Frontlines

A friend in high places

Adrian Hendroff is mountain mad – and it's Irish mountains that have got under his skin in particular. "Our high places are mostly a trackless wilderness: no signposts, no paths and a landscape both barren and rugged. They form a ring of coastal mountains on the Western fringe of Europe. This intimate blend of mountains and the sea possess an unexplained charm and presence that inexorably draws one back," he says. His book, From High Places: A Journey Through Ireland's Great Mountains, is an excellent guide to the majority of our 268 peaks, and on Monday he will be giving an audio-visual lecture on our mountain landscape as well as an introduction to mountain photography (he took this photograph of Errigal in Donegal). It takes place at 7pm in Base Camp on Middle Abbey Street, Dublin and is free, with donations going towards Trócaire's East Africa Crisis Appeal. See adrianhendroff.com for details . LAURENCE MACKIN

Between the covers

Album covers. Bone China. Underwear. There is nothing that UK-based illustrator Naomi Ryder won't consider as surfaces for her illustrations. Previously based in Dublin, Ryder has worked with John Rocha and Lainey Keogh, and her lifelong love of paper and textiles has inspired a new range of notebooks. Featuring her friends, in a variety of everyday poses, these simple ideas are painstakingly sketched, embroidered and "played with" in Photoshop. "Most routines are really dull – the fact that you have to brush your teeth every day, put on clothes, iron or wash – so these drawings are my way of trying to turn it into something funny, romantic or beautiful," says Ryder. Most recently, Mary Portas, aka Mary Queen of Shops, spotted her work (particularly the bone china teacups), and it now sells in House of Fraser on London's Oxford Street. Meanwhile, her friends are happy to be immortalised in her work. "Most have been up for it, and occasionally I've overheard them saying to others 'Im on a bag and a T-shirt'," laughs Ryder. "I also draw architecture and other themes, but I truly love drawing people." naomiryder.co.uk SINEAD GLEESON

Fashion's Irish night out:  in Brown Thomas

Brown Thomas in Dublin will celebrate Fashion’s Night Out, the Vogue magazine initiative to give fashion a boost in tough times, on Thursday, September 8th, with a special in-store boutique dedicated to contemporary Irish fashion, jewellery and accessory designers.

Appearing in the shop will be well-known players such as Lucy Downes, Eilis Boyle and Heidi Higgins, along with newcomers Emma Kate Manley, Sean Byrne and Natalie Coleman (whose work is pictured right).

Customers will be able to see the extraordinary leather work of award-winning Una Burke, Susannagh Grogan’s beautiful scarves, along with hats from upcoming Galway milliner Mark Burke.

The line-up of jewellers includes Sadhbh McCormack, Mette O'Connor and Tuula Harrington, who recently opened her own shop/studio in Cork. Others jewellers showing their mettle will be Rachel Swan, Trish Goodbody, Emer Duffy, Laragh McMonagle and Eily O'Connell. The Irish pop-up shop on the second floor of Brown Thomas will remain open until Sunday, September 18th. DEIRDRE McQUILLAN

TRUE CHARACTERS: Carmel Winters, playwright

The first play I ever saw . . .is a shadowy memory of an angry man in a dress, swilling wine and shouting about something called "fornication". I think it was called Sunday mass.

Growing up . .. as the second youngest of 12 children gave me a great appetite for anonymous spectatorship. It has also instilled in me a virulent sense of fair play. I am, consequently, known to be highly proficient at dividing small, irksomely crumbly cakes equally between large numbers.

Women in theatre?There's not half enough.

The thing that inspired me most . . .was watching a tiny ant manoeuvre a large piece of masonry. Those thread-like legs? That boulder? No builder I have subsequently paid has managed to equal that feat.

The best piece of work I ever saw .. . was a play in which two truly great actors – Michele Moran and Louis Lovett – brought audiences to their feet in a thrillingly virtuoso theatrical double-act written by er . . . um . . . me.

My guilty pleasure is . .. shaving a little off the Irish ambassador's private stash of Gubbeen salami whilst staying at his residence in Argentina. (Sorry James, I hope you didn't suspect the staff?)

The success of 'B for Baby' .. . makes me want to yodel in a public place.

I have been moved to tears .. . by misunderstandings and missed opportunities for mutual happiness, the stuff of both comedy and tragedy depending on how you look at it, and who it's happening to.

My film 'Snap' . .. is a living testament to the integrity of the many artists who made it, and the courage of audiences who continue to recognise themselves in it.

