Conor's Bandon Blog

Running, Food and Local stuff from a blow-in

Think your killer recipe would sell in a supermarket?

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.

The Annual Slow Food West Cork Lough Hyne Picnic

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

Fun Food in Arthurstown

A brilliant gift of a cookery course in Dunbrody by my fabulous sister-in-law Paula led to one of the best day’s out I’ve had in ages. Interesting and enjoyable in every way without a dull moment in a gorgeous location. We did our annual extended family meet-up on the August Bank Holiday weekend in Rosslare recently. On Friday morning I borrowed my mother’s car and drove the 45 minute journey to Arthurstown near the ferry in Ballyhack.

Heat zaps the bugs and delivers a winning final

I had written off this series by the third episode but it still showed glimmers of quality. Luckily those glimmers shone through to beat off the bozos and tooth veneers. The final gave us the two best chefs who were clearly passionate and capable. Heat The food they cooked was fantastic, the mistakes understandable and the emotion strong. My heart was with Ann but I knew in my gut that Paul would clinch it at the end.

Terra Madre Ireland

Dianne Curtin just let me know about Terra Madre Ireland which is on in WIT, Waterford from 4th - 7th September. Anyone involved in the Slow Food movement will know what this is about. If you don’t: A Sustainable Future for the Irish Food Industry An important conference for all those involved in the Irish food chain including state bodies, retailers, growers and food producers. Attend the morning conference and choose 1 of 40 workshops (click for list) to contribute to key policy debates.

Fax Spammers still allowed to operate with impunity in Ireland

JD, one of the most prolific commenters on this blog, let me know about some fax spammers called Prism Fax badgering his elderly parents. It appears that the white elephant known as the Data Protection Commissioner was utterly useless in dealing with this. If Brian Cowen is looking to save a few bob, I can think of one organisation that wouldn’t be missed if it was shut down tomorrow. Read the full story here.

Blog Moved to Blacknight

8 years after I first registered conoroneill.com, this blog is finally hosted in Ireland where it belongs. Based on all the great feedback I heard about Blacknight and the fact that they are great supporters of the Irish tech startup community, I went with them. We’re on the SOHO package with is just €35 per year ex-VAT and it does everything I need. The move was extremely easy to do. I just copied all the Wordpress files off the old host, copied the Wordpress Database, loaded both up on Blacknight and told GoDaddy that the blog is now there.

New Cork Foodie Blogger

Ivan Santry has started a top-notch food blog over at Messy-Chef. Recipes, reviews and thoughts. The blog design looks gorgeous too. Check it out.

Bobby Walls, a life enjoyed

On June 9th, my uncle Bobby Walls, passed away suddenly. He had been suffering from cardiomyopathy for several years and left us too young at the age of 56. I probably hadn’t seen Bobby since the last funeral I attended in Ratoath. The line about Irish families only meeting at baptisms, weddings and funerals is so true. However, as with all my uncles and aunts, I was incredibly fond of him, having spent many summers in my Granny’s house as a kid.

Like a fine wine

In a change from our usual programming here at Bandon HQ, I kicked off a light-hearted conversation on Twitter earlier about great looking women who just get better and better with age (we also covered men). The results of the Twitter jury in chronological (not age) order were as follows: Neve Campbell My wife Marisa Tomei Maria Bello Catherine Keener