A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Index
Whats hot
Upcycling ratty cashmere jumpersCover the moth-eaten bits with applique, new buttons et voila!
Those sexy boa mules –only available at Christmas. Retailers, don't let us down this year
Brown paper and stringTerribly chic, terribly cheap
H&MNever mind the Versace link-up, the snakeskin stretch pencil skirts are just €14.95
CrochetGet those hooks out
Return of 'The Killing'We're secretly relieved it's only 10 episodes this series
Not drinking for NovemberIt's the party girl's version of Movember. Plus you feel fantastic
The prawn cocktail revivalBest eaten at home, where you can control the amount of lettuce padding
Visual Centre for Contemporary Art in CarlowAlways worth a visit, but especially now, for Sonja Landweer's A Life's Work– a retrospective of the Dutch-born ceramic artist, sculptor and jewellery maker. Runs until January 8th
What's not
Pippa MiddletonDid she peak too soon? Or did we?
Huge brightly patterned suitcasesNowhere to go shopping with them anymore
Egging housesCount yourself lucky if you don't know what this means. The front of your house pelted with eggs . . .
Senior management at RTÉCome on, guys, we know you're in there, because we pay your very large salaries. Emerge and handle the defamation of Fr Kevin Reynolds, or we're going to have to go in and get you
No drying out these daysThis weather is pushing us towards the tumbledryer
Buy art today
The United Arts Club at 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street in Dublin 2, is holding an anonymous art sale today from 4pm in aid of its restoration fund. Some 150 postcard-size original works by some of Ireland’s most established artists, including Thomas Ryan, Neil Shawcross, Carmel Mooney, John Coyle, John Shinnors, Padraig Lynch, George Walsh, James English, Harrie McManus, Campbell Bruce, Jacqueline Stanley, Brian Gallagher and Jim Fitzpatrick, will be for sale. The paintings (including the one pictured here), drawings, sketches and verse will be signed on the back so you won’t know which artist’s work you are buying until you own it. At €50 each, they make lovely Christmas gifts. The pieces are sold unframed. Purchases are limited to four per person.
Works by more than 25 of Ireland's best-loved artists, including Pauline Bewick, Terry Bradley, Will St Leger, Claire Noons, Stephen Cullen and Anne Madden, are also on show today from noon to 5pm at 14/15 St Stephen's Green. For those who like a splash of colour and want to support the campaign for equality for same sex couples, families and their children, the works will go under the hammer at 7.15pm. To register your interest to attend the auction, call 087-9321329 or email moninne@marriagequality.ie.
Crafty gift ideas
The traditional Christmas geansaí might be more of a style statement if it came in the form of an Edmund McNulty jumper. The Donegal designer with a studio in Drogheda takes inspiration from “the mood of the Irish weather” to get ideas for his men’s cashmere, lambswool and alpaca jumpers. McNulty is one of 170 craftspeople who will bring their studios together under one roof in the RDS next week for the National Crafts and Design Fair. For anyone allergic to the idea of Christmas shopping, it sounds like a much gentler affair.
Coming at the end of the Year of Craft, the exhibition is promising plenty of gift ideas, imagined, designed and made in Ireland. Colm de Rís will exhibit ceramics, like this beautiful bowl (above). And the always-brilliant Alan Ardiff will bring his quirky wearable jewellery to the event. You can avail of a 10 per cent discount if you turn up on the opening day, next Wednesday, November 30th. The fair runs until Sunday, December 4th.
Catherine Cleary
Furnture with soul
Like that other Swedish furniture company on Dublin’s north side, SOUL – Spirit of Ultimate Lifestyle – which opened in Sandyford this week, displays its wares through the use of room sets. The shop is on two floors, with the ground floor being more contemporary, while the room sets upstairs include a ski-lodge look. There are loads of accessories too, from storm lamps to candle holders. The prices are mid-range, with sofas starting at €890, each individually made with the customer’s choice of fabrics. The store is in the former Diamond Living shop in Beacon South Quarter. See soullifestyle.ie.
Emma Cullinan
Jump to it
Christmas kitsch is having a moment. Dublin City’s Business Improvement District (BID) wants to set a Christmas jumper world record in aid of the children’s charity Barretstown. Next Sunday, December 2nd at 2pm, they are asking you to tog out your entire family Val Doonican-style for Geansaí Nollaig Day and to join in the carol singing and street theatre on South King Street in Dublin 2. For more information see Dublinatchristmas.ie.
Alanna Gallagher
She doesn’t just wear meat, she eats it too. Quite a lot of it, judging by this substantial looking supper she’s about to tuck into just as renowned photographer Terry Richardson captures her . . . yet again. He spent a full year backstage and travelled all over the world with the eccentric queen of pop, and the result is Gaga, a coffee table book that shows her in every possible state of dress and undress, with a lot of kinky props involved, and a shot-by-shot account of how that meat outfit was created. Yum!
Gaga is published by Hodder & Stoughton (£35)
Word on the street: polterguests
What it means: Has your sleep been disturbed by strange sounds that go bump in the night? Have you ever gotten up in the morning and found that everything has been mysteriously moved around in the middle of the night? Have you spent entire weekends searching for the bread knife, only to find it embedded in your bedpost, exactly where your head would have been? Then your house may be haunted by polterguests: visitors who stay in your house and rearrange all your stuff (although the bread knife may be actual ghosts). Your bookcase, your CD collection, even your underwear drawer is not safe from these ghouls. They could be distant cousins, old golf buddies, or a couple you met while caravanning in Wales, but they've all got one thing in common – they just can't leave things the way they are.
Where it comes from:Let's face it, visitors are a pain in the neck, but we put up with them because one day we may need to kip in their place . We have to change the bed-linen, provide clean towels, get in special gluten-free food, put out the cat and hide the rabbit. "Oh, it's no trouble at all," we go, but inside we're counting down the hours until they finally pack up and go. Then we have to spend the next three days trying to put the entire house back in some semblance of order. By the time we've put the CDs back in alphabetical order, separated the hazardous medicines from the baby food, and reunited each of our socks with its partner, it's time to get ready for the next influx of visitors.
How to say it:"You thought your polterguests were bad? We had vampires – sucked up every last drop of our red wine."
Kevin Courtney
