Vote YES for survival!

It is very simple really!
Either we stay out of the tent and piss into it or we stay in the tent and piss out?
Despite all the misgivings about the Lisbon Treaty, I say vote YES on Friday October 2nd! 2009.
Ireland cannot afford to offend Europe now given the perilous condition Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen have left this country in with 12 years of incompetence and corruption.
Voting NO just to kick the ass of the Government is stupid. Do it in a general election!
On Friday vote YES for survival! Simple as that! And yes I voted NO the last time too!

Get those boots on!

Get those boots on walk all over the recession! Ireland is a beautiful country to explore and exercise is good for the spirit in these awful times!
NATIONAL TRAILS DAY is being organized this year on the 4th October 2009. It is a celebration of Ireland’s wonderful variety of trails and a chance for everyone to enjoy some of our most beautiful countryside, forests, mountains and lakes. South Dublin County Council will be participating in the event with four walks organized in our parks:
• Guided Walk of a section of Dodder Valley Park: This will be a stroll in a section of the Dodder Valley to the rear of Rathfarnham Shopping Centre that should open your eyes to the often unseen natural world that is right on our doorstep
• A Walk in Waterstown Park, Liffey Valley: A gentle walk in Waterstown Park, a constituent park of the planned Liffey Valley Regional Park. It will explore the natural and the built heritage of the park.
• Tymon Park Guided Walk: A walk around the perimeter of the park, taking in the woodland, grassland, pitches, wonderful playgrounds, lakes and so much more that is available in this Regional Park and in the process discovering the new Slí na Sláinte routes in the park.
• Clondalkin Village to Corkagh Park: This event starts in Clondalkin Village and proceeds from there by way of Clondalkin Park and along the River Camac to Corkagh Park. On the way it passes an old millstream, Clondalkin Sports and Leisure Centre, woodland and playing pitches, old mills, allotments and the location of the old Corkagh House.
National Trails Day 2008 was very successful, with more than 6,000 people across the country getting out to enjoy trails in a variety of ways at over 67 events held across the country. Last year there were “bat walks”, mountain bike cycles, family orienteering, Leave No Trace hikes, trail conservation work, heritage walks and just plain ordinary walking!

So get the boots on, make the sandwiches and hit the trail on October 4th for a great day out enjoying nature. Remember to bring your camera and submit your photos to the fantastic photo competition.

No golf for the grey generation in Ireland!

So much for the early happy retirement in Ireland!
Thanks to the greed of the Irish banks, most of the accumulated pension values of Irish people have been wiped out.
Now the grey are going to have to graft until they are blue- in the face!
As a country, Ireland’s demographic footprint is changing – people are getting older and are faced with a longer working life than previous generations, says Michael Gordon, investment expert with Hibernian Aviva Life & Pensions.

Hibernian Aviva Life & Pensions research reveals 50% of people are prepared to work past retirement age to fund their retirement and data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveals those aged 65+ will account for one fifth of the population by 2036- in comparison to just 11% in 2001. Furthermore, the number of ‘oldest old’ persons (those aged 80 and over) is projected to more than treble from a 2001 level of 98,000 to about 320,000 in 2030.

Commenting on this grey evolution, Michael Gordon of Hibernian Aviva Life & Pensions said: “These findings reveal the face of Irish society is changing with the ageing of the population. So it is important for pre-retirees talk to a financial adviser about their future financial security and start saving for retirement”.

However, Hibernian Aviva Life & Pensions research also reveals many consumers are putting a freeze on their retirement savings as a result of the economic downturn with 34% of people not regularly setting aside money for when they retire. Michael Gordon said: “The research reveals that consumers are clearly nervous about investing at the moment because of the current financial market turmoil. However by not saving for retirement Ireland’s consumers may be forced to live a very frugal lifestyle with just the state pension of Euro230.30 per week to live on or the equivalent of about Euro12,000 per year”, continues Michael Gordon.

“By talking to a financial adviser and saving for retirement, people can overcome these issues leading to a more balanced and relaxing lifestyle after the normal retirement age of 65”, continues Michael Gordon.
A spokesman for www.moneyireland.net, an online advisory service, stated that the pension fund managers are going to have to get creative with their pension offerings to ensure balanced portfolios to avoid the exposure to the volatile sectors that this generation were subject to.

Hibernian Aviva Life & Pensions suggests investors consider euro cost averaging when it comes to retirement planning. “Despite the market turmoil since last September, many pension clients that pay their pension on a monthly basis have been pleasantly surprised to see that they have benefited from what is called Euro Cost Averaging. Essentially by regularly paying into their pension, these clients have bought at a lower price as markets fell and are now benefiting from the strong equity market rally that has occurred since March”, says Michael Gordon of Hibernian Aviva Life & Pensions.

For pension investors looking for a smoother investment journey Hibernian Aviva has launched the Aviva Irl BlackRock European Absolute Return Strategies Fund (EARS). “With the Aviva Irl BlackRock European Absolute Return Strategies Fund (EARS) we are helping Ireland’s investors smooth out the bumps in the financial market and avoid the risks associated with making once-off lump sum investments. It is so important that investors realise they can still make money and increase the value of their retirement fund during the recession by making regular investments”.

The moral of the story is keep an eye on your own pension within these funds, or better still, build your own pension.

Ignorance is bliss in Irish homes

A recent EU study, which sampled Irish, UK and Danish homeowners, found that they were more interested in the comfort in their homes than either saving money or saving energy.

Yet all three goals are achievable, and homeowners and building professionals can learn how to do so in a new workshop on Retrofitting Homes for Comfort and Energy Efficiency. This workshop, developed and presented by DWEcoCo Ltd. (www.dwecoco.ie), is offered now, and through December in Dublin and Cork.

“People may not realise that retrofitting doesn’t have to be costly and that energy and cost savings can be seen after only a €35 investment. Bigger investments achieve bigger pay offs, especially with the Home Energy Saving Scheme grants. Investing in the energy efficiency of your own home is the best investment you can make and is a growing business opportunity. There are ‘green loans’, innovative funding and financial incentives available. Our workshops are designed to provide the technical and financial information combined with practical knowledge so that people can make their homes warmer and save energy and money,” explains Jay Stuart, Architect and Managing Director of DWEcoCo.

This workshop is designed to suit all levels of knowledge of buildings and construction. The main objective is to provide participants with sufficient information and practical examples to plan a house retrofit that will improve the comfort and health of the occupants while reducing the energy costs of the home. Learn about the steps that can be taken to improve a home and access the HES grants. Don’t wait until the weather or fuel prices make you think about being warm or your energy bill. Get the right information now to make the best decisions for your property and the future!
Home Heating Ireland welcomed the workshop, emphasizing the ignorance that exists in Ireland in relation to the simple and inexpensive steps that can be taken which give immediate savings in energy costs.

