Munster march to greatness

What an occasion... what a result... what a team...

Munster have confirmed themselves as the best team in Europe and they did with patience, guile and guts. As O'Connell said there seems to be something about the Munster setup and the Munster jersey which makes every individual do special things. The whole is so much greater than the sum of it's parts.

Hats off to Kidney who took a winning team in 2006, rebuilt it and won again 2 years on - with a new back 5; a new 8/9 combination; and without Axle Foley.

One of Munster's most admirable qualities is their ability to have true self-belief without ever appearing cocky or arrogant. I think the team is a reflection of their coach - I look forward to a repeat performance for ireland!

Technorati Tags: Rugby, Heineken Cup, Munster, Ireland

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I was filling out an online form for motor insurance recently and was asked for my occupation. There were some very interesting options to choose from:

Chicken Sexer - surely they could spare people the ignomony of having to do this maually. Perhaps they could get the chickens to walk down Grafton St. The girls will all end up in the shoe shops, the boys in the pub (patent pending)....
Complementary Therapist - I presume this is somebody who tells you how well you are looking for a fee?
Fish Filleter - But no fish sexers? Thats non-discimination that is...
Fruiterer - I never heard this word before, but it is pretty obvious - someone who sells fruit apparently
Junk Shop Proprieter - Clearly there is a lot of junk out there - there was no such thing as a sandwich shop proprietor, electrical shop proprietor or any other type of shop proprietor - only junk - curious that...
Artificial Inseminator - Luckily no natural inseminators...

My favourite occupation was Independent Means. Where do I apply for that job?

National Aquatic Center, Dublin

We brought the kids to the National Aquatic Center in Blanchardstown yesterday to celebrate Daragh's birthday. First of all it should be said that the place is great, we spent about 2.5 hours there and all had a good time with the flumes, pools, lazy river etc.

However I cannot help but to feel ripped-off. It cost €58 for the family...2 adults and 3 children aged 10, 7 and 5. The "standard" family apparently consists of 2 adults and 2 children and costs €46 so with my deviant crew we had to dish out an additional €12.I think that this is an entirely unreasonable amount to pay for a leisure activities like this so I decided to compare with other water parks.

A 90 minute session in the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex in Lisburn would have cost my family £18. They have sessions - which means that they do not assume that families will not opt to spend an entire day in the pool. We were all hungry and tired after 2.5 hours at the NAC. Even if we wanted to the operator does not allow people to go out to the cafe area and then re-enter so you go hungry or eat mars bars if you want to spend the whole day at the NAC. Even if you assume we need to pay for 2 sessions in Lisburn it would cost £36 (€45).

At the Olympic facility in Homebush, Sydney - a fantastic facility which I have visited - a family pass costs $20 AUD (€12) and allows for 2 adults and 3 children.

At WaterWorld2000 in the UK our session would have cost £39 (€49) but we would have gotten a lot more variety for our money as they have many more rides.

Even Dublin zoo which is a place where you could easily spend 4-5 hours costs €47.

Anyway I think they have their pricing all wrong. Clearly it is 20% more expensive than the next most expensive option. It does not have a product which is 20% better. They could go with a system which allows people to stay for a limited time. This would easily be enforced by the pool attendants, particularly those who control access to the slides. If it was costing me €30 a visit - I may go 2-3 times a year. As it is I will not go back for at least 12 months or until the sticker-shock fades - whichever comes first.

Technorati Tags: Dublin, Awuatic Center, Dublin Tourism, Dublin Family

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a disturbing look at life in Afghanistan from the 70's to the early noughties. This timeline encompasses the time of the Soviet occupation and the struggle with the Mujahadeen; the eventual victory and subsequent the rule of the tribal warlords; the rise and rule of the Taliban and then finally, mercifully, their overthrow.

The author, Khaled Husseini, was born in Kabul. This is his second book. His first, "The Kite Runner" was an excellent read so when this book was recommended to me I was very enthusiastic about it. My enthusiasm waned significantly after about 100 pages. The story is a stark one, one without warmth or humour. Husseini potrays the life story of Mariam, a country girl who is forced into an arranged marraige with Rasheed, an elderly businessman from the city. Their story is one of unrelenting misery in a country riven by war.

I put the book down at one stage - unsure whether it would ever be picked up again. If the book had been kicked under my bed I would probably have forgotten about it and moved on. However I did eventually get involved with the story and ultimately found the book rewarding and as I said disturbing, if not entertaining.

The turning point came when Husseini started to weave specific historical events into the narrative. I remember for example when the Taliban destroyed the giant Buddah's at Bamiyan to the horror of the West; the defeat and withdrawal of the Soviets; I remember the stories and hidden camera footage of the public executions at Kabul stadium. These events formed the backdrop to the continued story as Rasheed took a second wife Laila, an orphaned teenager.

Rasheed is the Taliban personified. He is a brutal, selfish, mysoginist. He contrasts with Mariam who is a victim of the society in which she lives - she is stoic, meek and powerless. In their midst Laila is the catalyst for change - she has hope. I found Husseini's characterisations to be a little wooden; I cannot say that I really understood any of the characters but one could not help but to empathise with their plight.

The story of the 3 individuals personalises the story of Afghanistan and changes it from being just another awful news story into something more powerful, something which makes you once again marvel at man's capabilty for cruelty and oppression. In the end there is something resembling hope for Afghanistan but I was left with a feeling that the changes are somewhat cosmetic - that the real problems exist in people's hearts - not in their Governments.

Dial2Do - nifty service

Sean O'Sullivan and his merry band @ Rococo Software have created a new service called Dial2Do. Basically you can use your phone and VOICE to send email, texts and set reminders. Quite handy for those of us who have nearly killed themselves while simultaneously driving and texting or for sending a long text without wearing out your thumbs.

