BYE-BYE BEER GARDEN: Forget grimy, tiny, fenced-off corners out back: outdoor drinking spaces - please don't say beer gardens - are getting smarter. The latest is a colourful spot at Solas, on Wexford Street, Dublin 2.
It opens seamlessly from the venue's new second-floor bar, designed by Laura Farrell in her quirky style. Thanks to Absolut Vodka, there's an abstract graffiti wall by artist James Earley and long curvy seating bisecting the space. Squint on a sunny day and it's all very Mexican . . . in colour terms at least.
Inside, the new bar is made from Formica and concrete, while recycled materials are used in the tables and furniture. Also inside, another wall is painted, this time with a scene of nearby St Stephen's Green. Bizarrely (but of course admirably) the eco theme continues in the toilets, which are flushed with rainwater. Eoin Lyons
LE COQ HARDI DU NORTHSIDE
The late Charlie Haughey's favourite local restaurant, Bon Appetit in Malahide, is to have a renaissance. Run for years by chef Patsy McGuirk, it was known as "the northside Le Coq Hardi" and is still being mourned by people of a certain age. It is due to reopen in mid-August with Oliver Dunne in the kitchen. Dunne started at Gotham Cafe, on South Anne Street, Dublin 2 (where the best pizzas in Dublin are to be had), and spent time in London with Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay before taking up the number two slot at Shane Osborn's Pied à Terre. From there he was headhunted to lead the team at Mint in Ranelagh, a restaurant he transformed into one of the best in the country.
Mint has a new head chef who started last week. Dylan McGrath, originally from Belfast, began his career at the late lamented Commons, on St Stephen's Green, but latterly has been second-in-command at Tom Aitkens, the hugely successful London restaurant just off Fulham Road. He is said to be a brilliant chef who will soon put his own stamp on Mint. All in all, good news for Ranelagh - and for Malahide. Bon Appetit now booking for August on 01-8450314. Mint: 01-4978655. Tom Doorley
DO YOU NEED A PSYCHOLIDAY?
"Six months' benefit in one week" is how the Dublin health therapist Anne Twohig describes a very different holiday in the Sierra Nevada mountains of southern Spain last year. Twohig, who captured the last seat, recalls a break meticulously designed and planned by organiser Lainey Ennis. "It included yoga, swimming walking, massages, blue skies, tender loving care, good company and delicious food," says Twohig.
Ennis sees her holidays as inspirational retreats designed to heal, transform and renew, with departures this year to Malaga on September 10th. A psychotherapist, aromatherapist, colour therapist, yoga teacher and nutritionist, she has brought these many strands together in crafting her thoughtful getaways.
This is her fifth year bringing small groups to Cyprus and Spain. Andalusian holidays are based in the Heaven and Earth Centre, set in eight acres of olive, almond and fruit terraces, slung with hammocks. Shared accommodation is in wooden chalets, with the emphasis on fresh, vegetarian food. A typical day begins with yoga and includes inspirational talks, swimming, walks, a time for quiet and a time for company, with individual mentoring or therapy available on request.
Ennis is clear about what she offers. "I feel when people are taken to a remote, beautiful setting, nature takes over. When they surrender to it, to the routine and to being taken care of, they seem to find their own inner wisdom and gain a deeper understanding of themselves. They also learn how to deal with stress, and come home with lots of tools and resources through talks, notes and tips. Time and again people say: 'I came away not knowing what to do about a particular situation and returned home feeling much clearer about it.' "
It costs €795 plus air fare and transfers, and places are still available for September. Contact Lainey Ennis at 01-2803635 or see www.aphroditesouljourneys.com. Anne Dempsey
TUPPERWARE YOU WEAR
A "Jimi" arrived in the office by post last week. It's "the wallet for people who hate wallets". Are there people who hate wallets? Until now, I thought I liked them. Almost every holiday of my adult life has involved trawling some market or other, in search of the perfect wallet, an elusive commodity.
The perfect wallet must have a plastic window for an ID card, a pocket for miscellaneous things (photos I seldom show anyone, receipts I forget to claim expenses for, and stamps that eventually lose their adhesiveness) and just enough slots for credit, debit and movie rental cards. It must not have a designer logo, fake or otherwise, cos I'm like not shallow at all. It must accommodate all these essentials yet be small enough to fit in a trouser pocket and not produce the wrong sort of bulge.
So it was with some interest that I opened up the Jimi (pictured above). It's a small (check), flat (check), hard-plastic container, about the size of an iPod. It's transparency means that my ID card - if carefully inserted - is visible from the outside (check).
But by Jiminy, the Jimi user must be ruthless. There's room for just five credit cards and three pieces of paper money. No receipts. No coffee loyalty cards (luckily, I've just quit). None of your sentimental photos. Condoms verboten. And absolutely no coins. The Jimi owner is a disciplined fellow indeed.
I say fellow because, let's face it, it's an unashamedly masculine product. I showed it to my wife, who asked if it came in colours. Actually, darling, it does, but (and forgive my Iron Johnness for a moment) it's not really for you lot. You have bags. We don't. And a walk down Grafton Street today suggests uptake of the "manbag" - sensible accessory though it may be - is still some way off. So we need to be able to miniaturise and squeeze all our belongings into the smallest receptacle possible. The Jimi does this and more.
It also has one of those little holes in the corner that lets you slip a colouredy piece of string through it and carry it around your neck. If you find yourself in a pickpocketing blackspot, you could tie it to yourself. In a Tintin book, I once saw the Thompson brothers catch a crook this way.
So if you're a natural minimalist with a gadget fetish, a coffee phobia, personal- security issues, no small change whatsoever, oh, and an internet account (it's available in Ireland through www.helter-skelter.eu for €15.99), this might be for you. It's certainly growing on me. Conor Goodman
FOR LITTLE MOZARTS
We've all heard about the Mozart effect - playing classical music to stimulate babies in the womb. While you may think that's a load of codswallop, it is true that it's never too early to get your kids interested in music. With this in mind, the National Concert Hall is hosting a series of musical workshops for kids this summer, with parent and toddler sessions for the very young (six months to 36 months) taking place next Saturday, July 1st.
In August, these sessions will be repeated, in addition to more advanced workshops for three- to five-year-olds and six- to eight-year-olds, and capoeira musical martial- arts classes for kids. The NCH workshops have proved extremely popular in the past, so book now to avoid disappointment, on 01-4170000 or www.nch.ie. Eimear McKeith