FLAMING HECK Blaze a trail to Cork for Inferno, a fire show that will be a week in the making, beginning on Monday.
You can watch developments in the Munster Agricultural Society showgrounds as Dutch fire performance group Compagnie Doedel joins forces with Cork Community Circus to build a massive metal scaffolding structure out of scrap and fabricated metal. Local artists have been creating a bicycle-powered sound system, and metal sculptures, such as gargoyle heads, to attach to the structure. When the structure is finished, it will be laden down with fuel. There will then be three 40-minute shows next Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings when the Dutch performers will be inside the burning structure fuelling the fire and manipulating the flames. Did no-one ever tell these people you should never play with fire? Tickets free from Cork Info Centre. Curtain up, quite literally, at 8pm. See www.inferno2005.com for further ticket outlets. Nicoline Greer
ON YOUR EAR Inventor Michael Killian had been "hacking away at things" in his studio for years when, three years ago, he devised a skateboard device that moved sideways. "You feel a bit cursed when things start to work," he says, "because then you're hooked on it." And hooked he was. Since then, the skateboard has morphed into two different sideways bikes. The bikes have independent front and rear steering and can manoeuvre in many more ways than a conventional bicycle. It is truly bizarre to look at, but Killian thinks that after 200 years of the conventional bike, it's time for a change. He has just returned from a grand sideways tour of Manchester, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Paris, where he attracted the attention of pedestrians and TV crews alike. For more, see www.sidewaysbike.com. Nicoline Greer
MAN THE DECKS Dublin's Voodoo Lounge has conjured up an idea for a new DJ club called Transmission. Famous musicians are being invited to become DJs for a night, giving you a chance to hear them play their favourite songs. Marc Almond (pictured) of Soft Cell fame is on tonight, and Ian McCullough from Echo and the Bunnymen will be spinning the discs on Thursday. More acts will be announced in November and December. Doors open at 11pm each night, and prices vary according to the show. www.toxicpromotions.net. Book at www.tickets.ie. Eimear McKeith
BLACK AND WHITE AND READ ALL OVER The appetite of a young book-a-holic can be difficult to sate. Younger readers are probably already immersing themselves in the Children's Book Festival which has just kicked off and runs until the end of the month. Local libraries all over the country will be hosting readings and workshops with authors such as Aubrey Flegg, Oisin McGann and GP Taylor, whose supernatural tale, Shadowmancer, has just been released as a Manga comic and will soon be a Hollywood film. Schools, bookshops and arts centres are also holding free events and you can find a festival events guide at www.childrensbooksireland.com, or at local libraries nationwide. Nicoline Greer
CULTIVATE AN INTEREST Getting hot under the collar about spiralling fuel prices? Then you might be interested to hear what Michael Meacher has to say. The one-time New Labour MP will be in Dublin on Wednesday to give a lecture on Oil, Climate Change and Food, as part of the Convergence Sustainable Living Festival (8-10pm, Cultivate Centre, Temple Bar, Dublin 2; admission €15). Also on Wednesday, there is a free conference: Energy Prices and Ireland's Future, which will present the results of a nine-month study into the ways Ireland might change over the next 25 years (9am-5.30pm, Cultivate Centre). It will address such topical subjects as rising energy prices, whether economic growth will continue, and whether the property bubble is about to burst. The festival runs from Wednesday to Sunday; see the full programme at www.sustainable.ie. Eimear McKeith
WRITE ON Do you see yourself as the next Cecelia Ahern or Dan Browne? The Irish Writers' Centre in Dublin is offering a range of courses for anyone interested in learning the craft of writing. An eight-week course on Demystifying Poetry begins this Tuesday (6.30-8.30pm; €180). Run by American writer Maggie Smith Hurt, it aims to give budding poets a better understanding of the elements of poetry writing. Jean O'Brien, a writer from Dublin, is running a class on Creative Writing for Beginners, starting on Friday from 10.30am-12.30pm. It will focus on poetry and prose, and will combine analyses of writers' work, writing exercises, workshop sessions and practical advice on how to get published. It runs for eight weeks and costs €160. More courses will be announced in the near future. To enrol, phone 01-8721302. Eimear McKeith
MOUNT FUJI AT FARMLEIGH The cowsheds in Farmleigh have never looked so good. The former barns have been transformed by architectural firm GCA into an impressive gallery space and cultural courtyard. The first exhibition, Making Time, curated by Adrian Kelly from Letterkenny's Glebe Gallery, includes work by international artists such as Japanese painter and wood engraver, Katsuchika Hokusai (Mount Fuji with Travellers pictured). If you go along tomorrow, you could combine it with a visit to Farmleigh's bookfair and valuation, at which Éamonn de Búrca will give a free appraisal of any rare old books that people bring along. There will also be antiquarian and second-hand book stalls to browse. Making Time runs until Bank Holiday Monday, October 31st; bookfair and valuation, 12pm tomorrow. Free entry. www.farmleigh.ie (01-8155900). Nicoline Greer
CIAO JAMIE Earlier this year TV chef Jamie Oliver stowed his kitchen essentials in a camper van and trailer kitchen and embarked on a road trip in Italy to research his new book, Jamie's Italy, published this week, and to film the accompanying TV series which begins on Channel 4 on October 19th. Now that the publicity machine is in gear, it's bound to stir up renewed interest in Fifteen, Oliver's restaurant near Old Street Tube station in east London, where the ground floor of the premises is devoted to a very traditional, rustic Trattoria. Half the floor space here is dedicated to "walk-in" custom, and the prices are keen, for London at any rate: antipasti £3 each or chef's selection of six for £15; primi £8-12; secondi £15-18 and dolci £6. The Trattoria is part restaurant-part floorshow - you can watch chefs toiling away at the open grill, and others making pasta in another corner; but the headline star isn't always there, and you may have to settle for a signed cookbook. Never mind, the food is classic Oliver - top-notch ingredients treated with respect. Next up: a third branch of Fifteen, due to open in Cornwall next spring and joining those already open in London and Amsterdam. Fifteen, Westland Place, London, N1 7LP, 0044-870-787-1515, www.fifteenrestaurant.com. Marie-Claire Digby
SHROOM SHROOM Join fungus expert Dr Paul Dowding for the annual mushroom hunt on the grounds of Howth Castle tomorrow. Dr Dowding says that there are very few edible types, and people should pick only those mushrooms recommended by an expert. He formerly taught Trinity botany students about fungi and insects. Has he ever make a mistake? "I only had a tummy upset once - but I think that's because I ate too many of the damn things," he reports. The thing about mushrooms - as compared with other plants - is that you can never tell when and where the edible ones are going to appear. That, he says, is part of the fascination. If the Howth hunters manage to collect any foodie fungi tomorrow, it will be cooked up into a brunch along with Fingal Ferguson's Gubbeen sausages. Tickets are €15-€25. Meet at 10am in grounds of Howth Castle, or contact Elisabeth@bailywines.com and 086-3949270 today. Bring gloves, rain gear, a container for your mushrooms and a sharp knife. Nicoline Greer