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Irish Examiner
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Colin Sheridan: Bloom is the crowning jewel of our capital city
Ah, Bloom! That annual horticultural hootenanny where the scent of freshly turned soil mingles with the aroma of artisan sausage rolls, and where the only thing more abundant than the flora is the flurry of floppy hats. This year, Bord Bia Bloom 2025 blossomed once again in Dublin's Phoenix Park, transforming 70 acres into a veritable Eden of eco-consciousness, culinary delights, and enough garden gnomes to march on the Aras and stage a coup. The earth laughs in flowers, so said Ralph Waldo Emerson, yesterday, it was in stitches. First, an admission of guilt. As a novice, the name of this festival confused me. Bloomsday falls on June 16 each year. That celebration of Joycean pomp is no relation to Bord Bia Bloom, but the timing and title caught me a little off guard. Were there enough Ulysses nuts to warrant a five-day celebration in the largest public park in any capital city in Europe? No, it turns out, there isn't. Which is a relief. This is something else entirely. It's reductive to compare festivals — each lives and dies on its own merits — but given the scale and logistical footprint of Bloom, the National Ploughing Festival is an obvious and worthy inspiration for Irelands premier gardening and horticultural festival. Beginning on Thursday and running throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, Bloom will have attracted over 120,000 punters through its gates by the time the last tent is collapsed on Monday. If the ploughing is Glastonbury, Bloom is Electric Picnic. The setting is majestic and the mood more than a little mischievous. The variety on display from the moment you enter is so rich it'd make a willow weep. Puns aside, Bloom means business. I'm no sooner in the gate but I'm watching the Ballymaloe crew do a cooking demo on the Dunnes Stores stage. Chef Neven Maguire is hanging in the wings signing autographs like he's a member of Metallica. Maisie Carton, aged 15, from Dundrum, was prepared for moody weather in the Phoenix Park. Picture: Moya Nolan If there are politicians about, they are keeping a low profile. The weather, too, is appropriate; wet on Thursday, Friday brings dark clouds broken up by brilliant sunshine. Good gardening weather, right? Weather so rich you can feel the grass grow beneath your feet. Excited school kids follow patient teachers like mini climbers trailing their sherpa. Grownups who should know better sip Aperol spritz from recyclable plastic cups. With a taste of summer already lingering in the back of our throats, the timing of Bloom could not be more apposite. The heart of the festival lies in its show gardens — 21 verdant visions ranging from the sublime to the surreal. Take, for instance, the 'Make A Wish Foundation Garden' by Linda McKeown, a space so enchanting it could make a grown man weep into his compost. Then there's the 'GRÁ' garden by Kathryn Feeley for Dogs Trust, a canine-centric paradise where even the shrubs seem to wag their leaves in approval. Not to be outdone, the 'Tusla Fostering Garden' by Pip Probert offers a vibrant tapestry of colours and textures, symbolising the diverse journeys of foster families. Bloom, though, is not just about seasoned green thumbs; it's also a fertile ground for budding gardening superstars. The 'Cultivating Talent' initiative, now in its third year, continues to nurture and showcase the next generation of garden designers. This year's standout is Dr Sarah Cotterill — an assistant professor at UCD — whose 'Into the Woods' garden pays homage to Ireland's Atlantic rainforests, proving that even civil engineers can have a soft spot for ferns. Billy Alexander of Kells Bay House and Gardens in Kerry brought his Chelsea Flower Show-winning fern garden to Bloom. Picture: Moya Nolan For those of us whose idea of gardening involves little more ingenuity than picking herbs for a G&T, the Food Village offers enough distraction to fill a day. I unwittingly followed one chap who easily reached his daily calorie quota by exclusively eating free samples. It was an admirably frugal tactic, if a tad unnecessary. Unlike other festivals, the food was ample and reasonably priced. The village — which features nearly 100 Irish producers — is a smorgasbord of local delights. I'd eaten two gourmet burgers and a hot dog before lunchtime. Not every day in the trenches is like this, and this one-man army marches on its stomach. The food stages are accessible and unfussy — culinary luminaries like Neven, Darina Allen, and Fiona Uyema are on hand to whip up some dishes that would make an intermittent faster reconsider their life choices. The atmosphere is collegiate, the food divine. Sure, there are plenty of healthy options on display, too, but Bloom is not the space to suddenly become precious. There is lots of cream and butter, and the fun and food police are conspicuous in their absence. A key theme running throughout the festival is sustainability, with the Sustainable Living Stage hosting 40 talks on topics ranging from food waste to natural skincare hacks. The festival walked the walk — quite literally — by offering free shuttle buses, ample bicycle parking, and ensuring all food and drink packaging was compostable or recyclable. There were even volunteers on hand at each bin to advise you on what goes where. Keen not to take itself too seriously, Bloom isn't just for the