I spent a day early this month in County Kildare with Eamonn and make-up artist Mary-Anne in woodland, between rocks, by waterfalls, the Bog of Allen, some Mountains which I THINK were called something like 'Blue Sleeve Mountains' (will have to check this!). As usual, I didn't come away from Ireland disappointed by the scenery!
Nor was I disappointed with the hospitality shown by Eamonn and his partner, who let me stay in their home the night before and looked after me very well. Such a pleasure to work with such kind, friendly people. I was also introduced to the pleasures of hot whisky + sugar + cloves + lemon post-shoot. I'm saving that one for the evening after the next freezing cold outdoor location shoot I do, when I feel in the need of a bit of TLC!
Something I always notice about the Irish is that they are extraordinarily polite to strangers. Where I'm from, you never say hello to people you pass in the street and barely even acknowledge their presence. When I went to London for the first time I found people's apparent denaial of the presence of others extreme - as a writer I am fascinated by people and have to tell myself not to look at people opposite me on the tube as I wonder about their lives, etc. - but it's true to a lesser extent in Oxfordshire. The only time you say hello to people you pass is if you're out for a walk in the countryside, and even then it can seem uncomfortable; instead of a hearty 'hello' (or even a 'hallo' if you fall into the 1950s, or happen to pass someone who remembers them), you might get a quiet 'hhnr' in response to your greeting from behind your back - an afterthought. Or you might give a surprised cough/hello a few moments late if you weren't expecting it to be a 'hello' kind of passing and were wrong. In Ireland, I passed a woman on the way out the ladies inside a pub and she said hello in such a friendly way that I wondered if I should know her; this kind of thing happened all the time. It's so nice, and such a shame that we don't seem to have that in England. Then again, according to my Mum, who grew up in Yorkshire (where I was born and lived for six months), it's just a southern thing, which she had to reluctantly adapt to for fear of seeming over-friendly. How depressing!
Anyway, here are two shots from Eamonn:
And a 'behind the scenes' one starring the softest dog I have ever touched. Seriously, he was like a little afro-lamb. He followed us down through woodland and up rocks to a waterfall. Mary-Anne (MUA, in pic) and I feared for his safety as he slipped around on the wet algae-covered rocks, let alone mine! He tried to get in every single shot. This isn't his most dignified pose, and please forgive my 'I'm shooting in the cold, wet forest and must not wear anything which will mark my nekkid skin' outfit:
