To be fair, its a 10 year old’s paradise. We were lucky in that we got a bright, albeit quite cold December afternoon for the party. But the boys had an absolute blast. Finbar, head honcho at West Cork Secret, recommended the boys wear very old clothes or a wetsuit  if they had one and to bring a change of clothes and footwear and a towel so they could avail of the hot showers after all the play.

The day started off with the boys being split into 2 teams and tackling puzzles and and go kart races in one of the fields.

Then came the race to see which team could transfer enough water along the pipes to fill the container at the finish line. This initially was quite a test for the boys but it ended up a very close finish as they began to cooperate very well.

By this stage they were fairly wet but none seemed to mind. Next the army obstacle course. Under the netting, balancing on the ropes over the water, through the tyres, over and under the wooden logs in the water. They ran around and around. The finale was the monster water slide. They loved it and I lost track of how many times they went down it. By this stage, soaked to the skin and covered in suds but having a ball.

As it was getting dark, they decided they’d had enough and headed to the warm showers and changed into dry clothes. Finbar served homemade pizza cooked to order in the wood burning oven. Needless to say, demand was very high after all the activity. The pizza was delicious.

Oisín had a brilliant unforgettable party.

Many thanks to all at West Cork Secret. Would highly recommend it. There is no doubt that we’ll be back!

One of the highlights of my year is definitely running the Amsterdam marathon in October. It had been 7 years since I had run that distance and I was apprehensive about doing it all again. For one reason or another there had not been many half marathons in Ireland that I had been able to attend this year but I started the marathon training. So myself and Conor were looking for a venue mid to late October that was running both a marathon and a half marathon.

My brother and some of his mates had already enrolled so we decided to head to Amsterdam too. To be fair, its handy to get to from both Dublin and Cork and we had no problems in booking reasonably priced accommodation near the Centraal Station. The marathon was due to start at 9.30 am with the half marathon starting 4 hours later. It was a gorgeous sunny, cool Autumnal morning.

The race started in the Olympic Stadium which was a short train away. The Olympic stadium was an awesome venue.

The course was about as flat as you can get which suited me down to the ground. There was a terrific atmosphere and plenty of supporters cheering on the runners along the route. A lovely touch was that every runner’s number had their name printed above it. We ran along the Amstel river, past windmills, along the canals and through parks. There were plenty of well spaced water/energy drink and banana stations. My only minor gripe with these was that the water was served in plastic cups rather than bottles.

I liked the occasional band or DJ playing music along the way. I would be lying if I said the theme to chariots of fire wasn’t running through my head as I approached the finish line in Olympic Stadium

I really enjoyed the whole day. Conor declared his post race frankfurter with sauerkraut to be probably the best he’d ever tasted.  Am definitely tempted to run it again next year.

photo credit: gavinsblog

I’ve decided to make a list of “Things to Do and See in and around Bandon” for his family, keeping in mind that the children range in age from 6 years old to 9 months.

This is what I’ve come up with so far.

• Clonakilty Model Village and train
• Inchydoney beach
• Playground in Clonakilty
• Playground in Bandon
• Garretstown beach
• Charles Fort in Kinsale
• Whale in Kilbrittain
• Playground in Timoleague
• Nice flat walk from Courtmacsherry to Timoleague along the inlet, suitable for bike rides
• If weather is terrible and you feel like a day trip, I would recommend the Aquadome in Tralee and stop on the way in Killarney National Park. Great playground there. Aquadome good fun. Driving there takes about an hour and half.
• Cinema in Clonakilty
• McCarthys Maze Trail in Kilbrittain
• Fota Wildlife Park
• Bandon Skate and Play

So what have I missed? I know there’s plenty more but nothing else is springing to mind at the moment so any suggestions would be most welcome!

You can register in advance by emailing ct10k@yahoo.com or on the day between 5pm and 7.30pm at Courtmacsherry Community Centre. The entry fee is  €10 which covers water and refreshments on the route and post race tea, coffee and sandwiches.

Prize categories: Men & Women Over 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60,, Junior (U16 boys and Girls) Wheelchair Athlete.

€100 bonus to winners if course record is broken: Men: 33.45 Women: 37.42

If the weather is anything like last year’s for this event, it’ll be a lovely way to spend a summer’s evening.

Some runners were assigned to be “prisoners” and they started the run a minute before the runners who were assigned to be “guards” took off in pursuit. Each guard was supposed to try and catch the same bib numbered prisoner. Alas I was the guard who was supposed to catch my prisoner brother who had recently completed the Paris marathon. No chance. The sibling rivalry kicked in and he took off!

It was great fun. The morning was gorgeous, sun out, bluebells growing in the forest. Some of the trail was along the lake so plenty of lovely vistas to keep us distracted from the running. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. For €25 registration fee, everyone received either an orange prisoner or a navy guard t-shirt, a handcuff shaped finisher’s medal and water en-route and at the finish line.

I would definitely recommend this trail run and intend to take part again next year. Good craic and a lovely way to start the day!

