Latest news with #InYourEyes
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Niamh Kavanagh: ‘Thanks to my mum, I learned how to pay my bills before I spent money on myself'
Niamh Kavanagh won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 with In Your Eyes. This year's contest takes place in Basle, Switzerland, from Tuesday, May 13th to Saturday, May 17th. Are you a saver or a spender? Like most people, I'm a little of both. As I have got older, though, I tend to try to save more. What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid? Apart from my babysitting back in the early 1980s, my first real job at 16 was as a part-time sales assistant in Dunnes Stores at Dublin's Ilac Centre. I picked up as many extra shifts as I could get, and I remember my first wage cheque was £84. All the way home on the bus, I planned how I would spend it, and when my mother asked me for rent, I was devastated! But this is definitely when I realised I enjoyed working. Also, thanks to my mum, I learned how to pay my bills before I spent money on myself. Do you shop around for better value? I love to find the good deals, especially in day-to-day life, and having raised two very hungry boys, it was the saving of us all. I started doing the weekly shopping at quite a young age. I loved grocery shopping and got to know the butchers to discuss the best cuts for a good price. READ MORE What has been your most extravagant purchase, and how much did it cost? My most extravagant purchase was my Mitsubishi Lancer, which was the first car I bought all by myself. It wasn't new, but this was in the mid-1990s, and I was doing well at the time, so I bought it outright for IR£11,500. I am not a very extravagant person, however, and have never bought a new car or very expensive gadgets. What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money? Our home. My husband and I have lived here for 26 years, and hopefully will continue to live here for many years to come. Considering the costs spread out over that time, it is easily the best value for money purchase. Is there anything you regret spending money on? I regretted spending money on an all-inclusive holiday once. I realised that it just wasn't my thing but, sure, I didn't know till I did it. I let that regret go very quickly and thought of it as a lesson. Do you haggle over prices? I would occasionally haggle over the price of a car but I think that's expected and I feel it's already built into the price! Do you invest in shares and/or cryptocurrency? I don't invest in crypto or shares, and the simple reason is that I don't understand it all. If there were a reputable course, I would do it and then decide if I had the ability for it. Do you have a retirement or pension plan? Yes, I do, although I came to it later than I should have. However, I have a reasonable plan in place and because my husband is already at retirement age, we are learning quite a lot from his experiences. I also feel that I may not completely retire for quite some time, unless, of course, my career choice retires me! What was the last thing you bought, and was it good value for money? Most of what I buy are not big purchases, I generally just buy what's needed for my day-to-day or work. I recently bought a rhubarb plant to grow my own. I'm hoping that gives me value for money and lots of rhubarb! Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase? I try to have the money before I make a big purchase. That said, sometimes it's more financially clever to pay over time – for cars and so on – because I think you should always have a just-in-case fund, should something ever go wrong. Have you ever lost money? I have lost money a couple of times, but not a substantial amount. I have also, on occasion, not been paid for work that I have done. Thankfully, that is rare, but it happens. Are you a gambler and, if so, have you ever had a big win? I don't even think about buying lottery tickets, although I have plans for the money if I ever do! I'm not really a gambler unless you count the €20 it costs to play at the family poker nights. What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst? My best habit is taking time every few months and itemising what I spend my money on. I am brutally honest with myself. I also try to pay things like insurance or utilities in one payment – that saves me some money and also makes me save for future items. My worst habit is tapping the card and not thinking of it as money. I reckon that's why I need my best habit. What is your all-time favourite Eurovision song? That's like asking me to choose between my children, but I can say easily that one of my favourites is Rock & Roll Kids. It's a great song, and I have such wonderful memories from 1994 of giving the award to Paul Harrington, Charlie McGettigan and Brendan Graham. How much money do you have on you now? I always have an emergency €10 note. It used to be €5, but let's be honest, I may need to move to €20 soon! In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelensky might be the man to save Starmer's failing premiership
It all had the feel of Tony Blair's greatest hits about it. In Easter 1998, the then Prime Minister sent his own aides into hysterical laughter by declaring to waiting reporters that the peace talks in Northern Ireland demanded no sound bites . . . Oh, and also that he felt 'the hand of history on my shoulder.' Similarly, after chairing yesterday's successful peace summit of European leaders to discuss the Ukraine crisis, it was Keir Starmer's turn solemnly to tell the nation simultaneously that: 'This is not a moment for mere talk,' and also: 'We are at a crossroads in history today.' If the Prime Minister felt just a bit giddy at his transformation in the last week from his perception as a luckless, accident-prone vicar in a PG Wodehouse novel to ruthless international statesman and Europe's last, best hope for peace, then he can be forgiven. Even for a Prime Minister who has not had Starmer's run of bad luck since last July, last week was a good one that might well be the basis of his political reinvention and even – who knows? – his salvation. He has been helped, of course, by President Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance's peculiar behaviour towards President Zelensky of Ukraine in the Oval Office, a scene which fans of 1980s high school romantic comedies