatically bill you for the time/distance you use at the end of the month.
It’s ideal for the odd trip to an out-of-town shopping mall, or for a visit to friends across town - and like I said, it’s much less expensive and hassle-free than owning your own car!
January 6, 2012
First ride of 2012
This morning I had my first cycle ride of the new year, and I feel fantastic. I had forgotten how invigorating it is to ride to work, and how much more alert and energetic I feel afterwards.
I live so near to work now that I’ve slipped into the habit of leaving the bike at home most days. When you add in all the time it takes to walk to the bike shed and unlock, and then re-lock at the other end, a bike ride only really saves me a couple of minutes. And the bonus when I walk is that I can listen to music - which is much too dangerous a practice when cycling on the Dublin roads!
However, I really must make the effort to use the bike more. I used to ride it every day, come rain or shine, but that’s fallen to about two days a week now.
Rothar
If you’re in the market for a second-hand bicycle, need some bike repair training, or even just need some space and tools to do some repairs, then Rothar is for you.
Situated on the Phibsborough Road D7, they are a community project that takes donated old bikes (as well as abandoned bikes from around the city) and renovates them in their workshop; selling them on second-hand at a very reasonable price.
I really love the concept, because it promotes recycling and reuse, sustainable transport, and community-based education.
I just wish my new bike would hurry up and arrive in the shop, so that I can donate my existing ride to the project.
St Ann's Dawson Street - Choir Auditions
The Church of Ireland parish of St Ann’s, Dawson Street, Dublin 2 are inviting singers of all parts to audition for the church choir.
St Ann’s employs a professional chamber choir to sing it’s Sunday morning service. The choir sings a broad repertoire of traditional Anglican church music at the alternating Eucharist and Matins services on Sundays at 10.45am.
Ideal candidates will have experience of singing in a church choir, have a committed attitude towards the choir, have good sight-reading ability, and a voice that blends well in a small ensemble.
Auditions will take place on the afternoon of Sunday 21st March. Please contact the Director of Music, Charles Marshall, for details of the audition process and renumeration level.
Email: tcmcharlie@gmail.com Phone: 087 975 2017
Dublin Cycling Websites
A collection of web sites that are useful to cyclists in Dublin and the rest of Ireland:
- Cycling in Dublin - City of Dublin cycling portal, with bike route maps and a facility to suggest and vote for new cycle parking stands.
- Dublin Bikes - the bike sharing scheme with 40 rental stations around the city centre.
- Dublin Cycling Campaign - representing the interests of everyday cyclists.
- National Bike Week - which ran from 14-21st June 2009, and organised a load of biking events,
- Smarter Travel - Department of Transport site outlining sustainable transport plans, including the National Cycle Policy Framework.
- Bike to Work - details of the government’s tax-efficient scheme allowing staff to purchase new bikes for commuting to work through their employer.
Dublin Bikes
Just spotted the advertising for the new Dublin bike rental scheme - called, funnily enough, Dublin Bikes - which is due to be launched on 13th September.
With some 450 bikes available in 40 different locations in the city centre, users can take a cycle for free for up to 30 minutes, and after that it’s only 50 cents per half hour.
National Bike Week
Ireland’s National Bike Week kicked off on Sunday with a Family Fun Day in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday. The event included a non-competitive 10km ride through the park, which attracted all manner of cyclist — although sadly not enough to break the world record.
All this week the events continue, with free bike tune-ups available across the country, and various rides and cycle-to-work days. I’m hoping to take park in the Dublin City Cycle on Wednesday evening.
Dublin Cycle News
A couple of interesting cycle-related news stories have been reported in the last day or so. Firstly, that Ireland is having it’s first National Bike Week from the 14th to 21st June, with lots of events encouraging people to cylce more (News Story). And secondly, that Dublin is about to launch a bicycle rental scheme in July - whereby people can borrow a bike for up to half an hour for free (News Story). Luckily, it seems, they have learnt from the failures of other rental schemes, and are asking members to pay a large deposit on the bikes they borrow - to hopefully ensure they don’t all get stolen.
Heavens Opened
Someone at work today said that it was due to rain at about midnight tonight.
Well they were wrong - the heavens opened early, at 11.30pm - and boy did they open. I did wonder, at first, what the dull roar was. And then I realised that it was rain lashing on the roof.
The unfortunate people outside were totally soaked, and even the roads looked a bit dodgy, such is the extent of the downpour. I guess it’s just a shame we didn’t get a dramatic lightening storm to accompany the downpour.
Organ Improvisation of Silent Movie
This Friday evening (20th June) there’s a live organ accompaniment of a silent movie in Christ Church, beginning at 9.00pm. The organ improvisation is provided by David Briggs, who’s rather good at this kind of thing. I remember very much enjoying last year’s event, when the same organist improvised along to the film Phantom of the Opera—which, although it had nothing to do with the Andrew Lloyd-Weber show, had the odd flash of homage to the more well-known stage musical.
This year’s screening is of the 1939 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I’m hoping to be able to attend. That’s if I can get a ticket. They’re available free of charge (courtesy of the Temple Bar Cultural Trust who sponsor the event) from the Central Ticket Bureau (Phone: 0818 205 205). And if last year is anything to go by, it’ll be a really popular event.
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