What you read here in 2008
Posted on January 4, 2009, by Conor O'Neill, under Blogging.
It looks like 2008 was not a good year for new content on this blog. Only two posts were in the top twenty most-read in the last 12 months. I promise to do better this year 
The most read content was:
- Tikka Masala
- CBBC on Sky Digital
- Goat’s Cheese and Pregnancy
- Social Worker Jobs in Cork
- HDClone Review
- RTE Free-to-Air
- The Snip
- Cheap Calls
- Nigella Express Review
- English Irish Dictionary
- Tesco Online Shopping Review
- Buffalo Wings
- Real Gourmet Burger
- Heston Blumenthal Review
- Buddah Bar Paris Review
- Capote Review
- Rashers
- Gizmo
- Boqueria Tapas Review
- Losing Teeth
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TeenCamp Ireland
Posted on December 30, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon.
Bloody teenagers. All they do is sit around, playing video games, smoking, drinking cider and coming up with fantastic ideas like TeenCamp.
TeenCamp Ireland is a gathering of the techies/bloggers/fanboys age 13+ in Ireland to give talks, meet others, share ideas and have a laugh. TeenCamps are organised/planned/run by teens for other teens.
They are holding it in Filmbase in Dublin on Jan 17th.
If you know anyone in this age group who fits the bill, let them know about it. I’d have cut my arm off with a rusty saw aged 15 in 1983 to attend something like this and swap ZX Spectrum programming tips.
1 Comment
Frost Stops Play
Posted on December 28, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon.
Whilst growing up from age 6-18 in Kilkenny, one group of people I never got on with were the park-keepers (”parkies”) in the Castle Park. They always seemed to be fun-killers.
It looks like nothing has changed in over 20 years. I watched at least 50 people walk away gutted from the park yesterday with bawling children due to this:
One person claimed it was because a child had slipped and hurt themselves on the previous day. A child. Hurt. In a playground. Shock! Horror! How could this happen? Quick! Sue someone!
We just went and climbed some 100 ft tall trees and let the children fall into the unfenced pond instead since that was much safer.
And don’t get me started on the “We close at 4pm but actually lock all but one of the gates at 3.30pm so we can be in the pub at 4.01pm”.
Office of Public Works eh?
5 Comments
Great site about Annaghmore
Posted on December 13, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon.
If, like 99% of the local population, you think Annaghmore is the best idea we’ve had in Ireland since feeding PCBs to pigs, check out this excellent site with information about it.
Any politician who votes in favour of Annaghmore is basically admitting to being a shill and will be out on their ear in the next election.
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Having some nice rashers for breakfast
Posted on December 7, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Food, Health.
So 47 farms used contaminated pig feed. Unless the FSAI confirms that Gubbeen or Caherbeg are two of those farms, I’ll be having a lovely bacon sarnie for my breakfast.
If the State’s Chief Medical Officer says that dioxin is only dangerous if a person is exposed to it over a long period of time, then why the hell are we destroying millions of Euro worth of food?
We all eat chicken that spends its life sitting in its own faeces in the dark and lots of the pork we eat is dosed up to the eyeballs in sub-therapeutic antibiotics, so how is a slight possibility of a touch of PCB going to make our health any worse?
Related to this, I’ve met with a few small food producers recently and I don’t know how they stay in business with the nonsensical levels of paperwork and measurement that they have to deal with. Is this actually part of the problem? An unbelievably bloated bureaucracy unable to measure and react quickly because they are drowning in irrelevant form processing? A bit like Sarbanes-Oxley in the US causing people to be so obsessed with process, they forgot about the intent and allowed the banks to trade recklessly for years.
Finally, I thought we had full meat traceability from field (or concrete pen) to fork? Why not just release the tracking codes of all the individual batches we need to destroy? Or are we all a bit too thick to manage that?
This Sunday’s rasher sandwich brought to you by the letter P and the Caherbeg Television Workshop:
19 Comments
Curious Wines launches
Posted on November 19, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon, Business, Drink.
You eagle-eyed West Cork drivers may have noticed a big new sign on the back of one of the units behind Great Gas on the Bandon Bypass. It is the retail/warehouse outlet of newly launched Curious Wines. Mike Kane, the owner, has put together a brilliant selection of wines which are not your usual supermarket generic stuff.
Their web-site has just gone live and it’s a corker (boom! boom!). Another stunning creation by the shockingly talented Ms Dent. I think it’s probably the best looking and most effective wine web-site in the country and puts the major chains to shame. The wine value is also fantastic and you really should buy by the case and save even more.
