GO GREEN: Sustainability is on the agenda at the European Network of National Heritage Organisations (ENNHO) assembly in Swords, Co Dublin (October 5th-9th). Reconciling Heritage Conservation with Prosperity is being hosted by An Taisce, and will include participants from National Trust-type organisations from 28 countries.
Non-Trust members are also welcome. The workshops, on October 6th, could be of special interest to those who have just bought a chunk of our heritage (such as a period house, old mill, or bit of coastline). Workshop subjects include urban heritage, country houses and landscapes, and industrial and military heritage. Further details: 01-4541786; ennho@antaisce.org; www.ennho.org.
Energy Proofing Your Home is a green building forum that might just help householders learn how to insulate themselves from rising fuel prices - in an ecologically sound manner. The event, hosted by Duncan Stewart, takes place in Cultivate, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, on Saturday, October 7th. The forum, which will take the form of presentation-and-discussion sessions, will explore ways of making homes more energy efficient, and will look at renewable energy sources (including wood pellets and solar), wind and air-tightness, and insulation. Experts will be on hand to answer tricky questions such as "what exactly are U-values?", and also to expound upon that hot subject, the SEI grants. An exhibition area will feature professionals and products. Tickets cost €50 and booking is essential as places are limited: 01-6745773. www.cultivate.ie. Jane Powers
WHY iLOVE LIFE AFTER iPOD
Four weeks ago - a mere 54 days, six hours and 13 minutes since my arrival at Dublin airport from my native Chicago - my iPod died. After years of constantly playing pretentious indie rock songs, and yes even the occasional pop song (damn you Kelly Clarkson), my iPod just stopped playing songs. I could play the first 30 seconds of Tell Me Baby by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but the song would stop before Anthony Kiedis actually told me something.
An hour of stress later - me frantically plugging the iPod into my computer, hoping to revive its battery - I declared it clinically dead. I neatly wrapped those flimsy white earphones around the silver case and went to bed for the first time without the voice of some sensitive singer-songwriter stroking an acoustic guitar.
Before this tragic day, I was one of those annoying people constantly plugged into music. On the bus, on the street, in the grocery store, shopping for books, visiting Bray - it didn't matter where. My iPod was like my underwear - I never left home without it and felt naked if I couldn't feel a little white jukebox in my pocket.
But the day after my iPod and I parted, a funny thing happened - I finally heard Dublin, and Dubliners, for the first time. Some call it eavesdropping; I call it being a keen listener.
If I walked somewhere alone, the gentle lull of the Liffey and the lovely patter of a light drizzle accompanied me along the way.
Stepping on to buses, drivers smiled at me as I said, "€1.35, please," instead of stumbling up the steps with my earphones on, struggling to find change in my pockets. "I only have €1.30, can I still get on?" I asked a bus driver one day. "Sure, hop on. Just don't tell anyone." His wink said it all, and I don't think he would have liked me if a song blaring from my iPod had busted his ears. Sheila Burt
AIR BUS
There are several ways to make a Boeing 737 feel like the 46A bus, as Ryanair and other airlines have discovered. Unreserved seating helps get passengers aboard faster, and turning each aircraft around as quickly as possible means more flights each day and, therefore, more passengers and more potential profit. Airlines also seem to have borrowed a few ideas from toddlers' mealtimes, holding back on peanuts and anything else that's murder to clear up, and upholstering seats in vinyl, to make them
easy to clean. Now, in a move that could complete Ryanair's transformation to the Dublin Bus of the skies, industry insiders say the company is considering letting an advertising agency sell space on the doors of its aircraft's overhead luggage compartments. So the next time you board a Ryanair flight, don't be surprised if your senses are assaulted by rows of ads for mobile-phone companies, car-hire outfits and tourist attractions. And if you don't like it, as the odd 46A driver has been known to say, you can get off and walk. Liam Stebbing
FREE FOOD
Seasons of mists . . . and mushrooms. It's time to take to the woods in search of your supper, and you can forage in confidence in the company of "Big Bill" O'Dea, whose tutored mushroom hunt takes at Avondale House in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, on Saturday, October 7th. Book on 0404-46111. William O'Callaghan, chef-proprietor at Longueville House in Mallow, Co Cork (022-47156), has engaged a mushroom expert to lead mushroom hunts around his estate on Sunday, October 8th and 15th, and O'Callaghan will even cook your spoils for you afterwards. Darina Allen's going to be taking a walk on the wild side next Saturday, September 30th at Ballymaloe Cookery School, in Midleton, Co Cork, when she takes participants on a one-day foraging course to gather elderberries, crab apples, damsons, blackberries, nettles, sorrel and watercress from the hedgerows and fields before transforming her finds into jams, jellies, soups and salads. When it comes to mushrooms, Allen hands over to experts Roger and Olivia Goodwillie on Saturday, October 14th for a full-day hunting, cooking and eating session at Ballymaloe (021-4646785). Marie-Claire Digby
DON'T MISS THE ANGELUS
Do you take Barry's tea bags on foreign holidays? What about cheese-and-onion Taytos? And, while the continental types around you are cracking open beers on the balcony or sipping G&Ts at the poolside bar, do you long for the angelus and the Six One news? If, in other words, you'd much rather be at home when you're abroad, you might be taken by the possibilities of the Slingbox, a slinky box of tricks that links your television, satellite tuner, DVD player or other audiovisual device to your home PC. Then, using your laptop (or any Windows XP or 2000 computer with SlingPlayer software), you can tune into your TV from anywhere in the world, as the Slingbox streams the image across the internet. The fact that both computers will need broadband connections means you're unlikely to be able to catch up with Fair City while trekking through the Amazon, but at least you can while away an hour or two by watching The Afternoon Show in an airport wi-fi hotspot as you wait for your flight home. The Slingbox costs €250 from Dixons, Currys and PC World. Liam Stebbing
THE BUTCHERS OF TULLOW
Some 150,000 people will make their way to Tullow, Co Carlow, this week for the National and World Ploughing Championships, but they shouldn't leave the area without checking out two local treasures: Laz Murphy, a craft butcher in Tullow town, and Rathwood, a potato farm turned interiors emporium.
Laz Murphy, learned the art of butchering from his father; and his son Jim is the fourth generation in the business. Laz has won prizes for his spiced beef and puddings. He also makes his own sausages and traditional corned beef. Tradition and modernity go hand-in-hand at Murphys. They have just completed an expansion of the premises to include a delicatessen, a wine shop and a hot-food section. "We always try to buy the best quality cattle and lambs we can get. All would come from within a seven-mile radius. Farmers tell me when their animals are ready. Our lambs come from Tullow hill. We are dealing with people my father and grandfather dealt with. We have a bond with them," he says.
Arriving at Rathwood (on the R725 between Tullow and Shillelagh) is like arriving into another world - a 929sq m (10,000sq ft) cornucopia of table-top, bed, bath and beyond furnishings and interior fittings. Carmel Keogh, who with husband Pat turned their farm into a lifestyle centre in 1994, travels the world sourcing the eclectic range of furniture and gifts. They finish the interior furniture themselves and can customise it to match different colour schemes. They also make their own range of garden furniture. A patio restaurant, garden centre and country walks complete the picture. www.rathwood.com. Ella Shanahan