Week 29 - Go see a band or artist that I've never seen before (catchy title!)

I've been lucky to get to some really good gigs the past 12 or 18 months. There were the usual festivally big band type gigs but there were a few smaller ones that particularly blew me away.

Swords

I'd never been to Dingle before heading to Other Voices last December but apart from it being a beautiful part of the world with incredible pubs, it also plays host to some of the best up and coming musical talent from Ireland and further afield!

Swords are a 3-piece from Dublin produced an incredibly energetic set in John Bennie's Pub. Their mix of keyboards, synths, samples, drum and brilliant bass lines, along with Diane Anglim's superb vocals really set the place alight.

Well worth checking out their latest album 'Tidal Waves' which came out in July of 2016.

http://www.swordsband.com

R.S.A.G. (Rarely Seen Above Ground)

Canalphonic is a really great little festival in Rathmines area of Dublin that has really gone from strength to strength the past few years. With some really interesting venues like a barber shop and an art gallery, they bring really good music into some really good spaces.

My highlight of last year's Canalphonic was RSAG, a one man hurricane of musical madness called Jeremy Hickey who played outdoors in a tiny little yard at the side of Lock 6 Café on the Grand Canal. The small crowd lapped up every drum beat and really got into the set every bit as much as the Kilkenny man himself who truly looked like he was enjoying every second! One of those great gigs the leaves you buzzing for hours after.

http://www.rarelyseenaboveground.com

Ailbhe Reddy

This one was a little different in nature to the RSAG gig! Thirty Four is a great little coffee shop in Portobello in Dublin that is also home to Home Beat Events. They do a series of little gigs in November and December called '34 Saturdays' where great local musical talent come in and do an unplugged set for a small crowd of coffee (and music!) lovers.

Ailbhe Reddy is one of the people I saw there at the 34 Saturday sessions and I was really impressed. She did an acoustic set with 2 backing vocalists but it was the quality and humour in her writing that really stole the show for me. We saw her again at Other Voices in Dingle Courthouse and she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand so she's definitely someone to look out for.

Week 28 - Have a pint on Clare Island

First of all I need to make an admission... when I wrote this card I thought Clare Island was actually Inishbofin. So not only did I get the island wrong but I got the entire county wrong too! I also did this last April and never blogged about it so here is the proof!

I'm not exactly sure what put this particular task into my head but I guess it was one of those excuses to get out and go somewhere I'd never been and it's pretty much on my doorstep in the West. As my lovely sister Aisling was home from across the water, we decided to make it a family outing and all head out to the island.

The ferry was packed as we had, in our wisdom, decided to pick the same weekend as the Clare Island Adventure Race! Thankfully the weather was spectacular as our typically Irish 'summer in April' appeared once again.

Listen up fact fans... the castle-like tower that greets you at the pier on Clare Island was built by the O'Malley family in the 16th century. When a ship from the Spanish Armada fleet was wrecked on the island, the O'Malley's could have invited them all in for tea and biscuits but instead they killed them all. The most famous resident in the tower was Gráinne O'Malley, the infamous bad-ass pirate queen, hence the tower became know as Grainuaile's Castle.

The rest of the island is spectacular and I'd highly recommend walking to the Lighthouse on the north of the island which was, as it happens, struck by lightning in 1834. It was decommissioned in 1965 but today you can actually stay there and there few other B&B views as spectacular.

So... to this pint. I am delighted to confirm that Sailor's Bar does a mean pint of Guinness! It was the reason we came out in the first place but in truth it was the kick in the ass we needed to go and explore one of the most spectacular parts of this country of ours.

Week 27 - Walk the dogs in Madra

This one was a lonnnnnng time in the making. I'd spoken to the amazing photographer/designer/blogger and pure sound Galway head Saibh Egan about going out and walking the dogs in Madra (I'll explain) for an eternity. Eventually we did it and I ticked off another of my 52 cards, albeit around 73 years late.

Madra are an amazing non-profit organisation and group of people that try and find deserving and welcoming homes for dogs that were abandoned, neglected or even abused. Some have even been left tied to Madra's gate on Christmas Day as little furry 'unwanted presents' are left wondering what the hell they did wrong. As a dog owner (and a human being) this is a disgrace.

All dogs that arrive at the shelter in Camus, Connemara, are assessed and treated by a vet. They are vaccinated, wormed, flea treated, neutered and micro-chipped. All of the dogs at Madra are also temperament tested.

