best blogs:Award season is upon us again, but forget the Oscars, darling: anyone who's anyone in this town will be tripping his/her way to Dublin's Alexander Hotel next Saturday for the Irish Blog Awards.
Will the infamously irreverent Twenty Major stage another awards coup? Or is this the year for the Swearing Lady? The longlist of thousands has been whittled down to a shortlist by some 1,500 blogophile voters. To find out who made the cut and what they're blogging on about, check out http://awards.ie/blogawards. Or loiter outside the Alexander on Saturday evening to catch a glimpse of your virtual heroes in the flesh. Fiona McCann
pipe up
Sick of waiting by the phone for him to call back, or staying in for hours on end hoping he'll show up? With just one four-hour course behind you, your on-off relationship with your plumber can finally be consigned to the history books. John Hale, who has been fixing washers and leaky pipes for 25 years, is giving classes for women all around the country who want to get to grips with their toilet cistern. According to Hale, looking after your own plumbing can also be a great stress reliever, as well as ensuring you'll never again have to call in a man to check out your pipes. For more information on a course near you, contact Hale at tapintoyourtalent@yahoo.ie Fiona McCann
kitchen confidential
Cookery schools are springing up all over the country, but not many of them give their students access to a professional kitchen in a top hotel. Richard Stratton (above), the 26-year-old head chef at the Mount Juliet Conrad in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, is inviting a small group of amateurs (maximum 10) to participate in a two-day masterclass at the hotel on March 26th-27th, which will include a hands-on session in the kitchens of the Lady Helen restaurant.
The theme is Elegant Dinner Parties, and the demonstration sessions will cover canapes, yeast breads, starters, soups, salads, main courses, side dishes, and desserts. With a day and a half of intensive tuition behind them, the participants will be let loose in the kitchens of Mount Juliet House to put their new skills into practice.
The course includes seven hours of demonstrations, three hours of hands-on tuition, a recipe pack, two lunches, B&B accommodation in the Hunters' Yard at Mount Juliet, and a masterclass dinner in the Lady Helen restaurant, which makes the fee of €300 per person seem reasonable indeed. "We'll be keeping it seasonal and using local produce," says Cork-born Stratton, who trained at Ballymaloe House and lectured at the cookery school there, as well as working at Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa and with the Marriott group at Druid's Glen and Johnstown House.
There are only a couple of hours of leisure time slotted into the intensive two-day course, and a visit to the archery school in the grounds of the hotel, which was recently included in the "Best of the Best" section of the Condé Nast readers' choice awards, comes highly recommended. Tutor Simon Culley has endless patience, and the good grace to look away as your arrows fail to hit their target.
A 90-minute session includes tuition, practice time and a mini-tournament, and costs €30 per person. Children as young as five can take part, and family rates are available. Once you experience the thrill of hitting the target, in vaguely the right place, archery is quite an addictive sport, and those with even the slightest competitive edge will enjoy it immensely. See www.mountjuliet.ie or call 056-7773000. Marie-Claire Digby
wearing warhol
Andy Warhol once said: "I'd rather buy a dress and put it up on the wall than put up a painting, wouldn't you?" Fashion and art - where do you draw the line? It's something worth thinking about, especially when you consider that Kylie's wardrobe is the current subject of a major exhibition at the V&A in London. Warhol himself started his career as a fashion illustrator for magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, something which had an undoubted effect on his development as the father of Pop Art.