will have found familiar. You know the scene: Big Don and JD, the sports jocks who are also the school bullies, pick on the new foreign kid who's just enrolled, but get their come-uppance in the last reel of the movie. Whether Starmer will play the role of the white knight, the quiet, unassuming figure who humiliates the bullies and rides off into the sunset with the girl of his dreams, to the over-produced rhythms of Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes', who can say? But at this stage in the drama, it is Britain's PM who most qualifies as the good guy. Not only did he start the week by promising a significant boost to UK defence spending – something that Big Don and JD had been demanding of all Europe's governments – but he followed that up with his own visit to the White House in which a genuine mutual admiration between Starmer and Trump was evident. Starmer will hope that the subsequent stage-managed drama with Zelensky will have done nothing to erode the good will that Starmer banked during his visit, despite the PM making it clear afterwards that he differs strongly from Trump's approach to Ukraine. Given the relative proximities of Europe and the US to the drama unfolding in Ukraine, it is hardly surprising that its nearest neighbours feel more threatened by, and, consequently, more sympathetic to, the victim than to the aggressor. That Trump seems, for now, to be taking the opposite approach is both confounding and deeply worrying (unless you are Vladimir Putin). But that transformation of Starmer seems to have held fast. He has not listened to the voices demanding that he revoke the King's invitation to Trump to make an official state visit to Britain. He has, carefully and with determination, expressed his sincere support for Ukraine and Zelensky while publicly respecting President Trump and his own priorities. This is no more than you would expect of any grown-up politician with more to occupy his mind than the cheap and easy virtue-signalling of his critics on the Left. It is likely (though no one can or should confirm) that Starmer finds Donald Trump's personality and style of politics as abhorrent as most decent people do. It is certainly the case that Trump's not-very-veiled threats to abandon Ukraine to the mercies of Putin's jackboot disgust Starmer as much as they disgust anyone. But Starmer cannot lead Europe through the next difficult months without a productive and positive relationship with Trump's White House. Right now, at the crossroads in history of which the Prime Minister spoke yesterday, he is accepting of the rules of the game and understands that those rules cannot be unilaterally changed. This is a different Starmer from the one we've watched on our TV and computer screens these last eight months or so. No longer a victim of circumstance or bad luck or ministerial colleagues' ill judgment, he looks and sounds more confident, as if the conviction which seemed to be missing in the first few months of office had suddenly been discovered in the eye of an international diplomatic crisis. He is not the first British leader to be called upon to play a central role in world events or whose administration is now being judged on metrics that are quite separate from the domestic political agenda. As recent history has shown, he is also not the first Labour leader to risk being undermined by international events. But leadership means taking risks that others prefer to avoid. The cause of a free, independent Ukraine is a worthy one and succeed or not, Starmer's motivation in tying himself to the blue and yellow flag is honourable and right. Beyond, that, what can we ask of the man? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Zelensky might be the man to save Starmer's failing premiership
It all had the feel of Tony Blair's greatest hits about it. In Easter 1998, the then Prime Minister sent his own aides into hysterical laughter by declaring to waiting reporters that the peace talks in Northern Ireland demanded no sound bites . . . Oh, and also that he felt 'the hand of history on my shoulder.' Similarly, after chairing yesterday's successful peace summit of European leaders to discuss the Ukraine crisis, it was Keir Starmer's turn solemnly to tell the nation simultaneously that: 'This is not a moment for mere talk,' and also: 'We are at a crossroads in history today.' If the Prime Minister felt just a bit giddy at his transformation in the last week from his perception as a luckless, accident-prone vicar in a PG Wodehouse novel to ruthless international statesman and Europe's last, best hope for peace, then he can be forgiven. Even for a Prime Minister who has not had Starmer's run of bad luck since last July, last week was a good one that might well be the basis of his political reinvention and even – who knows? – his salvation. He has been helped, of course, by President Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance's peculiar behaviour towards President Zelensky of Ukraine in the Oval Office, a scene which fans of 1980s high school romantic comedies will have found familiar. You know the scene: Big Don and JD, the sports jocks who are also the school bullies, pick on the new foreign kid who's just enrolled, but get their come-uppance in the last reel of the movie. Whether Starmer will play the role of the white knight, the quiet, unassuming figure who humiliates the bullies and rides off into the sunset with the girl of his dreams, to the over-produced rhythms of Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes', who can say? But at this stage in the drama, it is Britain's PM who most qualifies as the good guy. Not only did he start the week by promising a significant boost to UK defence spending – something that Big Don and JD had been demanding of all Europe's governments – but he followed that up with his own visit to the White House in which a genuine mutual admiration between Starmer and Trump was evident. Starmer will hope that the subsequent stage-managed drama with Zelensky will have done nothing to erode the good will that Starmer banked during his visit, despite the PM making it clear afterwards that he differs strongly from Trump's approach to Ukraine. Given the relative proximities of Europe and the US to the drama unfolding in Ukraine, it is hardly surprising that its nearest neighbours feel more threatened by, and, consequently, more