Hands up who has seen a black fellow move into the area? ” Of course,” They blurt out, like a verbal innoculation, “I’m not racist. I don’t care whether someone is red, yellow, black, brown or blue. But we need to look after our own first!” They then expand on their deep, deep concern about the homeless, poverty, and how, of course, we must help the Third World, but only after we have solved ALL our own problems first. Poverty, disease, cellulite, the length of time it takes to get a sandwich in O’Briens, once we have fixed all those problems, then we can worry about the rest. Curiously, the compassionate racist doesn’t have any time to actually donate to charities helping “our own.” In fact, he, or more recently, she, tends... Similar posts

We've had rain for the last week or so. Maybe even longer. I can't remember. Sometimes we managed to walk the dogs in the morning without getting wet. That was an achievement.Yesterday things got worse. It got very windy and the rain got worse. We lost power four or five times within an hour or so. Thankfully it only lasted a short while and we didn't have to resort to reading books by candle light.I got totally soaked walking the dogs last night before bed time. The wind was so nasty that neither of them wanted to do what we went out for. Sigh. Not only was I drenched, it was also totally pointless.Today, the road that leads past our house and goes down the hill is flooded in the dip before it goes back up the hill. I know because I could see cars coming down the other hill (towards our... Similar posts

Last night, Darren sent out an email to all us culchies to see if anyone had any interest in covering the match. There was an unprecedented response, so expect to see about thirty-seven posts about it here complaining of injustice and such. No, actually, Anto is going to do a post later and that’ll be the end of it. Before he does though, I thought I’d throw in my two francs. On the Main: An Epic Tragedy in Six Halves In Zurich, eight names, two pots Seeded on association advice The good to get the weak We didn’t have any choice. First name out, game one at home, But no sighs of relief We’d be away in Pari, Why couldn’t it be Greece? Nervous fans, nervy players, Saturday came in a whimper. The match an anticlimax The result couldn’t be... Similar posts

In the last few years, the Cliff House Hotel has really put Ardmore on the map. A small seaside village in Co Waterford, Ardmore was one of those places we visited as children during our summer holidays along the coast in Youghal. We always loved the cliff walk and I remember the old hotel that we used to pass on our way there, remarkable only for the large garden alongside. Now, in its place, there is a spanking new hotel, far bigger than the original, and making the most of its scenic position on the cliff side. My Twin Cousins and I visited last year - we had a delicious light lunch in the bar - but I have never (yet!) had the opportunity to eat dinner there. After reading chef Martijn Kajuiter's cookbook that may soon be remedied. Being Dutch, Kajuiter brings a new eye to local... Similar posts

If you're interested in contemporary choreography, dance music, strange happenings or just having a wicked time you'll want to check out Gravity And Grace this week. These six evenings are presented by Daghdha Dance Company in their lovely restored church in John's Square, Limerick. The first night was tonight but you haven't missed anything yet, as Michael Klien's "Standing In Ink" repeats tomorrow. Check out the full schedule on their website or read on for highlights of what I am helping out with.Though I've been working closely with Steve Valk on "God's Dancehall" (Thursday 19 November at 7:30pm) I can't tell you exactly what you are in for. And that's the joy of it! The theme has something to do with the history of dance music so, yes, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to... Similar posts

Last week Eva and I made kali or kvass as it is known in Russian and English. Kali is a weakly alocholic drink made from rye bread (rukkileib in Estonian). It is an awesome drink for all seasons of the year, though especially served chilled in the summer months. It can also be given to children as an alternative to beer (percentage is only 0.5). It is also great to drink in-between sauna-sessions. For those of you who are only familiar to hotel-saunas, Estonian saunas are quite an experience! They are hotter, one goes naked, it is not uncommon to beat each other with the branches of the birch and the drinking of alcohol is customary. Eva and I normally have 4 or 5 sessions of 3 to 4 minutes. In between we cool off, drink, get wet again and rejoin the heat. The trick is to get your skin a... Similar posts

Seekh kebabs are a classic on Indian restaurant menus and typically cooked in the tandoor oven. “Seekh” means skewer, but the truth is you don’t really need skewers for this; just form the meat into long sausage shapes before cooking. You can also form the meat into patties, which will turn them into a “shami” kebab. My version uses great flavourings such as fenugreek, fresh mint and garam masala. The trick to achieving a good seekh kebab is to finely mince the lamb. Minced lamb from the butcher or supermarket is typically too coarse. Use a food processor to pulse the lamb giving a finer texture. By doing this you won’t need any binding ingredients such as egg or flour. Don’t go crazy with the food processor, you don’t want purée! Serve... Similar posts

