The art of living and dying A quiet revolution in how we approach death is taking place in a Buddhist retreat centre on the Beara peninsula in Co Cork, writes MIRIAM MULCAHY .

How to get the girl DATING BOOTCAMP: Dating boot camp is designed to make men irresistible to the opposite sex. EOIN BUTLER signs up

Column

• On home improvements UPFRONT: HOME IMPROVEMENTS: readers, do not be taken in by the jaunty promise in this most double-crossing of phrases. Somewhere between the domestic bliss of the first word and the upbeat optimism of the second lies a world of pain.

Magazine Features

• The fractured metropolis? THE IRISH IN BERLIN: Is Berlin a capital of creativity, as the hype would have you believe, or rather a slacker's paradise, where every day is a Saturday? DEREK SCALLY talks to some Irish immigrants who have managed to forge careers there
• Finger On The Buzzer IRISH IN LONDON: Sean McDermott is London's premiere doorman, used to greeting the rich and famous at some of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. He tells LOUISE EAST the secrets of a warm welcome
  
• Flying saucers GETTING FIT: While many of us have opted out of team sports and become alienated couch-potatoes, this Frisbee-throwing sport has players flying high, writes ANGELA RUTTLEDGE .
• Playing tag Tag rugby remains hugely popular. This summer, the Irish Tag Rugby Association (ITRA) brings tag rugby to the beach with Sony Ericsson Beach Tag Rugby hosting festival tag weekends around the country.

Right Here Right Now

• Moving pictures Tribe , the unmissable collection of photographs by Galway film-maker Pat Comer, was one of the incidental hits of the recent Volvo Ocean Race extravaganza. The series of images that Comer has pasted on to dark gables and derelict walls in and around the Galway docks work so well that the waterfront is going to look terribly bare when the exhibition eventually ends.
• Individual art Artdob stands for art date of birth, and it's the name of a new business set up by artist Elin Hayes. A graduate of the National College of Art and Design, she had earned her living from painting for the past 10 years, specialising in painting Irish pubs around the world, and also film sets.
• Let there be rock There are several ways to become a rock star - you could humiliate yourself on some dreadful television talent show while has-been one-hit-wonders and swarthy captains of smugness shake their sweaty heads and crush whatever confidence has the misfortune to come their greasy way.
• Up, up and away School's out for summer and many of you will be passing through Dublin Airport in the coming weeks. By the time you've gone through security you're more than ready for that coffee from Butler's (with the all-important free chocolate).
• A fine vintage For years, we have slavered like a rabid dog over the Eames chair in Frasier - the peerless series might have long since left our screens, but the memory of that supple, black leather beauty lounging by his piano never fades.
• In tune with nature Taking time to look at the Irish landscape, it is easy to see why so many artists are compelled to try and paint it. We have all seen so many images of mountains, lakes, fields and trees; lots of cows and plenty of horses. Pausing to look a little deeper reveals richer finds, and it is these that Bernadette Kiely has been observing and painting, from the landscape around Thomastown, Co Kilkenny.
• A new old favourite There is one new restaurant in Dublin that we have developed an addiction to, but a special deal from an old favourite could finally makes us return to more familiar grazing grounds.
• Picture Perfect Next month, the Gallery of Photography in Dublin's Temple Bar is offering 12-to-18 year olds the chance to learn photography.
• Index What's going up and what's going down this week

Talk Time

• "I really adore any game that can go on for five days and not produce a winner" TALK TIME: EOIN BUTLER talks to Neil Hannon about cricket, Britpop and "Father Ted".
  

