Guildhall Sq & Waterloo Street

Our seemingly annual trip to Derry/Londonderry (So good they named it twice?) or ‘Stroke City as it became known during the era of the late Gerry Anderson, the legendary (should that be ‘legend-derry?) famous BBC Radio Ulster broadcaster and entertainer. Where was I… Oh yes, our annual trip to Northern Ireland’s second city saw me taking a wander, with the Fujifilm X-T5, around the city centre, namely Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place, and then later round by the Craft Village. I’d walked the famous walls many times, and somehow that day I just didn’t have the energy to struggle up all those hilly ramparts. So, – city centre it was, while my so-much better half went to explore the big shops to be found in the city.

The journey always seems to start from Coleraine Train Station, and while we waited for the train, I noticed that the old analogue signal box was still in place at the far end of the platform – something that demanded to be photographed. But we’d idled away 30 minutes or so already in the station’s coffee shop, (after all, – I was on my annual leave!) so I didn’t get much time to snatch a photograph – as I pressed the shutter the train was pulling up at the station’s No.1 platform. But, here’s the result…

The centre of any big city provides a wonderful snapshot of the life and soul of the city, and Derry is no different. Sitting on a stone bench in Guildhall Square provides plenty of subjects for the street photographer, a girl with her dog, who sat down on the ground, while her canine friend played around her feet, a street musician, who actually gave a decent rendition of of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, – It’s All Right.” It was an effort that earned him a few pounds from me! Outside a pub in Waterloo street a man with great character sat laughing and joking with a friend… Much more, – too much for a single post!

What do you think? If you make an image of a street performer, – isn’t it right to give them a few pounds, as a way of saying thank you? Anyway, buildings cost nothing to photograph, and there are plenty of interesting buildings in Londonderry, for example, Irish pubs, vying for space with majestic commercial properties…

Don’t forget to visit the Craft Village, just off Shipquay Street, inside the Walled City. There’s quaint shops and an open-air coffee shop…

One final image, a photograph I couldn’t resist, – a street sign, outside Doherty’s bakery (Are all the citizens of the Maiden City called Doherty? – or just most of them?). I’m sure it evoked many’s a smile on what was probably not the best day of the week, weather-wise…