As well as chilling in their insulated kennels, each dog is brought out for a walk on a lead 4 times a day. It was to help with the walking that Saibh and I made our way out into the beautiful wilds of Connemara. The wind and rain tried its best to put us off (and nearly did at one point!) but we battled on and made it to Camus. Although Saibh has worked with Madra for years, I'd never been. The setup out there is incredible. Each and every dog has their own kennel space or at the very most is sharing with another other dog of a similar personality.

We each walked a number of dogs of various sizes including Odie, the happiest, smiliest Labrador in the universe! (Reminded me of that dog from Up! a lot.)

"Squirrel!!!..."

It confirmed to me that I love big dogs and not the yappy little terrier type mutts! As an owner of two big, mad and powerful Labradors, I've alway had a thing for larger dogs. Dogs don't belong in handbags, they belong at the end of a lead pulling your arm off!!

Madra are always interested in having people out to visit and help them walk the dogs. Even more so,  they're looking for people to adopt a dog and give them a new loving home. Whether you want to help out by walking some pooches or are interested in getting a dog, then contact Madra on 086 814 9026 or email madradogrescue@gmail.com

As you can see from the photos we had a blast walking dogs of all sizes in the wind and the rain. It's important that these beautiful, friendly, loving dogs get their walks but it's more important that they get a home.

If you want to donate to Madra and help them with their mission, log on to www.madra.ie and click on the donate button.

Week 26 - Cook a new dish

I'd already cooked some new things this year but always forgot to document the process. The original idea for this post was to cook a recipe from the cookbook written by the guys from the Happy Pear restaurant in Greystones. They're conducting a bit of a healthy vegetarian food crusade at the moment and are pretty much the flavours (they're twins!) of the month of the Irish foodie scene.

I couldn't get all the ingredients for the beetroot burgers with homemade carrot hummus (fancy I know!) so instead went for something a little simpler to fulfil the brief... also using beetroot as its major ingredient.

My sister does a mean Beetroot Risotto with goats cheese recipe that also involves making a parmesan cheese crisp (first time I did that too!) so I made that instead!

I also eventually got around to making those beetroot burgers from the Happy Bear book and bloody hell were they delicious!

So here's the proof!...

Beetroot burgers with homemade carrot hummus and roasted sweet potato fries! Tasty!

Week 25 - Use public transport for a week

I have to admit that I do love driving (hence the tour of the 32 counties!) and I don't get many weeks where I don't need to drive for one reason or another. The lovely Alan Doheny and Joanne O'Toole have always taken great pleasure in taking the p**s that I wouldn't know how to get a bus if my life depended on it! Well... I've only gone and done it! Not only that but I took a train, a tram, a tube and a taxi. Oh and a plane or 2!

I’m gonna keep this short as it may well be the most boring blog post subject ever chosen. The week started with a train journey to Dublin and I think I’m still recovering from the price of it. We’re still not at the level of train prices in the UK but holy sh*t Irish Rail ain’t cheap! I then got the lovely Luas into Dublin town. The following day involved a quick spin on the DART and another day out on the LUAS. Living the high life I was! Later in the week I got the AirCoach to Dublin Airport to get a flight to London to see my sister Aisling. A couple of trains, buses, tubes and another flight later and I was back on the AirCoach into Dublin. That’s a week of public transport done and dusted. Trains, planes and bus-shaped automobiles.

Now wasn’t that fun!! :-)

Week 24 - Visit the Zoo

I had planned on going to the Zoo in London when I was there a number of weeks ago but a couple of things happened... It was raining the day I was initially gonna go, I found out that going is bloody expensive and thirdly I realised that I wasn't overly bothered about going!

It was on one of my cards however, so it had to be done... ish! I embarked on a stroll around London that took me waaaaaay further than I'd planned! As a result I decided to stroll through Regent's Park which is home to the ZSL London Zoo. It is, in fact, the oldest scientific zoo on the world and was opened way back in 1828.

The zoo is actually on both sides of the road as you walk by and it's pretty handy the way you can see loads of stuff from the road as you walk by. Unfortunately the rain meant that pretty much all of the animals had more sense than me and were taking shelter indoors! At least I got to see a giraffe or two!

Week 23 - Make my mother's chocolate cake

It's become a sort of tradition that my mam makes a chocolate cake for me every year for my birthday in December. This cake is a work of baked beauty and its pièce de résistance has always been the Cadbury's chocolate icing. I've made it once before but it was a hybrid version that was broken out for the purposes of a Great British Bake-off competition forefeit!

This time around it was going to be as per the original (and best!) recipe. I have witnesses to both the making and consumption of said cake and as far as I know, nobody has presented with any life-threatening side effects! In my humble opinion is was bloody brilliant! Oh and a big thanks to my Aunt Brenda for providing Santa for the top of it!