Compiled by Nicoline Greer.
LINGER WITHIN TENT
The Spiegeltent, the dazzling big top of the ESB Dublin Fringe Festival, will be bigger and better this year. In its new guise as the Palais des Glaces, the tented structure will will float on a pontoon at George's Dock, and will have standing for 600, as opposed to 400 last year. Next Friday, in the area surrounding the Spiegeltent, the Docklands Fringe Market will add an extra splash of colour to the corporate backdrop of the IFSC. The market stalls and art exhibitors will include fashion and jewellery from Brazil and Thailand, and crafts from Bali, Ecuador, India and New Zealand. You can also eat yourself silly with Asian food, a German barbecue, organic ice cream, hot nuts, coffee, pies, fresh chowder and fudge. Docklands Fringe Market, open noon-7 p.m. next Friday, and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. next Saturday and Sunday, September 24th-26th.
CATCH A STAR
Astronomy Ireland is promising us the sun, moon and stars with its autumn evening classes. Stargazers who want to know their inner planets from their outer planets should sign up to the Introduction to Astronomy course. There is no mathematical content, and the course is designed for the complete beginner. It includes an introduction to the night sky, telescopes and deep sky objects. The nights are getting darker. It's time to get cosmic. Introduction to Astronomy evening classes start September 30th. Classes run for 10 weeks (7.30-9 p.m.). Dublin City University, 01-8470777, www.astronomy.ie. The cost is €105 (€75 for members).
NURSES IN THE NIGHT
For terminally ill people, the chance to remain at home during the final phase of their illness, surrounded by their family and friends in the familiar setting of their own home, is so important. The National Cancer Society's free night-nursing service allows this to happen. You can play a part in funding this service by going to the Irish Cancer Society's Nightingale Ball on October 15th. A table of 10 is not cheap at €2,000, but it is for a service that is used by about 1,000 people every year. Last year the event raised €90,000. For information call the Irish Cancer Society on 1850-606060.
DO YOU KEEP STATIONERY?
Lee Dillon of Wraptures stationers not only stocks more types of paper than there are trees on the banks of the Amazon, she can also take a few sheets of paper - a sheaf of papyrus, a leaf of Indian cannabis paper, and a micro-thin bark shaving - and rustle them into stunning invitations or greeting cards. DIY stationers also buy their materials from Lee, and to help them through the forest of exotic papers, she's running a series of workshops in paper craft. Classes - starting Tuesday, September 21st - cover origami, wax sealing, rubber stamping, and card-making, and would suit anyone who would like to make their own wedding stationery or Christmas cards (sorry for mentioning the happy season so early). Classes are kept to a maximum of six people and cost €45 per person. All materials provided. Wraptures, Francis Street, Dublin 8. See www.wraptures.ie or call 01-4163281 for details of dates and courses between now and Christmas (sorry!).
LULLABY
Each week in Ireland, at least one child dies suddenly and unexpectedly, according to the Sudden Infant Death Association (ISIDA). Mike Hennessy's song Sleep Little Angel was written as a tribute to a baby lost through miscarriage, and he and his family found that it helped them through a difficult time. Now, he and the Kilkenny Gospel Choir have released the song on CD. Sleep Little Angel, €5, is released on Monday, and is available from Mothercare stores countrywide. All profits and donations will benefit ISIDA.
KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU
That Gaybo chap is back this year for another series of interviews in the National Concert Hall. He'll be shooting the breeze with three men whose lives have been the stuff of world headlines. He starts with David Frost, whose career has been so diverse that he has been called "a one-man conglomerate", then packs a few punches with former Olympic and World heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, marking the 30th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle. The third interview is on another anniversary - the 35th anniversary of man's first arrival on the moon, when Buzz Aldrin will be the interviewee. Members of the audience will have a chance to ask questions too. Sir David Frost (October 11th), George Foreman (November 8th) and Buzz Aldrin (November 18th). Tickets for the Eagle Star Face-to-Face interviews are available from the National Concert Hall (01-4170000 or www.nch.ie) priced at €20-€70.
TOY STORY
For all you big kids out there, the Dublin Toy and Train Fair tomorrow will take you back to more innocent days. There will be collectable toys, including diecast models by Corgi and Dinky, construction sets by Meccano and Bayko, lead soldiers by Britains and Crescent, trains by Hornby, Triang, Trix, Wrenn and Marklin, antique dolls, film annuals from the 1940s and 1960s, jigsaws and teddy bears. There will be about 70 tables with dealers from all over Ireland and Britain as well as wooden toys from Lithuania. Brian Kelly, one of the organisers, is a Dinky car collector. He says that children come in and pick up little pieces for a fiver, the 20- and 30-somethings go for the toys from the 1970s and 1980s and even 80-year-olds come in to buy the things they pined after when they were children. Dublin Toy and Train Fair, tomorrow, Gresham Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: €3.50 or €10 for two adults and up to three children.
HOOK LINE AND SINKER
A new "Wheelyboat", based in Cappoquin, Co Waterford, allows disabled people to access lakes and rivers in a way that steep, uneven banks made very difficult before its invention. The Cappoquin Salmon and Trout Anglers Association (CSTAA) has bought the boat, which can accommodate two wheelchairs at a time. The boat has a hinged bow which lowers to form a ramp and it can be driven into very shallow waters. The Wheelyboat needs to be booked in advance. Bookings at Titelines Tackleshop, Main Street, Cappoquin, 058-54152, €25 per day, including a day fishing permit. There is also a boatman/ghillie service available for €80. Below: Tim O'Sullivan and Andy Beadsley, members of the Handicapped Anglers Trust, on the Wheelyboat. Photograph: Sean Byrne.