If I wasn't working in theatre . .. I would be a rabid champion of the underdog in real, as opposed to fictional, scenarios.

My attitude to awards is . .. ambivalent. Oh, to have that solid gold crown of thorns nailed on to one's head.

The best theatre haunt in Dublin is .. . the upstairs Abbey bar where you can sit at the window and watch a mute version of Heroin: The Musical any day of the week.

The thing most people would be most surprised to know about me is .. . that I was once hate-vibed off a UK stage while attempting to deliver a stand-up comedy performance. I thank and love that audience of bitter, twisted oligarchs for liberating me from a parallel life as Paddy the Irishwoman.

The person who had the biggest influence on me .. . was my sister, who was stillborn years before my own birth. She has been the ghostwriter of every script I've ever written.

The next generation of Irish playwrights .. . will be cured of the congenital burden of self-consciousness as "Irish Writers" by their African, Asian and Eastern European descent.

Carmel Winters’s play B for Baby is touring Ireland until October 29th. For dates and venues, see abbeytheatre.ie

In conversation with SINEAD GLEESON

WORD ON THE STREET: Horsemanning

What it means: You’ve heard of planking, the popular practice if having your picture taken lying rigid in an unusual location. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any dumber, here comes a new photo-posting craze – horsemanning is having your picture taken while appearing to be completely headless.

Your severed head must also be in the picture – either nestled in the crook of your arm, lying a couple of feet away in the grass, or floating in the water beside your headless corpse.

Where it comes from: Ever since cameras were invented, folk have been finding ways to create silly images that play tricks on the eye. Horsemanning was popular in the 1920s, but it has found a new life on the web – and it’s easy to pull off without actually having to pull off your head. You need two people: one to be the body, the other to be the head. A little creative positioning, and you have what looks like one headless person.

The term comes from the headless horseman in the film The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but take a look at the postings on horsemanning.com. The other end of the equine animal immediately comes to mind.

How to say it: “Let’s hope Jedward don’t catch on to horsemanning –- that would be really scary.”

Book town belles

A cosy perch and a good book make an unbeatable combination. However Danielle Ryan, Nora Murphy, Niamh Walsh, Jessica Cody and Jenna Joyce sacrificed comfort for a spectacular view at the launch of the Graiguenamanagh Town of Books Festival (September 16th-18th). Among the festival highlights are Michael D Higgins reading from his New and Selected Poems, and Irish Timesjournalist and Sea Road columnist Gary Quinn talking about his round-Ireland kayaking adventure. See booktownireland.com for details. MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY

The Ultimate Shiraz Dinner?

Ely Bar and Brasserie will host a wine tasting of Syrah/Shiraz on September 8th. The three-course dinner will be led by Tim Kirk of Clonakilla, producer of some of Australia’s greatest Shiraz, and Charles Derain, an expert on the variety in France. Tickets are €70 each. Email wineclub@ elywinebar.com

TERRENCE CONRAN: FOR M&S

Conran for Marks Spencer Home is a new range of furniture and accessories designed by Sir Terence Conran specifically for the high-street retailer. The designer-furniture-for-less idea may not be new, but this collection is well realised. The colour palette is very Conran, a wash of greys with pops of colour coming from his signature teal blue and chartreuse green. The designer’s favourite piece is the Marlowe cushion chair, a soft seat, the legs of which you can unscrew so that it sits very low, like a Japanese chair, says Conran, who is just shy of his 80th birthday. It costs from €1,349.

Dining chairs have amusing loose covers with chairs illustrated on them. Each chair comes with two covers and is priced at €399. There are quilted modular sofas and ottomans and a luxurious jewel-coloured Ackroyd sofa, from €1,599, in deep-pile velvet that will make any room look gem-like.

“MS wanted something that was our handwriting, not just commercially considerate,” Conran says. But will this new MS collaboration not simply lead to the Conran Shop competing against itself? Obviously it’s a concern, admits the designer. “If you look at the MS catalogue you’d think it was a Conran catalogue. It asks the question, why buy at The Conran Shop when you can buy it at MS?”

Why indeed. The collaboration will see two major collections a year with smaller filler collections through the season, covering outdoor garden furniture in summer and festive Christmas gifts and decorations at yuletide.

