"Ah! 'T is a soft day, sir!"

Monday and Tuesday, I was off to Ireland. I flew Warsaw to Dublin, then took a bus from Dublin to Cork (a mere €13.50 including airport connection). The journey took five and half hours - so much for EU funds and infrastructure ("We spent the money on education", said a company chairman to me over dinner, not unreasonably). This was my first trip to the Republic in over 25 years, and lack of motorway network notwithstanding, the contrast is huge. From being one of the poorest countries in western Europe, Ireland has grown to become one of the wealthiest countries on earth in terms of GDP per capita.

Above: The weather matched the stereotype. Warm, +14C, and damp. Mists covering the hilltops.

Something entirely new, at odds with the traditional-style "O'Sullivan's Bar and Lounge" type frontages, is this west Dublin store (right), reflecting the massive migration of central and eastern Europeans to Ireland since May 2004.

Below: The Millennium Spire on Dublin's O'Connell Street. It is 120m (400ft) high, and stands on the spot where the Nelson Pillar (37m, 120 ft) once stood. The monument to the British admiral was blown up by the IRA in 1966.