Compiled by Nicoline Greer
TEMPLE OF FUN
The long summer months are crying out to be filled with more interesting excursions than the obligatory but worthy "good, long walks". So thank goodness for Diversions, the three-month festival of art, music and film taking place in Dublin as part of Temple Bar Outdoors. The cinema programme starts today, and on Sundays through July and August, Meeting House Square will be filled with music, song, storytelling and other high jinks. Highlights include the Tumble Circus (left) from Northern Ireland, who on Sunday July 15th bring their aerial antics to the city. The China Conservatory of Music takes over the space on July 18th, while Switzerland's Urban Drum and Bass bring percussion to new heights, banging bins, cans and even ladders on July 25th. Most events start at 2.30 p.m. and just like the best things in life, everything on the Diversions programme is free. Phone 01-6772255 for more details. www.templebar.ie. Róisín Ingle
A STITCH IN TIME
The Stitch Dublin embroidery exhibition in Taney, Dundrum next weekend will showcase five years of work by 20 students of Birgitta Horan's Creative Studies embroidery course. Students will be displaying lamps, wall-hangings, jewellery, masks and 3-D sculptures. Some of the pieces may be for sale - depending on the student - and many take commissions. Birgitta has been teaching textiles and embroidery for six years and has had to bring two teachers - Gwen Hedley and Janet Edmonds - from the UK to cope with demand for what she says is an "addiction". Expect original ways with everyday objects, such as glass found washed up on a beach made into a lampshade. Birgitta is taking enrolments for her next course, starting in September, on 086-8244851. Stitch Dublin exhibition, Saturday, June 19th, noon-7 p.m., Taney Parish Centre, Taney Road, Dundrum, Dublin.
WRITE ON
Wordsmiths of the world will descend on Dublin this Thursday for the sixth Dublin Writers Festival. With 60 writers from more than 20 countries attending, it is set to be the most international yet. An African literature event will look at race, ethnic identity and the often-troubled relationship between Africa and Europe through the work of four very different writers of fiction and non-fiction: Portuguese writer and journalist Pedro Rosa Mendes; South African-born novelist and short story writer Zoe Wicomb; Guyanese/Welsh writer Charlotte Williams; and Sonja Porle, who has interviewed some of the greatest African musicians. Other highlights are the East Asian event, the ever-popular Rattlebag Poetry Slam and the children's events. The festival's closing event will feature the author of the bestselling Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier, and music from Camille O'Sullivan. Dublin Writers Festival 2004, Thursday-Sunday, June 17th-20th.
Tickets from Central Ticket Bureau (01-8721122, www.centralticketbureau.com). Further information: www.dublinwritersfestival.com.
ELLE DECORATION
The house paint set to overtake magnolia in popularity is Colourtrend's Creative White, a pale powdery grey. Other good neutrals are Jasmine White and Orchid White. That's according to Lorraine O'Conaill, one of the few professional female painters and decorators in the country. O'Conaill converted a passion into a business last year, and has since built up a substantial client-base in the Dublin area.
She has just finished painting a house in Sandymount in Creative White, which looks ultra-chic with white paintwork. Even though she has painted her own house white from top to bottom "because it's easier to touch up," O'Conaill likes to steer clients away from magnolia and says that male clients tend to be more adventurous when it comes to colour.
A personable Glaswegian, married to an Irishman, she trained with a professional contractor in Dublin and set up her own company, Décorum, last year. She can paint furniture and tiles as well as walls and woodwork, and lives for the moment when clients go "wow!". Her ambition is to develop an all-female company of other professionals like electricians and carpenters. Décorum Painting & Decorating Services (086-8356192) or (01-2891409). Deirdre McQuillan
THINGS WE LEARNED READING: THE ULTIMATE DAD'S SURVIVAL GUIDE
The baffling world of fatherhood gets scant attention compared to motherhood. Father's Day is tomorrow week, and The Ultimate Dad's Survival Guide has words of wisdom on subjects from teething to first aid, as well as more wry observations on fatherhood. Here are five things desperate dads could take note of:
1. Children seldom misquote you. In fact they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
2. Never underestimate the strength of belief in Santa Claus.
3. Cinemas are determined to create more child extras for the movie, The Blob, with sugar-rich cola served in disposable fire-buckets.
4. Walk at least four paces behind your teenage daughter at all times.
5. Mothers will be the first to point out that Father's Day is an American invention designed more to generate income for card manufacturers than to restore equality when it comes to breakfast in bed.
The Ultimate Dad's Survival Guide, EUR9.95. www.dadssurvival.com
ROW YOUR BOAT
Paddling this year could involve more than just dipping your tootsies in the water. Jon and Alayne Heinz run H2O Sea Kayaking, a sea kayaking and white water rafting company. Jon Heinz has been kayaking since he was 13, so you are in safe hands with him. Learning how to kayak could prepare you for the Zambezi Adventure in Africa next September, or for trips to the Alps which the company is running over the summer. H20 also runs kayaking outings such as "paddle and pint" evenings, the "moonlight adventure", and a "sandy cove adventure" that explores the nooks and crannies of the Cork coastline.
For those who need more of an adrenalin rush, there are also surf kayaking courses, and white water canoeing on rivers. H2O Sea Kayaking, Kilkerran, Ballinspittle, Co Cork, 021-4778884, www.h2oseakayaking.net, www.h2oextreme.net, whitewater@dol.ie.
Deep Blue Sea Kayaking, (01-2760263, 086-8205627, www.deepblueseakayaking.com) based in Salthill, near Seapoint in Dublin, also runs courses and excursions throughout the summer.
ROCHA STYLES
John Rocha rarely holds sample sales, which is why the one he is putting on next Friday and Saturday at The Morrison Hotel, Dublin, is sure to be worth a look. At this type of sale - which amounts to a clear-out of a designer's storerooms - you can find past-season clothes for a fraction of their original cost. Rocha, of course, is about a certain style, not a season's look, so it hardly matters that the clothes may be a year or two old. Previous Rocha sales drew quite a crowd, so try to visit on the Friday rather than Saturday, by which stage much of the best stuff may be gone. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The Morrison Hotel Garden Room, Ormond Quay, Dublin 1. Eoin Lyons
GET AROUND GET AROUND
The misconception that hostels are only for the dreadlocked community is being disproved by Independent Holiday Hostels of Ireland. Their 2004 guide has details of more than 100 hostels around Ireland. Staying in a hostel can definitely cut down on costs. These ones are open to people of all ages. You don't need a membership card, and there are no curfews. They have shared dining, kitchen and common rooms and all have some shared bedrooms. This means that you may find yourself making friends with people from halfway across the globe as you cook your evening meal. There are also private rooms for couples or families, and they are all Tourist Board approved. Pick up the guide in any tourist centre or from their head office: 57 Lr Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 (01-8364700, info@hostels-ireland.com, www.hostels-ireland.com).