Search Results for 'Jamie Oliver'

What dominated our news and much of our conversations during the 1970s (at least in the early years), was the deteriorating crisis in Northern Ireland. When I think of that decade I remember the initial hope that something would be settled quickly rather than letting it drag on fuelled by appallingly bad political decisions, thuggery, and deeply imbedded hatred. Seamus Heaney remarked that in the early 1970s ‘there was a promise in the air as well as fury and danger’. But in Northern Ireland any nervous sense of hopeful expectation quickly soured; as Heaney recalled: ‘Soon enough it all went rancid.’ In John Montague’s poem The Rough Field, he observes: ‘In the dark streets, firing starts.’

Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals

William Sitwell

Christmas is a time for laughter and festive fun and with Dolmen Hotel’s Christmas Party line up that is exactly what you get.

The Dolmen Hotel in Carlow wishes the Kilkenny hurling team the very best of luck this Sunday.

While most of us will be readying ourselves for the tried and tested turkey/ham/spuds Christmas Day combination, there are now more alternatives available in Galway than ever before. Our markets – both the St Nicholas' weekly market and the 'Christkindlmarkt' in Eyre Square – our restaurants and food emporiums now offer a broad array of options for those of us not brimming over with joie de vivre at the prospect of a week of heavy duty turkey consumption.

Practically every person in Galway knows of Griffin’s Bakery, just at the end of Shop Street where it turns into Quay Street. It is one of the oldest continuously running businesses in the city, dating back to 1876, and to the Griffins’ credit the façade of the building has not changed much over the 100-plus years. The building is medieval and dates back 500 years. A Saturday morning visit to Griffin’s is for many Galwegians an integral part of the weekend and it is not unusual to see a queue at the door, particularly at Christmas.

When the sun finally reappears for the summer, we can’t help being so overjoyed that we want to spend every possible second lapping it up.

WHAT IS it men want? If you could probe into their psyche, what would it reveal? Perhaps that question can be answered by an little indulgence in the world of male fantasy.

Barry’s tea still has that kick-awake taste in the morning when you take the first gulp; but tea in general has changed, and changed dramatically. Just look at the choice of teas next time you reach for a packet. Where once there was only Lyons, Barry’s and PG Tips, now there has to be a choice of at least 50 different blends including herbal, organic, loose or bagged, or the plain ordinary black. And I was surprised to learn that there are at lest two tea blenders in Galway; including Solaris Botanicals, which not only won last month’s Junior Chamber of Ireland Entrepreneur of the Year, but in the same week clinched a deal to supply Harrods of London.