Dublin is a fine city to live in, and a popular tourist destination. It’s not without its flaws, though. Street performers are stabbed, anything nailed down is stolen, trumped-up lawsuits are on the rise and it keeps bloody raining. So nobody’s in a hurry to Dublinise these events and services which take place in sunnier climes.
Shakespeare in the Park In fairness, there was a game attempt to perform The Taming of the Shrew in Stephens Green during the tiny window of sunshine that was Summer ‘06. But with parks full of drunks and bored delinquents, it’s tempting fate to flounce around in a toga, spouting old verse.
La Tomatina Rain, lawsuits, alcohol, stones added to tomatoes –
this famous event in Valencia (the most fun way to make puree) would
not work in a city where locals have a tendency to throw objects less
innocuous than fruit whenever a major event takes place.
Moped Taxis Unlicenced moped taxis are a handy way to get around the outskirts of Bangkok. But imagine it in Dublin: perched on the back of a speeding hairdryer weaving between speed bumps, the driver would be a. hit by a flying object b. sued by a passenger c. ambushed or d. all of the above.
Public Barbeque Skillets Given the amount of underage drinking in parks and the high levels of vandalism (remember those poor ceramic cows?) our emergency rooms may not be ready for a coin-operated public gas skillet, no matter how good it is for Aussie barbeques.
Body Painting Festival This cracking event in Austria is filled with chillaxed artists and models. We wouldn’t have the summer temperatures, and the rain would wash most of the paint off. The biggest problem, however, would be the Legion of Mary protests at the sea of exposed flesh.
Kayak tours A tourist attraction in San Francisco, the most European of American cities, this service would be nigh-on impossible due to our inhospitable weather, not to mention the slimy gunk of the lovely Liffey.
Unsupervised rent-a-bike Put money in slot, cycle to next allocated location, place bike in slot. There’s talk of introducing this lovely service to Dublin, but in a city where bike theft is endemic (the worst in Europe according to one survey), this is one novelty that would never become a tradition.
Drive-thru off licences They have them in Australia. Here, the clampdown on drink-driving would face its greatest challenge yet. Plus, the intense security measures in city-centre pubs are there for a reason: you can judge a city by the level of fortification on its offies.
Love Parade Berlin’s marvellous annual parade benefits from a relaxed legal attitude to drugs and PDAs – people have been known to make love on the grass. It’s easy to forget how far we still are from sexual liberation.
Cable cars Considering how long it took us to build the Luas, and given the inevitable cost and planning-permission restrictions, a long, slow drive up the Wicklow mountains will have to do us for now.
Two comments:
I remember seeing free bikes in Copenhagen about 10 years ago. Needless to mention, they were thoroughly vandalised. I have heard from other places that the same happens. Bowsie is just the Dublin word for it, the same kind of people exist all over.
On to the PDA issue. I am not sure that the spectacle of people coplating in public woud be an addition to sexual or any other kind of liberation.
Posted by: John | February 13, 2008 at 22:20
As a Dubliner I agree,the introduction of the new unsupervised biking will have it's challanges but let's put it to the test and monitor it closely. It will be so beneficial to Dublin.
We weren't voted one of the most popular European capital cities to visit for nothing.
Posted by: Brian Whelan | November 08, 2008 at 16:48
i reckon the cable car thing could be a goodi dea there.
Posted by: susan | November 27, 2008 at 18:19
Wasnt there a plan to run a cable car along the Liffey from Heuston to The Point Depot (never the O2 please!!).
Perhaps a cable car from the esplanade in Bray to Bray Head?
Posted by: MV | November 28, 2008 at 20:54