Crafty hand of Nature, or maybe proof of god!

She kept this pile of leave in position for hours with her invisable breezy brush.

Sonnet No 1

The works were made by men from lands afar
Who toiled in baking sun and mist and rain.
Before the pathway coated was with tar
We dippers had much reason to complain -
Oft'times o'er missing step my toe did trip,
When going for a dip in yonder sea;
But now I have no fear of awkward slip,
And safely can return for Dermot's tea;
In summer sun I'll laze on concrete seat
With views across the sea to mountains high;
Below the steps are cubic, straight and neat
They have been made with wondrous expert eye.
    But since the works do not meet maiden's pleasure,
    They are reserved for working men at leisure

Cooling Down!

Bank Holiday Monday Vico Temperatures:

Water: 11DegC

Air: 6DegC

Through the binoculars at coliemore...

Welcome to Concrete Cliff or: Requiem to the Vico

Once Vicovers could walk down Hawks Cliff and feeling themselves as a part of the cliff on the borderline of the sea… nature pure. I liked so much walking on those old weatherbeaten rocks which now have been layered in concrete. Concrete all over the place. Platforms, steps over steps over steps (do we really need that many?), and even splashes of concrete on those rocks where apparently concrete is not meant to be.
And talking about steps: after 5 weeks intense work on the Vico, I still can’t see any attempts on repairing the most important things, the relevant things to swimmers safety. The steps into the sea are as rugged and unsafe as ever (only one single step on the left hand side stair leading into the sea has been repaired), the hut is still not waterproof (means in adverse weather conditions we’ll still be changing in a hut where water drips from the ceiling), and the path up the hill might be wider, but is now muddy, and apparently there are no plans to put concrete there (where it would be really useful though). No sign of railings yet either (hopefully the installation of these won’t mean the destruction of the few remaining rocks untouched by concrete!)
At first, I was so happy when I heard about the Vico refurbishment plans. I thought there would be some repair and safety works done, in an inobtrusive way, with respect to the place and nature. A help to the Vico not to fall apart, a contribution to swimmers safety.
But I am feeling really sad these days coming down to the Vico and seeing the works “progressing”. Unfortunately I only realised ”step by step” what was happening. Had I known the whole extent of this Vico refurbishment beforehand, I would have chained myself to the place to prevent it happening. Seriously.
I loved the Vico the way it was. With those works, the character of the Vico has irreversibly been changed, from nature to concrete. Welcome to Concrete Cliff.

Signage eyesore

 
 
"Improvements" to the Vico Road entrance to White Rock. Those signs certainly enhance the view!
Complain to environ@dlrcoco.ie

Rainbow, cloud and moonrise