DWEcoCo’s partnership with NICER Training (www.nicertraining.ie) to deliver these workshops is part of the commitment of both companies to spread the best knowledge about the sustainable building industry to all those interested in the built environment. Both DW EcoCo and NICER are members of ÉASCA, the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association.

Greenwave Project 2009 a huge success!

A total of 337 primary schools took part in the Greenwave 2009 project – a mass science experiment for Irish national schools which involves tracking the movement of spring across Ireland. Students from participating schools were asked to record the ash, horse chestnut and hawthorn trees, the primrose, the swallow and frogspawn. This year, participants were also asked to record the rainfall throughout the months of February to May. Scoil Chaitríona Junior from Renmore, County Galway was selected as the winning school for a nationwide photography competition run as part of the Greenwave programme for their picture of a frogspawn sighting. In total, 834 sightings were submitted by 337 Primary School classes from across the country.
Some of the findings by schools included:
• The first swallow was spotted on 2nd April
• The highest average weekly rainfall was between 5th-12th April, with an average of 31.69mm recorded
• The warmest average weekly temperature, 12.13 degrees Celsius, was recorded between 24th-31st May
Commenting on the results, Eanna Ni Lahmna, said, “The results over the three years that Greenwave is running now show that Spring is arriving earlier particularly in the south west where frogs are now spawning in January. The wealth of results sent in by schools from all over the country are providing very useful baseline data on climate change.”
Peter Brabazon, Programme Director of Discovery Science & Engineering, added, “The success of this year’s Greenwave project is evident in the amount of children participating from all over the country. It is fantastic to see children taking such an interest in their locality while also learning valuable skills such as data gathering and measurement. The program is a great way of engaging children through nature in developing skills that they will use in second level education”.
Every year a green wave, which is caused by the opening of buds on trees and hedges, can be seen moving across Europe from outer space in springtime. It begins in the south of Europe in February and it moves up across Europe as temperatures rise. The phenomenon travels at approximately the same speed as humans walk – four miles per hour – hence the description of a green wave. According to this, spring would take three weeks to walk across Ireland from Mizen Head to Malin head.

This lady is special!

Poet, author, musician, and recording, performance and video artist Kylyra will be the featured guest on 29 September 2009 at Ra@The Cobblestone, Smithfield Market, Dublin. This marks the first live appearance in Dublin by this versatile Dark World International artist.

A well respected on-line artist with pages on MySpace, Facebook, Dark World International, and YouTube, Kylyra’s popularity from her performances has grown enormously over the last year. The artist has developed a theatre style show using her poetry, music, and scripting skills. Her Dublin appearance will be the debut of her integrated show idea. “I knew right from the start that I wanted to head in this direction. The Cobblestone is a wonderful venue to premiere my idea in,” Kylyra stated. With her performances already compared to Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, and Karen Finney, Kylyra’s new show promises to be a hit with a wide audience range. “The show is set around my neo-beat material with a jazz combo backing, but it also includes some of my humorous pieces. I’ve got two brand new poems to lay on the audience as well.”

Ra is Dublin’s premier monthly spoken word showcase, featuring the best in performing spoken word — poetry, hip hop, monologue, storytelling, diatribes, rants and more from Dublin and beyond. Each showcase features new set pieces by award-winning house wordsmiths & joined by guest musicians, and a featured guest performer. Ra maintains the most high-spirited and intense atmosphere of the Dublin spoken word scene and the house credo is one of experimentation, so expect anything. This is the spot for not only fans of the word, but even those who say: “Poetry? I don’t like that stuff…” . They like this stuff; it’s on the menu the last Tuesday of every month beginning and 9 p.m. and it’s absolutely free.

Kylyra will be appearing live at Ra@The Cobblestone, Smithfield Market, Dublin, on 29 September 2009. The evening begins at 9 p.m.

How the dream dies

ILLUSION

Envelopes lie unopened on the table
That runs the length of the hall.
Logos on the outside
Reveal the utilities call.
No greeting cards contained within,
Nor cheery offers of a prize
Sharp demands in angry prose
Are all that inside lies.
No need to open the missives
When denial provides some comfort
And optimism offers advice; like a friend
Naively not wishing to inflict hurt.
Failure to invoke the plain reality
The demoralising truth unvarnished,
Preserves the dubious veneer that leaves
Your precocious esteem untarnished.

It was all so good back then:
Two cars in the drive, shiny and new,
Holidays three times a year,
The parties every month you threw.
Bling of course was the wrong term for
The little black numbers, so exquisite
The emerald and ruby creations
The discreet salon you used to visit.
This was an envious word, coined
By those who lacked the ability
To match what you could achieve
They dreamt; you made the possible reality.
Why not push the limits of his expense account
To provide personal gratification;
A small reward for the ruthless toil
Extracted from him by the corporation.
Now by order of a cold calculation
Made three thousand miles away:
His career dismantled, talents unwanted,
Responsibilities evaporated, all gone astray.
The corporate God provides the opportunities
Allows you construct your invincibility illusion
Then scatters as dust the castle of sand
That morphed into your sad delusion

CONFIDENCE - two years ago

The following was written in October 2007. Don't say I didn't tell you!

It is amazing what confidence can do for a person in any walk of life. It can lead them to incredible achievements and allow them surpass their wildest ambitions. It is also infectious and can lift the spirit of those who are around them.

Translate that confidence into an economy and you have what Ireland has become since the so called “Celtic Tiger” effect commenced in the early nineties. Economists differ as when and why it started. Some say that the devaluation of the Irish pound in 1992 was the kick start; others have radical and far fetched opinions that it was the success of the Irish soccer team in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups that gave Ireland Inc. the confidence to step forward and perform on the world stage.

Whatever the reason, and it is surely a myriad of factors, the Irish economy took off and when it did start to have an effect confidence soared. All the positives kicked in to bring the country onto an economic plateau that heretofore was considered unattainable.

Inflation lowered, interest rates dropped, banks started lending money again and allowed the entrepreneurial flair of the sixties “baby boomer” kids to flourish. Confidence created the property boom and the dot com mania that Ireland was so well placed to take advantage of with an educated workforce and the attraction of Ireland to American multinationals anxious to get a foothold in Europe. Add in the enlightened tax policies of Charlie McCreevy who with the bold stroke of halving the dreaded Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to 20% unleashed a wave of equity release from property owners and you had all the ingredients of the perfect economic storm.

