Helicopters an power tools at the Galway Races

GALWAY hardly has time to draw breath between festivals. Hot on the heels of the Arts Festival comes the Summer Festival Meeting more popularly known as the Galway Races. Maybe that's why the city is suffering such a chronic case of B & B blitz. It seems that nearly every second house has a sign out on some streets it's every house, and all those signs in suburban front gardens offering en suites and car parking is a peculiar sight.

It might be a small city but the arty and horsey sets don't mix. As Louise Donlon, new general manager at Druid, remarked. "It's extraordinary, every single arts person seems to have left Galway this week." They have been replaced by thousands of horsey types.

What I presume is the "festival" aspect of the races is a bit disappointing. A couple of carnival whirligigs and a cluster of stalls huddled in a field most of them, curiously enough, seem to be selling second hand power tools bet on a horse and buy an angle grinder very festive.

Most people, of course, come for the racing and the smart set avoided the stalls and the horrendous traffic jam out to the race course by helicoptering in. There were times during the week when the sky over Ballybrit looked like a scene from Apocalypse Now with choppers touching down every few minutes. Those who flew in included Michael Smurfit, complete with straw fedora, who arrived on Monday to see his Dermot Weld trained horse win.

The most eye catching flying duo and all round head turners were Beverly Hills natives David Doane and Amber Dikel who commuted by helicopter every day from their Dublin base in the Shelbourne Hotel. The extraordinarily attractive Amber was head to toe in Thierry Mugler while fiance David looked dapper in a pale blue suit. The very glamorous couple plan to extend their stay in Ireland indefinitely and are currently house hunting for a place outside Dublin with enough room for Amber's five horses. She is due to compete in this month's Dublin Horse Show.