sympathetic to, the victim than to the aggressor. That Trump seems, for now, to be taking the opposite approach is both confounding and deeply worrying (unless you are Vladimir Putin). But that transformation of Starmer seems to have held fast. He has not listened to the voices demanding that he revoke the King's invitation to Trump to make an official state visit to Britain. He has, carefully and with determination, expressed his sincere support for Ukraine and Zelensky while publicly respecting President Trump and his own priorities. This is no more than you would expect of any grown-up politician with more to occupy his mind than the cheap and easy virtue-signalling of his critics on the Left. It is likely (though no one can or should confirm) that Starmer finds Donald Trump's personality and style of politics as abhorrent as most decent people do. It is certainly the case that Trump's not-very-veiled threats to abandon Ukraine to the mercies of Putin's jackboot disgust Starmer as much as they disgust anyone. But Starmer cannot lead Europe through the next difficult months without a productive and positive relationship with Trump's White House. Right now, at the crossroads in history of which the Prime Minister spoke yesterday, he is accepting of the rules of the game and understands that those rules cannot be unilaterally changed. This is a different Starmer from the one we've watched on our TV and computer screens these last eight months or so. No longer a victim of circumstance or bad luck or ministerial colleagues' ill judgment, he looks and sounds more confident, as if the conviction which seemed to be missing in the first few months of office had suddenly been discovered in the eye of an international diplomatic crisis. He is not the first British leader to be called upon to play a central role in world events or whose administration is now being judged on metrics that are quite separate from the domestic political agenda. As recent history has shown, he is also not the first Labour leader to risk being undermined by international events. But leadership means taking risks that others prefer to avoid. The cause of a free, independent Ukraine is a worthy one and succeed or not, Starmer's motivation in tying himself to the blue and yellow flag is honourable and right. Beyond, that, what can we ask of the man?
The Guardian
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Kylie Minogue review – Tension world tour kicks off with euphoric show stuffed with hit after hit
It is hard to believe anyone was ever a snob about Kylie. To stand in the screaming crowds (possibly the loudest I have ever heard) at Perth's RAC Arena, on the first stop on what will be her biggest world tour in two decades, is a reminder of what a genius of reinvention she is. This is a show stuffed with preposterously catchy hit after preposterously catchy hit – 'from, you name it, almost any decade,' Minogue herself says, before letting out that endearingly goofy laugh. Two decades ago, she said she would never be the queen of pop, as that title went to Madonna – 'I'm the princess. I'm quite happy with that'. But, surely, two monarchs can come to some kind of peaceful agreement? 'She is gay shorthand for joy,' Rufus Wainwright once said. Now 56, and in the fourth decade of her career, Kylie is also shorthand for endurance, for pluck, for sweetness, for deceptively simple hits, for music that will make you want to dance. But even the most dependable voice in pop, who has earned her spectacular entrance – appearing high above the stage on a swing in a diamond-shaped cage made of lasers – seems not to have fully grasped how loved she is. 'I'm just having a moment,' she says in her first breathless interlude, tears in her eyes. 'It is so nice you see you.' The Tension tour is an excursion through every Kylie era: the sweet innocence of her early Stock-Aitken-and-Waterman era; the flirtatious disco on Light Years and Fever; and the pulsing Eurodance of Tension, which hit like a precision strike on gay clubs around the world. But new arrangements on some of the older tracks makes them feel fresh: this is Kylie's Version, and it gives her varied career an impressive sense of continuity. Tracks like In Your Eyes and Spinning Around are spruced up with some EDM-beats and disco sounds that echo Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer and even Nile Rodgers. Helpfully, the eighties are back in, which helps take the edge of the cheese on tracks like The Loco-motion – but when Kylie is game enough to do a choo-choo dance, it is nothing but delightfully playful. Some acts take an everything-at-the-wall approach to stadium shows (looking at you, Coldplay), but there is a logic to the aesthetics of the Tension tour, even if that logic came from the gayest dream Denis Villeneuve never had. Since Fever, Kylie has long loved a camp robot dystopia – and sure enough, there are dancers in shiny Tron-ish suits, sheer outfits and gold gondola hats, a very Tom of Finland sequence involving sequined capes and sequined feather caps and a laugh-out-loud moment involving some inflatable block suits that make it look like Kylie has been swarmed by sinister Gumbys. It is all very silly, very queer and very fun. Tension is a startling reminder of just how many hits she has produced – Come Into My World, In Your Eyes, Spinning Around, Can't Get You Out of My Head, Outta My Way … and just when you think you might be about to get a reprieve from the dancing, the sexy beat of Slow begins (apparently her favourite of all her tracks – just one of many fine choices). But what is perhaps the most amazing thing is how many of her more recent tracks hold up against the spectacular run of hits she had in the 1990s and 2000s: of course there is Padam Padam, which won her her first Grammy in 20 years and gets an enormous response in the arena, but also Things We Do For Love and Say Something, both of which could have been fantastic Hall & Oates tracks. The show ends on the anthemic All the Lovers, before returning for a cool as sorbet-bet-bet encore with Tension and Love at First Sight. 'This has been such a part of my life – pretty much my entire life,' Kylie says, leaning down to press a hand to the stage. 'And it never gets old.' We can only hope it never does. Kylie Minogue is touring Australia until 3 March, then Asia, the US and the UK