Fave food… Spagetti bolognaise n garlic bread….umm delish!! Fave TV programme… Ne ting with gaelic hurlin r soccer!!! Fave board game… OMG…Y does every1 tink dat i play chess???? i don’t even know da rules lol!!! Likes… Chillin, cruizin wit da boyz, goin buck ape round da place n checkin out da talent Dislikes… Girls who love them selfs and think there hot when there not!!!!!!! Thing I love the most… Jager-bombs Thing I fear the most… Jager-bombs!!!!!!!!! Fave chatup line… I’d like 2 discuss this wit u in more depth (i.e. about six feet LOL!!!!) Fave catchphrases… Im dead serious….EXCUSE THE PUN!!!!! First person person I’d invite to my birthday party… The Undertaker(WWF) Last person I’d invite to my... Similar posts

For some reason, companies have got it into their heads that in order to find the best candidate to fill a position, rather than asking questions pertinent to the job on offer, it is better to ask questions which make no sense whatsoever. Thus it is that should you wish to get a job at Google (or Gwgl as I’m now calling it in the hope it will catch on and we’ll get a renaming on St David’s Day), you will need to answer such brainteasers as “How much would you charge to wash all of the windows in Seattle?” and “Why are manhole covers round?” For the record, my answers would have been “I charge by the hour” and “So they’ll fit in the manholes, obviously.”Strider, who is currently decimating the Welsh government with her Probably-really-is-Swinflu-this-time-itus,... Similar posts

Eva just posted on the making of rye bread. All you homebakingophiles, breadophiles and Estophiles go and check her post... Similar posts

I can remember my first “proper” curry - a chicken madras in Khan’s Balti House in Donnybrook about 15 years ago. Strange I know, but I tend to remember things like that. I’ve been smitten with Indian food ever since, but some time ago I realised that restaurant style food is difficult to achieve at home. You need a lot of time and vast amounts of ghee, a type of clarified butter. You should also let your food rest overnight before serving; this allows the flavours to mature and the spices to mellow and mingle. Happily, some restaurant dishes produce better results at home than others. This korma is the perfect example - it’s reminiscent of the restaurant version but includes fresh green chillis, dried fruits and toasted nuts. It tastes spectacular and... Similar posts

PHP Team Development by Samisa Abeysinghe A few weeks ago I received a copy of “PHP Team Development” from Packt. Split into seven chapters, all equally sprinkled with phrases that are disjointly written and that don’t get a point across, and some that make you think the book was written using some speech-to-text software (”Vendor locking” anybody?) , this book which “is for PHP developers who work in teams on complex projects” has given me an aversion to seeing three little words printed alongside each other (”the PHP code”). If you have read this book you too will develop this aversion. I think Lorna Jane Mitchell and Brandon Savage who both bravely reviewed this book before me might be inclined to agree. Published only in September... Similar posts

Anyone know what happened to lunch? If we don’t look she might go away! Race you to the Water! Last in buys the Fish... Similar posts

K8 the Gr8.  K8 the host of a 16 week old foetus, K8 the mother of a disabled child with a tendancy towards chronic chest-infections, K8 the mother of a school-aged child… K8 the skeptic. I am at risk thrice over from this swine flu (H1N1) pandemic, and I’m forced to make a very bloody difficult decision indeed. To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate? The death of a pregnant woman earlier this week touched the hearts of the nation, she had contracted the virus and was unable to fight it.  She is me, I is she… I couldn’t help but bite my nails when I heard the news.  The vaccine was rolled out in Laughingboy’s school a week or so ago, but I refused permission for my son to have it.  After all, the last time I allowed him a flu-shot it knocked his immune system... Similar posts

The icon above is by the late Sr. Aloysius McVeigh and is kept in the parish church in Glendalough.Today is a feast day in the Archdiocese of Dublin as we honour our patron Naoimh Lorcan Ua Tuathail or Lawrence O'Toole (1128-1180) Archbishop of Dublin and a member of the a leading noble family of Leinster. His life overlaps and is comparable with that of St. Thomas a Becket (1118 – 29 December 1170). He was given into the care of the Church after a period as a hostage and became a monk at St. Kevin's monastery at Glendalough. In 1154, at the age of 26 he was made abbot. As abbot he was a reformer but also a man possessed of great compassion for the poor, a feature of his ministry as Bishop. To the end of his life he wore a hair shirt and fasted on Fridays on bread and water yet was... Similar posts