Culture Night in Cork

We took advantage of Culture Lab and went along to the Lifetime Lab (Lee Road) this evening. It was quietish. It's really an environmental exhibition place for schools and groups but has some interesting relics of power and water distribution and the staff were enthusiastic. for kids the encironmental bits are interesting with plenty of hands-on. The boys liked the bit where you could sniff the smell of the dump which we are told will be lanscaped and used for fairs and circuses when it's finally closed. The playground was a hit with children and adults alike and had some excellent equipment - it was a credit to them. Next stop was Blackrock Castle. Halfway along Castle Road we encountered parked cars and it was a case of one-way traffic (though someone was patiently waiting to go d'other way). When we got to the Castle the queues were long so we decided to keep going. Not for long though - we were stopped at the corner as they wanted to try and get the Culture Bus through. So I tightened up the car and waited. Whilst waiting I was chatting to the bus inpector who told me that the place was mayhem (and that road doesn't need a lot of cars to get blocked) and that they had been looking for the Guards to come for quite a while. Eventually the bus came around and we reversed in order to clear the junction a bit more with the Inspector giving directions. We were nearly done when a Guard finally turned up and started to tell us all to reverse in a tone which suggested that nobody thought of it until he did... As we drove on we realised that there were three buses in total and they were all well filled so it seemed to have been a successful night for the Castle. Now why the Guards didn't plan a bit ahead and make Castle Road one-way is another day's story...