I’m just looking forward to the tastings that Mike has planned since I’ll be able to walk to them!
4 Comments
Blog post of the year
Posted on November 19, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Food.
When the Irish Blog Awards nominations open early next year, I’m pretty sure Ivan McCutcheon’s recent post about local West Cork abbatoirs and butchers will be the one I pick.
If you care about the food you put in your gob and appreciate the work of people with a passion for their craft, read Ivan’s piece, print it off and give it to those you know.
For so many reasons, it is imperative that businesses like Dan Maloney’s in Bandon survive and thrive. Supporting local food production is good for community, business, the environment and the economic independence of the country.
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Regular Service will resume soon
Posted on October 23, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Blogging, Business.
I have no excuse for the lack of posting here other than the usual busy-ness of life. I’ll get back into writing mode very soon. Lots of blogposts and book reviews in my head, I just need to get them out through my fingers.
Speaking of reviews, I hope my loyal readers don’t mind me doing a very quick bit of blatant promotion of LouderVoice. We have just kicked off our 2008 BES offering. If the mayhem of the markets has you spooked, then you may find our tax-efficient offering interesting. All details over on our corporate blog.
So for my next post, should I do a rant on Annaghmore (greatest idea since the invention of the square wheel), a review of “Drive On” by LJK Setright (stunning), a review of “Full On Irish” by Kevin Dundon (patchy) or something on why I think British Stand-Up Comedy is dead (having seen The Secret Policeman’s Ball) ?
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Fabby Fashiony Fishy Fishy
Posted on October 3, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon.
I’ve just had an absolutely perfect seafood lunch in Fishy Fishy with my parents. Incredible fresh seafood at reasonable prices with attentive staff. The only downside was an excess of ladies-who-lunch trying-too-hard.
I have never ever heard a bad word about the original Fishy Fishy. Everything about it sounded great except the small number of tables which resulted in long waits. As we are usually with-childer, that’s not an option. My parents popped down for a visit and brought me out for lunch today to their new location looking out on the harbour. It’s a lovely spot and the interior is just gorgeous. A pity they spent 20 minutes waiting for me at the original location which is back to being a shop again!
We arrived just before 12.30 expecting to queue but got seated right away. We took a relaxed pace and were there for well over an hour. It was absolutely jammed from 1pm onwards and the crowds never eased off. We probably brought the tone down a little since we were dressed normally unlike many who clearly thought they were guests of the Ambassador, given the high fashion on display.
The staff were brilliant throughout being attentive without being overbearing. They got my mum’s main order wrong and could not have been more apologetic. A replacement arrived within five minutes (the advantage of serving ultra-fresh fish dishes which need little cooking).
Then the food, oh god the food. I decided to try things that were completely new to me. So it was clams to start and ray wings for main. I cannot praise them highly enough. I’m now a convert to both and will be looking to cook them myself. The clams were the non-razor sort and just sweet little nuggets of flesh in a lip-smacking asian-style broth. The ray wings simply pan-fried on a lovely scallion mash with a perfect sauce.
Mum skipped starters and went for a chilli seafood plate which she devoured. Dad started with avocado and prawns I think and had monkfish for main. All brilliant.
This is the sort of place every town in West Cork should have. The very best very freshest seafood cooked simply and cooked with skill. The massive crowds eating there shows that great businesses will be immune to the credit crunch. Speaking of which, the only real flaw in the place is that they don’t accept credit cards. In 2008, that’s just a bit mental. Giving us a customer feedback card at the end of the meal tells you what pros they are. Perhaps they might consider asking their customers to send reviews by SMS
If you haven’t been. Go.
7 Comments
Oh Mio Mai-o
Posted on October 3, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Food, Restaurants, Reviews.
We’ve had a couple of very good reviews of Mio on LouderVoice and finally got a chance to try it out last Sunday. A brilliant meal in a beautiful but shockingly empty restaurant. We’ll be back soon.
Granny Mary shooed us out the door at 5pm on Sunday and we tootled down to Clon to Mio’s. Owned by the same people as the brilliant Gleenson’s, it is two doors up and upstairs.
The room is beautifully done with a nice Italian feel to the whole place. It was empty on arrival so we got the full attention of the very friendly waiter. A couple of Italian Moretti beers saw us through the meal and we had a hard time deciding what to pick. Both the main menu and specials looked good but with quite run-of-the-mill descriptions, which as as discovered when the food arrived, didn’t do it justice at all.