And so it proved to be and even when the dot com crash of 2000 occurred, Ireland just picked itself up, dusted down and carried on. Fuelled by immigration, the property market roared forward and the penal 9% stamp duty on property filled the Government coffers to such an extent that budget surpluses became the norm in successive budgets with estimates always being exceeded. We became the envy of the world. We were in the economic equivalent of what is known in sport as “the zone”. Confidence propelled us up and up into the stratosphere and we could not see the fall ever coming.

This is October 2007. Mark the calendar! For this is the month that the dream starts to die. Confidence is an uneasy mistress, and when love turns to hate, the effect is catastrophic.

This week confidence walked out. Truth is, she was not faithful for the last year and Ireland, loves struck as it was, refused to acknowledge it.

The revelations this week that a number of high profile lawyers cum property developers were hoodwinking the banks by taking multi mortgages out on the same property has caused panic in legal and financial circles. Nobody knows how many more will surface. Added to the sub-prime lending time bomb that started in America, the complete collapse in Irish house sales, the drop in value of foreign holiday homes funded from ghost equity in Irish residential property and a big budget deficit looming together with the banks closing their umbrellas at the first drop of rain and now you have all the ingredients of that other perfect storm – the very nasty one.

George Lee was right after all. He had to be sometime. Leave now or forever perish!

And the last one to leave will not have to put out the lights. There will be no lights!

What economic downturn?

In a time when many travel companies are finding it hard to keep their heads above water, www.LateDeals.ie has just recorded their best month ever. Both the volume and value of sales for August 2009 were 38% higher than the same month in 2008.

Many of the travel operators significantly reduced capacity this year and as a result the number of cut price last minute deals on offer was considerably less than last year. As Juan Cullen, Founder and Managing Director of LateDeals.ie commented, “While many customers expected to find huge reductions on prices this year, there were in fact a lot less bargains out there. The larger Travel Operators all reduced their inventory considerably and, as such, were able to charge full price as availability was limited. The benefit to our customers is that they can access offers from all operators, however small, all on one site. As the top website for last minute holiday offers, we received many exclusive price offers from operators who had excess inventory to sell at the last minute”.

Analysis of the bookings showed that the Canary Islands and Turkey were the leading destinations with the average booking value being €1,412 and the majority of holidays being booked for two people. One week was the most common duration selected.
Latedeals.ie made two important additions to the site this year. The inclusion of Belfast departures greatly increased the choice of accommodation and availability to customers. Republic of Ireland holidaymakers are also benefiting from weaker sterling rates and securing some great deals. In July LateDeals.ie added a Hotel Booking Engine catering for customers who want to book their flights and accommodation separately. Juan Cullen commented, “The package holiday market has been in decline over the last few years. The increase in low cost carriers servicing popular holiday destinations has led to many people booking their own packages instead of with a tour operator. It seemed an obvious move to introduce an accommodation booking system where customers can select the destination of choice and see all offers on accommodation in their chosen location.”

And so it would seem, as more and more travel agencies are closing their doors, that online is the way forward in the travel industry.

Visit www.LateDeals.ie to see the best special offers from Ireland’s tour operators. Sign up for the weekly newsletter to ensure you are kept up to date and check back on a regular basis as offers tend to be short-lived and availability is limited.

Open House Dublin

The Irish Architecture Foundation is understandably delighted to announce the return of Open House Dublin for it’s fourth annual architectural outing considering the past success of the event.
It is a simple and powerful idea where over one weekend, running from the 8th to 11th October 2009, buildings selected for their architectural quality and interest open their doors to the public.
Open House Dublin has become Ireland’s largest architectural event with an estimated 15,000 people taking to the streets at almost 140 events, ranging from building, walking, and boat and cycling tours, to explore their city architecture. This year the spotlight is on innovative ‘next generation’ buildings, including buildings from Tallaght’s new Cultural Quarter.
Educating children and young adults about the value of architecture is a particular focus of the Open House Dublin programme and the organizers have developed with their partners a series of exciting workshops, such as the (”My Place” series of family and school workshops from the Arts Office of South Dublin County Council.)

All Open House events are free of charge. A full programme of events is available in print and by web.

West Cork Success

Proven Fine Food from Ireland West Cork’s Woodcock Smokery achieved another resounding success in the annual Great Taste Awards held on Monday 7 September in Fortnum and Mason’s Food Hall. Owner Sally Barnes not only won Best Irish Speciality Award for her wild smoked salmon but also gained a Special Commendation from the judges.
In 2006, Woodcock Smokery was awarded Best Speciality Product, Best Fresh Product and Supreme Champion in the Great Taste Awards, the ultimate recognition for food producers in the UK and Ireland and the most prestigious award in speciality food and drink.
Sally Barnes is also the Ambassador for The Taste of West Cork Food Festival 2009. This annual festival celebrates the range and quality of food produced in West Cork and its artisan producers in the County Cork area.
The Great Taste Awards is organised annually by the Guild of Fine Food with more than 100 leading chefs, cookery writers, retail buyers and other food & drink specialists judging thousands of foods in a process lasting several months.
The best products – most of which are available in delis and farm shops – are awarded one, two or three gold stars in a scheme that echoed the Michelin star scheme for restaurants, with regional and national awards also being presented. September saw the final judging of the “best of the best” at Fortnum & Mason, which also sponsored the Supreme Champion trophy. A three-star gold is the highest level of award any producer can aspire to and is recognised as the definitive independent accreditation of quality.
The chefs, cookery writers and celebrity foodies on this year’s final judging panel included TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson, restaurateur Mark Hix and former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers.
A surprise addition to the panel was Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans. On the day the BBC revealed he would be taking over Terry Wogan’s breakfast show from next January, Evans raced to Fortnums after his Drivetime show to take part in final judging. The judges’ deliberations were broadcast live on TV screens to an audience of over 400 food producers and buyers as they sampled some of 2009’s Great Taste
Awards three-star gold-winners on display in Fortnum’s famous Food Hall.
Chairman of judges Simon Burdess, Fortnums’ trading director, announced a special commendation for Woodcock Smokery’s wild smoked salmon. Owner Sally Barnes collected the Supreme Champion title in 2006 but was nearly put out of business by the closure soon after of Ireland’s wild salmon fishery. Sally has rebuilt the business on wild-caught Scottish salmon and came within a few votes of winning her second Supreme Champion title this year.
The awards also generate huge business for those who achieve the gold standard. Over the past five years, they have generated over £2.6 million additional sales and 19,900 new listings.
Last autumn, news about gold winning foods reached a massive 35 million consumers. Reports appeared in The Sunday Times, The Guardian and The Independent. Winners featured on The Alan Titchmarsh Show, UKTV’s Market Kitchen and on BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans Drivetime Show.
Irish online travel guide, www.lookaroundireland.com, congratulated the company on their remarkable success.

