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Yearly Archives: 2018

Are you a sweet tooth? You might be interested in this…

While the country isn't running short on cool food festivals taking place in pretty much every county, this year is seeing the first edition of a national festival solely and entirely dedicated to… dessert. 

Named #DessertFSTVL, the event is taking place from July 23rd to 29th, with venues located across the country celebrating all things sweet for one whole week.

For the occasion, Cork’s Casanova Gelato created a 13lb Jägermeister gelato sundae, made with tropical fruit punch and decorated with deep fried plums and mini bottles of the boozy digestif.

Not sure if we'll dare trying it…

From bars, restaurants and cafés to doughnut shops, crêperies and ice cream parlours, hundreds of venues across Ireland will be participating in the festival, showcasing their most delicious sweet specialities and hold events for everyone to enjoy.

So expect pop-up events, tastings, workshops, “Man versus Food” challenges or unique desserts especially created for the occasion.

For more information, check out fstvlr.ie or follow FSTVLR on social media!

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Getting into a successful relationship is something that most people truly long for.

However, not everyone is in a place in their lives right now where a relationship is something that's feasible for them.

Whether it's a high-demand job, a lack of interest, or just the fact that they haven't met the right person yet, not having a romantic relationship can sometimes be seen as a bit of a failure.

There are stereotypes enforced on single women, who are called crazy cat ladies and spinsters, doomed to reside in a state of perpetual singledom forever. 

It can be especially tough when your family consistently reminds you that if you want to get married in your early thirties, you better get cracking on securing yourself a fine suitor with a sense of urgency. 

There can be quite a bit of pressure to find the man or woman of your dreams, and this pressure definitely needs to chill for a second, because really, it's completely unnecessary.

While there are a million amazing reasons to get into a relationship, there are so many perks to being single.

We've picked out a few of our favourites:

10. You can get emotionally invested in TV relationships

Did anyone else cry when Hanna and Caleb split in Pretty Little Liars? Or when Susan and Mike were forced to call it quits in Desperate Housewives?

We can live vicariously through out TV peers without having the actual drama of a dysfunctional relationship. Win-win. 

Image result for the hills break up

9. There is no one to mess up your Netflix preferences.

Speaking of TV dramas, our Netflix accounts are a perfectly honed medley of all of our favourite TV shows and documentaries, with the ideal suggestions in every second stream.

If we had to spend Netflix and chill nights with someone who doesn't share our exact TV tastes, we'd be very upset. 

8. Your bed is your sanctuary, and yours alone.

Some of us are just emotionally attached to our leabas, and having it all to ourselves is a blessing.

Cuddles are top notch, but if we had to put up with someone kicking, stealing the blanket or even snoring in our beds every night we'd lose our s***.

Image result for kim k bed

7. More on the bed thing…

You can go to bed and wake up any time you want to, without worrying about accidentally waking someone up.

Or worse, being woken up by someone else, which would be completely unacceptable.

6. You invest time in building other meaningful relationships

Your best friends are your soul mates and you like it that way.

Sometimes, a romantic relationship can be all-consuming, and on rare occasions people can grow distant from their friends because of it, but when you're single then every night is girl's night. 

5. And when those friends are also single?

Having a best friend who is also single is pretty epic, it's like having a partner in crime for navigating the dating world.

And the nights out are unbeatable!

Image result for the hills break up

4. You can avoid the drama of a relationship.

Life is full of enough drama without having to deal with jealousy arguments, splitting bills or in-laws.

Breaking up and making up is simply too messy for us to handle right now. 

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3. You get to eat all the food.

You know when the box says four servings, but your heart says one?

Well there is no one around to judge you for this, or worse, insist that you share that family-sized lasagne. 

2. You get to be selfish, and that's okay.

Sometimes you just have to focus on your own feelings.

Couples choose to be permanently respectful and considerate of the other's feelings, but when you're alone, you can make the best decisions to suit you without having to consider or notify anyone else. 

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1. You realise that you can be happy on your own.

One of the most important things to realise in life is your own worth, and being single is one of the best ways to truly become comfortable in yourself.

