Olive Green, Grand Canal

Just outside my train station this morning there was a girl giving out little tickets for a new coffee shop around the corner.  Special offer of any tea or coffee for a euro.

So never one to turn up my nose at a special offer I popped around at 10am for cup o' joe.

First a funny picture of me holding the ticket which has a picture of the shop in front of the shop.

I like this photo :-)

Now I'm not a tea person but seems to me that is an interesting little section of tea offerings.

How cute are their cups!

My coffee: 

I am sad to report that my skinny cappucino wasn't great. 

It was really really sweet or something.  Almost as if there was sugar in the bottom of the cup before they started pouring in the coffee.  (I don't take sugar in my coffee).

But while it wasn't great, it wasn't the worst either...and for just €1 it was grand.

Our house - Estate agent brochures 1990 versus 2006

I was doing some filing today and I came across the brochure from when David bought our house in 2006.  When we moved into the house we found that the previous owners had left the brochure from when they bought the house (off the plans) in 1990. 

I like saving things like this for posterity so I figured I'd scan them and post them here!

So here they are, from the most recent one back.

The 2006 brochure is made up of one A4 page, printed on front and back, and then folded in the middle to make a little brochure.

So this is both the front of the brochure (on the right) and the back of the brochure (on the left).

The lovely tree to the right of our house got blown down in a storm last year.  Which saddened me, but made our neighbour happy because apparently it was affecting the light going into her bedroom upstairs (??!!!).

 This is the other side of the A4 page/the inside of the brochure.

Oh dear, it is a bit embarrassing how little work we have done since we bought the house.  But we did change the kitchen which was badly needed as it was 22 years old at that point.

The 1990 brochure:

The 1990 brochure is a grander affair.  You have to remember that it was difficult to sell houses in 1990 whereas we bought at practically the peak of the boom, and indeed were in a small bidding war to buy.

(With hindsight - eek!  But at the time it just seemed that it was just the way it was).

The 1990 brochure was printed on a piece of card twice the size of A4 - whatever that size is called.  Again, folded over to make a brochure.  Above is the front cover. It is called Porters Gate (two words) whereas now our estate is known as Portersgate.

Porters Gate is described as "Imaginatively styled homes in a magnificent setting". 

Again, I remind you, it was difficult to sell houses in 1990!

Second page of the brochure.  Our house is pictured at the bottom of the page.  Because the houses had not actually been built yet (being sold off the plans) the pics are pencil sketches rather than photographs.

Third page of the booklet.

It is funny reading the blurb that was written in 1990, now that here we are in 2012. 

For example it talks about the builders: "..........the Dolphin Brothers have the accent on quality and value, setting the standards for others to follow in to the next century". 

 Back page of the brochure.

Original houses plans in 1990.