Compiled by Nicoline Greer
FEEL WARM, LOOK COOL
Hiring ski-wear is a good idea, rather than forking out the couple of hundred euros it will cost to get yourself kitted out in any kind of style ... only to discover that you absolutely hate skiing and never want to try it again. All-in-ones in pink and luminous yellow or the Michelin Man look just will not do. If you want to cut a dash on the piste, Equestrian World's Snow Sports Shop in Maynooth, Co Kildare has ranges such as Quiksilver, dare2be and Roxy, for adults and children for sale and for hire. Ski suits and snowwear cost just €60 for 11 days for children (includes delivery and pick up for school ski trips), or €70 for adults. Equestrian World, Maynooth, 01- 6286853. Also check out TK Maxx outlets - you might luck out and get salopettes and jackets for the same price as hiring them. If you're not the skiing type at all (and you're still reading), take some solace from Bernard Loughlin's article.
EATING ITALIAN
The Accademia Italiana della Cucina is a 50-year-old organisation that is keeping tabs on our attempts at creating authentic Italian restaurants. Last year, they came to Ireland for the first time and visited eight restaurants. Three Dublin restaurants were awarded a silver plate: The Unicorn Restaurant; Talavera Restaurant (at the Radisson St. Helen's Hotel), and Ragazzi in Dalkey. These awards are not given lightly: the organisation sees its mission as to preserve the Italian gastronomic tradition as a moral obligation. Founder Orio Vergani said: "When I sit down at the table, open and disposed to the restorative joy of the table, I want no fakes and even less rubbish." www.accademiaitalianacucina.it/inglese. See also our feature on the best pizzas in Ireland.
WRITELY SO
Cork will be bursting at the seams with writing talent next weekend. As part of Cork 2005, writers will be reading from the books that have earned them celebrity status in the literary world. One of the highlights will be a visit by the great Kenyan novelist, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, author of the famous novel of the African liberation struggle, A Grain of Wheat. He will be joined by Nobel Prize laureate Seamus Heaney, among others. The Cork 2005 World Writing Series: Friday, February 11th, 4 p.m., Nuala Ní Dhómhnaill, Ngugi wa Thiong'o; Saturday, February 12th, 4 p.m., Dervla Murphy, Claudio Magris, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Summerhill North; Sunday, February 13th, 4 p.m., Greg Delanty, Seamus Heaney, The Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain St, Cork. The writing series continues on February 19th-20th. Tickets at €10 (€6 unwaged and senior citizens) are available from the Cork Opera House box office, 021-4270022.
ANYONE YOU KNOW?
Peter Hanan's caricatures of Irish broadcasters are among the works by Ireland's leading cartoonists which are being auctioned to raise funds for Goal's tsunami relief appeal. Original works by artists including Hanan, Martyn Turner, Terry Willers, and many others, are being sold for €150 each at 101 Talbot Restaurant on Talbot Street, Dublin 1 on Monday night between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The exhibition is open to all, so get there early for first pick.
ON SITE
If you want to take up an instrument, take a look at www.learnmusic.info. It is a new online directory of music teachers and schools of music in Ireland. It is free, interactive and searchable by instrument, genre and county. Updated daily, it includes more than 500 entries with details on 73 instruments.
FLIPPIN' OUT
This coming Tuesday is the sweet 'n' stodgy day for pancake flipping and eating. Superquinn has full-time pancake flippers with hot plates installed in each of its 20 shops and is selling a specialised pancake frying pan (€5.99) and a pancake recipe book (€8.99) if you need inspiration for your own pancake party.
COLLAGE PROJECT
There's a new freesheet in Dublin, and it's not just another vehicle for listings. Chris Fite-Wasilak from Georgia, USA, has been mulling over the idea of a graphic comic set in Dublin for about a year. This Way Up is written and drawn by a collective of artists - in the first issue 14 of them have put their mark on it, incorporating traditional art, comic books, graffiti, photography and magical realism. "It's about Dublin, so it might as well be part of it as well," Fite-Wasilak says. Free in shops, Internet cafés and art galleries. The launch is this Thursday at 6 p.m. at Anthology Books, Meeting House Square, Dublin 2, 01- 6351422, www.thiswayup.ie.