Latest news with #SaintPatrick'sDay
7NEWS
09-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- 7NEWS
Meghan Markle's waffle maker is going viral and it's surprisingly affordable
We're calling it: Meghan Markle just made breakfast chic again. On Saint Patrick's Day, the Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram Stories to share a very relatable mum moment whipping up green waffles for her two kids, Archie and Lilibet. But royal watchers and brunch lovers alike quickly zoomed in on something else: her waffle maker. And we think we've found the exact one. The Cuisinart WAF-F30 Round Flip Belgian Waffle Maker, a sleek, no-fuss appliance that's been dubbed an Amazon's Choice product, with over 3,000 purchases in the past month and a 4.6-star rating from more than 1,300 happy customers. Retailing for $69.95 (and often on sale), this cult-favourite is perfect for anyone who wants to elevate their weekend brekkie without splashing out a royal fortune. According to reports, Queen Elizabeth herself may have gifted Archie a waffle maker, and Markle's post only added fuel to the theory. Her IG Story may have expired in 24 hours, but screenshots confirm the round flip design and signature handle that match the Cuisinart model. But Markle's not the only one flipping for waffles. The modern waffle maker is having a serious moment in Aussie kitchens, with families, foodies, and even fitness buffs using them to create everything from sweet brunch treats to protein-packed snacks and savoury lunch options. So, what makes the Cuisinart WAF-F30 stand out from the crowd? For starters, it's 1-inch-thick Belgian-style waffles are crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, just the way waffles should be. It flips 180 degrees for even cooking, features a non-stick coating for easy cleanup, and has adjustable browning controls so you can personalise your perfect waffle. Translation: it's basically foolproof. And yes, that includes when you've added green food colouring on a whim, just like Meghan. Can't find the exact model in Australia? Don't worry — we've tracked down a very similar version available now on Amazon Australia: the Cuisinart WAF-150A Waffle Maker in sleek black. It's also earned an Amazon's Choice badge, a solid 4.6-star rating, and is currently on sale for $119 (down from $129). This model delivers the same Belgian-style waffles and non-stick convenience, making it a brilliant option for Aussie shoppers looking to channel their inner duchess. If you're ready to add a touch of royal-approved flair to your breakfast routine, this waffle maker is the perfect place to start. Whether you're serving up a festive family brunch or just making something special for yourself, it turns the everyday into a little bit of luxury.
RTÉ News
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin
We present an extract from Ordinary Saints, the debut novel by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin. Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood, and herself... The first time I kissed a girl my brother died. I was sixteen and at a party in a big house overlooking Dublin Bay. My brother was in Rome, studying to be a priest. For most of the evening, though it was only Saint Patrick's Day and still cold, I sat alone on an elaborate wooden patio chair, getting drunk and staring at the glimmer of the coastline, following the slow ferry's lights as it pulled out to sea. 'Do you mind if I sit with you? I've brought supplies.' It's Aisling, a friend of a friend from the Irish-speaking school across town. 'Oh yeah, yeah, of course.' The words gurgle a little in my throat so I gesture at the other chair in the set to confirm. Aisling, carrying a bottle of wine in one hand and a small basket of garlic bread in the other, lowers herself down. 'It's so sweaty inside,' she says. 'And loud. I was looking for somewhere I could rest for a minute and then I saw you out here.' 'I'm being pretty anti-social,' I say, which is true. I realised too late that I was in no mood for Síofra's house party, with all its shouting and spilling drinks and close, hot breath. My humour was all right when I left home in the afternoon but around seven or half seven something shifted. I felt myself hating every new face that came through the crystal-paned front door. Later, after I find out, I try to track my movements against my brother's, to figure out if this abrupt emotional unmooring is a tele-pathic reaction to his energy being suddenly and improbably sucked from the universe. But the timings don't match up. I'm just in a mood. 'Fair enough,' Aisling says, pouring wine into the mug I've balanced on the arm of the chair. Lady Golfers Have More Drive, it reads in cartoon letters. She looks up and smiles, her teeth so straight and white that they catch the moonlight. 'Though I have been wondering why you never talk to me.' I don't know what to say. It's never occurred to me to speak to Aisling, who's a year and a half older than me and half a foot taller, plays football for Dublin and looks like a warrior queen from ancient mythology: big joints, pale skin, a tumble of reddish hair. I smile back. 'I'm shy.' Inside, there's the sudden sound of girls screaming and we both turn, thinking something's happened. But then someone turns the music up and they all shriek again, the noise breaking through the patio doors and spilling across the lawn. 'Jesus Christ,' murmurs Aisling. 'If I never hear "Mr Brightside" again in my life it'll be too soon.' I laugh, a bit too loud. 