Which all sounds like what Habitat used to offer. “We’re doing Habitat for the 21st century,” says Conran, who launched the Habitat design concept 47 years ago. While Habitat is no longer in Dublin, the brand holds a very special place in Irish history in that it bookended the boom. The launch party at its first address on St Stephen’s Green was legendary. No one warned the Habitat PR people to limit the alcohol served, so everyone enjoyed their generous hospitality so much that drunken party goers lay down on the chic, minimal beds and staff had to go through their pockets to find out who they were and where they might live before pouring them into taxis to clear the space.

While Ikea sells Scandi chic cheaper than anyone else, Conran for MS offers ready-made pieces that are not flat-packed and will be delivered free to anywhere in Ireland.

The collection drops into the Marks Spencer Liffey Valley store on September 22nd. The Conran collection is available to order at the other MS shops that sell furniture, in Mary Street and Dundrum in Dublin. ALANNA GALLAGHER

Write weekend

If you have an idea for a novel – and this is Ireland, so who doesn't? – then instead of letting your masterpiece stagnate on your laptop, why not try turning it into an actual book? The worst thing that could happen on the Get Started, Get Publishedcountry house creative-writing weekend is that you meet a few like-minded souls, enjoy sumptuous home baking and finally get past chapter one. It will be mentored by novelist Denyse Woods, director of the West Cork Literary Festival, and publishing advice will be offered by novelist Kevin Barry and literary agent Faith O'Grady. The country house in question is Inchirourke, in Askeaton, Co Limerick, where acres of glorious countryside should provide a decent muse. The price is €395 per person which includes workshops, dinners, breakfasts, accommodation for two nights and a champagne reception. It takes place Friday, September 23rd to Sunday, September 25th. See writersweekend.net. ROISIN INGLE

Bag a bargain

Handbags and shoes . . . a girl can never have too many of either. Goal has come up with a fantastic fundraising idea that takes place at the Burlington hotel in Dublin on Thursday evening (September 8th). Members of the public, and a few famous names, have donated handbags that will be offered for sale at knockdown prices. "The lowest price is €5 and the highest is €50, for designer bags," says Suzi Murray of Goal. She has received more than 500 bags for the sale, and you can still donate by dropping them in to the Goal office at 12-13 Cumberland Street, Dún Laoghaire (9am-5pm, weekdays only), or telephone Murray on 01-2809779. There is no admission charge to Thursday's sale, which will run from 7pm to 10pm. MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY

INDEX

WHAT’S HOT

Dublin Contemporary 2011Rediscover Earlsfort Terrace as a very urban gallery space (below left), and find new work at the Hugh Lane, the Douglas Hyde, the National Gallery and the RHA. Opens Monday and runs until October 31st

Gurrumul YunupinguWe might not be sure how to pronounce his name, but we're very impressed by the new album, Rrakala, from this Aborigine musician

Tapas in HowthBeshoff's Fish Market has come alive at night, with candles, tapas, and a brand new vibe. Worth a nocturnal visit.

Lift the burdenWith so many of us in mortgage arrears or debt, be mindful and kind(er) to your neighbours

Feel good coffeeIreland's Biggest Coffee Morning is on Thursday, September 15th. Sign up and get free coffee and more at coffeemorning.ie. In aid of local hospices

Purple broccoliPlant it now for a burst of colour on the plate in the gloom of November. Seedaholic.com, a great Westport-based website, has it and many more

New season Irish applesSeek them out and leave those southern-hemisphere elder apples on the supermarket shelves

September resolutionsEasier to keep than New Year's ones as we're not yet in the depths of winter

The Wateroffaducksback raincoatAt last, a practical way to cycle in the rain without looking like a neon nerd It's black (right) but the cuffs and belt turn to reveal reflective strips. €149.95 from dutchbikeshop.ie

WHAT’S NOT

Polka dots and leopard skinYou can have too much of a good thing. We are verging on a migraine attack here

Mustard-coloured winter wearAwful in clothing, but surprisingly good in home decoration

School-waiting list madnessHeart-stopping moments for parents, weeks of headaches for principals

The Twitter-Facebook-email productivity vortexEnough. Go and do some work

Long-term weather predictionsSo how was that "hottest summer since 1976" for you?

The ludicrous threat to ban raw milkFind out more at The Raw Issue, a debate on Tuesday (September 6th) in the Sugar Club on Dublin's Leeson St at 7pm. Taste what you stand to lose after the debate

Hooker heelsNot fun, not pretty and so damaging to your feet you'll need a zimmer frame in your 50s