Catherine had a fantastic pate to start and I had pasta-wrapped prawns with a saffron aioli. Both with very good salad with a tasty dressing.
For main I had the Capricciosa pizza which had anchovies, capers, olives and an egg. One of the best pizzas I’ve eaten in the past ten years. Catherine had a classic Caesar sald with chicken. She couldn’t finish it, it was so big. Lovely leaves and dressing, beautifully moist chicken. She didn’t go for the whole anchovies in it tho. Might be best to mention as an option to people.
Two excellent double espressos finished the evening and we were out off home, fully sated.
Unfortunately not one other person came in whilst we were there. I so hope this was a timing thing and not a regular occurrence since Clon needs a place like this that serves great food in a relaxed setting. I am concerned that the menu outside gives no hint of the high quality of the food and could be mistaken for an Eddie Rockets style place. The prices are a little high but then I say that about everywhere.
If you like great pizza and great food in general but want it in a lovely relaxed welcoming setup then Mio is worth a detour. Next time I’m trying the burger.
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Engage - Arts Festival Bandon
Posted on September 21, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon, Cork, Entertainment, Ireland.
For some reason I completely missed that this was coming. Thanks to Mary Wedel for letting me know. From Fri 26th to Sun 28th September, we’re having an Arts Festival in Bandon. Things were actually kicked off on Thursday with the CruX Dance Company in the Town Hall. There will also be an exhibition of local artists in the Miriam Bailey Gallery from Wed 24th.
The line-up next weekend is below. I’m genuinely blown away by all of the events they have arranged. It reminds me very strongly of growing up in Kilkenny with the Arts Festival every year with the added bonus of lots of kid-friendly stuff too.
FRIDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER
- 10AM -5PM LOCAL ARTIST’S ART MARKET FACTORY LANE / FUCSHIA FRAMING
- 11AM -6PM LOCAL ARTIST EXHIBITION MIRIAM BAILEY GALLERY
- 11.00AM CHILDREN’S READING BANDON LIBRARY WITH IAN WILD
- 6.30PM OPENING RECEPTION TOWN HALL, ART EXHIBITION, KIT FRENCH/CATE MURPHY/LOUIS WILD, CANTILENA STRING QUARTET
- 8.30PM BAROQUE ENSEMBLE (20)* ST PETER’S CHURCH OF IRELAND
- 10.00PM WENDY MARLATT - DAVIDA, HERON COURT, TRIBAL BELLY DANCE
- 11.00PM LATE NIGHT PHILOSOPHY CURTIN’S, ALLEN SQUARE
SATURDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER
- 10AM -5PM LOCAL ARTIST’S ART MARKET FACTORY LANE / FUCSHIA FRAMING
- 11AM -5PM CHILDREN’S WORKSHOP WEIR ST. ARTISTS’ STUDIO ART (5 PER 1 HR SESSION), GLYNNIS TRINDER, ELLEN MCGALEY, DERIDRE GILLESPIE
- 11AM -6PM ART EXHIBITION - BANDON ARTISTS MIRIAM BAILEY GALLERY
- 11AM -5PM ADULT WORKSHOP MOSAIC (DAY 1) WEIR ST. ARTISTS’ STUDIO, JULIE TYRRELL (150 FOR 2 DAYS)
- 11AM -1PM ADULT WORKSHOP (10) WCPHC, WEIR ST. CREATIVE WRITING, ADAM WYETH
- 11AM -5PM CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITIONS HOWARD COURT
- 11AM -1PM MELISSA BAKER -STORYTELLER OLD MARKET SQUARE (BARREL-TOP CARAVAN)
- 1PM -3PM TXUTXUKAN - FRENCH GYPSY BAND TOWN CENTRE, AKASHA DANCE TROUPE, MISCELLANEOUS STREET EVENTS
- 2PM -4PM CHILDREN’S WORKSHOP(7) MUNSTER ARMS HOTEL, DRAMA / PAULA MCGLINCHEY
- 3PM -4PM CLONAKILTY BRASS BAND RIVERVIEW SHOPPING CENTRE
- 5PM POETRY READING - TREVOR JOYCE BANDON BOOKS
- 3.30PM -5PM CHILDREN’S WORKSHOP(5) FIONNUISCE, HERON COURT, COOKERY / DEBBIE BATEMAN
- 3.30PM -5.30PM ADULT WORKSHOP (15) WCPHC, WEIR ST., FUSION BELLY DANCE / BELLA HANCOCK
- 4.30PM CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION RESULTS BANDON LIBRARY
- 6.30PM LECTURE - JACK LYONS - THE WHO WCPHC, WEIR ST.