'I hate them too.' 'Yeah? What kind of music do you like?' The garlic bread becomes very dry in my mouth and I have to force a scratchy swallow. 'Oh, a bit of everything.' Aisling raises a fair, almost invisible eyebrow. 'Cool. I love everything too.' 'Nick Cave!' I nearly shout, though I've only heard one of his songs – last week, on the radio in my father's car – and can't even remember what it was called. 'Hmm, OK. That is cool.' Relief floods my body, so powerful that I think it might knock me out. 'It's a bit rubbish though, isn't it, liking different music to everyone else? It kind of makes you feel like an outsider.' I say nothing. We watch two trains curve silently along the bay, their lights getting closer and closer, looking like they might crash. 'You know, any time I see a train, even if I know it's only going to Bray or whatever, it makes me jealous of the people on it. That they're going somewhere and I'm not.' It sounds stupid as I say it, but Aisling doesn't laugh. Instead, she reaches out and takes my hand, dreamily, sympathetically, like other girls sometimes do when they talk. The world begins spinning faster then, the stars and the darkness of the sea and the sounds of the party all swirling together, catching fire and extinguishing from one moment to the next so that the two small islands of our patio chairs are the only points of stillness in the universe and our hands the bridge between them. I wonder if this is what a mystical experience would feel like. I wonder if I'm being called by God. We stay there talking in the darkness for hours until Aisling says that she's sorry but she absolutely has to go to the bathroom. 'But please don't leave,' she says and I shake my head, even though I'm freezing, my lips so numb they're slurring over words. Once she's gone, the silence and intensity of my feelings are too much to cope with. I look at my phone. Four missed calls, two from each of my parents. My chest tightens. How do they know? A text appears from my father: Please call us back as soon as you see this. We urgently need to speak to you.
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Cruel legacy of Ireland's mother and baby homes
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's article on the enduring pain caused by the church-run mother-and-baby homes in Ireland was a powerful read, leaving me full of anger and indignation (Ireland's mother-and-baby homes are a stain on the Catholic church – but this latest refusal to atone is a new low, 13 April). The stories resonated with me too. These 'homes' played a role in the Dublin childhoods of my aunt and mother. My aunt's experiences were heartbreaking: in the late 1960s, she was effectively imprisoned in a home for 'fallen women', her baby taken from her for adoption almost immediately after birth. It's a loss that stayed with her for the rest of her life. My mother's experiences reflected the general poverty and cruelty of Irish society in the late 1940s. Desperately hungry and neglected, brutalised by her brother who'd returned from the second world war with PTSD, she ran away from home and presented herself at a Magdalene laundry. Although she was subjected to a demeaning medical examination to see if she was pregnant (she wasn't) and made to work long hours, the laundry provided her with a better standard of living than she'd hitherto known – regular meals, a bed free of vermin and, paradoxically, given the reputation of the laundries, freedom from physical violence. Her life must have been truly miserable if a laundry was preferable to her family home. Ireland was such a cruel place that my mother escaped to England aged just 16. Her experiences, I'm sure, are why my family never holidayed in the 'old country' or wore shamrocks on Saint Patrick's Day. Name and address supplied The intergenerational damage done by the Catholic church lives on. Remember that church leaders attributed imbecilic behaviour and muteness to children born outside wedlock. To be such a child meant that your chances of living a decent life after being in any institution of shame (mother-and-baby home, industrial school, Magdalene laundry, mental health institution) was zero. No employer would hire you and your chances of marriage were low. And your chances of looking at the world through the bars of a prison cell or mental institution were a lot higher unless you could keep your secret – an impossibility in a country made up of hundreds of small insular towns. And, of course, the men got off scot-free, with no blemish on their reputations. They thrived, while sowing their oats. Not so the young, single and vulnerable girls during a time of reproductive health ignorance. Their families, overwhelmed with the church's currency of shame, threw them to the wolves. Why do you think more Irish women emigrated to the UK than Irish men? And the good nuns have the gall to say 'It wasn't me'.Rosemary C AdaserNortholt, London Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is right about the Magdalene laundries being a stain on the church. But it was families who sent their daughters to those places. My father remembered illegitimate children in 1950s Mayo being given to families to work on their farms, effectively as slave labour. The dysfunction and evil in Ireland was across the board. It's too easy to pin it all on priests and nuns, as if they were separate from wider society. What sort of families did they come from to need to be so abusive? Not happy and healthy McLoughlinLondon Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's article was sobering, and raised my anger at how women and children were treated by the religious orders mentioned. But I am struck once again by the fact that there is no mention of the men – the fathers of all these children. These were not virgin births, after all. Do we ever hear men's voices in protest and regret?Terry PrendergastHarefield, London Do you have a photograph you'd like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers' best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
