TheCity

Tag: James Cox

  • Edinburgh- the perfect place for a city break

    photo 4 (1)                                                 The historic Edinburgh Castle

    James Cox takes the City.ie to Edinburgh, a city steeped in history and culture.
    Whether you’re looking for a shopping trip, a lads holiday, a romantic getaway, a cultural trip or indeed just a nice break; Edinburgh has it all. The city is steeped in history, no more so than in the old town. Any retail therapy needed will be more than satisfied in Princes Street, the city’s high street. While if it’s good food and drink you’re looking for, there’s an abundance of high quality restaurants, everything from traditional Scottish food to award winning Indian restaurants. For bars then, homely Scottish pubs or more trendy cosmopolitan options are available.
    The Scottish National Gallery is located half way up Princes Street and is open from 10am to 5pm daily. It’s free to enter and is a must see. Whether you’re religious or not, another place to visit is the St.Giles Cathedral. The Cathedral is located on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s old town and was built in the 14th century. Once inside you’ll be taken aback by the magnificent building. It’s free to visit but for only £5 you can take a tour of the cathedral’s rooftop, which boasts a beautiful view of the whole city. The old town is also home to some of Edinburgh’s most charismatic taverns and while there it would be rude not to sample at least one of them. For beer lovers there’s a wonderful choice of craft beers, one not to miss out on is Edinburgh Gold. And when in Edinburgh why not tuck into some Haggis? You know you want to!

    Edinburgh Zoo is a 15 minute bus journey from the city centre and is well worth a visit. It is open from 9 to half 4 daily and getting there early to make the most of your day is advisable. Everybody loves penguins and the zoo’s “Penguin Rock” is home to King, Gentoo and Rockhopper colonies. Every day at 2.15 a “Penguin Parade” takes place. The Zookeeper’s open the gates to the Penguin enclosure and two or three penguins join them for a brief walk around the zoo, this is an unmissable event. Edinburgh Zoo is also home to two Malayan Sun Bears, named Somnang and Rotana. These guys are an extremely endangered species. Edinburgh’s pair were rescued from a Cambodian collector. Another of the Zoo’s attractions is the only pair of Panda’s in the UK. One male, Tian Tian, and one female, Yang Guang, are the zoo’s biggest attractions (along with the Penguin Parade of course.)

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    the “Penguin Parade” at Edinburgh Zoo

    Edinburgh Castle dominates the city’s skyline. If you were to pick one place to visit on your trip, the castle would have to be it. The castle is Scotland’s most visited tourist attraction with over 1.4 million people coming to see it in 2014. Inside the castle you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a scene from Game of Thrones with the ancient paths and walkways. Every nook and cranny of the castle is made available to its visitors (something the tour guides pride themselves on). Within the castle itself there are many different points of interest including St.Mary’s chapel, the oldest part of the castle, dating from the 14th century, and the Scottish National War Memorial. You should really devote most of the day to a visit to the castle because to rush around would be a shame. The views of Edinburgh from the castle’s various levels are simply breath-taking. You’ll feel like you’ve taken a trip back in time. The castle has been home to many huge figures in Scottish national history such as Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots. Why not come and meet them? Just be careful you don’t get stuck in the dungeons.
    The Royal Yacht Britannia is the UK’s number one attraction on Trip Advisor and it certainly lives up to the praise. The Royal family sailed around the world on Britannia for over forty years and since 1997 it has been preserved as a tourist attraction in Edinburgh. The Yacht takes around two hours to get around in full, and every visitor gets a handheld telephone device which tells stories about 29 points of interest around the yacht. You’ll experience what life was like on board the yacht for the Royal family, the Yachts admirals, engineers, servants and cadets. No area is excluded and even the Royal families personal living areas are on show to the public. You can enjoy tea and cakes on the second floor with a magnificent view of the Edinburgh Ocean Terminal too.

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    The Queen’s Banquet room aboard the Royal Yacht Brittania

    These attractions are only a few of the many things Edinburgh has to offer. The city is the perfect venue for a weekend break or a longer getaway. Flights and accommodation are available at extremely reasonable prices and its less than an hour’s flight. So what’s stopping you? To get a real feel for the City you’ll have to go and experience it yourself so make it your next holiday destination. You won’t regret it.
    By James Cox

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        A view of Edinburgh’s old town from the castle

  • New travel card divides opinion

    By James Cox

    A new Irish “Passport Card” will be available from mid 2015. The new card will be €35 and available to everyone over 18 who already possesses a passport. Speaking at the launch for the new card, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan said, “The new card will be particularly useful for frequent travellers as it will allow people to travel within Europe while their passport book is with an embassy as part of a visa application process. The new card will also provide a useful backup travel document within Europe in the event that someone loses their passport while travelling.”

    Initial reaction was very mixed particularly on Facebook and Twitter with many people labelling the card as nothing more than a money racket. However, consider your average student. Who hasn’t stuffed their passport into a back pocket for I.D. whilst queuing to get into Diceys or Copperface Jacks? For some its worse when a drink gets spilled on it making that cheap night out very expensive after all. With the new card students can say goodbye to battered and lost passports sacrificed in the name of a good night out.

    At thirty five euro this seems a bargain. Of course I.D. is not the only function of the new cards. Everyone has experienced the panic of misplacing a passport just before a trip. For the most part it turns out to be a false alarm but sometimes this is not the case. That leaves two options: if there is enough time, a stressful wait for hours to secure an emergency passport or the second and worst case scenario; no holiday. This card cuts out the unnecessary panic as you can keep it in your wallet with your bank cards. Valid to travel anywhere in Europe, the card will become a frequent sight in Dublin airport on hopefully stress free trips.