horticulturally inclined; it's a family affair. The Budding Bloomers area offered a range of activities for the young and the young at heart, from bug workshops to interactive performances. Chef Tricia Lewis giving a cookery demonstration to a crew of hungry festivalgoers. Picture: Moya Nolan For those looking to bring a piece of Bloom home, the Grand Pavilion and Plant Emporium offered everything from handcrafted garden sculptures to rare plant species. It's the kind of place where you go in for a packet of seeds and come out with a bonsai tree and a newfound appreciation for macrame rope. In its 19th year, Bord Bia Bloom continues to be a testament to Ireland's love affair with all things green and growing. It's a safe, creative space where gardeners, foodies, and families converge to celebrate the simple joys of nature, nourishment, and community. In a time when the deforestation of the island is a hot topic, Bloom offers an antidote to the doom and gloom that can sometimes suffocate green-adjacent conversations. The jewel of the crown of this festival, however, is not any one of the celebrity gardeners, chefs or even Juniperus Communis on display. It's not even the extra-mature cheeses, of which I consumed quite a few. No, it is unquestionably the venue. The Phoenix Park frames this event and makes it a masterpiece, a celebration of nature its creators and organisers can absolutely be proud of. Verdant and resplendent, the vastness of the park itself makes access and egress easy. The walled gardens within the festival compound act as a spine for a sprawl that is beautifully organised, but never contrived. Great oak trees provide shelter from the infrequent showers. The grass acts as a quilt to lie on and bask in the brilliant sunshine. Just outside the fence, a herd of fallow deer skip by, as if curious about the din inside. There is a lot wrong with our capital city, and, understandably, we spend plenty of time talking about it. Bloom is an example of something done incredibly right. A festival of nature, food, colour, and life, hosted in a public park at an incredibly reasonable price. Accessible to everybody, and not a Joycean scholar in sight.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Memorial Day is a time for reflection, not politics
Memorial Day, which was celebrated on May 26, is a cause for contemplation and also renewal. Parades featuring people in uniform — those currently serving, those who have served, and those who protect us — should always be welcome. Military uniforms at such ceremonies are important. Crude partisan declarations are completely out of place. From ancient times, parades have been vital to the reintegration of warriors into society. War is profoundly disruptive and disturbing, not to mention dangerous. Even the rare man or woman who finds combat invigorating and rewarding is in severe need of returning home after the killing ends. Homer, chronicler of the Trojan War, was extremely sensitive to this. His great classic is divided into two parts. 'The Iliad' focuses on the fighting and related associations involving Greeks and Trojans; 'The Odyssey' describes the very long voyage home of Greek leader Ulysses and his men. They traverse allegorical geography, struggling to put the horrors behind them. Gen. George S. Patton Jr., a very great American combat leader, was extremely mindful of this dimension. A special ceremony in the Los Angeles Coliseum after the surrender of Nazi Germany featured Patton and Gen. James Doolittle, who led the first air raid on Tokyo not long after Pearl Harbor. Patton celebrated the accomplishments of his Third Army in the victorious drive across Europe. In honoring his troops, he stressed in particular the 40,000 who lost their lives. Patton made such statements regularly in the few months remaining of his own life. In World War II, people liberated from Axis occupation welcomed Allied troops. Understandably, our media gave special emphasis to this dimension. The Korean War created very strong bonds between the U.S. and the people, as well as a very effective military of South Korea. The first Gulf War liberated an oppressed population. The Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars were different. During Vietnam, the Pentagon urged, sometimes ordered, personnel to practice public anonymity. Opposition to the war became hostility toward our own military. There was no collective welcome home. Many aging veterans of that war suffer without a Ulysses, troubled and troublesome, sometimes criminally. Afghanistan and Iraq war controversy did not target our military. Visits to Washington, D.C., provide reminders of the visibility of the uniformed military, especially on public transportation. President Richard Nixon's decisive end of the military draft was crucial in the change. However, the often-rapid rotation of personnel back to overseas missions is unfair, as well as counterproductive. Enormous psychological strains join physical danger, and families suffer heavily. The all-professional military is segregated from wider society. This, in turn, facilitates frequent personnel rotation overseas, a problem that developed destructively during the Clinton administration. The military remains a vital engine for equality and opportunity. Gen. Colin Powell and many others have demonstrated the point. Powell, from modest origins, achieved the most senior civilian and military posts in our government. Powell noted he experienced discrimination in the South, but never on post. Our military emphasizes merit. Memorial Day provides the opportunity to recognize a commitment to fairness. Encourage veterans to run for office. We won the Cold War in part because experienced veterans served in government. Every U.S. president from Harry Truman through George H.W. Bush was a veteran. Today, things are different. The all-volunteer military is not broadly representative. What we need above all is the sort of sensible realism that women and men who served bring to policy. Learn more: 'Patton – A Genius for War,' by Carlo D'Este, and the film 'Patton.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