The Guardian
13-04-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Sudden closure of iconic bridge to cyclists shows ‘car is still king in Brisbane'
Four days a week Casey Gardiner rides an e-bike from Brisbane's northern suburbs to her workplace on its southside. On permanent night shift, the thirtysomething health worker pedals home beneath the steel trusses of the Story Bridge as it twinkles with coloured lights in the gloom of those 'wee hours'. Or she did, at least, until 5.30pm on 5 March, when the footpaths on either side of that iconic structure were closed – and her commute abruptly and indefinitely severed. At first Brisbane city council said it had shut the footpaths while ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred lurked offshore and meteorologists forecast it would track right through the Queensland capital. Then Alfred weakened to a low pressure system – crossing the mainland on the evening of 8 March – and Brisbane's mayor, Adrian Schrinner, declared his city had 'dodged a bullet'. The cleanup began and the city hummed back into familiar routines as infrastructure and services reopened. Yet the Story Bridge footpaths remained closed. Schrinner has since said the closures are needed to assess storm damage and to build the case for a major bridge restoration. More than a month later, at the time of writing, they remain shut without a date of reopening and the council is encouraging pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders to 'consider' using another bridge more than 2km away by bike. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter But the alternative river crossing would take Gardiner through the streets of the CBD at an hour in which she does not feel safe to ride her bike and public transport not an option. So, since March, she has driven to work. Kathryn Good's home in St Lucia is the same side of the river as the New Farm markets at which she and her partner buy groceries. But with a section of the riverwalk in the CBD closed until at least early next year due to the construction of a multibillion dollar private development, Waterfront Brisbane, the pair avoid the city streets by crossing the river at Kangaroo Point's green bridge upriver and recrossing the Story Bridge. Or they did, until March, when its closure forced them through the CBD. A Saint Patrick's Day parade was in full swing that Saturday and the detour added 40 minutes to their ride. Good, 26 years old and an intrepid and enthusiastic rider, has not bothered to go to New Farm since. Gardiner and Good are just two among thousands of pedestrians, bike and scooter riders who have seen their commutes and travels disrupted or abandoned by the bridge footpath closure which cycling advocates say is a prime example of the faults plaguing the city's active transport infrastructure. Infrastructure, they say, which can go from almost world class – in its few best parts – to just about unusable for many riders when disrupted by development or natural disaster. Brisbane CBD Bicycle User Group's Paul French is among those calling for one of the six lanes on the Story Bridge to be temporarily closed to traffic and used instead for active travel. But French is not holding his breath. He says the handling of the Story Bridge footpath closures demonstrates how bike riding is 'not taken seriously as a form of transport' by policymakers. 'Mate, the car is still king in Brisbane,' he says. 'Bike riding is largely viewed as a recreational activity – I think that's the principal philosophy here.' French says many riders only learned of the closure when faced with a locked gate and a sign which directed bike and foot traffic to cross on the other side – only to find this, too, was closed. Later, corflute maps directed commuters to a new Kangaroo Point bike and pedestrian bridge – but the river walk there is also closed due to the Waterfront Brisbane build. Those maps were taken down. French himself found out about the Story Bridge closure indirectly, through the social media posts of 'cheesed off' bike riders. Information from the Brisbane city council, which manages the bridge, was, he says, scant and 'coy'. Nearly a fortnight after it was shut, on 18 March, Schrinner was fronting media saying council had 'used the opportunity' of the closures to do 'technical assessments on various parts of the bridge' – beginning with the footpaths – to develop its business case for 'a major bridge' restoration plan. He did not answer questions as to why both footpaths were closed simultaneously. The Guardian sought an interview with Schrinner, or anyone from council who could explain the situation. The response was a statement on Tuesday attributed to the mayor that recognised the inconvenience of the closure made necessary for public safety works which would 'continue for the next couple of weeks'. Bicycle Queensland's advocacy director, Andrew Demack, says that while it is 'super disappointing' that many like Gardiner and Good are being forced to abandon their rides due to bridge's footpath closure – it also highlights just how much better the city's riding infrastructure has become in recent years. A commute like Gardiner's might not have been possible before the construction of the Northern and Bicentennial bikeways – majorly extended and upgraded in 2021 and 2015 respectively. The Kangaroo Point Bridge opened late last year. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Yes, there are often gaps between 'brilliant bits' of infrastructure – sections of busy and unprotected roads that prevent many from riding. But, Demack says, Brisbane has the 'bones of a really good network'. 'I think the key problem is that it lacks resilience,' he says. 'So anytime any major section is closed, and it can happen for all sorts of reasons, the bikeway network kind of falls apart.' Demack says the same issues dogged riders coming from the northern suburbs for about five years during the construction of the Clem Jones and Airport Link tunnels. Construction detours for cyclists, he says, were narrow, hard to manage, had more hills and added significantly to riding times. So many simply stopped riding from the northern suburbs to the CBD. Of course, he says, cyclists understand the city needs to build and fix things. But they want clear communication, urgency of work and safe alternative passage. 'All we are asking for is parity with how motorists are treated,' he says. And, in the state's peak motoring body, Demack and other cyclists have found an unlikely ally. Like several of his colleagues at the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland, Dr Michael Kane often commutes on his bicycle. 'It's quicker for me to take public transport or ride to work in the morning,' he says. Kane, the RACQ's public policy head, released a report this month into slowing traffic speeds in south-east Queensland that was billed an 'urgent call' to halt 'a grim trend' towards increasing congestion. It called for a long-term south-east Queensland transport plan to achieve two key objectives – the first of which was to improve public and active transport networks. For Kane, however, the onus of making that plan reality will fall largely on the next federal government. The city and state governments have done some 'very good planning work' in Brisbane, he says. 'What we don't have is the serious funding to get on with it,' Kane says. 'We've never seriously, as a country, looked at the opportunity to use cycling infrastructure to address congestion in a coherent way.' But ultimately, he says, cycling infrastructure is 'among the cheapest infrastructure you can spend to actually address congestion'. 'Improving bike infrastructure is of benefit to 100% of people,' he says. 'Everyone benefits.'
Express Tribune
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Conor McGregor parties with Nelk Boys amid UFC retirement speculation
Conor McGregor was seen enjoying a lively Saint Patrick's Day celebration with the Nelk Boys at his pub, The Black Forge Inn, in a new video that has further fueled speculation about his future in the UFC. Conor McGregor, once known for his fierce dedication to fighting, was seen indulging in a spirited Saint Patrick's Day celebration at his iconic pub, The Black Forge Inn, with YouTube stars the Nelk Boys. The footage, shared on YouTube, features McGregor drinking, singing, and partying with the group—a stark contrast to the days when he was known for his intense training regime. The Nelk Boys, who had previously met McGregor at Donald Trump's inauguration, were in Ireland as part of a larger trip to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. They visited McGregor's pub after a $10,000 giveaway to a Belfast resident, with the lucky winner meeting them in Dublin for the handover. What followed was a celebration at McGregor's venue, where the former UFC superstar mingled with guests, poured drinks, and belted out a rendition of Robbie Williams' 'Angels.' While McGregor's recent involvement with BKFC, where he acts as a part-owner, shows that he's still connected to the fight world, his time in the cage seems behind him. Partying with Conor McGregor in Ireland ft. Sydney Sweeney — Nelk Boys (@nelkboys) April 7, 2025 McGregor recently admitted that he is content with his career achievements, and videos of him enjoying life outside of fighting have raised questions about his future in the sport. The footage of McGregor partying with the Nelk Boys has sparked mixed reactions on social media. While some fans celebrate the fighter's success and newfound freedom, others are critical, claiming that McGregor's partying is a far cry from the athlete they once admired. actually so sad to see Conor McGregor in this state — Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) April 8, 2025 Conor McGregor was partying with the Nelk Boys 😭 — Mcgregor Forever (@mcgregorufc22) April 8, 2025 How far dude has fallen — miike (@LAMikeIAmStill) April 8, 2025 SO MUCH FOR SAVING IRELAND,LOL — Bobby Rogers (@bobby_roge30456) April 8, 2025 As McGregor continues to indulge in his personal life, the possibility of his return to the UFC appears less likely. His status as a global icon and business mogul means he no longer needs to fight for money, and fans will have to wait and see whether 'The Notorious' ever returns to the octagon.
