STACK 'EM UP : If you suffer from a gnawing resentment that you're working your hide off while other members of society waste their talents on unproductive fripperies, then the "latest craze" of speed stacking will do nothing to ease your mind.
Taking the humble plastic cup - or, rather, as many humble plastic cups as the player can handle - the speed stacker uses both hands to stack and move the cups. Bob Fox is the man who, er, invented it. A former PE teacher, he is adamant that it is a sport (the World Cup Stacking Championships take place in Colorado next month). Advocates say it improves hand-eye coordination, but let's face it: this is about idle fun, not skills training - unless you want to be a kitchen porter, that is. PlayStation this is not. www.speedstacks.com is a comprehensive website that gives advice on stacking faster and on how to start a school speed-stacking club.
THE FIRE WITHIN
Avert an energy crisis by heating your home more efficiently. Stoves are up to 80 per cent more efficient than open fires. Ovne Stoves - ovne is Danish for stove - sells reconditioned antique stoves from the 1850s up to the 1950s. Doing business on the internet allowed the company to move from bustling Temple Bar to Leap, in west Co Cork, but it will deliver anywhere. Mostly from Scandinavia, the stoves look very elegant. Most have a cooking ring, for boiling your kettle, cooking your stew or keeping your coffee warm. Your house will have fire in its belly. See the full range of stoves at www.ovnestoves.com, info@ovnestoves.com, 028-34917.
LUAS PIT STOP
Morton's has opened a second outlet within spitting distance of its Ranelagh emporium to cater to Luas commuters at the Beechwood stop. Self-service coffee, tea and hot chocolate are on tap, as is a selection of its ready-made food to go. Set yourself a challenge: see if you can get off, grab a tin of cat food and get back on before it toots away. It's open from 7am to 9pm on weekdays, 8am-8pm at weekends. Two other Luas kiosks are planned: at Ranelagh and Smithfield.
ACHILL EXPERIENCE
If you want to escape the hectic urban St Patrick's Day experience, Achill is the place to go to. Fourteen guided walks that are part of the island walks festival will blow any winter cobwebs away. For those who are fit and don't suffer from vertigo, the Croaghaun Challenge takes in the highest sea cliffs in Europe. This walk also includes a colourful local-history talk that covers a plane crash, a megalithic tomb and The Beatles. Achill has a quirky tradition of piping bands that goes back 50 years, when, the story goes, someone from Lancashire introduced the residents to the sounds of bagpipes and drums, and it caught on. They all come out to play on St Patrick's Day: bands from six villages congregate in their village colours, and the walkers, drummers and pipers make their way around the island, stopping for fuel in the pubs dotted about the island. www.achilltourism.com, 098-47353.
BOXING CLEVER
Sarah Merrigan, a chef who has lived in the heart of the Barcelona market district, and her partner, Paul Fingleton, are running Home Organics, an organic box delivery system. But before the word "expensive" comes to mind, you may be interested to hear that Merrigan is dismayed at the high price of organic food and will only take what is in season and on offer at a good price. Denis Healy, the high king of organic farming in Ireland, supplies all the produce. Merrigan also follows up all deliveries with a recipe e-mail, giving guidance on how to deal with your broad beans and lamb's lettuce. Reggae aficionados might recognise Fingleton as the man behind the legendary Firehouse Skank gigs, which live on in the Rathfarnham House. Bags from €15 to €35; 01-4964814, 087-6798751, organicdeliveries@ntlworld.ie. You can also order organic fruit and vegetable boxes from Orla Hyland, 087-2109842, and Absolutely Organic, 01-4600467.
GET FLEECED
"Slightly cosy silk" is how Xandria Williams describes the fleece from her herd of 100 alpacas. The animals, which are from the same family as the llama, are more than slightly cute. The Londoner inherited her Co Kildare land a few years ago, since when she has built a thriving livestock industry. Alpacas have been allowed to be exported from South America only since 1984, and it will take another decade or two of breeding before the wool can really be exploited as a viable industry in Ireland. Until then, only die-hard alpaca fans, spinners and craftspeople will be able to get their hands on the wool. One such is Marilyn Lesh, a weaver, who is pictured here with the alpacas. Williams welcomes visitors, but call first to arrange a visit. www.alpacas-of-ireland.com, 046-9731191
MUD SLINGING
Pubs will be alive with the sounds of The Fields of Athenry this afternoon, as we get giddy about the prospect of a fourth victory in the Six Nations. If rugby fever has got the better of you, but you don't happen to be sporting a particularly wide neck, Tag Rugby might be the game for you. Men and women play together in the seven-a-side summer game. It is a non-contact sport, so there is less of the shoving and rough and tumble, but plenty more summer evening barbecue post-match analysis. The Irish Tag Rugby Association is taking registrations for the league now. www.tagrugby.ie, 01-6607563.