An insider's guide to the Amalfi Coast's undiscovered walking trails
Somewhere in between the vineyards and the jagged cliffs tumbling into the sapphire Tyrrhenian waves, is a path that remains frozen in time. Carved above one of the most picturesque coastlines in the world, the Path of the Gods is the last bastion of diluted tourism on the Costa D'Amalfi. Celebrated in both literature and myth, this undiscovered hiking gem doesn't carry its name for nothing. Its origins trace back to the days of Ulysses: when the divine descended from Olympus, taking to these coastal peaks and ravines to rescue him from the mystical gulf of the Siren Islands off the peninsula. Away from the tour buses and traffic lies a set of undiscovered routes diverging in distance and difficulty, to capture the Costiera's views at their most magnificent. The main path goes Westward from Bomerano to Nocelle, a high-set neighbourhood of Positano, through unbeatable views of the peninsula's lemon groves and iconic beaches. Route one: easy Although not appropriate for those afraid of heights due to its vertiginous vantage point, the main trail is suitable for hikers of all levels, including children. The climb starts in Bomerano, the highest point in the rustic red-roofed town of Agerola. The trail continues across the Lattari Mountains for 5.7 miles and takes around four hours. Route two: intermediate The alternative path starts in Praiano, Positano's much quieter neighbour. The artful town – known for its charming mosaics decorating each alley and the laundry which hangs from its windows, dancing in the Mediterranean breeze – is a lesser-discovered base from which to explore the Sorrentine peninsula. The catch is getting up the mountain to arrive on the trail: from Praiano, there's a winding staircase leading past the forbearing Convent of St Domenico, 580 meters up to join the Path of The Gods. This trail is slightly shorter, with a 4.4 mile run and taking just under four hours. Route three: expert Following the same part of the coastline is a 'high' version of the trail, offering a higher-altitude option for thrill seekers. This third and final trail option starts in Bomerano and ends in Santa Maria del Castello, just above Positano. This hike passes through three peaks: Capo Muro, Monte Calabrice, and Monte Tre Calli, all above 1,000 meters in altitude. The tougher elevation is rewarded with unparalleled views and lower chances of encountering hiking companions. If you feel up to the challenge, loop back around the trail for a whole day of hiking. If going one way, try walking the path in the direction of Positano: with its slightly downward inclination, the road faces the best of the peninsula's views, with Capri and its islets in eyeshot alongside the remarkable Costiera Amalfitana. Hikers taking a single way along the path can return to their starting point by the local SITA buses, which stop regularly along the iconic coastal road all the way to Amalfi. During the warmer months, regular ferries from Positano and Amalfi offer a scenic ride to Naples or Salerno, the Costiera's main airport options. The Path itself is accessible throughout the year, although spring and autumn promise great weather and minimal crowds. Why do it? The Sentiero degli Dei, as it is written on arrows signposting the beginning of the hike, is an authentic postcard of the traditional Sorrentine lifestyle. Along the path are farmers still working the narrow terraces, family owned vineyards, and a slower pace of life. Beyond the echo of clanging goat bells in the hills beyond, visitors remain unperturbed by the sounds of rumbling boat engines and wailing infants that are down away from earshot. The occasional appearance of abandoned stone-built cottages serve as a refuge from the Sorrentine sun, but also remind visitors of the harsh realities of rural labourers. In the ages before the peninsula's beauty was discovered by travellers, those working in agriculture or the paper industry for which the region was most notorious, would trudge along these heightened paths in a daily plight against elevation. Of course, hiking has never played much of a role in the pursuit of La Dolce Vita, meaning you'll rarely encounter Italians on these paths – and thanks to the rustic facilities, you're unlikely to meet many tourists either. There are a few water fountains along the way to refill water bottles, and scattered refuges and cafes for shaded breaks. Despite the path's recent refurbishment, with barriers on key points and white and red arrows marking the trail, its jagged turns and wild dusty paths maintain an untouched quality. The reward The road to Nocelle ends in a plaza where a small lemonade stand affords a true Amalfi coast welcome. Nocelle is a tiny rustic village with green villas and terraces covered in luscious Bougainville – but its beauty lies in its captivating views. The final stop