Articles

Never one to shy away from unspoken truths, this month Lucy Madden considers the elderly... The hirsute and not-so-easy-on-the eye racing correspondent John McCririck (72) is suing Channel 4 for alleged ‘ageism’ in replacing him with the younger and undisputedly popular ex-jockey Clare Balding (41).
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Lucy Madden considers the question of Manners - and, warning that The Gathering’s returning diaspora may cast a more critical eye on us than we might like, hopes that we can remain a mannerly country. During a visit to Berlin at the end of last year my son visited the prison, now open to the public that the Stasi, the secret police, had used to incarcerate their victims.
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Lucy Madden considers the advantages – and the perils – of the internet, especially in relation to a subject dear to our own hearts: ‘impartial’ online reviews...
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Turning her attention to the wisdom of ‘letting the hare sit’, Lucy Madden contemplates (among other things) the benefits of masterful inactivity. Our summer, henceforth to be known as the monsoon season, has caused me to remember the words spoken by John Cleese in the film ‘Clockwise’; “it’s not the despair I mind, it’s the hope.”
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Lucy Madden wonders at the theatrical experience that eating at the World’s Best Restaurant offers – and puts in a plea for more simple, authentic food for visitors to rural Ireland, based on ingredients grown in the local area. Overheard on a London street: “What is your national dish?” The answer came immediately. “Tomato tart with a garlic sauce”. Which country was in discussion I have never identified...
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Lucy Madden reflects on the damage that copy cat operations can cause – and suggests that many events in Ireland (including festivals) may be at saturation point, or beyond... We’ve all seen the photograph, two celebrities arriving at a party and – shock, horror – they are wearing the same outfit.
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In a crepuscular gloom I am trying to plant onions while listening with (hard to conceal) irritation to a lecture, delivered in barely understandable Pidgin English, on – of all things – Pythagoras. It’s only necessary to show very intermittent interest as the speaker, a mathematics graduate from Chile, has enough enthusiasm about his subject for both of us.
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Lucy Madden contemplates the gentle pleasures of the ‘staycation’:“A day out in, say, the Glens of Antrim or even the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre can be more restorative than two trans Atlantic flights”
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Retirement, what retirement? Lucy Madden contemplates the joys of being the 'older generation' in a family business. "Whose teeth are false?" You may know the ad: two silver-haired models are baring their fangs at the camera as they cycle off, bronzed and glowing, into a sunny future. It’s about as far from the reality of false teeth as I can imagine...
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This may be the season of goodwill but Lucy Madden’s feet are still very firmly on the ground as she reflects on an ‘interesting’ year and shares some incredibly awful (and hopefully isolated) dining experiences that seem inexplicable in a country where good food and hospitality are seen as fundamental to our national recovery - Christmas will be a welcome break, but there’s certainly plenty of urgent work to get stuck into come January!
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