Tomorrow is the last day to request tickets to the London 2012 Olympics. Olympic Games tickets are available for a huge range of venues, sports and prices. The only dilemma will be which ones you want to see.

Submit your application by 11.59pm on 26 April 2011. You will  need a Visa Card to apply for your tickets. Fingers crossed. We’re hoping to bring a few of our kids to some of the events. When is the next time we’ll get such a chance?

photo credit: subewl

The day includes:

• Demos of Traditional Skills such as baking and sausage making
• Horticultural Talk on Fruit Trees by John Hosford
• Kid’s Colouring Competition – themed “In the Garden with Granny and Granddad”
• Real Lemonade Making – A hands on session especially for children (of all ages!)

As part of this year’s theme  – we have 20 apple trees to donate to schools in West Cork and Cork city.  We would love to see the next generation growing and nurturing trees for their own fruit in the school yard. Teachers and those interested in receiving a tree for their school should email slowfoodwestcork@gmail.com or call 086 067 6249 for further details.

Hosfords is located on the main Bandon to Clonakilty road. This sounds like it’s definitely worth popping into if you’re in the area next Sunday.

“Engineers’ Week is a week long programme of nationwide events with the aim of celebrating the world of engineering in Ireland. The aim of the week is to create a positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession to people of various ages with little or no engineering background.”

There are many events being run throughout the country aimed at a range of ages. From primary school kids to third level students, families and the general public, there should be something to interest and suit all.

My older children are particularly interested in the “CEIA Lego Robot Competition Finals” which are being held in the Maryborough House Hotel in Douglas, Cork on the 17 Feb 2011 from 5:30 to 8pm. In Cork, there appear to be many events taking place in Blackrock Castle Observatory and the Lifetime lab.

The Engineers Week website has the full schedule of events and a search filter to tailor your choice according to county, date or  audience age. Worth checking out I reckon.

Alas since then, there has been a dearth of  running events in my calendar. I need to have a race to look forward to to keep my running motivation up, so I was delighted to hear about a few upcoming half marathons.

First is the Wild West Run which takes place on the 19th of February.  Starting at 2pm, in Kenmare and running a trail half marathon to Kilarney, along the beautiful Old Kerry way, the entry fee is €40.

The next is the inaugural Bandon Half Marathon. Bandon Athletics Club and Bandon Rugby Club are working together to organise a 10k and half marathon on the 14th May. I’m really delighted to hear about this one. Its great value for money at an entry fee of only €20. Well done to the organisers and best of luck. I will definitely, barring catastrophy, be taking part in the Bandon run.

Finally, in addition to the usual Cork Marathon taking place on June 6th, the organisers have announced a half marathon race. This is a most welcome extra race for those not inclined to tackle a full marathon nor organise a relay team. It should be a great day. The online entry fee for this race ranges from €42 prior to 31/03/2011 to €62 in May 2011.

So that’s me sorted for the next while. Now to put in the miles before these races…

Lately real life has gotten in the way of blogging. I hope everyone had a lovely festive season. Our children are still off school but we’ve returned to Bandon after visiting Kilkenny and Cavan, both of which were without running water at times due to the icy weather and its effects. Definitely glad to return to hot running water!

In the post recently I received the following notifications which I thought may be of interest.

The first is the CTYI taster day  for 8 to 12 year olds to be held in DCU and UCC on the 15th of January 2011.

This is a one day event to give children a “taste” of what it is like to attend a course at one of our centres. It is to give potential students an idea of what happens on our Saturday and summer program and helps give these students an idea whether they would enjoy coming. It also gives students who already come a chance to try out new subjects.
DCU: 10.00 – 12.15pm or 1.00 to 3.15pm
UCC: 1.00 – 3.15pm
Cost is €10 per child for morning or afternoon or €20 for both DCU sessions.

Two subjects will be studied on the day and there is a good range to choose from including:

• forensics and vet science
• film studies and creative writing
• computer animation  and science in space
• architecture and astronomy

I would definitely recommend these CTYI days. Our eldest son thoroughly enjoys attending and learning about a wide variety of subjects. For further information, please contact Eleanor Cooke at eleanor.cooke@dcu.ie or 01 7008977.

The second is a free trial day at the Gaiety School of Acting.

CHILDRENS TRY FOR FREE

Have you a Saoirse Ronan or a Jaden Smith in your house? A child pestering you to let them go to drama. Here’s you chance to bring them along and see what’s what. This term we’re running our TRY FOR FREE classes in Temple Bar, Bray, Wexford and Castleblayney.

Classes will run on Saturday 8th Jan.

Call us on (01) 6799277 for the scheduled times and to guarantee your place. Alternatively just call down on the day.

Gaiety School of Acting, Temple Bar – 4 years old – 18 years old

Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray – 7 years old – 18 years old

Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford – 6 years old – 13 years old

Iontas Arts Centre, Castleblayney – 6 years old – 13 years old

Again, I would recommend these days too as one of our children did a Saturday course in Cork with the Gaiety School of Acting a year or so ago and enjoyed it.