I LOVE NEW YORK: City guides aren't usually like this. The polished, delicate little books in Bloomsbury's The Writer and the City series feature distinguished authors writing about places close to their hearts.
The first, in 2001, were Edmund White's The Flâneur: a Stroll through the Paradoxes of Paris and Peter Carey's 30 Days in Sydney. This year's contribution is Patrick McGrath's Ghost Town: Tales of Manhattan Then and Now, the first fictional book in the series. Its three stories move from New York at the time of the War of American Independence through the 19th century's explosion of commerce and immigration to the recovery of the city's inhabitants from the attacks on the World Trade Center. McGrath's tribute to the city peels back history to understand the present. Published by Bloomsbury, £9.99. Nicoline Greer
WEIRD SCIENCE: In the presumably rare moments when he's not presenting medical programmes, or, as professor of fertility studies at Imperial College in London, helping couples conceive, Robert Winston (above) is president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Which is why he's in Dublin on Tuesday to take part in two events at the RDS. The first is a debate about who sets the agenda for science (6.30-8pm, free with ticket). The second is something akin to an audience with the professor (8.30-10pm, €5). Both are part of the association's festival of science, which is in Dublin from today until next weekend. Hosted by Trinity College, the week is brimming with talks and discussions on topics such as the science of bubbles in drinks, the possibility of robots inheriting the earth, how hypnotherapy works, the world's neglected diseases and the future of food. See www.the-ba.net/ festivalofscience for more details. You can get tickets from Temple Bar Information Centre, at 12 East Essex Street, or from the festival box office, in the arts building at Trinity College. Nicoline Greer
WELL CONNECTED What do the following have in common: a habitable Elizabethan castle, the only Irish Edwin Lutyens garden outside Dublin and the location where the duelling rules for 18th-century Ireland were set? They are all State-owned properties under the care of the OPW, which has planned a programme of public events, entitled Family Connections: Irish Heritage Properties and Their Families, at eight buildings around the country over the next six weeks. The first is at Heywood Gardens (below), in Ballinakill, Co Laois, on Sunday, September 18th at 2pm. The series includes readings by family members, among them Dr Garret FitzGerald, Charles Lutyens and Simon Loftus (a descendant of Sir Adam Loftus of Rathfarnham Castle), interspersed with music of the period performed by the Callino Quartet, Camerata Kilkenny, Prey, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and others. For more details, contact Catherine O'Connor at 01-6476586. Patsey Murphy
FAB FORE Sirin Lewendon says that her new spa, which opens on South Anne Street next week, will be a first for Dublin, combining medical and pampering approaches to beauty. As well as massages, facials and other regular spa services, Fab will offer light cosmetic treatments and consultations with plastic surgeons. "It's about getting the best results," says Lewendon (right), whose Thai father and Irish mother met at Queen's University Belfast. (Lewendon was the creative side of Thérapie, a beauty salon on Molesworth Street, and later designed the Ely Clinic.) "But the medical part is not an afterthought. We've got the best people and great aftercare." Fab is at 4a South Anne Street, Dublin 2, 01-6336640. Eoin Lyons
SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE Tortoises have few predators - except, it seems, humans. After more than 200 million years on earth, the reptiles are in danger of being wiped out by hunting, pollution and the pet trade. That's why Dublin Zoo wants to raise €30,000 this year to help ShellShock, a Europe-wide campaign to save the world's 272 species of turtles and tortoises - almost half of which are at risk of extinction. As well as encouraging jumble sales, sponsored walks and table quizzes, the zoo has put together a "tortoise adventure". Children who come to the days, which cost €10 (€7 for zoo members), will be introduced to some of the zoo's tortoises, such as the red-footed tortoise and the leopard tortoise, allowed to explore the zoo with a ShellShock adventure quiz, and taken on a guided tour by a zoo volunteer. The next ShellShock days are Saturday, September 10th, and Saturday, September 24th, from 11am to 12.30pm. Call 01-4748900 or e-mail shellshock@dublinzoo.ie to book a place. Nicoline Greer
LIFE STORIES The tales from everyday life read on Marian Finucane's radio programme last year were an odd mix of public observation and personal revelation. New Island Books has produced a collection of them; the proceeds go to the Irish Hospice Foundation. Look out for them in bookshops, at €7.99.
UNCORKED If you are around Co Cork this weekend, head for Midleton, which is holding a food and drink festival today and tomorrow, with over 60 stalls of fresh foods, artisan breads, sauces and cheeses, pancakes, smoothies and whatever you're having yourself.