Compiled by Nicoline Greer
WALKABOUT
If beaches aren't your thing, how about a walking holiday? Uwalk.ie, an offshoot of Navan Travel, offers guided and independent walking holidays in Austria, Croatia, Cyprus and the Côte d'Azur, in southern France. The packages include evening meals, transfers, ferry trips to islands, guides, information packs and maps. You don't have to be an avid hillwalker, either: each holiday is rated for the difficulty of its routes, with the easiest involving only three or four hours a day on gentle slopes. Call 1890-289255 or visit www.uwalk.ie.
WELL SERVED
Fans of the good-mood food from Govinda's, the Hare Krishna-run vegetarian café on Aungier Street in Dublin, might want to keep news of an addition on the north side to themselves. The new branch, on Middle Abbey Street, is a lot calmer than its older brother, largely because it has waiter service, but the hallmark paneer cheese in a spicy pea sauce is just as good. Everything is served with rice and dhal, they make their own samosas and puri bread, and the lassi is definitely worth checking out. Our only complaint is that it has a smaller menu than Aungier Street. Otherwise Radha Govinda's is hard to beat for a quick, wholesome bite. Call 01-8729861.
PUT YOUR FEET UP
Miranda Groen, a Dutch-born upholsterer and interior designer, makes funky footstools at her workshop in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. She's drawn to bright fabrics from 1960s and 1970s Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, which she matches with modern Irish tweed. Only the hippest of homes need apply for one of the stools, which cost €150 from Rosemary Durr Pottery, at Castlecomer Estate Yard, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny. Groen also takes orders: you can choose from 14 designs or tell her your ideas. Call 086-3226660 or e-mail mirandagroen@ cluas.com.
BABIES WITH ATTITUDE
Daragh Murphy decided it was time for Irish T-shirts that went beyond singing shamrocks and dancing leprechauns. Parts of the resulting range, which he has called Hairy Baby and designed for males of all ages, will be too left-field for some tastes, but the tongue-twister T-shirts are winners, as are baby designs that read "Manky", "I'll talk when I'm good and ready" and "My dad's an awful eejit". Baby sizes cost €18, adult sizes €30. Call 066-9768748 or visit www.hairybaby.ie.
NOW YOU'RE TALKING
Ever wished you could speak the first official language better? Sult, a Dublin Irish-language club, is taking bookings for its next classes, which starts on February 21st at the former Arthouse building in Temple Bar. You can join the lower intermediate, upper intermediate or advanced group (or, if you're flying, the top-level course, on accuracy in Irish). Classes are held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The fee is €195. Sult also holds an Irish club, every second Thursday between September and May, upstairs at the Castle Inn on Lord Edward Street. Music is provided by the Sult house band, made up of musicians such as Antóin Bracken on bouzouki, Eoghan MacGiolla Easpaig on flute and Trevor Murray on guitar. The next club event is on February 24th. Admission is €5. Call 085-7076182 or visit www.clubsult.com.
ON SITE
The site www.irishart.com lists every significant commercial gallery selling Irish art, north and south. Collectors can browse and buy work by artists such as William Crozier, Basil Blackshaw, Markey Robinson and Louis le Brocquy, below. Free membership allows you to track favourite artists and be e-mailed when galleries upload new images.
SLAM FUNK
Time to come out of hibernation and sparkle. If you'd like a hand, head for Brown Thomas, whose Glam Slam will jolt you back into bloom. Nab a makeover with the make-up artists flying in, such as Gary Brunker, who will be at the Prescriptives counter from February 21st to 28th, advising on its new custom-blend lipsticks. On February 24th and 25th Sonja Andic of Aveda will offer personalised make-up advice during 30-minute sessions. "Face designers" will be doing celebrity makeovers using Giorgio Armani Cosmetics' hottest new product, its Hollywood edition palette, on February 18th, 19th and 25th-27th. The Glam Slam promotion starts on Thursday and runs until March 6th at Brown Thomas Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.