New insulated plaster compound launched in Ireland

New insulated plaster compound launched in Ireland
Dublin based home improvement product distributor Igoe International Ltd has announced the recent launch of Thermilate Eco Insulating Plaster in Ireland.
Managing Director of the company Brendan C Igoe said “Thermilate Eco Plaster has been developed by UK based Thermilate as an offshoot from technology discovered initially during the NASA space programme where this reflective material was designed to cut down extreme heat build up on shuttles etc. The plaster is applied like any normal plaster but its reflective properties has the effect of ‘bouncing back’ a significant amount of the room’s heat which would normally escape out through the walls or ceiling.”
The company claims the product can reduce actual room heat loss by up to 50% depending on the plaster thickness applied. It can be applied to walls & ceilings and also external without any major invasion of living space.
A big benefit is you can switch off your heating possibly an hour sooner or reducing the thermostat by two or even three degrees while maintaining a comfortable room temperature thereby saving on heating bills as well as reducing your carbon footprint. With the expected introduction of additional carbon taxes, Igoe added the timing is perfect for anybody upgrading their overall insulation situation.
Igoe added “Thermilate Eco Plaster is especially effective in older homes where wall insulation is poor or even non existent like old solid stone walls etc. Another benefit is the fact that it reduces and in most cases eliminates ‘cold wall’ condensation and subsequent mould problems because when the warm moist air touches the wall, the Eco Plaster makes the wall feel warmer thereby reducing condensation and formation of water droplets on the wall”
Mr Igoe also stated “Thermilate Eco Plaster can be a cost effective substitute for conventional insulation methods such as dry lining, polystyrene etc, it does offer a huge improvement in ones home comfort factor with minimal reduction in room space.”
Thermilate Eco Plaster retails at €47.38 per 15kg bag, which covers 4 sq metres at 10 mm thick or pro rata.
The development is welcomed as being a positive one in reducing costs of home heating. the development as being particularly attractive or anybody considering doing up old houses on doing attic conversions.

A bit different from the Rose of Tralee!

Tralee in County Kerry is going to be the home for what surely will be Halloween’s sickest and scariest event this year, with the creation of The Nightmare Realm. Running from October 14th to November 1st next, The Nightmare Realm is being billed by its creators as a cross between a lunatic asylum and a live show. Rather than the usual show format where audiences are safe sitting in their chairs watching from a distance, the audience of The Nightmare Realm are going to have to ‘walk-through’ this house of extreme horrors.
Blue-Box Displays and Tobin Leisure, two Kerry based company’s, have combined time, money and resources to bring to Ireland a craze that has been sweeping the US and Europe for years, but to date no one in Ireland has been brave enough to tackle - the extreme scare and shock market.
Billed as being a strictly over 16’s attraction, the 30minute experience (if you can last that long) promises to frighten off even the hardest customers. Underlining their point Karl (Blue Box) and Ken (Tobin Leisure) are issuing an open invitation to any member of the Kerry Football Team to come and try their attraction for free, to see how tough they really are.
The two Kerry promoters are hoping to that all the College Students and adults in Munster, primarily, visit their attraction, with special offers and promotions available in the build-up to the opening night on Oct 14th. The two are very much aware that an event like this will draw people from right across the country who fancy themselves hard enough not to break down with the extreme scares planned. They also note that this sort of event will be a huge draw for Stag and Hen nights, but have issued a warning to anyone attending to head straight to the pub afterwards to settle their nerves.
The Nightmare Realm, scare house event will be located in the Mileheight Retail Park in Tralee, County Kerry, and starts on October 14th at 8pm, tickets can be bought on the door and further information is available on the Nightmare Realm pages on Bebo and Facebook.
Seems very original and is in sharp and welcome contrast to the mundane Rose of Tralee Festival.

Delta blow to Shannon

There is grave disappointment at the decision of Delta Airlines to cease their service to New York from October 2009. The loss of the service will impact greatly on the Shannon Region, with counties of Clare, Limerick and Tipperary particularly affected.

The Mayor of Shannon has called on management at Delta Airlines to review their decision to cease the airline’s Shannon to New York service on October 4th next.
Councillor Sean McLoughlin said the American carrier’s basis for ending the 13-year-old service did not stand up.
He said: “The airline claimed that low yield factors had determined their decision to end the service. However, the service carried 30,000 passengers last winter alone. Furthermore, the number of persons using the service has dramatically increased in recent weeks. One flight this weekend, for example, was operating at full capacity. Much of these increases can be attributed to the introduction of pre-clearance facilities at Shannon and the airline’s decision to lower its fares.”
“Aer Lingus’s announcement that it will not be utilizing the US pre-clearance facilities until mid-2010 at the earliest, along with the imminent withdrawal of Delta’s long standing service and ongoing doubts over the future of Aer Lingus’s Shannon to New York service have completely undermined efforts at Shannon Airport to develop new business. The opportunities presented to airlines by the presence of the pre-clearance facilities are numerous but appear to be having little impact on business growth at the airport at present”, commented the Mayor.
Councillor McLoughlin suggested that the Shannon Airport Authority should introduce an additional landing charge incentive scheme in a bid to boost transatlantic traffic and attract new operators.
He continued: “Evidence from around the world indicates that incentive schemes for airlines planning to operate new long haul routes are very successful and generate significant benefits for the airports in question. The Shannon Airport Authority, in conjunction with the Dublin Airport Authority, should explore such options as a 5-Year incentive scheme, which could offer free landing and parking charges for the first 3 years, as well as 75% and 50% discounts for the following 2 years respectively. Another possibility would be to offer 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 15% discounts respectively on landing and parking charges.”
“If Shannon Airport is to ever be afforded independent status then it must be given a free hand in matters such as its own marketing strategies. If this does not happen then I fear that Shannon Airport’s transatlantic business will continue to decline”, concluded Mayor McLoughlin.
www.lookaroundireland.com, a leading Irish online Ireland travel information site, said it was not surprised at the decision of Delta in the current economic climate. However, they felt that other than the loss of convenience for those who use the service from the Shannon region, there would be very little impact on tourist numbers visiting the region. Most travelers from the US now include Dublin on an itinerary anyway and they will merely be just changing their schedule to take in the Shannon and Southwest region in reverse.

Close encounters of the Irish kind!

Ireland is obviously still in need of some sexual enlightenment according to the International School of Tantra which is hosting a weekend workshop September 26-27 in Dublin. On the programme is touch and intimacy. Well this should be interesting!

