A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Index
WHAT’S HOT
Eat, Pray, StayPilgrimages are on the rise. Lourdes up 20 per cent, Medjugorje up 18 per cent in a year, says Joe Walsh Tours
Marks & Spencer toaster pizzasWho says that we have stopped evolving?
MadonnaShe's coming to Ireland – hoorah
Drying racksCheaper than using the tumble dryer, if a little more cumbersome, especially since spare rooms are at a premium these days
Annie MacIrish-born BBC Radio 1 DJ plays a set in Dublin's Twisted Pepper on March 1st. Tickets from bodytonicmusic.com
Iarnród Éireann catering selling gluten-free chocolate macaroonsExpensive but yum; nice thought
Huge earrings at small pricesThe latest in cheap accessories
The Lycra ladsMiddle aged men on racing bikes at the weekend. How come they don't cycle to work?
Nosh in DalkeyA favourite, and no it is not for sale, it's just the building that's up for grabs
WHAT’S NOT
Karl LagerfeldNot just for saying Adele is fat, but because his KARL line is beyond boring
OversharingDavid Beckham says he's had "no complaints" about the contents of his underwear and Brad Pitt reveals that Angelina Jolie is "still a bad girl. Delightfully so". Put a sock in it fellas
Pre-booking your train ticketAnd then not being able to find your seat, or worse, finding someone else sitting in it
Doggy doClean up after your dogs, please. Or bring back capital punishment
My Big Fat Gypsy WeddingReturning to Channel 4 this Tuesday, February 14th. Happy Valentine's Day
Desperate HousewivesIt's just not the same since Tom and Lynette split up. Get it together, for the sake of your fans
"No signs of a recession here"Just because there's a queue at the bar . . . this recession catchphrase got old two years ago
Heads up
If you thought pop-ups were just for restaurants, think again – Herman's hairdresser's has launched a pop-up salon on Dublin's busiest shopping street, Grafton Street, bringing the salon, which has locations in Dundrum and Ballinteer, back into the city centre after a three-year hiatus. Herman's, which is Dublin's first unisex hair salon, first opened on Grafton Street in 1971 but for the past three years has functioned as a barber school. The salon will re-open above The Body Shop on Grafton Street on Fridays from 10am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 6pm. Blowdries will be on offer for €20, highlights for €90 and gents' dry cuts for €10. Tel: 01-6713209 or see haircare.ie.
Rosemary MacCabe
The power of baking
“Baking hasn’t ‘cured’ me. But it gets me through”. In her first cookery book, Saved by Cake, novelist Marian Keyes is searingly honest about suffering from depression, and the therapeutic benefits she gets from baking cakes. It’s written with a generous dollop of her trademark humour, and a good sprinkling of common sense, making even quite complicated recipes accessible to novice bakers. Alistair Richardson’s photographs are gorgeous, and there’s one for every recipe, so you know what you’re aiming for when you drag the flour, eggs and butter out of the cupboard. Irish royalties from sales of the book are being donated to the Society of Vincent de Paul.
Saved by Cake, by Marian Keyes, is published by Michael Joseph (Penguin), £16.99/€20.
Marie-Claire Digby
Word on the street Presenteeism
What it means:You're coming down with something. No really, you're definitely coming down with something. You're snuffling like a pig, coughing like a consumptive and perspiring like a Russian oligarch in a sauna. You're not faking it – you're absolutely dying, and you've got to be in work in an hour. Only one thing for it. The boss won't be happy, but you're going to have to ring the office and tell them . . . you'll be there at nine on the dot. You are suffering from the very modern disease of presenteeism – the tendency to go to work when you really should be staying at home in bed. Your head might fall off, but you'll still be at your desk, focused on the job in hand.
Presenteeism used to be a disease of the very obsessed or over-ambitious, but now it’s become an epidemic, as offices become congested with sneezing staff too scared to pull a sickie.
Where it comes from:When times were good, no one thought twice about calling in sick if they felt the tiniest tickle in their throat. We could happily stay in bed for a week – the money would still keep throwing itself at us. But now that we're lucky to even have a job, we're not going to let a pesky virus or incurable disease jeopardise our hard-earned position.
Typhoid Mary would be more welcome in the office right now, but that’s not going to stop us showing our pale faces at work. Research into presenteeism, however, has found that coming into work while sick can adversely affect productivity and be generally more harmful for your company that staying at home.
How to say it: "This presenteeism is getting out of hand – no one called in sick even once during the Ryder Cup."
Kevin Courtney
Take notice
Melissa Mahon’s Unnoticed Everyday at Gallery Number One (GN1) uses photography and sculpture to explore the everyday. A graduate of Fine Art at Bath University, this is Mahon’s first exhibition in Ireland. Previously, the Irish-born mother of five has shown at the Truman Brewery in London and the American Museum in Bath. She is finalising a large two-part installation as a commission for Leeds Rail Station. The exhibition opens this Friday, February 17th and next Saturday, February 18th at 3pm Mahon will be in conversation with Image Magazine editor Melanie Morris. Unnoticed Everyday runs until March 16th.
GN1 on Castle Street in Dublin 1 is open to the public Thursday-Sunday from 11am to 6pm and has played host to exhibitions by photographers, artists, furniture and fashion designers including Patti Boyd, James Rizzi, Ronnie Wood, See gallerynumberone.com.
Alanna Gallagher
Look again
High-street retailer New Look has again teamed up with Kelly Brook to offer a new collection of affordable lingerie for spring – and just in time for Valentine’s Day. The collection, which ranges from 32B to 36F, is vintage-inspired in a variety of pastel shades with muted tones and, of course, a lot of pink. Delicate accents include lace and bow detailing, lending the collection a very French feel,along with a 1950s pin-up feel of high-waisted knickers and balconette bras. There is a large selection available in selected stores, with prices starting at €7.99 for a thong and €15.99 for bras.
Hannah Copeland
Protest parties
Hate the hoo-ha surrounding Valentine's Day? Then get thee to The Sugar Club, on Dublin's Lower Leeson Street, where Le Cool and Open Air Cinema have joined forces to screen Misery on Tuesday night. Watch Kathy Bates go ballistic in the name of creepy stalker love while slurping an Angry Annie or Number One Fan cocktail, €5 each, made by Tosh, the resident mixologist. The movie starts at 8pm and entry is €5. Tel: 01-6787188 or see sugarclub.com. Across town in Temple Bar's appropriately named Meeting House Square 'A Date With Dublin' runs from noon until midnight on February 14th and offers another riff on the traditional dinner and a movie date night. Starting at 6.30pm, one of the most romantic films of all time, Casablanca, will be screened. Lounge on couches or beanbags under warm blankets. Beforehand, you can dine on hot and spicy Thai red chicken curry for only €5. Couples, singles, lovers and haters all welcome. This event is free, but ticketed. Tel: 01-6772255 or see templebar.ie.
Alanna Gallagher