And now Urban Outfitters is mixing art and fashion with its cool Andy Warhol tote bags. They are available in two designs which have been silkscreened onto the canvas fabric: pink with a revolver and yellow banana, or black with dollar signs. Each bag also has a matching change purse and Warhol quotes are printed on the handles. Very much of the moment, considering that this month is the 20th anniversary of Warhol's death. €57 might sound a tad pricey for a canvas bag, but then, to quote the endlessly aphoristic artist once again, "I am a deeply superficial person"; when it comes to fashion, aren't we all? For more details call 01-6706202 or log on to www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk to order online. Eimear McKeith
when you're at 64
Tuscan olive oil from the River Café in London; olives, dips and nuts from the trendy Dorset company, Olives et Al; pasta and sauces by Rustichella d'Abruzzo; and jams from Francis Miot of Lyon that are so good customers have been known to tussle over the last pot of their favourite flavour: this is clearly a deli that has been stocked by someone who is passionate about food. The south Co Dublin village of Glasthule is becoming a mecca for foodies, and newcomer 64 Wine has entered the fray with a carefully chosen selection of food to complement its wines. Cheese and charcuterie are supplied by Sheridans, and last Saturday customers were stocking up on chunks from a luscious wheel of perfectly ripe Vacherin Mont-D'Or, slices from a pork and wild mushroom terrine, and ready-to-roast vac packs of duck confit.
Owner Gerard Maguire and manager Richard Moran (right, with Olivia Sutton) have a clear vision for their deli: that the products on sale will be as individual and high quality as their wines. It's a beautifully fitted-out shop, with a tasting corner and library that's just made for relaxing with glass in hand.
"On Saturdays we'll be running food and wine pairings," Moran says, "and we're trying to source as much organic produce as possible, because from the moment we opened, people were looking for organic wine, so it's clearly important to them."
64 Wine, 64 Glasthule road, Glasthule, Co Dublin is open from 10.30am to 7pm, Monday to Thursday; 10.30am to 8pm on Fridays; and 10.30am to 7pm on Saturdays. Marie-Claire Digby
fringe fashion
Dublin Fashion Week runs from March 12th to 14th, but before it kicks off, a dozen young Irish designers will take to the catwalk for Daybreak into Nightfall, a fringe event organised by Elaine Chapman. Each of the 12 designers will show four outfits ranging from daywear to partywear, with a line-up of eight professional models. Chapman, whose interest is primarily in tailoring, is an English designer who used to work in theatre and film and has lived in Ireland for the past seven years. Having completed courses at Fás and the Grafton Academy, she now works for jeweller John Farrington. The event takes place at 8.30pm on Wednesday, March 7th at 4 Dame Lane, Dublin 2. For more details, contact Elaine Chapman at 086-0559930. Deirdre McQuillan
cool sweden
The Absolut Swedish Festival does what it says on the . . . well, vodka bottle. It's a 100 per cent proof season of Swedish events that promises to bring lots of "Scandalicious" treats to the city of Dublin. Kicking off on Wednesday and running until March 4th, it features an eclectic mix of music, theatre, art, film and food. As the home of music exports such as José González and The Hives, Sweden is garnering quite a reputation for its Indie or, specifically, "Swindie" scene. Acts coming to Dublin include the much-hyped Zeigeist, the up-and-coming Salem Al-Fakir (left), identical twin sisters Taxi, Taxi! and a 25-member band called I'm From Barcelona (from Barcelona? No. Confusing? Yes). Theatre buffs won't want to miss the English-language premiere of acclaimed playwright Per-Olof Enquist's The Image Makers, while the IFI is hosting a season of classic and new Swedish films. Meanwhile, seven young Swedish artists will be showcasing their work at the Lemonstreet Gallery and Filmbase. And last but not least, several city-centre bars and restaurants, including Eden, Odessa, the Market Bar and the Porterhouse, will be serving special Swedish menus throughout the festival. For full details of all events, see www.swedishfestival.ie Eimear McKeith
floating fame
When big-name rock stars include your songs on their set lists, it has to bode well for your musical future. That's what happened to Dublin's Richie Egan (left), and his band Jape when Jack White of the White Stripes performed a cover of their song Floating at every gig on the European tour of The Raconteurs. On the cusp of a new signing and with a third album out this year, Jape's been bouncing across stages all over the country, with last week's Galway gigs to be followed by shows in Dublin and Austin, Texas next month. Catch this charismatic frontman and his fresh mix of musical styles while he's still playing the smaller venues, so you can say you were there. Fiona McCann
The shopocalypse is nigh! Reverend Billy's new book (www.revbilly.com) warns us that we are going to burn in the hell of consumerism. 'Repent!' he says. 'Give peace a chance-a-lujah!'