I think this was the nicest view from Wednesday's trip

I had never heard of the famine statues in Dublin. I went to wikipedia to read more. Absolutely heartbreaking but something worth remembering. Excellent picture.

One of the statues, close up.

The famine played such a big part in the history of Ireland, I think those sculptures deserve their city centre placement. Personally I think they are fantastic. I love the expressions and attitudes of despair that are so well portrayed in the gaunt figures. They seem to just capture perfectly the desolation and utter despair that I always feel the victims must have suffered.

We were obviously told a lot about the famine and none of had known that it was only the poorest people who starved, the ones who ate nothing but potatoes, that other people had no problems.

... or that those same poor people who starved because they had nothing but potatoes to eat, still had to work the overlord's land and harvest his wheat and grain ... which was shipped out of the country before their very eyes? The biggest tragedy of the famine, in my opinion, is the simple fact that there was more than plenty of food in the country, but none of it was made available to the starving hordes ...

The South Downs in Chalton

Where on earth did April go?? I will lock this later and I will open May now, as usual, to let people catch up.

I think April has been a wonderful month, some absolutely stunning photos.