- 8.00PM PATRICK GALVIN EVENING TOWN HALL, READINGS, FILM, MUSIC
- 8.00PM LIVE MUSIC - ORANGATWANG FUNKY FISH YOUTH CAFE
- 9.00PM MUSIC EVENT (12.50) MUNSTER ARMS HOTEL, DJ ROCKSTEADY, LIVE MUSIC - ILYA K, AINE DUFFY
SUNDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER
- 11AM -5PM CONTEMPORARY ART HOWARD COURT
- 11AM -6PM ART EXHIBITION MIRIAM BAILEY GALLERY
- 10.30AM HISTORIC BANDON WALK MEET AT ST. PETER’S, CLARE MCCUTCHEON
- 11AM -5PM ADULT WORKSHOP WEIR ST. ARTITS STUDIO, MOSAIC (DAY 2), JULIE TYRRELL (150 FOR 2 DAYS)
- FROM NOON JAZZ BRUNCH DAVIDA
- 1PM -4PM ART / FILM EXHIBITION TOWN HALL, KIT FRENCH, CATE MURPHY, LOUIS WILD, ED GODSELL
- 2.30PM PUPPET THEATRE HOWARD COURT
- 4.00PM FESTIVAL FINALE - (12.50)*GRAMMAR SCHOOL HALL, THE MOVE TRANS-THEATRE COMPANY**
- 8.30PM LIVE MUSIC - (12.50) MUNSTER ARMS HOTEL, LERNER, KARMA PARKING
3 Comments
Wine Tasting in Bubble Brothers
Posted on September 21, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Blogging, Cork, Drink.
Like blogs? Like wine? Then Julian over at Bubble Brothers is having a wee tasting this coming Thursday. All details over on the blog.
This coming Thursday, 25th September, Emilio Saez van Eerd of Casa de las Vides and Javier Navarro from Tintoralba (earlier tasting summarized in this post) will be making a flying visit to us, and I’d like to give them and their wines as much publicity as possible. Check out the EWBC stuff on Vinus TV.
The day’s events have not yet been decided - but I think it would be great if as many blog and twit and wine folk as possible could come along to a leetle tasting here at the Marina on Thursday 25th. I’ve already had encouraging responses from a number of people, both on the wine side and in techno-trousers.
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Environmentally friendly investing
Posted on September 19, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Humour.
Got this from my brother-in-law today:
If you had purchased £1000 of Northern Rock shares one year ago it would now be worth £4.95, with HBOS, earlier this week your £1000 would have been worth £16.50, £1000 invested in XL Leisure would now be worth less than £5, but if you bought £1000 worth of Tennents Lager one year ago, drank it all, then took the empty cans to an aluminium re-cycling plant, you would get £214. So based on the above statistics the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and re-cycle.
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SOHO Solo West Cork
Posted on September 15, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Business, Cork.
SOHO Solo West Cork is the West Cork Chapter of SOHO Solo Ireland, a small business networking and support group. It offers the opportunity to connect with other independent small businesses in the region, to share, collaborate and socialise with people who face similar challenges.
Calvin Jones has recently taken over as organiser and is doing a fantastic job of re-energising it. He is giving a talk on Wednesday called “Harnessing the power of social media to help your small business”. It’s on in the Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery from 12:30-14:00.
If you are a small biz in West Cork and you want to build your professional network both locally and further afield, then you should pop along to this. It’s a free talk but please register your interest here.
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Creativity and Education
Posted on September 13, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Family.
What started off as a throwaway comment on Twitter today led me to one of the most inspirational talks I have seen since Hans Rosling at Le Web.
Sir Ken Robinson talks at TED about how the current education system kills creativity and continues to take the 19th Century approach of generating people trained for industry.
It’s 20 minutes long and I encourage you to watch every minute. It isn’t just thought provoking, it is also hilarious.
Thanks to Des Traynor for making my week.
6 Comments
Now THIS is how to make an ad
Posted on September 5, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Humour.
The new Vista ad from Microsoft. I think it’s an all-time great. Brilliant writing (by Seinfeld I assume). Not once is Vista mentioned, just the logo at the end.
