Next time you are passing through the heritage town of Abbeyleix, Co Laois, be sure to pull in out of the traffic and visit Bramley's, the former drapery, which is now a handsome new home interiors shop set up by Shelly and Peter Stokes, the owners of the very stylish Durrow Castle.
With classic country-style accessories and furniture from the Belgian company Flamant, and smart clothes designed by the Dutch model Isabell Kristensen, it's a sight for bored eyes, full of pzazz. A lunch room is to open there soon and they hope to develop a wedding list and other services for the good people of Laois. Meanwhile, you can buy furnishings straight from the shop, and recover from the expenditure in Morrissey's old fashioned pub. Have a look at www.castledurrow.com and open the "Bramley" link, or call into the shop on the main street of Abbeyleix. Tel: 057-8730996. - Patsey Murphy
Two wheels good
Many small children clamber straight on to their first bike and wheee, they're unstoppable. Others, when presented with (just as a random example) their cousin's handlebar-me-down, throw a complete conniption fit and refuse to budge an inch, stabilisers or no. And it's very frustrating for enthusiastic cyclists to see their children so.
But with balance - and a sense of control - comes confidence, and many parents expound on the benefits of pedal-less bikes such as the First Bike, on which kids as young as two years learn to propel themselves with their feet on the ground, work up speed and then keep going with legs up and away. They then bypass the transition from stabilisers by moving to a bike with none.
I wouldn't have believed the change in a certain nearly-five-year-old if I hadn't seen him whooping around the kitchen. And along the hall. And in the park. And all the way to the shops. And can I bring it upstairs, mummy, please? The three styles have an easily adjustable seat, nifty back brake, a non-jack-knifing frame and fork, and comfortable handgrips. It costs a somewhat hefty €135 (including delivery) but the durable - and surprisingly light - composite carbon, plastic and metal construction adds pass-on-to-young-cousin-ability.
Made in Germany, the First Bike is distributed in Ireland by Ashleen Cawley, tel. 087-6796168. For details about the bikes, see www.firstbike.uk.com. - Joyce Hickey
Chill out with Mr Whippy
If you're in Dún Laoghaire next weekend for the Festival of World Cultures, and you fancy an ice cream, don't bother asking the guy in the Mr Whippy van. He's not serving 99s - he's dishing out the dub, soul and afrobeat flavas from his cool box, and the only cones you'll see here are the big speaker cones pumping out full-phat beats for your outdoor dancing pleasure. Oh, and the giant mirrorball cone suspended outside the van. But wherever the Mr Whippy Sound System stops during the festival, you can be sure there'll be lots of smiling faces gathered - and that's just the adults. Mr Whippy is the brainchild of DJ/producer Dermot McCabe; he has turned a traditional ice-cream van into a mobile disco, travelling around the country, stopping at all the major arts and street festivals, and serving up sonic treats for all the party kids. Most ice cream vans have only one tune that tinkles merrily over the tannoy, but Mr Whippy has a freezer-load of fab sounds to keep the party going long after the ice cream shop has closed. - Kevin Courtney
Hip-hop threads
Fashion and hip-hop have been getting jiggy with each other ever since Run-DMC did their thinly disguised product endorsement hit, My Adidas. No self-respecting rapper is without his own clothing line, from P Diddy's Sean John collection to 50 Cent's G-Unit clothing. This week, there's been another hook-up between a clothing company and a hip-hop crew, but it's not happening in New York, LA or any other recognised centre of hip-hop culture. It's happening in Dublin, with the launch of a new collection of streetwear by local designers Counter Propaganda, aka CRPR.
The CRPR crew have teamed up with Dublin hip-hoppers The Infomatics (left) to create a new autumn-winter collection based on the band's album, Kill Or Create. The line was launched in BT2 this week, with the band's new single, Back to Front. Anyone buying a T-shirt from the Kill or Create collection will get a free copy of the single. It all started when CRPR's designer Fergal Swan and the Infomatics' MC Steo Gunn met at a house party in 2004. Last year, the band brought some unmastered mixes of their new album over to Swan's studio, and Swan got the idea to base the autumn designs on the album's tunes and themes. "When I first heard the album, something clicked, it was exactly the kind of music I wanted to hear," says Swan. "After a few listens came one idea, then the next." The band's appeal, says Swan, is their authenticity. "It's real, it's talking about a life we could relate to, nine- to five-ing it in a job you hate, dealing with relationships, even something as ordinary as waiting for the Dart."
"Hip hop has always had a political edge to it, from NWA to Public Enemy, but Counter Propaganda were the first clothing brand we saw who were willing to get into that area," says Gunn. "Their clothes are cool and the brand has a different kind of personality to anything else we've seen." - Kevin Courtney
Kits for crafty kids
Are you fed up with the relentless onslaught of plastic toys vying for space in your home? And wouldn't you love some interesting things for your children to make and do on a dank summer's day? The answer may be boxed up in a Planet Purple Kids kit, in which you'll get all the ingredients for practical, decorative projects such as felt bags and finger puppets, books, pencil cases and bouncy animals. Varying levels of trickiness (such as pattern-cutting and sewing) make them suitable for children aged six to 13, and ideal birthday presents. Costing from around €8.50 to €28, the kits contain everything you (sorry, I mean your child) will need, from good-quality felt to sequins, springs, woggle eyes and even needle and thread. Owner Barbara Bradshaw's ecological ethic means she ensures most of the packaging is recyclable and reusable; the kits contain mostly eco-friendly materials and are assembled in Ireland. They are stocked in craft shops and small galleries countrywide, and Bradshaw sells them direct at craft and trade fairs, through the website and at the Saturday market in Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin; see www.planetpurplekids.comor tel: 086-6008087. - Joyce Hickey
Are you being served?
The East of Ireland Senior Open Championships takes place at Lansdowne Lawn Tennis Club from today until next Saturday. This event is one of the highlights of the Irish tennis scene and watching a match or two is one of the more pleasant ways to spend a (hopefully) sunny afternoon. Admission is free and some players of note talking part this year are Eoin and Robert Collins from the US (former Irish Davis Cup players), Colin O'Brien (member of the current Davis Cup team), Rachel Dillon (right) and Emma Murphy (current Fed Cup players). There's an interesting mix of college tennis players from the US and local juniors from the National Tennis Centre. "We have 21 events including the main championship events as well as veteran, class 3, 5, 7 and non-league events," says Emma Doyle, one of the organisers. For a schedule of matches see www.lansdowneltc.com. The event is sponsored by Hooke & MacDonald. - Eoin Lyons