Nothing Compares 2U lip-sync challenge and four other things that lifted our spirits

Lip-sync slayers

"Honestly, we're fine." In fact Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke are more than fine. But, like many people, the comedians, who are also a couple, needed "a challenge to while away the hours at home". Take a look at their lip-sync challenge on #LockdownLipsync on Twitter. There's Parris doing Trouble, by Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Hudson, and Brigstocke doing Boom! Shake the Room and Nothing Compares 2U, among many others. They get our vote for their variety of styles, their great outfits, a fab wall of showbiz photos... and sheer fun.

Homecoming queen

Brilliant to see the scenes when Mary Joe Killmurray, known as the Queen of Rhode, returned to her Offaly village after recovering from Covid-19. Neighbours greeted the 84-year-old – who spent more than a month in Midland Regional Hospital, in Tullamore, after being admitted with a broken hip and contracting coronavirus – with banners and flags. "I'll live forever after this!" she said. Described as the be-all and end-all of the community, Killmurray had been due to be grand marshal of Rhode's St Patrick's Day parade – an honour she'll have to take up in 2021.

Unexpected high

Then there's the fella who accidentally ejected himself from a fighter jet. The 64-year-old defence-company executive, whose colleagues had arranged the flight for him as a surprise, landed in field after being unnerved while flying at more than 500km/h, and grabbing the ejection handle to steady himself. French air-accident investigators have compiled a report that reads like a catalogue of slapstick errors in the lead-up to the incident, including ignoring medical warnings that the executive should not undergo to the 3.7G of force generated by the take-off, and loose seat straps that allowed him to float up. He also lost his helmet while being ejected.

The end of Civil War politics?

If we weren't consumed by pandemic news, the apparent end of Civil War politics, in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's framework for a potential coalition, might be getting a lot more attention. It has still taken the parties a while to get around to acknowledging the inevitable, given the exceedingly minor differences between them a century after they were born from opposing sides to the Treaty. And while it's unlikely to be the particular change that voters had in mind when they went to the polls in February (which seems like ancient history now), we must be hopeful that at least it's the beginning of a secure government, and one that could see them adjust their woolly ideologies to listen to what their people want in terms of health, housing, inequality and the environment.

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One-pot wonder

For some of us, rice pudding conjures notions of British wartime cuisine, which is to say hardly a recommendation in the taste stakes. But this one-pot rice pudding with whiskey caramel sounds delicious and decadent, and far removed from the days of rationing (even if we have a bit of an Emergency vibe going on these days). Mickael Viljanen, head chef at the Michelin two-star Greenhouse restaurant, in Dublin, offers today's Kitchen Cabinet recipe, which is simple and crowd-pleasing (but one for the adults, he says).