Taste

• Picnic perfection I love picnic food, but the best venue is your own back garden, writes DOMINI KEMP .
• Give it a whirl MONITOR: THE SLAPPING WAS a welcome sound. Gun-like in its repetitiveness. My grandmother didn’t hold back, her determination never in doubt, methodical, constant and focused. Churning butter is not for the fainthearted. At least it wasn’t then. The vessel was made from wood; the health police would have a field day. Chunky and old-fashioned, it was kept scrupulously clean.
• Busy bees at Ballyvolane FOOD FILE: Justin and Jenny Greene of Ballyvolane House in Castlelyons, Co Cork are to open O’Brien Chop House, serving what they describe as “robust Irish recipes” in the former Barca premises in Lismore, Co Waterford at the end of this month.
• Funny honey FOOD FILE: Mother and daughter Eilis and Sarah Gough produce more than half a million jars of honey each year at their Mileeven Fine Foods in Piltown, Co Kilkenny. Their range now includes a selection of speciality honeys with fruit or nuts added, such as Mileeven honey with sour cherries, blueberries, hazelnuts, walnuts, ginger or lemon.
• Masala dabba FOOD FILE: Gourmet Gadgets, a kitchen shop in Greystones,Co Wicklow, has these stylish Indian spice tins – known as masala dabba – in stock now.
• Mind the milk FOOD FILE: Jonathan Hourihane, professor of Paediatrics at UCC and consultant allergist at Cork University Hospital, has kindly pointed out that while Avonmore's lactose-free milk might be good news for those who are lactose-intolerant, it is not suitable for people with a milk allergy.
• Web watch FOOD FILE: www.thecooksbroth.blogspot.com Masterchef finalist Andy Oliver, who was narrowly beaten by wild-food expert Mat Follas in a too-close-to-call finale to the BBC TV series earlier this year, is doing a hands-on masterclass at Dublin Cookery School in Blackrock on Saturday, July 18th.

Wine John Wilson

• The consultant cometh IN THE CULT wine film Mondovino , wine consultant Michel Rolland is portrayed as some kind of vinous Ernst Blofeld, with evil tentacles stretching out all over the world, intent on destroying good wine everywhere he finds it. The charge against Rolland and other successful wine consultants is that they make very similar soulless wines regardless of their origin, wines that are designed to impress judges and win wine competitions rather than provide enjoyment over a meal.
• Wines of the week Poggiotondo Chianti Superiore 2007, 13%, €17.99. This is Antoninis estate in Chianti. A modern wine that still shows plenty classic Chianti traits; nicely perfumed, with succulent dark cherry fruits, a touch of oak, and a dry but fresh finish. A good all-rounder with most meat dishes. I would try it out with some grilled herby pork chops. Stockists: Red Island Wine, Skerries; The Wine Boutique, Ringsend; Jus De Vin, Portmarnock; Mac’s, Limerick; Red Nose Wine, Clonmel; World Wide Wines, Waterford; www.wineonline.ie; www.thewineshop.ie.
• Two around €12 Villa Tonino Inzolia IGT, Sicilia, 2008, 12.5%, €11.99. From an indigenous Sicilian grape variety, a very pleasant crisp light wine, with fresh melon fruits, and a nice richness on the finish. Drink on its own, but in Sicily I suspect they would drink it with their beloved shellfish. Stockists: The Vineyard, Galway; www.wineonline.ie; The Wine Boutique, Ringsend; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street; 64 Wine, Glasthule; Jus De Vin, Portmarnock; Le Caveau, Kilkenny; www.thewineshop.ie.

Restaurants

• Beyond the red-sauce joints Look past the wine glasses in this Italian restaurant, writes TOM DOORLEY .

Fashion & Beauty

• Derby delights It’s Derby weekend at the Curragh, a perfect excuse for horsing around in elegant style, so check out the bargains – both formal and informal – at Kildare Village
• My Style DEIRDRE McQUILLAN talks to Tamarisk Doyle, PR manager of Horse Racing Ireland
  

Vows

• Lisa Iadevaia and Alan Devlin LISA IADEVAIA, FROM Rhode Island, and Alan Devlin from Dublin were married on June 5th at St Augustin’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Their reception for 120 close family and friends was held at the OceanCliff hotel overlooking Narragansett Bay.
• Karol Sadleir and Paul Harrington KAROL SADLEIR, a teacher at The Donahies Community School in Donaghmede, Dublin and the entertainer Paul Harrington were married on June 18th in the chapel on the grounds of Brook Lodge Hotel in Macreddin Village, Co Wicklow by the registrar Colette Hanlon. Mr Harrington won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with Charlie McGettigan with their song Rock’n’Roll Kids , and as listeners to Derek Mooney’s show and indeed Playback on RTÉ Radio 1 last week may have heard, the couple were interviewed within minutes of the ceremony and cajoled into singing a duet on the spot: Afternoon Delight .

Gardens

• French style, Irish labour SOME OF THE best gardens are green, with little other colour disturbing their composure. One such monochromatic pleasure is the 35-hectare ornamental patch at Killruddery House in Bray, Co Wicklow, home of the earls of Meath. The garden, which dates from 1682, was laid out in the French style by a Monsieur Bonet, who, before coming to this estate at the feet of the Sugar Loaf mountains and Bray Head, had been gardener to William Petty, the surveyor-general of Ireland.