“Ireland is a spiritual and sexual paradox,” says Martin du Toit, the founder of International School of Tantra. “The church has opened up, the society has evolved but the people are lacking behind. Many lack basic skills in sharing intimacy.”
Well, Holy God, as Miley might say.

Almost every day the International School of Tantra receives crank calls. Martin: “We are addressing an international audience – but almost every telephone stalker we get is from Ireland. And when somebody is actually on the line we often hear the constant sound of a flushing toilet.” Martin says. “It is good though – something is happening in Ireland.”
Listen me auld flower, Martin. Those were priests that were making all the crank calls! The rest of us were all to busy having sex!

The weekend workshop is the first attempt by the International School of Tantra to get a strong hold in Ireland. Since the article “Tantric sex: Get on the love coach” by Deirdre Morrissey was published in the Independent recently, the attention from Ireland has multiplied.

Martin: “I observe in the Irish a deep yearning and desire just to be touched in a pleasant way. So what is where we will start.” The headline of the workshop is “Tantric Touch” and is an introduction and hands-on tantra experience – focusing on touch and intimacy.

“Ultimately tantra is about enlightenment and being alive but the very first step is to open up”, says Martin. “This is our first workshop in Ireland. There is such a deep fear in the Irish regarding sharing intimacy – there is much work to be done. I am partly Irish myself, I know.”

The workshop is open for men, woman, singles and couples. The entry fee is 250€ per person and 300€ for a couple. It takes place in a country villa south of Belfast.(So thats where our parish priest is going next weekend - crafty hoor!)
More information can be found on the website.
€250 per person! A bit steep, I think. In Collon, County Louth, there are several women who would give you unlimited sex for a month for €250!

Obama monument for NAMA!

They are at it again! The old Irish habit of claiming links to the United States President continues unabated.
An Irish town that claims to be an ancestral home of US president-elect Barack Obama is mulling plans for a heritage centre in his name, a spokesman said on Friday.

Offaly County Council already owns the site of the demolished building in Moneygall, where Obama's great-great-great grandfather on his mother's side grew up before emigrating to the US in 1850.

Councillor Peter Ormond will ask the council to consider building a heritage centre or museum on the site at a meeting next week. "I would like to see us put something in place pretty soon," he told the assembled media.

"If Obama did decide to come in three or four year's time then we would have something in place. There is no point in trying to do it a few months before he comes," he added, saying that publicity about Obama's Irish roots has already led to an increase in US tourists to the area.
Did you ever of such eejits in your life! Why don't they use their energy to create few jobs in County Offaly , a place that is becoming a wasteland with so many jobs lost in the last year. A monument to Obama is not going to produce many! Would ye ever get real down there?

Pros and cons of CFL bulbs

With the change to the compulsory use of CFL bulbs from January 1st 2010, most retailers of low energy light bulbs believe they now carry the full range of compact florescent light bulbs enabling Irish households to easily complete the switch from incandescent bulbs – both indoor and outdoor bulbs.
There is a wide range of energy-saving light bulbs on the market today, but major supermarkets and hardware stores in Ireland tended up to now to carry a fairly limited range – typically the u-shape and candle shape types. However, in recent weeks one sees a vast increase in the choice available on the shelves. Not that you should only look there. There is real value to obtained online with several online only suppliers, the leading one being Avocalite
Avocalite is a show-case when it comes to choice, they stock; reflectors, pearl-shaped, spirals, candles, mini-globes and u-shaped bulbs. They also cater for most fitting (cap) types such as; GU10, MR16, small Edison and bayonet and all the regular popular fitting sizes.
CFL bulbs not only save energy, but also cost far less to run and are simply a better environmental choice than incandescent light bulbs, so the time has come for every household in Ireland to make the switch. The average household operates about 60 bulbs and the average cost of an Avocalite CFL is around €3.80. Replacing every bulb in one go would cost about €228 so they suggest replacing the bulbs step by step over a three month period.
Avocalite stock a new generation of high-quality Compact Fluorescent lamps, which are far smaller, less expensive and flicker free than previous generations. They also have a quick start with a higher quality of light than the older models. In addition, new LED lighting technologies offer the future promise of even greater energy savings.
However, leading Irish lighting website, www.lightingireland.com has serious reservations about the cost and sudden necessity for the introduction of CLF’s.
“This is another one of the perverted strokes that the Green Party likes to pull to show that they have political clout” said a spokesman for the website. “We have legitimate queries about the effectiveness of CFL’s because of the constant power surges and dips suffered by consumers in the Irish electrical grid. These CFL’s will blow when a dip or a surge occurs just like any other bulb and this happens in Ireland a lot more than in the UK or Europe. When it happens they are very expensive to replace”
www.lightingireland.com also has concerns about he disposal and breakage of CFL bulbs. “These are mercury filled bulbs. If they break or being binned, there is a big risk of dangerous contamination to those handling them. They are quite lethal in broken form” continued the spokesman.

CONRADH NA GAEILGE IS FULL OF CULTURE!

www.lookaroundireland.com has learned that Conradh na Gaeilge is taking part in the Culture Night 2009 celebrations again this year, with an assortment of great events organised in association with Seachtain na Gaeilge, Ógras and Club Chonradh na Gaeilge in Number 6 Harcourt Street in Dublin and in Áras Íde, 18 Thomas Street in Limerick on 25 September 2009.
Conradh na Gaeilge’s headoffice in Number 6 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 is steeped in history and there will guided tours of the building open to everyone from 6.00pm to midnight on 25 September 2009. The Sinn Féin bank was based here during the War of Independence, and it is from this very building that the results of the 1918 elections were announced. The tunnel through which the likes of Michael Collins and other senior members of the IRB escaped from the British forces is still intact under the building, and it was in the floors above it that the first Department of Finance was founded under the Free State.
Síne Nic an Ailí, Development Executive with Conradh na Gaeilge said: “The Conradh owns one of the most historical buildings in the capital and we are delighted to have the opportunity to open the doors of Number 6 Harcourt Street to the public as part of this fantastic occasion again this year. There will be refreshments for all the early birds and the whole family will enjoy a cuppa and some cúpla focal in the Conradh on Culture Night 2009. Be there or be square!”
In addition to all the historical interest of Number 6, there will be plenty to keep the children amused too as Conradh na Gaeilge’s youth organisation, Ógras, have organised a special Culture Night workshop too. There will be fun and games through Irish from 6.00 – 8.00pm giving the whole family a chance to enjoy the language in the Conradh.
Conradh na Gaeilge has a great reputation when it comes to providing Irish classes across the country, and any lucky Dubliners with an interest in learning Irish will have the chance to try a free taster-class between 8.00 – 9.00pm on 25 September 2009. With over a hundred years of experience teaching Irish to adults at every level and our new term of classes just starting, there has never been a better time to sample the lively and enjoyable approach to language learning we use in class in the Conradh.
Of course no night in Conradh na Gaeilge would be complete without a bit of music in the Club downstairs and that is exactly what Seachtain na Gaeilge will be providing on the night! The renowned Irish musician Enda Reilly and the sexy Irish-speaking, sean-nós-singing Darach Mac Mathúna will perform with special guests in the basement bar of Club Chonradh na Gaeilge from 9.00pm. Enda’s song, Mol an Aimsir, won Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí’s Raidió na Gaeltachta competition and he represented Ireland in Nós Úr, a minority languages’ music competition in June of this year, so he is certain to get the crowd jiving to Irish rhythms on Culture Night!
MORE INFORMATION:
Síne Nic an Ailí
Development Executive,
Conradh na Gaeilge (Dublin)
01 4757401 / 087 6546673
Templebar Cultural Trust
www.culturenight.ie
01 6772255 / 01 8883610
Breandán Ó hÉamhaigh
Development Officer,
Conradh na Gaeilge (Limerick)
061 417895 / 085 1020374
www.lookaroundireland wished the organization the best of luck with event. And so say all of us!

