A miscellany of stories from The Irish Times
itsa great idea . . .
Join Domini and Peaches Kemp in the restaurant at Brown Thomas in Dublin's Grafton Street for mulled wine and mince pies next Wednesday, November 25th, from 6-8pm. The first 100 people to email Laura Dwyer at Kennedy PR on ldwyer@kennedypr.ie will receive a pair of tickets to this event.
Brown Thomas has a lot going on in store this year, with dedicated Gift Genies on hand to help customers find presents for all ages and pockets. Santa will be in residence and there are rumours of flurries of snow . . .
Crafty shopping
Yes, it's almost that time of year and yes, we'd rather not talk about the torture of shopping in winter. But you can take the pain out of it by heading for some craft fairs and markets and leaving the high streets to the huddled masses.
The Blackrock Craft Fair in Co Dublin takes place this weekend (10am-5pm and 12pm-4pm), at Urban Junction, just off the main street. More than 20 craftworkers will be selling their handmade products, including cards, decorations, jewellery, food, clothes and art. www.blackrockcraftfair.com.
The Marie Keating Foundation will be hosting its Christmas fair and fashion show at Tattersalls House in Ratoath, Co Meath next Tuesday and Wednesday, November 24th and 25th. Entrance on Tuesday evening is €10 (including a glass of wine) and €5 on Wednesday. On sale will be food, clothing, jewellery, gadgets, gardening equipment, linen, skincare accessories, toys and stocking fillers galore.
And if you still haven't ticked everything off your list, there is the Christmas at Clermont artisan fair, which takes place in Rathnew, Co Wicklow from November 27th to 29th, which features local artists, jewellery makers, fashion designers and artisan producers. Among the craftspeople selling their wares will be Livinggifts.ie, with its range of trees, plants and food hampers, Divito Art Glass (above) with its stained-glass work, Shuttle Knit with its hand-woven throws, ladies' wear and knitted accessories, and Duilleoga Designs with its baby gowns. Laurence Mackin
In tandem
A new gastropub in Dublin is hoping to pack them in with an offer tied to the fantastic free-bike scheme. The Exchequer bar on, obviously, Exchequer Street is run by Ian Tucker (formerly of Brannigans) and Peter Rock (formerly of Ely). Both men cycle to work each day on the free bikes, and there is a rank just outside the Exchequer bar's door, so park up and bring in your bike card to get a complimentary glass of wine or pint with any main course before the end of the month.
