Danny called over on Saturday with the idea of going for a drive. It was a fantastic day so why not. We stopped at the IFSC market which was a first for me but I got to say I really enjoyed it. Along with the regular selection of stalls were live music and a number of tall ships docked along the Liffey. Dan and I took a tour on ‘Tenacious’ which was a massive ship that was kitted out so that people with disabilities could learn to sail. The boats are run as a charity and for more information please click on the picture to visit the website.
We then headed up to Powerscourt House which was another first for me. The house itself was stunning. We had a quick walk around before heading into Bray where Boz was on duty in Bray Bowl. For the link to the Powerscourt House website, click on the image.
We called into a couple of ‘amusement arcades’ on the sea front to see what kind of things they offered as opposed to Bray Bowl. I had never known that one armed bandits were legal in Ireland, and to be honest what I saw was not pretty as people set there at their machines feeding coins from small plant tubs. In some cases people were sitting between machines so they could work two machines. There were a couple of common denominators… the people were generally around retirement age and largely female.
I copied this from emigrant.ie on the subject:
”While many Councils around the country are trying to ban gaming machines in their areas, Bray Urban District Council could not make up its mind on the issue. A vote to outlaw them was tied six all and the one-armed bandits can therefore continue to flourish in Bray. Legally they can only accept 2p bets and the maximum prize is set at 50p but it is widely accepted that the law is flouted in this area.”