Thumbs Down/Tisn't the season: Do you wish it could be Christmas every day? Well, Clerys on Dublin's O'Connell Street came closer to making your appalling dream a reality earlier this month when it opened a Christmas section, much to the annoyance of PriceWatch and at least one TD.
Fianna Fáil's John Curran said the sound of sleigh bells in September marked a new low for greed. "While we have become used to seeing signs of Christmas in our shops during October the sound of jingle bells in September marks a new low in the efforts to cash in on the festive season," he said. Celebrating Christmas before Hallowe'en was completely unnecessary, he added.
Hallowe'en? If PriceWatch had its way there would be a law against even mentioning Christmas until December 8th. A spokeswoman for Clerys insisted its festive section had been opened at the same time for the last few years. As if that made it okay. Where will it all end? Christmas carols in July? Easter bunnies nesting in the welcoming boughs of year-round Christmas trees while rotund Santas sweat through sweltering summers and ring bells to mark St Valentine's Day? Bah, humbug.
Camping shocker
The Electric Picnic at Stradbally Hall in Co Laois was by all accounts a great success and deservedly retained the Irish summer festival honours for another year. While the atmosphere and the lineup are to be commended, the practice of charging 150 to supply camper van owners with electricity for the weekend comes as something of a shock.
Thumbs Up
Products for Poles
In a move which is sure to be replicated by Irish supermarkets, big chain stores in Britain have started major campaigns aimed at catering for Polish tastes. Tesco is rolling out a range of specially-imported food and drinks including pickled vegetables, sauerkraut soup and meatballs while Sainsbury's is trialling 32 new Polish products including stuffed cabbage, cassis sauce and marinated plums. Demand is driven by the number of Eastern European people who have come to the UK since the expansion of the EU.