When you get tired of “buy buy buy, buy this, NOW, do it now, limited time offer, for you, blah blah blah”, then funny oddball ads like this put a smile on your face. I swear my opinion of Vista has gone up since I’ve watched this. Now if they did one with George Costanza, I’d go out and buy Vista Ultimate on the spot.
2 Comments
Food Culture in West Cork
Posted on September 2, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Food, Ireland.
I’m thrilled to see more and more great Irish food blogs being created and I was recently told about a real cracker.
Ivan McCutcheon, who works as a rural development officer with West Cork LEADER Co-Op and is heavily involved in the the Fuschia Brands initiative, has started Food Culture in West Cork. A must-read as far as I’m concerned. Check out his great piece on Fishy Fishy and Ummera.
5 Comments
Bat Advice
Posted on August 31, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Ireland.
That has to be the strangest blogpost title I’ve ever used.
We arrived back from our much-needed and many-years-delayed holiday to France yesterday (long blog post to follow soon on that). A few hours later Catherine picked up a j-cloth in the kitchen sink to find……a bat!
It was absolutely tiny, barely bigger than my thumb and we had no idea what to do with it. I gently picked it up with a cloth (are they disease carriers?) and brought it outside down to the far corner of the garden. It made no attempt to fly but just slowly crawled across the patio.
A few hours later I was feeling bad about it and went in search. I found it half way up the back wall hanging upside-down. My worry was that some of the horrible local crows might eat it. So I nudged it onto a stick (squeamish huh?) and carried it to our shed. I gently put the stick up against the corner of the roof and it climbed into a nook. Happily for it, there was a spider there. I think it’s now an ex-spider.
This afternoon, I went for a look and discovered it was still there, well hidden in the nook, which was a relief.
But is that it? Do I leave it alone? Is it a small breed or a baby? Might it be hurt? Are they rare? What is their natural habitat? And most importantly of all, how the hell did it get into our sink? Down the chimney? All thoughts and pointers appreciated.
Here’s a wee pic of the little guy in his current lodgings:
11 Comments
Think your killer recipe would sell in a supermarket?
Posted on August 31, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cooking, Entertainment, Food.
Aisling from RTE in Cork contacted a bunch of Irish bloggers about a new show they are doing. I’m thrilled she did, considering it’s exactly what I recommended only a few weeks ago in the context of my “Heat” review.
The idea is simple, it’s a 6 part competition show called Recipe for Success that will see 15 home cooks battle it out to have their own gastronomic creations stocked on the shelves of SuperValu. Viewers of the series will see the whole development process of the product.
I honestly think this is the smartest idea for a food programme that RTE has had since they spotted the potential of Darina Allen all those years ago. I can’t wait to see how you take a home-cooked meal and turn it into a shelf-ready product.
If you have a dish you know people love and which has the potential to be packaged, why not give this a go? SuperValu already stocks the wonderful Cully & Sully range so the precedent for high-end ready-meals is there.
The question is, would my Sophie Grigson derived (but still unique) meatballs make the cut or would potential customers just lump it into the same category as the dreaded B***s E*e Spag Bol in a bag (which I ate many times in college)? Sadly my Chicken Tikka, whilst amazing, is just a straight lift from a book.
All details are on the RTE site. G’wan, you know you want to.
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The Annual Slow Food West Cork Lough Hyne Picnic
Posted on August 11, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Entertainment, Family, Food.
I just got a note from Anthony Creswell of Ummera Smokehouse to let me know about the annual Slow Food picnic. It is on this Sunday August 17th.
Climb up Lough Hyne and treat yourself to a scrumptious picnic while gazing at the spectacular view. Meet at bottom of Lough Hyne to collect your pre-ordered picnic at 1:00pm. They aim to start the climb at 1:30pm
Packed picnics by Stephen Canty of Food for Thought Catering
LOCAL SMOKEHOUSE PICNIC · WEST CORK CHEESE PICNIC
SCHULL CHARCUTERIE PICNIC · SPECIAL CHILDREN’S CHOICEComplete Picnic Menu and Order Form PDF
Menu details also available at Urru Culinary Store Bandon, and Food For Thought Catering
Each picnic includes salads, dessert and ¼ bottle wine. Children’s picnics include fresh fruit juice.
Adults €20. Children €8, €15 for 2, €22 for 3
Book on 087 752 8940 or to stephen@foodforthoughtwestcork.com
Note that you need to book your picnic by this wednesday.
