Compiled by Nicoline Greer.
TAKE IT E Ezhome.ie is a company targeting the confused and busy house buyer. They do all the fiddly stuff that buying a house entails: helping you choose a mortgage, life assurance, home insurance and organising lawyers and surveyors. They also claim to save the average first-time buyer almost 70 per cent in costs and other purchasers at least 50 per cent. Our guinea pig house buyers who used them were impressed with the nice-ness of the people and the cost effectiveness of the service. ezhome.ie, 105 Ranelagh Village, Dublin 6, 01-4127200
NEEDLE WORK Like Birkenstocks and Ugg boots, knitting should, strictly speaking, not be trendy. But, now that Kate Moss has been knitting in public, it just is. Next Thursday, Cast Off, a self-proclaimed UK "guerrilla knitting group" and Half/angel, a Cork-based theatre/dance group, are going to knit on motor bikes at the Knitting & Stitching Show at the RDS. "Casting Off Angels" begins with the knitters driving through the streets of Dublin in knitted biker outfits. When they get to the RDS, they will meet up with DJs, Mike the Obscure and Poodle Rock. Knitting tutors will be on hand and special knit kits will be available. The (free) party runs from 5-11 p.m. The Knitting & Stitching Show is at the RDS Main Hall daily from November 4th-7th. Tickets: Adults: €12 OAP/students: €10 Children: €4. www.twistedthread.com, 048-6922299, ticket hotline: 1800-626116
INSURE TO BE SURE Jewellery doesn't just have a sentimental value, it usually carries a significant monetary one too, and replacement costs of favourite pieces are often underestimated. Carol Clarke's jewellery shop in Royal Hibernian Way in Dublin is a mecca for those in search of unusual, modern jewellery and customised one-off pieces, and Clarke is now offering a valuation service for gems and gold, having taken the Gemological Institute of America (through London) Insurance Replacement Appraisals Examination. Set fees apply for individual pieces (rather than percentage fees), and the valuation can be done on the spot, with typed certification following within a couple of days. With some items now requiring bi-annual valuation for some insurance policies, that's good news indeed. Valuations done by appointment only with Clarke at 01-6777161. -Marie-Claire Digby
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO BOO Ghostly goings-on down at Dublin's Docklands today and tomorrow. The Docklands Hallowe'en and Harvest Festival will be a spook-tastic collection of ghouls and other seasonal characters by Bui Bolg, and market stalls selling apples, nuts, pumpkins and more harvest-season fare. For those getting ready to do some serious trick-or-treating, face painters will be on hand to help with the creepiest of costumes. The Docklands Hallowe'en and Harvest Festival, George's Dock, IFSC, October 30th-31st. Free of charge. Meanwhile, "Boo at the Zoo" and "Boo and Fota" are back at Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park. "Boo at the Zoo" introduces visitors to a batty world of nocturnal creatures in the Bat House, and at Fota, animal superstitions - like why natives of Madagascar believe lemurs to be the walking spirits of the dead - will be explained.
STOUT STUFF That hops-y smell you get around Dublin 8 only means one thing: there's Guinness a-brewin'. Chef Paul Rankin will be pouring the black stuff next month as he teaches a workshop in Contemporary Irish Cuisine with Guinness Extra Stout. Rankin will show you how to use it to best effect, including putting a new twist on Christmas pudding. He will then serve up a four course lunch, with a wine and Guinness tasting, and dispatch you with recipes and all you need to recreate the dishes. At that point, it's time to head to the Gravity Bar for a pint with the best view in Dublin. Guinness Storehouse, November 11th, 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. €120. Spaces are limited, so book your place by contacting Joanne Looby at the Guinness Storehouse, 01-6435624, e-mail: joanne.looby@diageo.com, www.guinness-storehouse.com/paulrankin.
PIN-UP PEOPLE People have been breaking the "Don't mention Christmas before Hallowe'en" rule for about a month now. So here we go, on about 2005 already. Graham Thew creates personalised calendars and this year has expanded the range from children's calendars to ones for grown-ups too. E-mail or post your pictures to MyCalendars and he will transform them into a calendar with your own personal title on the front. Each calendar is A3 in size. To order, download and complete the printable order form and send it with your payment (cheque, postal order or bank draft) to the address supplied. Allow 28 days for delivery. The cost is €85 for one calendar. Two calendars (using the same photos) €135. Three: €185.50. Last orders for Christmas must be received by Friday, November 26th. www.my-calendars.com (01-6799265)
A SPECIAL SWIM If you're in the National Aquatic Centre next Friday you might notice some very determined swimmers. DIT Cathal Brugha students and their friends will be there, raising funds for the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2005 in Japan. They will be swimming in one lane of the Aquatic Centre from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Go along and show your support or contact Special Olympics Ireland to make a donation. The aim is to send 8,000 people to Japan, so everything is welcome. Special Olympics Ireland, Fourth Floor, Park House, North Circular Road, Dublin 7 (01-8823972).