Fancy jazzing up your next walk on Howth's west pier? For a picnic on the rocks, we love the shellfish platters from Beshoffs - a notch up from fish and chips
MAKING USE OF OCEAN VEGGIES
A Japanese friend studying here several years ago was shocked to hear constant references to "seaweed".
"But it's sea vegetable," she whispered, recognising the nutritious qualities of dulse, carrageen and various kelps before she had nibbled any of our wild Atlantic crop.She'd be thrilled to learn about Cóireáil Feamainne, a new venture by Liz Murphy in Kinvara, Co Galway, where fresh seaweed is used to treat skin complaints, arthritis and backache, and is applied as a general tonic. A seaweed paste is spread gently over the limbs, which are then wrapped in plastic, inducing a warm glow throughout the joints.
Some such treatments aren't particularly effective, it seems, as processing can strip the plants of their natural proteins and vitamins. But Murphy's paste is a bioactive material that, she says, retains the iodine, iron, zinc and vitamins E and C. What's more, it has been endorsed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Irish sea fisheries board, which describes it as an "exclusive and natural experience".
Even as the marine nutrients are exfoliating, nourishing and enveloping the body, Sinéad Murphy (no relation), a trained reflexologist, offers a foot massage to unlock those deep tensions. With Elaine King, Murphy works in a restored stone building set in a courtyard just off Kinvara's main street. The treatment rooms, named after sea plants, are equipped with power showers and heated towel rails for the final rinse. More from 091-637760 or www.seaweedtreatment. com. Lorna Siggins
SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND
Everybody might have a blog now, but before the internet the only way to get your voice out there was to start a zine. They have their origins in science-fiction fan magazines of the 1930s, and by the time they became the voice of 1970s punks, do-it-yourself publishing was all the rage (the first big Irish zine, Raw Power, debuted in 1977).
An exhibition in Temple Bar celebrates the history of publications that were made for "passion instead of profit". Exhibition organiser Ciaran Walsh, who has gathered nearly 1,500 zines in his Forgotten Zine Library (including Cometbus, above), says that back in the 1980s zines were a source of information about music and underground bands. Now, with the advent of blogs, zines are a more "tactile and intimate space" that tend towards a personal statement or a handcrafted piece of art. "We're generally only taught to consume media and entertainment, and I think it is fascinating that people just put something out there," he says.
Zine Show - A Celebration of Zines and Do-It-Yourself, presented by Loserdom and the Forgotten Zine Library, runs until June 25th at Anthology Books, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. There will be an evening of poetry and music on Thursday, at 6.30pm. See www.anthologystore.com. Nicoline Greer
OODLES OF BLING
If you are something of a magpie, you should soon notice a fresh sparkle on Grafton Street, in Dublin. Next month the UK jeweller Boodles opens its first overseas branch, on the corner previously occupied by Suits You, at number 71. Boodles is a family-run company, originally from Liverpool, and the managing director's nephew, Jody Wainwright, is moving to Dublin to run the shop. Boodles says it aims for an atmosphere that is relaxed and intimate, not as intimidating as some fine jewellery stores can be. Each store has a bar offering champagne and cocktails to shoppers. All pieces are made in Liverpool, and the team specialises in diamonds, platinum and semi-precious gems. Jasmine Guinness helped launch its new "Castaway" range, which will be available in the Dublin branch. Clare McCarthy
REMEMBERING THE BOG
The bogs may still occupy a spot at the heart of our island, but their importance in the lives of Irish people is changing. For decades these peaty landscapes provided fuel, work and a way of life for many families.
Now, however, Ireland's dependence on the bounty of certain bogs is waning.
Vast areas have been abandoned, and once-busy machinery is long stilled and rusted.
It is this quiet slice of time that has been frozen and examined by photographers Tim Durham and Dara McGrath in an exhibition at Riverbank Arts Centre, in Newbridge,
Co Kildare. Durham's series of 12 images was taken at Ballivor bog; McGrath concentrated on the area around the village of Rathowen, in Co Westmeath.
The subject matter of many of the photographs - decrepit and forsaken apparatus being swallowed by returning vegetation - has already been erased, as Bord na Móna is clearing away this evidence of man's engagement with the bog.
Fiona Fay has captured fragments of reminiscences of those who have been intimately involved with the bog - working on it, living beside it and basing their daily routines on it. These are presented as framed works, sparse little word vignettes: of rice pudding at midnight for the shift-working dad, lunchtime poker games in the canteen and learning to drive on the bog road.
This year is the 60th anniversary of the founding of Bord na Móna, but the exhibition failed to attract funding from that body, perhaps because of the stark nature of the works.
Heartland is at Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare from Friday to July 8th. 045-448333, www.riverbank.ie. Jane Powers
ONE BARBECUE TO GO, PLEASE
When the June bank holiday arrives, next weekend, let's hope that summer is finally here - and with it comes alfresco eating. For a movable feast, what you need is a portable barbecue. You can take one with you wherever you go, or even if you decide to stay at home. They're particularly good if your garden consists of a 30cm-wide fourth-floor "balcony". Argos is tapping into World Cup frenzy with a football-shaped black-and-white number (above; €32.99; code 345/5391); Argos also has a fuchsia-pink girly version (€25.49; code 345/5614; www.argos.ie). Muji, on Chatham Street, Dublin 2, has a more practical stainless-steel barbecue that folds up into a small, easy-to-carry briefcase, perfect for a day on the beach (€64.95; 01-6794591). Habitat, on Suffolk Street, Dublin 2, has a sturdy but stylish lacquered-steel green one (€50; 01-6771433). Eimear McKeith