Author Archives: Bodger

Splutter.

He’s ours!

Wallies.

Wally the walrus resumes journey along Ireland’s south west coast (RTÉ)

Meanwhile….

…via Irish Times Letters:

Your article on the walrus currently off the coast of Cork states that after leaving Valentia Island the walrus was “later spotted in Wales before resurfacing when it hauled itself into a boat off Ardmore” .

In fact, the walrus has travelled further. In May this year, he was spotted in Cornwall, Brittany and La Rochelle; in June he was seen in Bilbao and Santander, before spending some time recently in the Isles of Scilly.

You further quote Dr. Emer Rogan, who said: “[It’s] difficult to say whether this animal is a male or a female.”

Photographs from Les Sables-d’Olonne have allowed citizen-scientists to identify the walrus as male.

I should also note that while in Wales he was nicknamed Wally.

Claire O’Toole,
Dublin 24

FIGHT!

Irish Times Letters

From top: EU Covid Cert; Junior minister Ossian Smyth

This afternoon.

Via Irish Examiner:

There will be a “continuing requirement” on people to provide proof of vaccine status for at least another year, a Government minister has indicated.

Minister of State Ossian Smyth has said the EU’s Digital Covid Cert scheme is due to expire at the end of June 2022, but he expects it will be required beyond that.

“I think that there will be a continuing requirement for vaccination status, if not in Ireland, certainly to travel. And what we have seen with the Delta threat is that a new variant can emerge without warning which is stronger or more contagious and requires new vaccinations to deal with it. So with that in mind, I would expect the Covid certification is going to continue.”

Proof of vaccine status likely to be in place for at least another year (Irish Examiner)

RollingNews

Huguenot Horology.

A ‘fully-Irish’ watch company – founded by cousins Jack Daly (right) and Henry Roe (left), whose family dates back to the Huguenots who left France for Ireland in the 16th century – offering vintage and classic designs and using over 15% of recycled materials. Full range here.

They write:

We wanted to design watches for people like us who love the vintage style of the 1950s and 60s era and care about quality. Huguenot values craftsmanship and attention to detail and supports local Irish businesses. Currently we are in talks with a major Irish charity to give 2% of our sales to support mental health awareness, a cause we feel is more important than ever.

Hugenot Horology

Irish-made stuff to broadsdheet@broadsheet.ie. No fee.

Thanks Alan Bracken

This morning.

Resign EVERYONE!

Yesterday: Cash For Cronies

This morning.

Anyone?

Yesterday: Alone Again, Unnaturally

RollingNews

‘Masks’

A short film about the pandemic.

Emma writes:

‘Saoirse rides a train into the city, determined to get a pint, but also determined to ward off her own melancholic existential thoughts. In the pub, we meet a host of characters; a woman waiting for a date, two good friends and their bored girlfriends, a waitress who’d rather be anywhere else but there. A sense of magic hangs in the air in this pub. Little moments seem grand and strange as Saoirse considers making contact with the guy sitting at a nearby table.

Written, directed and produced by Conor Tobin.

Starring Angel Hannigan and Donal C Courtney

Neil McDonnell of ISME

This morning/afternoon.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has joined calls for employers to be allowed ask if their employees are vaccinated.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, ISME’s chief executive Neil McDonnell said:

“It is very hard to see how employers cannot ask a vaccination status either where it is not possible to maintain social distancing between employees or between workplace colleagues and the customer.

“It’s very difficult to conclude how the employer would be doing anything other than acting irresponsibly if they did not know the vaccination status of the employee.

“We would be very disappointed if people were to use the word discrimination. It’s now incumbent on the Department of Enterprise to specify work where an employer should know the vaccination status of employees

However, The Data Protection Officer said this was…

“… likely to represent unnecessary and excessive data collection for which no clear legal basis exists”.

Doireann Ansbro, of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, (ICCL), said:

“In this country we have very strong rights, and people still have the right to make their own decision.

“And if all employers are allowed to ask for a vaccination status and make decisions based on that status including potentially not allowing people to come back to work or potentially firing people, you’re potentially talking about introducing a mandatory vaccination programme by the back door.

“That potentially impacts the right to bodily integrity, the right not to be discriminated against, and of course the right to privacy.

“If you have employers making decisions on the basis of vaccination status, you are potentially talking about discrimination or segregation in workplaces.”

ISME: Employers want to know if workers are vaccinated (RTÉ)

RollingNews

By Popular Demand.

Janet’s Easy Paneer

You’ll need:
1.5 L of full fat milk
0.5 L of cream
I lemon or two tablespoons of rice vinegar
Cup of water
Muslin cloth (I just repurposed the baba’s)

Put a drop of water in the bottom of a big pot to stop the milk sticking, then add milk and cream, stirring bring it to the boil, drop the heat.

Add lemon juice or vinegar…I prefer the vinegar to your cup of water to dilute it.

Add in stages to your hot milk on a low heat, stir constantly and allow to curdle until the seperated water becomes a light green color. It doesn’t take long and doesn’t smell.

Place the muslin in the sieve and pour through the mixture. Then rinse the curds in the sieve and muslin under the cold tap to remove any vinegar taste.

Pull up into a ball and gently squeeze out water, twist closed and place on a wooden board, put a plate on top and a weight on top of the plate ( I just use my mortar and pestle, it weighs a tonne).

Leave for a minimum of an hour and a half, then hey presto springy paneer.

This makes about 450/470 grams.

To store put in a bowl of cold water in the fridge, it will gain about 100g of moisture so when you buy it fresh that’s extra profit for the dairy!

Pic by Janet