Lions Tour: A Fan's View
Fri, 3 Jul 2009, 8:11 pm | tlynch
Being off tour away from the Lions madness has meant that I’m now refreshed and looking forward to the last test. Arriving in Jo’burg today, there were the iconic red jerseys to welcome us back into tour mode. A trip to the mountaintop country of Lesotho, right in the middle of South Africa, was a real [...]
outsidein
Fri, 3 Jul 2009, 5:18 pm | Bryan
Italy is a special place for many different reasons. One that never ceases to amaze me is the Berlusconi government. I’m not a libertarian. I like rules. I think laws, provided they aren’t stupid, are wonderful things. Italy is well within her rights to keep non-Italians out. When the border patrols fail, as they invariably [...]
On The Record
Fri, 3 Jul 2009, 9:33 am | Jim Carroll
Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol was The Ticket’s guest editor this week and Ticket ed Conor Goodman explains how it came about and how it worked. In the mix: Snow Patrol’s festival survival guide and Oxegen tips, the editor interviewing a music journalist, the guest editor interviewing Howling Bells and Gary Lightbody’s New Music starring [...]
megabites
Fri, 3 Jul 2009, 12:21 am | Tom
You have to hand it to the French. They regard food and eating out as part of what they are, their actual culture. It is not just a matter of life and death. It’s more important than that. Today, the French Government announced a reduction in VAT for restaurants and cafes from 19.6% to 5.5%. Successive [...]
Inside the Lions’ Den
Thu, 2 Jul 2009, 8:14 pm | Tommy
I’m so happy to be given the chance to play in the centre this week. Getting to play 13 will be a great challenge, though I feel comfortable there already having played almost half the season and most of the Heineken cup matches there for the Ospreys. Share This
Minibyte
Thu, 2 Jul 2009, 9:14 am | Ciara
I’ve got to the stage where I do most things online - pay bills, shop, keep in contact with friends. So I’m used to logging on at 1am to pay my ESB bill, or transfer money for my mortgage. That’s the beauty of online self-service, isn’t it? Not if you’re buying insurance, it seems. Share This
Pricewatch
Wed, 1 Jul 2009, 10:52 pm | Conor
This I found mesmerising. Then depressing. Very, very depressing. Share This
Politics
Wed, 1 Jul 2009, 2:04 pm | Harry
There was a time when I couldn’t get enough of Maureen Dowd in the New York Times but I have tired of the formula, and the over-cleverality, and the devices, and verbal pony tricks. I have switched loyalties to Paul Krugman (him of Erin go Broke fame) and Thomas Friedman in the same paper. Both [...]
Pursued by a Bear
Tue, 30 Jun 2009, 3:33 pm | Fiona
Farmleigh House in the Phoenix park is a summer delight in itself, all big windows and lush grounds, but add in a salon series (in the ballroom, no less - swit-swoo!) and the magic word FREE and it’s pretty close to paradise. From Tuesday, July 21st to Wednesday, August 11th (my sister’s birthday) they’re running [...]
State of the Union
Fri, 26 Jun 2009, 10:31 pm | Jamie
You have to hand it to Charlie, Ireland’s happy-go-lucky member of the European Commission. He’s certainly no shrinking violet when it comes to expressing his personal views on the Lisbon treaty. At his by-now regular Friday speech in Ireland today (which enables him to have a long weekend at home) he told a room of accountants [...]
Campaign Watch
Tue, 9 Jun 2009, 10:09 am | Kilian Doyle
For the past month, this blog has been tracking the mad, bad and sad antics of election candidates across the spectrum. And now it’s all over. We feel empty, deflated and at a loss. Yeah, right. We’re glad it’s all over. For a few months, at least. Thanks to all for the contributions, comments and criticisms. Much [...]
Business
Mon, 8 Jun 2009, 1:17 pm | John Collins
Ryanair are masters of the additional charge - how else do you think they can fly you for 1cent plus taxes? Additional fees are central to why they have been so profitable while the rest of the airline industry has been disappearing down a tube, although Michael O’Leary may be hedging his bets on whether [...]
Lions Tour: The Press Pack
Mon, 8 Jun 2009, 11:21 am | josullivan
Moving day on the Lions tour brings its own issues for the press contingent because there are the minor irritants of packing, making the weight (20kg in economy) for the internal flights and also trying complete work assignments. Travelling from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein last Thursday, everyone is keeping fingers crossed when checking-in that they make the [...]
Ford's focus on performance results in a RS that's in a class of its own