of the hike offers a stunning opening onto the bay ahead, as the distant mirage of Positano's colourful terraces emerge into the golden Campanian sunlight. This is the place to stop for a photograph, before descending the seemingly infinite staircase back down to the road. Many walk the remaining 500 meters to Positano, but take a tip from the local slow-living residents and, instead, follow the last 300 steps down from the road and have a swim in the calm waters of Arienzo beach. Practical tips It is essential to bring a full water bottle, sunblock, light hiking clothes, a sun hat, and a camera to capture the extraordinary views. The picnic tables spread throughout the path at key scenic points invite hikers to indulge in a picturesque pause above the turquoise waters, so bring a packed lunch. Packing a sandwich is less tedious when any salumeria, a local delicatessen, will serve fresh bread, the local dairy delight of caciocavallo, or her Neapolitan majesty, the mozzarella di Bufala – the food of the Gods herself. How to do it EasyJet flies from London Gatwick to Salerno Costa d'Amalfi Airport from £57 return, and to Naples from £40 return. British Airways has recently launched a new route to Salerno, with flights from £66 one way. From Salerno, take the local SITA buses (for Positano, Bomerano and Praiano), or ferries (for Amalfi or Positano) with their corresponding shuttles. The Grand Hotel Tritone in Praiano (0039 0898 74333) has doubles from £589 per night, including breakfast; the more affordable Hostaria Albergo Dipinto Bacco Furore on the seafront of Agerola (0039 0898 30360) has doubles from £250 per night, also including breakfast.
Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Labour's George Lawlor on how stand-up comedy and opera help him balance the stresses of political life
As well as stand-up comedy, he's also an outstanding operatic and musical performer — and was in good voice last week when he spoke to the Sunday Independent. Brendan Howlin's successor in Wexford reeled off a host of funny stories, including one about the time a character he was playing had to ask who he needed to sleep with in order to make it on Broadway. In response, three nuns, in full regalia, got up in the front row and walked out. 'People laughed and clapped — they thought it was all part of the show,' he said. A comedian and tenor-baritone, Lawlor (56), has regularly trod the boards of the Opera House, while also serving as mayor of Wexford five times and being a member of Wexford County Council for 15 years. Last year, he was in The Phantom of the Opera before his election as a TD, and has played Daryl Van Horne — 'Jack Nicholson's character' — in The Witches of Eastwick, among scores of other productions. He began performing in public in 1980 in the boys' choir in Wexford. 'We now have the National Opera House [in Wexford] and we're very proud of it,' he said. 'I find participation is great for mental health, and for the stress and concerns of day-to-day politics. As a local councillor and parliamentary assistant to Brendan Howlin, I was run off my feet. Urban councillors have a huge workload, but don't have any staff to support them.' Now the chair of the Dáil committee on the Traveller community, and sometimes in the House until midnight, he says he misses the 'roar of the greasepaint and smell of the crowd' (a nod to the musical of the same name). He says it is still a performance in the chamber — 'where my constituency colleague Verona Murphy wields the baton'. Lawlor jokes it will be the voters who decide when he goes back to the theatre, saying: 'I will go back to it after this stage. Any form of music or am-dram [amateur drama] is a great winter pastime. Phantom did €200,000 worth of business and was booked out two months in advance.' The Labour TD is also PR and marketing chair for the Fleadh, which marks its second year in Wexford in August, having drawn 650,000 visitors to the town last year. He can sing from Les Mis or Jekyll & Hyde at the drop of a hat and believes his involvement with musicals and opera has helped to propel him on to the national stage. 'I've long been part of the Wexford Light Opera Society, one of the most successful on the island, and sadly was not able to take part in this year's production of Young Frankenstein.' He loves singers Kiri Te Kanawa and Marilyn Horne and adores the Three Tenors — but the best voice of all, he believes, belonged to Swedish tenor Jussi Bjorling, the choice of many cognoscenti. 'As to sopranos, Maria Callas will never be surpassed.' He's thinking he might squeeze something in with the Oireachtas Drama Society, although he has yet to join. It's currently rehearsing a stage version of Ulysses to mark Bloomsday next month.
Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Rose Wylie: I haven't read a book in 15 years
Flaubert's Saint Julian. It always makes me cry. I used to read like a fiend, but I've given it up because it took up my time. I paint and draw all the time now and watch films and read reviews in the paper. The last book I read was Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks, 15 years ago. Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. He's my favourite writer — the details in the furniture, the tapestries, the knives and forks. Ulysses. I read it in hospital when I had a hip operation. I loved it; it made me laugh out loud. Then there was this whole piece about corpses and since I was in hospital I didn't fancy it. So I shut the book and didn't
