A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Children's drawing contest reaches for the stars
Fancy having a billion-euro satellite named after you? Well, if you’re aged between seven and 11, you’re in with a chance if you enter the Galileo Drawing Competition. The Galileo Programme is a constellation of 27 satellites that will act as the European version of the GPS system currently operated by the US. The first two satellites were launched last month and named Natalia and Thijs, after two children who won competitions in Bulgaria and Belgium, respectively. David Moore of Astronomy Ireland and member of the judging panel expects a flood of entries for the competition, the theme of which is Space and Aeronautics. Any painting or colouring technique can be used. The finished artwork should be scanned or photographed and uploaded at galileocontest.eu. The closing date is November 15th, after which a winner will be selected by the panel and their name will be given to one of the Galileo satellites. see astronomy.ie.
A stitch in time saves on thrown-out tees
How many times have you bought a cheap T-shirt and then thrown it out after a few washes? London designer Barley Massey (pictured left) wants to encourage people to invest a bit of themselves into their clothes and create a bespoke garment unique to them.
Next Thursday, Massey brings her skills and her design team to the RDS in Dublin for an Upcycling Academy at the Knitting and Stitching Show. The idea is to bring a T-shirt or buy one there and take it on an “alternative production line”, with work stations where people can personalise and decorate it. “We hope people will invest time and creativity, learn some skills and gain some confidence,” Massey says. A virtual catwalk will be available for people to model their creations on a Facebook page.
The show will also feature a First Steps Lounge with roving “craft guerillas” (I’m picturing people in hand-knitted balaclavas) to take people who’ve never sewn or knitted through the process. There will be quilting classes for children and a chance for the truly crafty to “test drive” the latest sewing machines. And if all that sounds like too much work, you can head to Human Kind, a pop-up shop featuring Dublin-based eco-fashion labels.
The Knitting and Stitching Show, RDS, Dublin, November 10th-13th. Tickets €15 on the door, €14 for concessions (€7 for children). Group tickets are available online.
Catherine Cleary
All the fun of the (Christmas) fair
And so the Christmas fairs begin. We like the sound of the Christmas Fair at Killruddery, starting on November 18th – a three-day event where you’ll be able to buy the best of the crafts and food in Co Wicklow. Browse 25 stands selling jewellery, pottery, cakes and puddings and individual gifts such as the Killruddery serving and chopping boards made from naturally fallen hardwoods on the estate, and ChristinaBelle jewellery by Christina Goldston (right). The Argentino Grill will provide tender, prime quality Irish meat from local butchers, which is cut in the Argentinian style and cooked to perfection by professional “parrilleros” (barbecue boys). Take tea in the dairy, sample cheeses and home-made chilli sauces and let the children roam. Admission is free with a car parking charge going to Simon. killruddery.com
Dyed in the wool from Kinsale-based label
A poison green dress, great for curvy figures, from Charlotte Jane’s latest collection was dyed specially for them by Kerry Woollen Mills. “We were quite definite that we didn’t want emerald, moss or apple and we looked at hundreds of shades of green before deciding on this,” says Charlotte Cargin who, along with Jane Skovgaard, runs this flourishing fashion business based in Kinsale using Irish fabrics from Kerry, Wexford and Donegal mills. The dress is called Anna “because our dresses are like children to us and so we christen them”, says Charlotte, and costs €245 from charlotteandjane.com. The photograph was taken in Fort Camden, a famous 16th-century coastal artillery fort near Crosshaven that having been abandoned for the last 50 years, is now being restored through voluntary local efforts and is due to reopen as a tourism centre in spring.
Visit charlotteandjane.com, where you can also read Derek Mahon’s poem New Space about the company’s studio.
Deirdre McQuillan
Index
WHAT’S HOT
WozilroySport's golden couple, golf champ Rory McIlroy and tennis ace Caroline Wozniacki (right). Since getting together in July their combined earning power is said to have gone up 50 per cent
The Irish flagStill flying over Claridges in London
QuincesEven if you don't make anything with them, a single one will perfume a room
Prettifying your poochOh you are so cute . . . yes you are, yes you are. Little pooch pampering things are new at the Marvel Room in BTs. Even if you can't dress in Paul Smith, your dog can
Low-maintenance nailsA three-week manicure from Rouge in Ranelagh, Dublin that actually lasted three weeks, with not a chip in sight – consider us converted
Sandbag sales in the Leinster areaThose flood memories are going to die hard
StewsThe best thing to eat now the clocks have gone back, and very acceptable when served to friends
Guy FawkesIt's his day in the UK and Northern Ireland today. Who would have thought that, four centuries on, his face would be the modern symbol of dissent, with Anonymous protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks? (No doubt V for Vendetta has something to do with this, too)
WHAT’S NOT
Tom Cruise as Jack ReacherHe's just not tall enough, for God's sake
Stubborn loversCouples who walk hand in hand down the street and won't let go when oncomers approach. Hey, share the love and open the barrier to let us through
Day-Glo yellow neoprene fashionRarely flattering – although at least we can go from sport to office to party without changing
Eating outBecause there's no restaurant in the world that will beat the joy of a home-made shepherd's pie, a friend's bowl of stew or apple crumble on a cold, wet day
Sucking lemons over the chequeWe get it, times are tough, but when it comes to dividing the bill – extravagant tastes in Champagne aside – go with it. You'll reap the rewards next time, when you order the lobster
This daylight savings larkIt's kind of dark, isn't it?
