This morning.
Via Brown Thomas Dundrum:
The luxurious new Beauty Lounge will be home to Get A Drip. A retail first, Get A Drip is an exciting new experience which promotes wellness from within. The service will offer IV vitamin drips, IV injections, booster shots and instant vitamin C and D testing.
Gulp.
Anyone?
New Addition (Brown Thomas)
Thanks Michael Walshe
Kevin writes:
When it was initially advertised, the terms and conditions of the Irish Times/Shelbourne Hotel poetry competition to celebrate 100 of the Irish constitution was only open to residents of the Republic of Ireland i.e. the 26 counties. This provoked no small amount of hostile social media commentary (see here and here and here).
Recently, the terms of conditions have been changed to allow Northerners to enter. I have entered this poem in the competition.
The Dialectics of Irish
after Francois Villon
There is no great starvation
without someone somewhere keeping the trout paté for later,
no t-bone steak at The Shelbourne (rare or well done)
without bales of straw being dragged through January mornings,
no plate of cabbage without the possibility
of an open safety pin camouflaged within it like a terrorist,
no refusal of a cup of tea
that’s not a potential resumption of hostilities,
no glass of high end whiskey
you can be sure the night porter
didn’t celebrate his departure
by lacing with high end Dublin piss –
though these days he’s mostly from Latvia or Killybegs –
no problem that can’t be made worse
by a pair of fashionable glasses whose big idea
is a poetry competition sponsored by Guinness
on the theme of black and white.
There is no Tá without Níl,
no no without the wink of other possibilities,
no card game that can’t finish up with everybody losing,
no peace talks to which the dead aren’t invited,
no ballot box in Leitrim without the ghost of an ArmaLite,
or the actual metal of a Heckler & Koch
Garda submachine gun in the hands of
a large farmer’s son from County Meath,
no pint of Guinness that can’t be made worse
by a poem about peace
shouted out by a pair of fashionable glasses.
There’s no wealth like empty office blocks,
no talent like the country’s least favourite novelist,
no generosity like an Anglo-Irishman taking
his ten gallon hat out for the evening,
no wisdom like a Leinster rugby fan
screeching for war with Russia,
no courage like informing,
no place in the minds of the nation’s keenest intellects
that exists less than Creggan, Ballymurphy, Crossmaglen…
and no poem about all this
that can’t be made more unpalatable
by a pair of fashionable glasses
trying to sell you the best of all possible
pints of what might be Guinness.
‘sup?
This morning.
Nobody wants them.
They don’t seem to care.
Ashbourne Road, Finglas, Dublin 11.
Dogs Trust writes:
As Valentine’s Day approaches,we are appealing for a home for its ‘cutest couple’, who have collectively spent 35 months in their care.
Collie crossbreeds, two-year-old Finn and one-year-old Willow, affectionately called ‘Fillow‘ by staff, arrived at the charity separately but quickly became the best of friends.
Both dogs have had difficult starts in life. At just two weeks old, Willow and her siblings were abandoned in a bucket, but thankfully a kind passer-by took them to Dogs Trust where they were hand reared by staff.
Willow can be quite worried by noises and unfamiliar people, but Finn helps give her the confidence she needs to be a happy and trusting lady. Similarly for Finn, he is a sensitive soul who finds comfort with his ‘girlfriend’ Willow. Their unbreakable bond helps them both overcome their fears.
Despite the charity’s best efforts to get the adorable duo noticed on social media with their adorable antics, the pair remain overlooked.
Anyone?
Pics by Fran Veale
Yesterday.
Artane , Dublin 5.
Family members of some of the 48 people killed in the Valentine’s Day disco fire, attending the 41st Anniversary event at the site of the tragedy. Broadcaster Charlie Bird (pic 3) spoke at the memorial and was joined by Antoinette Keegan (above left), who lost two sisters in the fire.
Slaney – All I Want (Seas of Rhythm remix)
Life is a long, quiet river.
Carlow-based electro-pop singer Slaney has has had her single from last year re-imagined for full-on dancefloor vibes.
Quick, before they ban dancing again.
Nick says: A river runs through it.
Saturday.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin
Heather Andrews and Josh Warde, from Mullingar after an engagement blessing at the Shrine of Saint Valentine by Bishop Michael Router, Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh. The couple will be married in July 2023,
Happy Valentine’s Day, all!
Some players of the viral word game Wordle have complained that it has become more difficult since it was bought by the New York Times
I’m sure that by now you have heard
Of the game in which you guess a word
But now, some folk say
It gets harder each day
Which to me just sounds downright absurd
NYT
More to follow.
