Ireland - Dublin - Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail

 Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail) is the most famous jail in Ireland, as it was here that many of the political prisoners were held during the early days of the Irish political upheaval. 

It was originally built in Victorian times and was designed by a quaker to be a place of rehabilitation for prisoners.  Unfortunately, the potato famine hit, and the prison was pressed into service with far more prisoners than originally intended, and later became a jail for political reasons. 

It remains a fantastic example of Victorian architecture, and is fascinating to see.  It was used as the filming location for "In the Name of the Father" starring Daniel Day Lewis.  Great film. . .

Ireland - Dublin - The Guiness Storehouse

 Ever since coming to the UK, I'd wanted to go visit Ireland.  We booked the flights and hotels, and took the train out to Gatwick Airport.  It was the day of 2013's big snow storm.  Luckily, we weren't flying out of Heathrow, which always shuts down due to snow.  We arrived in Dublin, and made our way to one of the top sites:  The Guiness Storehouse.

 Though now owned by the large conglomerate Diageo, Guiness has a long history with Dublin, and the original 9000 year land lease is on display in the lobby.   For 45 GBP a year, Arthur Guinness got use of  almost 4 acres of land in what was, at that time, just outside the St. James Gate to Dublin.  Pretty amazing deal.

 Arthur Guinness created the recipe for the porter style of beer that ultimately became the famous Guinness beer known all over the world.  1.8 billion pints are consumed annually made at over 50 Guinness breweries world wide.  Pretty amazing success story. 

 At the top of the storehouse is the Gravity Bar, which offers an amazing 360 degree view of the St. James Gate Brewery and Dublin. 

The views are awesome.  And so is the beer.  They told us we were having some of the freshest Guinness available as it was only 10 days old. 

There was a place at then end of the tour where you could enter your thoughts on Guiness.  All I could think was that "Guinness Beer is Ireland in a Pint."

A Visit to the World of Harry Potter

 It's no secret that I'm a bit of a Harry Potter fan.  I first came to London to work on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone back in 2000.  It was a great thrill when Warner Bros announced that  they were going to have a Harry Potter attraction up at their Leavesden Studios in honor of this very successful film franchise that spawned 8 films over 12 years.








I managed to see 4 of the 8 films while here in London, and as someone working in visual effects, I can appreciate the numbers of artists that a fantasy film series like this can employ over a long period.












The display is a terrific tribute to the craftsmanship of the artisans that labored over this film series.

It is absolutely staggering to see how many sets and costumes were created for this series, and all of them are wonderful.















From Delores Umbridge's, creepily pink office. . .

 To Professor Snapes subterranean feeling lab.  















To Dumbledore's lofty office. 





And there are so many other sets and costumes on display. 











All are wonderous works of design, and it is a fantastic celebration of the work that goes into this type of project.

They even have Butterbeer that you can drink.  It tasted just as I imagined it would when reading the books.

 The Night bus is also there in case you drink too much of it. . .

Full sized versions of some of the creatures are on display . 

As they explain on the tour, the jewel in the crown is the scale model of Hogwarts Castle.  It is a stunning piece of design and miniature work.

It was used for many exterior shots of the castle over the course of the series only to be replaced in the final film with a CG version.

The tour ends in Olivander's Wand shop, where they have on display wand boxes with the names of the over 4000 artists who contributed to the film series over its 12 year life. 









I didn't expect to be able to find my name if it was even in there, but while looking for some of my British coworkers' names, I happened across my name on a wand box.  It was a very proud and humbling experience, and one will treasure for the rest of my life. 







It was amazing to feel a part of such an incredible piece of our modern culture. 

Visitors from 2012

We had some wonderful visitors this year.  It is always great to see familiar faces from back home.  Stephanie stopped in London with her mother on their way to visit Paris.  

  

We met up with Robert and Celeste in Scotland for the Fringe Festival.

Tony's friends Scott and Lorraine came to visit for a a week.

Alice came for a break in the bad weather on the East Coast only to find bad weather here too.












Stephano  was here with his girlfriend.

Paul and David stopped to see some theater on their way to Paris for New Years.















Ishmael was in town for a conference.

And of course the Space Shuttle, which was cruising over Los Angeles, made an appearance in London thanks to photoshop.

Christmas 2012

Christmas is a time of mixed emotions for us, as it is a fun time to be in London and see all the downtown lights going up, and all the fun Dickensian Christmas qualities popping up all over town. 






It is also a time, when I feel the absence of long time friends and family more than ever. 

This year, which is my 4th, has been the hardest of any so far. 

We made the best of it, and put up a tree with decorations, and went out to see a bunch of London all decorated up. 

There was even a tuba player shooting fire out of his tuba.  You don't see that everyday!











Here are some of my best shots from Christmas 2012.