CHQ

Mostly work today, apart from a quick trip in to town, during which I walked both sides of the Liffey from O'Connell Street to the Point and back. It was generally dull and featureless, and I only trudged on for the sake of the exercise.

On the way back I called into the CHQ Building. This was one of the great white hopes of the good days, an up-market shopping mall (it's unfair to describe it like that, even though that's what it is to all intents and purposes) and pet project of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority which was the authority's highest-profile restoration job. The building is magnificent, and it's been restored quite lovingly, but the project never really took off even in the rosiest days of the Celtic Tiger and it's now a rather sad place to walk through.

The only place with anybody in it today was the salad and noodles bar. A handful of other outlets are still gamely trading, but more than half of the units are either vacant or closed down, a sad commentary on the dramatic economic downturn. All rather depressing, really, and I wasn't sorry to get back home afterwards to tackle some more work.