Just dial the access number, it asks what you want to do - say "text", it will ask you who you want to text - you say the name. It will then ask you to record your message. It will look the name up in your Dial2Do contacts and transcribe the message you want to send as a text. Cool.

I have only played with it for the past 15 minutes but I think it has great potential. Good luck to it! Register here for the preview.

Antrim and the Causeway Coast

Normally good weather and Irish public holidays are allergic to one another. They simultaneously occur at the same rate as solar eclipses in these parts. The May Bank holiday was exceptional and proved for me again that Ireland is a great place to holiday - if only we got the weather; just like Zimbabwe would be great if they did not have Mugabe...

On the spur of the moment we packed the kids into the car and headed for Antrim. To our shame neither me nor Siobhan had ever been there before. But we will be back! The North Antrim coast is less than 3 hours from Dublin and the roads for the most part are excellent - therefore Antrim is very accessible compared with Kerry, Cork, Clare, Galway or Mayo where distances are greater and the roads are considerably crappier.

We stayed in the Ramada in Portrush for £198 B&B for 1 night in 2 adjoining, spacious and pleasant rooms. The only complaint that I would have with the hotel is that there was a (noisy) refuse collection at 7am on the Bank Holiday Monday which is admirably efficient but hardly very customer-friendly. We did not spend a whole lot of time in the town of itself - as with most seaside towns in Ireland it seemed a little faded and jaded but it was a very good base from which to explore the coastline. Everything we did was within 15 miles of Portrush. So what did we do?

Well we arrived "topside" around 2pm on Sunday - the rain had not quite cleared the north at that point so we decided to go with tradition and have our "picnic" in the car. This was not a very auspicious start! Luckily the weather cleared and after checking in we visited the perilously-placed Dunluce castle, the famous Giant's Causeway and then headed west to see the enigmatic and surprising Downhill Estate and Mussenden Temple.

Dunluce Castle

Dunluce is more than just another ruin - first of all it is quite extensive and well preserved, secondly it is perched right on the edge of a cliff - perhaps too close, given that the kitchen wall and some residents ended up in the sea at one point; lastly the views from Dunluce are spectacular. West towards Portrush, Whiterocks and Whitepark beaches, Northeast to Rathlin and East to the Giants Causeway.

Dunluce Castle

Giants Causeway

The Giants Causeway itself is a huge attraction for tourists - I had heard mixed reports of the place in the past - some people have come away with an "is that it?" view of the place. I was not one of them. I found the place very interesting and engaging. The hexagonal columns of rock are highly improbable, despite the descriptions given onsite I am still not sure HOW the rocks ended up as they did - I certainly can think of no other place on this island where you feel more connected to the center of the earth. If you are going be sure to take in the "Organ pipes" to the East - it was only then that it clicked with me that the entire mountain was made from hexagonal columns of basalt, not just the familiar bit which sticks out into the sea. If you are fit it is also worth taking the walk up to the top of the cliff - you get some great views there.

Giants Causeway

Organ Pipes

Mussenden Temple

Before light faded we (just) made it to Mussenden Temple which is the far side of Coleraine and is a little bit further away that you (I) might first have figured due to the Estuary of the River Bann. Nonetheless we found the trip worth the journey. The main attraction at the site is the "temple" which sits right on the edge of a cliff with great views. The site also contains the ruin of a large stately home and a mausoleum. The 3 edifices were build by a clearly very worldly Bishop of Derry. He evidently crossed his fingers when it came to his vow of poverty...

Temple

Carrig-A-Rede Rope Bridge

The next morning after our enforced early start we set out for the Carrig-A-Rede rope bridge. I am not at all good with heights so we approached the place with a little trepidation. Suffice it to say that it was great fun and the place itself is very beautiful.

Jack and Grace on the Bridge

Whiterocks Beach

Whiterocks

Because it was such a beautiful day we decided to skip the Bushmills distillery and we headed for Whiterocks beach near Portrush. This is a terrific beach - it was busy but not over-crowded. The kids loved running and tumbling down the 60ft sand-dune which adjoins the world-famous Royal Portrush golf club. From what I saw of the course it is not surprising that this is ranked as the #12 golf course on the planet.

Grace on the Dunes

Royal Portrush

We decided it was time to head for home - so we packed the kids and about half a ton of sand into the car and drove the "Causeway Coastal Route" stopping off in Cushenden for "Linner" (the kids name for a meal which serves as both lunch and dinner). About 5pm we stopped at Carnfunnock Country Park near Larne. This was a great idea. There was a maze, a walled garden and activities like mini-cars, trampolines and an activity playground to name but a few. It was brilliant to give the place a good run around before the 2 hour journey home.

I would recommend Antrim to anybody. Next time we will go for longer. For more pictures click here

Technorati Tags: Antrim, Northern Ireland, Giants Causeway, Travel

Quick restaurant review - "The House", Howth

Siobhan and I headed to the beautiful village of Howth on Saturday evening with the kids and ate at The House. I would have to describe the experience as mixed - while the menu was interesting, the service and ambience was good and the prices reasonable (in the context of general Dublin food prices); they badly let themselves down with one of the dishes.

I ordered Mussels with Smoked Pork which was a nice variation on Surf n'Turf and was served with really nice chunky fries. It was both tasty and filling. Daragh, our 4-year old terror had a salmon fishcake which was good and meaty - if just a tad too much pepper. Grace had some very tasty trout.

It was Siobhan's meal that brought the tone down considerably - she opted for a beef and guinness casserole in which the meat was just awful - full of grissle and largely inedible. The owner and/or chef needs to realise that although they can save money buying and serving poor cuts of meat that they will pay with their reputation and failure to attract repeat business. 3 meals out of 4 is just not good enough at these prices.