Imaginosity

It's strange how some times the simplest activity can turn out to be surprisingly satisfying. That was the case today, which mostly consisted of an abortive shopping expedition. It began in Dunnes Stores at Cornelscourt, continued in Woodies in Sandyford and the new Beacon South Quarter nearby, and finished with a food stop in the Mill House in Stillorgan.

The whole Beacon experience was the biggest surprise of all. I hadn't even heard of its existence before, and yet it consists of a hotel, a hospital, and residential, office and retail accommodation. The retail element isn't large, but it contains some fascinating outlets, including some high-quality home and furnishing stores where it's all too easy to spend much longer looking around than you'd imagine possible. The whole development is enormously impressive, but I couldn't help wondering how it's all going to survive in the present economic climate (the vast underground car park was only very sparsely occupied, for instance, though it may well be much busier at normal times since it also serves as a park-and-ride facility for the Luas tram). A further phase is under development, and it would be very interesting to return during a working week to see whether or not any construction work is actually happening at all.

I spotted mention of something called Imaginosity as we drove in, and wondered what this might be. It turned out to be 'Dublin's Children's Museum'. The building is quirky, to say the least, and it all seems to be very popular with children and parents alike.