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.

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…

Running on both Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st of October from 10am to 5pm.

photo credit: shawncampbell

Hallowe’en events are as follows:

• Pumpkin Olympics

Come and test your strength, guile and skill (or just have a laugh!)
Pumpkin Golf, Pumpkin Skittles, Pumpkin Shy, Pumpkin Races, Guess the name of the Pumpkin

• Pumpkin Carving Competition

Bring your carved pumpkin and enter it in the competition to be judged on Sunday.

• Witches String Trail

Suitable for all ages from toddlers up. Follow the trail of string and see what surprises unfold.

• Orienteering for Ghouls

Dressed in your scariest Halloween costume, follow the orienteering trail, through the check points, and hope you make it back in one piece.

• Show us your Brains!

Solve the themed puzzles and riddles, such as word scramble and word search.

• Family Adventure Trail

Departing from the courtyard at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, through the ancient woodland, you and your family must negotiate the obstacles, including Spider’s Web, Rope Walk, Slack Line plus much more.  Adjustable difficulty, so suitable for all ages.

All activities are included in the €5 entrance fee, which is a donation to INFF,  a registered charity. Family tickets are available for €15 for 1 day or €20 which includes admission for both days.

We had good fun at the Street Performance World Championship last year and are hoping to head into Cork en famille to enjoy it again this year.

Breakdancers, clowns, jugglers, comedians, dancers, magicans, contortionists, games, face painting. a playground and much much more. There is also an extensive range and variety of food stalls so you won’t go hungry. Our older kids were particularly enthralled by one of the magicans last year, a captivating and entertaining show.

Looks like the weather’s going to be sunny, so really looking forward to this family fun day out tomorrow. If you’re not near Cork, you can also catch it in Dublin’s Merrion Square next week. Well worth a visit, would recommend.

]]> https://manicmammy.com/2010/06/12/fun-in-the-sun-in-cork/feed/ 0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ https://manicmammy.com/2010/03/25/shocked-and-stunned/ https://manicmammy.com/2010/03/25/shocked-and-stunned/#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:10:56 +0000 Manic Mammy https://manicmammy.com/?p=2063 Yesterday, I dropped my battered, old Zafira into the garage to have the brake pads and coolant system checked as had been getting the ominous scrapping sound on braking and a flashing warning coolant light on the dashboard.

photo credit: cosmic_spanner

When I collected the car a few hours later to pony up the dosh for the replacement brake pads, I noticed on the car’s checklist a “no spare wheel” note. Eek.

When did that go missing? Presumbly it was present on my previous car service a few months ago as that box was ticked then.  Where did it go? Its attached to the car’s underside rather than stashed in the boot.

The garage guy told me there’d been a spate of robberies of spare wheels from carparks around Cork in recent times. First I’ve heard of it. Has this happened to anyone else?

I was quite stunned. Bizarre. Have ordered new spare wheel which looks like it’s going to cost the best part of €200. Bloody expensive. Time for my annoyed face or what Fionn calls his “angry (eye) lashes” .

photo credit: Manu – mars

Myself and Oscar headed into Cork this morning on the advice of his mate Cian. Both the boys are hugely into skateboarding at the moment and its fabulous to see such enthusiasm.

The purpose of this visit to Tubes on Cook Street was to purchase new trucks for Oscar’s skateboard. Since Christmas his skateboarding has improved in leaps and bounds so he is doing more moves, jumps etc so he wanted more manoeuvrability with his board. He has been saving, so all his cash was gathered and in I drove.

Tubes is easy to find and packed full of snowboarding, surfing and skateboard equipment and attire. Oscar was in heaven. The young sales assistant was brilliant. He gave us great advice after listening to Oscar’s predictament. The service was friendly and top notch. Oscar appreciated the fact that the sales guy was a skateboarder himself and knew exactly what Oscar was talking about. The trucks were purchased.

Oscar has already started saving for his next visit and I also now know where to go when I wish to purchase snowboarding gear. We’ll definitely be returning soon.

