What's going up and what's going down....
Up:
Aung San Suu Kyi Remember the new Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience (above). She is a symbol, like Mandela was, of thousands of others’ suffering.
Good times! The return of disco in general and Sister Sledge in particular.
Breakfast is the new dinner An inexpensive eating-out alternative and gets you up and out at weekends.
Muji flat-pack rubber raincoat Indispensable summer attire for €15.
City swimming In the sea or in the river, it’s a buzz.
Bing The new search engine from Microsoft. Badda bing!
Libraries lending art Borrow framed prints for a three-month period. No need to tire of (or pay for) your wall-hangings again.
Down:
Hello? Hello? Hello? No one’s at their desk right now.
Summer flu, and not just the piggy version either
No more mwah mwah for the foreseeable future.
Summer TV There is nothing on.
Open-toe boots Never going to catch on, thankfully.
Butterflies Becoming as rare as an Irish summer.
With thanks to Shona McGarry and Lorraine Courtney