New Green product for floors and ceiling launched

A County Derry company, Ranly Floor and Ceiling Services Ltd, are offering a new service with the all-important Green Energy factor. This would be of interest to anybody doing a new build home or extending their home by adding a conservatory or sunroom or extending a kitchen area.
The product is Polished Concrete. So what makes this process Green?
Reduces impacts from construction or demolition
Reduces heating and cooling loads
Alternative to hazardous components (Epoxies, Resins etc)
Exceptional durability and low-maintenance
Releases minimal pollutants
Polishing concrete is a relatively new technique for turning both new and old concrete slabs into attractive, durable, finished floors. HTC Sweden have pioneered this process of grinding, polishing, and chemically hardening (densifying) concrete in the 1990s, and its system has now been used on more than 100 million square feet of flooring. The HTC Superfloor process was developed by combining European stone-grinding and polishing technology with concrete hardening and densifying agents that had been used in North America. In the process, large walk-behind diamond-wheel grinders remove between 1/20th and 1/4 inch of the concrete floor surface. Consecutively finer-grit grinding and polishing wheels achieve a fine polish (up to 3,000-grit). During the polishing process, sodium silicate is applied; this is absorbed and reacts with the calcium hydroxide in the concrete to form calcium silicate hydrate, which crystallizes within the concrete matrix. The resultant concrete surface is highly durable, easy to maintain, free of VOC emissions, and more reflective (which can reduce light level requirements). The system enables the concrete slab to serve as the finished floor surface, thus reducing material use. Polish Concrete was voted one of the Top-10 Green Building Products for 2006 by BuildingGreen.com
Suspended Ceiling Restoration
The CeilCote process is a unique airless spray treatment specifically developed for the application of ceiling restoration coatings. Suspended Ceiling Restoration coatings are inexpensive coatings that can be applied to any ceiling surface and associated grids without sticking tiles to grids, 100% acoustics are maintained and subjected to the class O fire rating part 6&7. All our ceiling restoration coatings are water-based and environment friendly. As responsible companies we should all do our part to minimize our carbon footprint. Our goal is to educate commercial and retail properties to retain there ceilings over a longer period of time by having them sprayed. By adhering to this procedure, we will decrease our dumping and help improve our environment.
www.kitchensireland.com and www.conservatoryireland.com, leading online publications, welcomed the new process as being another means of reducing carbon emissions in refurbishing or extending homes.

Guinness Storehouse tops world poll

Ireland’s number one international visitor attraction, Guinness Storehouse, has been named by California-based travel website VirtualTourist.com, as the number one Brewery/Distillery tour in the world. The poll, as voted by the public, applauded the Storehouse with its “museum, brewery tour, tasting lab and rooftop bar with a panoramic view of Dublin”.
This verifies an earlier poll by leading Irish website, www.lookaroundireland.com which although much smaller in scale arrived at the same conclusion.
Fresh from celebrating these great honours, the world-famous Guinness Storehouse is gearing up for this year’s Dublin Culture Night. This night of entertainment, discovery and adventure in Dublin city, will take place on Friday September 25th next.
With free entry and a complimentary pint of Guinness (for those over the age of 18) together with the opportunity to see Dublin at night from the famous Gravity Bar, this is a unique opportunity to explore the Guinness Storehouse and discover one of Dublin’s best-kept secrets.
Those visiting the Guinness Storehouse can take part in a complimentary tour and embrace the history of Ireland’s most famous export. Visitors will find out what it takes to make the ‘black stuff’ and master the craft of how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness. A live DJ in The Source Bar will play funky lounge and chill out music from 6pm until 11pm.
The Guinness Archive will also be open late on the night until 8pm with a number of key documents on display, such as original brewing books from Arthur Guinness’ era and select Guinness advertisements. The Guinness archivists will be on-hand to answer any historical enquiries visitors may have.
Dublin Culture Night takes place Friday September 25th and Guinness Storehouse at St. James’s Gate will be open free to visitors from 5pm – 11pm.
For a full programme of events on Culture Night visit www.culturenight.ie

Sharon Shannon honoured by her own

Clare County Council hosted a Civic Reception in honour of Irish traditional musician Sharon Shannon on the evening of the 21^st September 2009.

The Ruan-born accordionist, who began her recording career in 1989, is best known for her collaborations with some of the biggest names in the Irish and Global Music Industry, including Bono, Sinead O’Connor, Jackson Browne, John Prine, Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, The RTE Concert Orchestra, The Chieftains, The Waterboys, Willie Nelson, Nigel Kennedy, Alisson Krauss and Shane MacGowan.

Sharon Shannon’s self-titled 1991 album remains the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released while she became the youngest person ever to win the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.

“A Civic Reception is the highest accolade at the disposal of Clare County Council for any individual, group or organisation and one that is - for Sharon Shannon - thoroughly deserved”, stated the Mayor of Clare Councillor Tony Mulcahy.

Addressing those gathered at Aras Contae and Chláir in Ennis this evening, the Mayor said: “By demonstrating her most wonderful talent as an accordionist, Sharon has brought great acclaim to the Irish traditional music scene, County Clare and those who have had the pleasure of working with her down through the years. Sharon’s versatility as a musician is one of her most outstanding traits and is widely recognised by the global music industry.”

“In presenting Sharon Shannon with a Civic Reception, Clare County Council is also recognising Clare’s rich talent of Irish traditional musicians who have brought happiness to thousands of people throughout the world.

