walkers

I remember, as a child, digging down in the sand in Skerries (perhaps 65 years ago). Obviously not digging far, but hitting a layer of black stuff. My parents told me it was oil. It had a very particular smell. I still remember it. I still wonder what it was. It happened more than once.

The answer, according to A.I.:

The Science Behind the 'Black Oil' Layer

The Lack of Oxygen (Anoxia): On popular beaches like Skerries South Beach or North Strand, the top few inches of sand are constantly turned over by waves and the tide, keeping them well-oxygenated and clean. However, just a short distance below the surface, the tightly packed sand particles block fresh water and oxygen from penetrating.

Decaying Organic Matter: Over time, bits of seaweed, marine organisms, and organic silt get buried under the shifting sand. In an environment devoid of oxygen, normal decomposition cannot happen. Instead, specialized anaerobic bacteria take over to break down this organic material.

The Chemical Reaction: These bacteria "breathe" sulfates (which are abundant in seawater) and exude iron sulfides. It is this iron sulfide that dyes the sand grains a deep, jet-black color and gives it a slick, greasy texture that looks identical to oil.

Boo hoo! The Tower Tearooms and The Tuck Shop are no more ...
In February (brrr!) 2023 via Paul McNamara [https://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljmcnamara/52713096446/]

Red Island again

This Faecsbook page reckons "circa 1928" - www.facebook.com
Includes another Eason near the tower with a motor car - catalogue.nli.ie

Probably Umberto Zanolini

Two more Bain/LOC photos of the "N.Y. - Frisco Walkers."

PANCHO VILLA'S ARRANGEMENT WITH MUTUAL FILM CO.: "In January 1914, Pancho Villa became Hollywood's first Mexican superstar when he signed an exclusive contract with the Mutual Film Corporation. In return for $25,000, he agreed to keep other film companies from his battlefield, to fight in daylight whenever possible, and to reconstruct battles if the footage needed reshooting. "Now the subject of an HBO film starring Antonio Banderas (And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself), Villa is one of the main protagonists in Margarita de Orellana's vivid account of the American movie industry's fascination with the events of the Mexican Revolution. "Through memoir accounts, newspaper reports, and analysis of the films themselves, "Filming Pancho" reveals much about how Mexico was constructed in the American imagination and how the film images reinforced and justified American expansionism and racial and social prejudices." --From a description, on Amazon, of a documentary movie of Hollywood's treatment of the Mexican Revolution. (The DVD is available for purchase from various Amazon vendors.) Other Bain/LOC photos of the Mexican Revolution with copyright notices from the Mutual Film Company: Pancho Villa himself: Mrs. Pancho Villa:

Después de la Batalla de Ojinaga las tropas federales y cientos de civiles cruzaron el río hacia Presidio, Texas, ahí fueron apresados por el ejército de USA y fueron obligados a hacer el viaje a pié hasta Marfa, Texas. Roberto Duarte M D