Opinion
Scams: be sceptical and exercise caution
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR In today’s fast-paced digital world, we are not immune to the rising threat of fraudulent scams targeting all of us through text messages, emails, and phone calls. These clever schemes have become a significant concern for people of all ages and backgrounds, leading to significant financial losses, emotional distress, and …
A new solution for a good night’s sleep
BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you finding it difficult to get to sleep or to stay asleep? Are you constantly waking up throughout the night? Are you looking for a solution to help with deeper more satisfying sleep? Irish Botanica Seésta is a new supplement that could help. It’s an Irish brand and is formulated by …
Confessions of a late convert to GAA
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Blue, I used to think, was a peaceful colour, until my life took an unexpected swerve. The change of direction started innocently enough. Himself went to fetch the newspaper and was gone quite a while, returning in triumph with a couple of tickets to Croke Park for Saturday’s football …
AI for the better is part of human endeavour
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS At the centre of the Hollywood writers’ strike is the fear of the potential role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in cinema and streaming – in short, ask AI chatbot ChatGPT to write the next box-office smash, or use AI to create crowd shots and so ‘extras’ no longer …
My All Ireland escapades – with Jimmy
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran As soon as the final whistle blew and Kilkenny had defeated Clare in the All Ireland Hurling semi-final, I lifted the phone. “How are you, Jimmy?” “Good now. How are you, Gerry.” “Not a bother and you know, of course, Jimmy, what this is about?” “Tickets, I assume.” “Spot on. And …
School days: Mixed memories
BY JOHN FITZGERALD Part 1 Schooling in the 1930s and 40s was a different proposition from today’s sophisticated education system. Most children walked to school every morning, the poorer ones in their bare feet. It could be a long enough walk for the country kids, though they might be lucky and catch a lift with …
Weighing up ‘reward’ at end of working life
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR According to the oxford english dictionary a promise “is to tell somebody that you will definitely do or not do something, or that something will definitely happen”. At one time, a defined benefit pension was such a promise; after 30 or 40 years of working industriously for the company you …
Hot flushes and night sweats in the summer time
BY CLAIR WHITTY If you are having hot flushes in the summertime, you could be left feeling exhausted, irritable, or drained. They can affect your sleep and cause untold stress as you twist and turn in the night trying to cool down. A.Vogel Sage tablets is the first supplement I think of for hot flushes …
Nature and avoiding an age of extinction
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON The June full moon is known as the strawberry moon because it coincides with the strawberry season. This year the midsummer moon was a startling shade of strawberry, nothing to do with fruit solidarity though. The colouration was due to smoke from the unprecedented wild fires in Canada which …
Maureen’s ashes: Elegy in a country churchyard
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS The ominous cloud dissipates and the sun shines through, casting its summer light on the ancient, fractured gravestones in the rustic burial ground, long since not open to new residents, its church idle these decades. We are gathered to scatter her ashes. Maureen Hopkins (nee Wright). A Glaswegian …