“By making such a rich contribution to the development and promotion of Irish traditional music, Sharon has honoured her contemporaries and those who have come before her. When speaking of figures that have contributed to making County Clare synonymous with Irish traditional music, I know the name Sharon Shannon will forever be mentioned in the same sentence as the likes of Willie Clancy, The Russell Brothers, the Tulla Ceili Band, the Kilfenora Ceili Band and Martin Hayes”, added the Mayor.

Sharon Shannon played festivals all over Europe including Womad and Glastonbury in 2009, and has recently completed a sell-out UK tour and Irish nationwide tour with guests including Shane MacGowan, Mundy and Dessie O’ Halloran. Sharon performed at the Rose of Tralee Festival 2009 and will be touring Ireland in October and December 2009. She is scheduled to perform at the prestigious Sydney and Perth Festivals in Australia in January 2010.

Her new album ‘Saints And Scoundrels’ is due for release this Friday, September 25th 2009.

All we can say is that we agree completely with the sentiments expressed.

Don't be stupid!

How stupid we can be at times! With the happenings of the last few years, one might say that we Irish are stupid in many ways. Borrowing too much, paying too much for homes, cars, clothes – you name it and we’ve paid over the odds.
These vague thoughts enter my head as the evenings get shorter, the kids are back at school and winter is fast approaching. My thoughts turn to preparing a budget for the heating over the winter.
Our house is a modern house with lots of electronic controls to check and monitor our oil heating. Our neighbour across the road lives in an older house with oil-fired central heating. Visiting one evening the talk turned to home heating and he complained how expensive it was even after the recent falls in oil prices.

Further discussion elicited the information that he had absolutely no controls on his heating system other than the ON/OFF switch. All his radiators came on together and heated the entire house at once. It is not a big house but it was sheer waste of money heating it all and you using only one or two rooms. No wonder his bills were out of control. The individual manual controls on the radiators were seized so he couldn’t even turn off some of the radiators.
I told him to buy one thing only and see a plumber. What was that thing? A blooming thermostat! The simplest little piece of energy efficiency you ever seen.

Did you know that properly using a programmable thermostat in your home is one of the easiest ways you can save energy, money, and help fight global warming? A qualified programmable thermostat helps make it easy for you to save by offering four pre-programmed settings to regulate your home’s temperature in both summer and winter — when you are asleep or away.
The average Irish household spends more than €2,500 a year on energy bills — nearly half of which goes to heating. Homeowners can save about 10% of that a year by properly setting their programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings. That’s €250 for about €20 of an investment. And if we all look closely at our heating outgoings and general energy expenditure, we will find dozens of ways to achieve small savings that all add up to a substantial sum in the end.
The pre-programmed settings that come with qualified programmable thermostats are intended to deliver savings without sacrificing comfort. Depending on your family’s schedule, you can see significant savings by sticking with those settings or adjust them as appropriate for your family. It is amazing to see what you can save with reduced and controlled temperatures that work for your family.
Thermostats are available from all plumbing and hardware outlets throughout Ireland including Woodies and Homebase.

Don’t be stupid! Go buy one.

Let the buyer beware!

Consumers who fly regularly around Europe love Michael O’Leary, the loud-mouthed CEO of Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe. Low cost travel is with us as a result of Ryanair cutting costs with relentless pressure on suppliers and airport authorities. Millions who might never fly have done so because of him.
But should we really love him?
Ryanair took full advantage and were first out of the blocks when deregulation of European air traffic and the ever-growing European Community (EU) led to a veritable bonanza of flights for seemingly ever-decreasing prices. Net flight charges of €20 are becoming the norm, with some flights across Europe being charged as low as €NIL plus taxes.
The downside - you will have to know which airlines actually fly to Ireland at the time you want to travel. Routes tend to change frequently, airport slots are re-allocated to more profitable routes and many (if not most) flights never show up in conventional booking engines. Many budget airlines aim to cut out the middleman, in this case the travel agent.
The fact that airlines do offer budget flights at extremely low prices does not mean that all flights are actually cheap. It all depends when you book what route and under which promotion. Irish airlines Ryanair and Aer Lingus are a good example - while generally you may get a cheaper flight with Ryanair, it may not be as convenient. And if you mess up your booking (or leave it too late) you may end up paying more than on Aer Lingus.
Both airlines will screw the consumer when it comes to peak demand time. Sporting events, such as the Heineken Cup Final when Munster or Leinster were in the final are gravy time for low cost airlines. And boy do they rub it in when they get the chance! Flights to Cardiff that would cost maybe €50 ordinarily have cost as much as €500 when the Heineken Cup final was played at the Millenium Stadium.
The same goes for mid-term school breaks. Everybody in Ireland wants to get to the overpriced holiday homes they paid for in Spain and the only chance is at the mid term breaks. No chance of €NIL flights then. You would get a package holiday for the same price! The same policy applies at seasonal holiday times like Christmas and Easter.
"No frills and no thrills" airlines is what they should be called. This describes them far better and reflects the motto "You get the service you pay for". No-frills airlines strip down their planes to maximize passenger capacity and minimize weight. At the same time, charges may be incurred for things many air travelers take for granted. Starting with check-in luggage and ending with your cup of in-flight coffee. Ryanair are now threatening to charge for going for a pee on the plane!
Boldly advertised "Free Flights!" rank alongside free lunches - there generally is no such thing. The same realization hits most people once they are actually charged quite more than nothing for their free flights.
The problem lies with the legality to put the net flight price into ads, a practice that confuses passengers to no end. You have to be aware that most airlines do not quote the price you effectively pay for your flight. There are nearly always hidden extras.
Net prices shown in airline ads are exactly the price you pay to the airline for flying you from A to B. Which is far less than your flight will cost you. Before you take off the government will lighten your purse with assorted taxes. Then the airport will ask you for a contribution to their running costs. All this easily works out at €20 per flight. The cost of the flight advertised for €10 already has trebled.
But airlines themselves also like to dig into your pocket. You have luggage? Seat reservation or a "Priority Boarding Request? That will be €10 thank you. Using a credit card? Direct debit? Golf clubs? - cheaper to buy a set when you get there! All this will cost you extra! Turning up with an over weight bag will cost you more than the flight itself in extra fees.
Whilst Michael O’Leary certainly pioneered low cost flying for the masses, he is no angel for the consumer. The old business trick of sucking them in with rock bottom prices, getting them hooked and then screwing them applies very much to O’Leary.

Let the buyer beware!