Subscribe to their blog for latest info.

photo credit: lostash

Starting on the 28th of January in Blackrock Castle, the wine club shall meet on the last Thursday of every month (excluding July and December) from 7.30pm till 9.30pm.

The  inaugural meeting will be hosted by Champagne’s own Mlle Valérie Ravillon in a champagne masterclass. Six champagnes shall be tasted and she’ll talk about:

• the history of the world’s most famous wine
• how it is made, and the different styles
• matching champagne with food

Upcoming meetings to include guest speakers introducing and discussing their own wines.

Wine Club subscription is €200 for the year and this  covers all wines tasted (usually between six and ten per session),  glasses,  some bread, olives and appetizers at each meeting, printed notes &c. as appropriate.

Occasional membership is also available at €25 per session subject to availability, which means you can turn up on the night and pay at the door if you wish – but it’s first come, first served.

Sounds excellent, congrats and best of luck to all at Bubble Brothers. Further information is available on the Bubble Brothers website.

Over the Christmas break, I finally managed a sneaky visit to Karwig wines in Carrigaline. Its not the easiest place to find, as I’m not that familiar with Carrigaline, but I diligently followed the directions on their website and arrived without too much hassle.

Joe Karwig, originally from Bremen in Germany, arrived in Cork over thirty years ago. He’s a man after my own heart as he reserves a special place for Riesling, which he regards as the “best white grape in the world”. His shop, understandably has a extensive range of wonderful wines from Germany. But the choice of wine is by no means limited to one country.  France, Spain, Italy, Portugal are all very well represented as well as Lebanon. Plenty of New World wines from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa, Chile and America.

There is a tasting room and many older, rarer wines are on display. Maurice O’Mahony, Karwigs marketing manager gave me the guided tour and I tasted a couple of pinot grigios, some shiraz, riesling and rioja. It was great to have an opportunity to sample, compare and contrast the wines prior to purchase.

Aside from the shop, Karwigs has recently launched a new website which includes an online store and blog. New wines are being added to this continually so its worth having a look on a regular basis  and subscribing to the blog to get the excellent blogposts. I found the website easy to use and handy for browsing the range of wines.

I left Karwigs very happy with my new wine purchases. Looking forward to trying them in the next while and to revisiting the store in the not too distant future. If you’re in the vicinity, pop in, else have a gander online.

]]> https://manicmammy.com/2010/01/12/life-is-too-short-to-drink-boring-wine/feed/ 2 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ https://manicmammy.com/2009/09/19/first-aid-course-for-parents/ https://manicmammy.com/2009/09/19/first-aid-course-for-parents/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:29:39 +0000 Manic Mammy https://manicmammy.com/?p=695 Recently Sibéal, our carnivore aged 5, was chomping on some steak as is her wont, when she started going very red in the face and making a godawful noise. She was choking and we needed to do something asap. Its been 10 years since I did a first aid course,  shortly after Oscar was born, so most of what I’ve learnt is a bit hazy. Thankfully on this occasion, the food had only partially blocked her airway and we were able to remove it quickly.

The whole episode reminded me acutely that I need to refresh my first aid skills very soon. I need to know whats the correct and fastest course of action without having to think about it.

It was therefore a very welcomed coincidence when Claire and Martina from Tots2Teens parenting website contacted me about their 1 day intensive  Pediatric First Aid Courses.

I think its a brilliant idea.

An extensive range of first aid scenarios and treatment is covered in one day:

• Approach to an accident
• Disorders of breathing and CPR
• Wounds, bleeding and trauma
• Fractures and broken bones
• Burns and scalds
• Medical Emergencies

The next few courses are running in the following locations on these dates:

3rd October 2009 & 7th November 2009   – Bewleys Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
17th October 2009 & 14th November 2009 – Kingsley Hotel, Victoria Cross, Cork

It costs €140 per person or €250 per couple. As a parent, I believe this is great value for something I hope I’ll never have to use but chances are, with kids, I will. Being prepared, knowing how to assess the scenario and apply the right procedure is crucial for my peace of mind. Looking forward to attending the Cork course.