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    photo: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

     

  • FA Cup magic lives on, but are replays part of it?

    Photo by Carlos Yo (Wikipedia)

    By: James Cox

    James Cox takes a look at the shocks of this seasons FA Cup and the complex issue of replays.

    The latest round of FA Cup replays starts this Tuesday with three fourth-round replays followed by one more fixture tomorrow.

    The FA Cup is the oldest cup competition in world football, the first having been held in 1871. It has lost a lot of its appeal however in recent years with many of the top teams prioritising the Premier League and European competitions. This year’s competition has already done a lot to restore some of the famous old trophy’s magic with minnows such as Blyth Spartans, Bradford City and Cambridge United exceeding all expectations.

    One criticism of the cup which has persisted is the controversial issue of replays. Up until the semi-final’s any game which finishes as a draw is replayed in the opposite team’s home ground. In theory this is meant to promote the cause of the smaller teams (something which is intrinsic with the values of the FA Cup) however it has drawbacks for both the big fish and the minnows.

    Teams in the Premier League have 38 rounds of fixtures a season, and while everyone loves a cup run, the simple fact is the league will always hold more importance. Quite simply,  money talks. To put it into perspective, Liverpool topped the financial rewards in the Premier League last year with £97,544,366 whilst bottom club Cardiff pulled in a whopping £62,802,302 with the rest of the clubs earning fees from the league in between.

    With money like this on the line it is understandable that the FA Cup becomes ignored, no manager wants replays on top of an already crowded fixture list. While the money in the lower leagues isn’t anywhere as significant as the huge sums discussed, the idea of Cup replays is much more appealing. However what this year has proved is that the lower league clubs are more than capable of taking on the big guns, and do not necessarily need replays.

    The standout fixture of the round saw League One side Bradford City come back from 2-0 down to beat Premier League leaders Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge. In a cup-like twist the equaliser came from Filipe Morais who rejected a contract extension from Jose Mourinho as a youth to leave Chelsea ten years ago. Mourinho branded the Chelsea loss a “disgrace.”

    Another shock result saw Manchester United held to a 0-0 draw by lowly Cambridge United at the Abbey Stadium. Cambridge are the lowest ranked team left in the competition and Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal was clearly furious at the result even going as far as to claim “everything, even the pitch was against us.” This result encapsulated both the magic of the Cup and the question of replays. While tonight’s replay at Old Trafford is undoubtedly a dream for Cambridge United’s players and fans, there is also the question of what might have been if extra time had been allowed at the Abbey Stadium.

    At 0-0 United were rattled and Van Gaal had selected a slightly weakened team, while Cambridge were taking advantage of the raucous atmosphere. They were at least a match for United, if not better over the 90 minutes.  At Old Trafford there is little hope of such a result: Van Gaal and his players certainly won’t underestimate Cambridge again.

    While the question of replays will definitely be revisited soon, it has its positives and negatives as we have discussed. Followers of the FA Cup will definitely enjoy the current round with United and Cambridge tonight followed by Liverpool’s replay away to Bolton tomorrow. More giant killings may be in store.

  • Wealdstone Raider visits Dublin

    James Cox talks to three students who met the infamous Wealdstone Raider during his visit to the Lost Society

     

     

     

    Wealdstone Raider visits Dublin                                                                                           Gordon Hill (The Wealdstone Raider) poses with fans at The Lost Society

     

     

     

    Gordon Hill shot to fame in 2014 when a video of him heckling opposing fans at a football match involving his local team Wealdstone went viral. The video, originally taken in March 2013, involved Hill spouting taunts “You got no fans” and “You want sum? I’ll give it ya!” These catchphrases have made builder Hill into a cult hero amongst football fans and the video has earned him the title the “Wealdstone Raider.”

    His new found fame led him to record a single called “You Got no fans” which reached number 5 in the UK Christmas charts and regular nightclub appearances across the UK. Hill has pledged all the proceeds from his single to Great Ormonde Street Children’s Hospital and the youth team of his beloved Wealdstone.

    Last week Dublin nightclub, the Lost Society gave his Irish fans a chance to see him when they brought the Wealdstone Raider over the Irish Sea for infamous student night Black Monday. Three lucky students talked to the City about meeting him. Padraic Byrne explained how deciding to look for a change from their usual haunt of Copperface Jacks led to an unexpected meeting. “I’d usually head to Coppers but we had kind of gotten sick of going there so decided to try somewhere different, we weren’t aware he’d be there but it was a nice addition to our last Black Monday!”

    Fabian Molloy revealed Hill arrived fashionably late, “It wasn’t until late in the night he appeared, drinking a pint and walking around with his personal bouncer!” Killian Breen was already a fan of the Wealdstone Raider and was delighted to get the chance to meet him. “We went there without knowing he was appearing although the club was in fact advertising his appearance in flyers and online apparently. When he appeared at first I didn’t really believe it, wandering through the smoking area with a bouncer I caught a glance of him and made eye contact, he stared at me with a knowing glint in his eye and uttered the words we all want to hear. You wan sum? It was a glorious experience, I was completely starstruck.”

    So by all accounts the Wealdstone Raider’s appearance at the Lost Society was a great success. It certainly made the night for these three students and many more who came out to see him and who knows maybe we’ll see him back again before long.

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    Thursday, 29th January. By: James Cox