Brownie Points With Good Value

It was our wedding anniversary the other day. She is still with me after all these years. As Paul Simon sings, she must be “still crazy after all these years”
Anyway, there is still a bit of romance left in this old dog, so I whisked her off down to County Wicklow. The weather was nice and when the sun shines, Wicklow is indeed a stunning county.
We stayed at Tuilfarris House and Golf Club near Blessington, set on the Blessington Lakes in a gorgeous location. A superb golf course sweeps down to the lakes and provides a glorious backdrop of lake and mountains. It is easy to be distracted by the wonderful scenery. We played a round of golf on this championship course for €30. Two years ago, a round of golf here cost €125 and there was a line to book such was the popularity of the place.
A double room with bed and breakfast and dinner cost an astonishing low price of €98. The dinner we had was absolutely superb and was worth the €98 alone. Two years ago, it would have cost you that, but when you consider the entire package at such prices, it brings home the difficulty that hotels in Ireland are having in these unprecedented times of economic implosion.

When we had it good, we fleeced the tourists and now they don’t come anymore, it seems. Good value is arriving too late and only arriving because of price resistance by the consumer. Nobody could make money at the prices above – they are just meeting overheads to stay alive.
A combination of greed by all in the tourist sector during the boom times and both dollar and sterling exchange rates going against the euro made Ireland a very expensive place to take a vacation.
We quickly got a reputation as being expensive and that will stick, even with the good value available at present. It takes years to build a reputation in any walk of life but just one day to destroy it. And that is what Ireland has very effectively done; destroyed our reputation for value and friendly service with greed and arrogance in the good times.
It will take a long, long time to restore it, if ever.
In the meantime, if you can afford it take advantage of the value on offer.
My other half was overcome by the quality of everything at Tulfarris.

Needless to say, I didn’t tell her the price of the treat – I need the brownie points for later in the year!
Enough said!

Robbed Blind for a Bathroom

We were fleeced in the good old days of the Celtic Tiger. Now that we are in the middle of the greatest recession/depression – call it what you like- you get to see how in most categories of consumer buying, we got screwed by businesses and tradesmen.

The worst offenders were those selling services and equipment in the home. During the boom, we had the bad timing to decide to do up our bathroom. The one we had was ancient and I had to agree with missus that for once she was right about spending some money on the room.
We had one awful coloured bathroom suites that were all the rage in eighties when we built our house. It was a tacky green colour and when I look at it now I wonder how in Gods name we ever bought it.
But of course, they were all the rage then so you went with the flow. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Any way we still had some of the SSIA money saved up so off we went to one of these retail parks that had everything for the home. There were all sorts of big stores offering tiles, furniture, kitchens, hot tubs and garden equipment. And, of course, bathrooms.

This was in 2006 and we didn’t know then that we were at the very peak of the boom. You could hardly get into any of the stores such were the crowds.
Plastic was being flashed here, there and everywhere. Nobody was actually paying any cash – everything was going on the card. We felt like doddery fools with our humble cheque-book.

It being the house, herself had first call on what she wanted. There were all sorts of glossy stuff, such as free-standing baths, whirlpool baths and an incredible range of must-have accessories. And all in white, thank God. No more dazzling colours to fight over, at least
Of course, there was the price to fight over. I couldn’t believe the prices they were charging. Crazy money, away in excess of our budget!
We tried a few more places but they were all the same. It seemed to me that a cartel was in operation between them all. And you could forget about negotiation – there was none, simple as that. That’s the price, take it or leave it you were told by a snotty guy in a suit who rolled his eyes to Heaven if we mentioned looking at something cheaper.

That same guy is today walking the streets in ragged clothes which is a small consolation to us for the ridiculous price we ended up paying for our new bathroom suite.
The store we bough this suite is now long closed – I guess the owner is in the Caribbean- and whilst our bathroom looks lovely and the missus is very contented, it pains me when I walk by a bathroom store now and see the same suite at a fraction of the price we paid.

That is just a small example of the outrageous profiteering that went in the last crazy decade. At least we only bought a bathroom, not a house like so many unfortunate others.
It was all mad stuff, wasn’t it?
We lost the run of ourselves completely, like we were all in a gold rush. Madness!

Ah well, I think I’ll just go and have a warm bath to get rid of the stress of thinking about the money we lost during those crazy years!

Shopping Mad!!

We went shopping in Dublin today, looking for presents and bits and bobs for an upcoming wedding what with the price of every thing down in this depression we are having. I was dragged along of course – for the simple reason I won’t allow the wife a credit card. She gets over this by bring me

I could not believe my eyes in what I was seeing in Grafton Street. Every store whether they were selling clothes, shoes or mobile phones had a sale on!
The streets were thronged with people, but the actual shops seemed to be barely busy. A lot of window shopping was going on but not much buying.
As the shops were so generous in offering massive discounts, we decided to check out a kitchen place recommended to us by a friend.
This place are the agents for a lot of the top European brands that manufacture kitchens and appliances.

Their show room is fantastic. I think my wife went into a sort of kitchen love trance when she entered their exquisite showrooms. They do the Siematic range of kitchens, a German brand that she has over years mentioned occasionally with awe.
Now here we were looking at the latest and most up to date of their range called the Siematic S1, which is about the equivalent of a Ferrari 599 when kitchen are compared to cars!
The damn thing nearly costs as much as well!

Whilst herself was lost in a world of her own taking in all the features of this wonder piece of work, I was clutching my wallet closer to my heart and hoping that the smooth talking salesman pointing out the merits to the gasps of my wife would go away and let sanity return.

That is the worst thing about these fancy showrooms. Everything is glistening and sparkling, smooth and stylish; all designed to turns the heads of potential punters. In places like these, reason abandons you.
Suddenly, you are piecing together the numbers and creating the most optimistic scenario, whereby you could actually see your way to paying for this kitchen!

The sales man proffers his card and promises a very generous finance deal arranged in house instead of us having to deal with pesky banks who will not now lend money for any reason.

We eventually get out of the place, my wife drunk with vivid imagery of this wonderful piece of engineering fitted into our humble home.
It takes a while for the dust to settle in situations like this. Reality sweeps over you like a cold shower after a sauna. As we journeyed home, our present buying complete, the silence of my wife was the indicator of reality setting in.

I am exactly the same walking out of a fancy car showroom, puffed up with possibilities but knowing that the dream of that Ferrari will never be realized. I empathised with her so I remained silent, letting logic take command of her thinking, which it inevitably did after about an hour.

We all have dreams of beautiful non-attainable material things in our life. Taking a look and stepping a little closer to that dream is no harm. For a little while, your life enters a fantasy place but at over €150,000, I think the Siematic SI is just that.
It offers to make your dreams come through but says nothing about the nightmares!

We are going to try IKEA next!

Well, you have to cut the cloth to the measure and all that!