The Red Light

Went for a dander on the East Pier again, this time, since I was on my own, all the way to the end. Many brisk strollers, some with dogs, heading out in the dusk to get a walk in before dark.

I saw much to photograph, as usual. The first thing that stopped me was this split WOODEN POST, which I shot against the old Mailboat Pier where I used to catch the 'redeye' boat-train to London; it is now derelict and waiting for demolition I imagine, or perhaps they have other plans. I love the warm granite stone, with GAPS every so often, though which I could glimpse the distant lighthouse on HOWTH.

I like the Sisyphean to-and froness of a long pier, the way it sends you back to retrace your tracks. You come so far and there is nothing to do but stand (or sit) staring at the anacronistic Pigeon House chimneys or fogged-out Howth, but really you're there to pay your respects to that old stand-in for nothing, the sea.

Having A LOVER to stand beside might make one feel a little more cosy, a little less melancholic. I noticed joggers, such as the one in the blip, tip the blue doors of the lighthouse building before heading back, a touchingly childlike gesture that I used to practice myself when I ran regularly (last time about 3 years ago).