Being over-preparedAlready cooking – and freezing – dishes for Christmas? Get a hobby
Style of the centuries
A new exhibition masterminded by Jennifer Goff at Collins Barracks that places furniture in period reconstructions of room settings opens next Thursday, November 10th. Reconstructed Rooms: Four Centuries of Furniture traces the development of furniture in Ireland from 1600 to the present day through these settings and through music, objects and information about life during these periods. The seven settings run from the 17th century, with oak furniture and panelling, to the refined splendour of Georgian Ireland and the high style of the 19th century. Some pieces from the museum’s international furniture collection, which have not been exhibited for many decades, will also be on display, as well as the magnificent Perspex screen (pictured right) by artist and designer Sasha Sykes inspired by the work of Eileen Grey. An interactive gallery invites visitors to touch, explore and learn about chair design over the past 200 years. museum.ie
Deirdre McQuillan
Word on the street Lust-have
What it means: Sometimes you come across a fashion item so fabulous, words can't convey the levels of envy it induces in your mind. It may be a VBH crocodile handbag or the latest Louboutin booties, but it's not a lifestyle accessory, it's life itself. You don't covet this item – you yearn to possess it with every fibre of your being. When faced with such perfection, a new order of magnitude is needed to do it justice. It's no longer a must-have – it's a lust-have.
Where it comes from:The fashion world is great for knocking up a few off-the-peg buzzwords, which quickly find their way from the catwalk to the high street.
It's given us "ferosh", a hybrid of fierce and ferocious, and buzzwords such as chiconomics and recessionista, not to mention a range of hybrid gear, from jeggings to flatforms.
Lust-haves have been around a while, but this year the term really took off, with bloggers, such as our own Rosemary Mac Cabe regularly highlighting their favourite lust-haves and the launch of a beauty range called Lust Have It.
How to say it:"When Dad said that cardigan was a lust-have, I nearly threw up."
Kevin Courtney
Bargain hunting in Dublin 2
Pop-ups are all the rage – from restaurants to clubs and now shops, with the Secret Sell Off opening on Dame Court in Dublin 2. It's a three-month pop-up boutique selling designer and premium brands including Hoss Intropia, Valentino, Missoni, Quin Donnelly and Pink Soda at a 60 to 90 per cent discount. Stock will be updated weekly, encouraging loyalty from customers determined to grab the best bargains, such as this Missoni dress, reduced from €575 to €85. The Secret Sell Off is open Wednesday- Sunday
Rosemary MacCabe
A restoration - in time for a Catastrophe
One large tree growing up through it and an upper floor hanging by a "thread". That's how eye surgeon Eamon O'Donoghue remembers the de Burgo tower house that is Claregalway Castle when he was taken there as a child on family picnics.
O'Donoghue has spent the past decade restoring the 600-year-old fortification, which was built in the early 15th century and used as a garrison by Cromwellian forces during the siege of 1651-2 siege of Galway. With battlements commanding clear views of all compass points, the tower house now hosts the annual Galway Garden Festival, and there are plans to use it as a performance space. And so the castle's first play in "about 360 years", by O'Donoghue's calculation, will be Catastrophe Theatre Company's production Friday, November 10th and Saturday, November 11th of Love and Fury – The Passion of Jonathan Swift, starring David Heap.
Heap plays the dean who tries to distract himself from lost love and associated melancholy by railing against bankers, society and humanity . . . as in Swift's epic A Modest Proposal.
Catastrophe was formed in June 2001 and has staged 15 successful shows in Galway and on tour. It specialises in site-specific productions . . . in yards, car parks, offices, pubs, churches, restaurants, and now a north Galway tower house. Seating will be restricted to 60, and booking is at 091-799666 (9am-5pm).
Lorna Siggins