Learning about who you really are can happen single or attached, but singlehood definitely gives you more time to reflect on yourself. 

Image result for no boyfriend no problem

So, no relationship? No problem. 

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When we're scrolling through Instagram travel pages, it's not often we stop to consider the importance of respecting the surroundings the wanderlusters on our phone screens are experiencing. 

From posing with animals who might not want to adhere to the image aesthetics, to accidentally disrespecting traditions or customs, there are things to think about when adventuring in the most covetable to travel destinations. 

The world is more accessible than even thanks to Instagrammers like Katarina Elle Zarutskie. who shared a series of snaps from her trip to The Exumas, off The Bahamas. A few weeks after her trip, the model shared some scary snaps of herself posing among a group of Nurse Sharks.

Images: Katarina Elle Zarutskie / Instagram

The sharks are generally docile, but Katarina was bitten and dragged under as she floated among them – which was captured in the photographs. 

'I leaned back, and then that shark he came and he bit down on my arm and pulled me under,' the 19-year-old told BuzzFeed.

'They are wild animals and it's an uncontrollable situation.'

Thankfully, Katarina was not seriously injured, and did not lose her hand or fingers in the attack.  

'These animals are considered quite docile but can and do bite on occasion,' David Hocher, who owns Staniel Cay marina close to where the incident occurred, told NBC News

'Normally when they mistake a hand or fingers for a piece of food.'

Katarina has not let her experience stop her from enjoying and respecting the ocean. 

Taking to her social media, she welcomed the fact that her story had gone viral, hailing it as an opportunity to remains travellers to respect Mother Nature while exploring foreign countries. 

'he ocean has always had a special place in my heart ever since I was a little girl on her surfboard,' she wrote. 

'Please respect the ocean and its ecosystem.' 

Feature image: Katarina Elle Zarutskie / Instagram

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry touched down in Dublin yesterday and the royal pair have already made a lasting impression on the people of Ireland.

The newlyweds attended a garden party at the residency of the British Ambassador to Ireland, where they met a host of people including Brian O’Driscoll, Una Mullally, Bressie and Louise McSharry.

 

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on

They also met Vicky Phelan, the mum who made the CervicalCheck controversy public.

Meghan told the Limerick mum that she had been following her story.

She told The Independent: “You don't think the Royals watch anything like this…. I was amazed, I was gobsmacked. I just said 'thank you' – I couldn't believe she knew who I was to be honest.”

Meghan encouraged Vicky to continue the inspiring work she has been doing for women: “She just said you're doing great work. Keep doing it."

Speaking about their trip to Ireland, Prince Harry said it was an honour to visit.

“Standing here with you on this beautiful evening, it is easy to see why Ireland has such a special place in the hearts of my family and indeed, all those who come here,"

 

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"We're so pleased to be here, for our first official international visit together as a married couple, and we hope it will be the first of many,” he added.

Today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will meet President Michael D.Higgins.

They will also visit the Book of Kells, EPIC- the Irish Emigration Museum, Croke Park and will also pay their respects at the Famine Memorial at Custom House Quay.

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One of the most talked about plots of this season of Love Island HAS to be that double kiss between Georgia and Jack. 

From her denial to the overuse of the term 'loyal,' the kiss has divided opinion online. 

However, footage from the show has come to light which highlights that the kiss we say Georgia and Jack sharing may not have been the original smooch. 

 

A post shared by Georgia Steel (@geesteelx) on

Facebook Page The Holy Church of Love Island posted a video in which the kiss can be seen from different angles – but other details suggest that there could have been more than one. 

In the first angle, Wes and Megan are kissing while Georgia and Jack are preparing to leave the table.

In the second angle, Georgia and Jack are kissing while Megan and Wes are still getting up to leave. Neither of the clips match up with each other, so it appears that the end-of-date kiss may have been filmed more than once. 

 

A Love Island spokesperson previously told The Tab that: 'It is absolutely untrue to suggest Love Island is fake.'

'The opinions they have and the relationships formed are completely within the control of the Islanders themselves.'

'As we have said since series one, Love Island is a combination of reality and produced elements. Any produced elements are designed to allow viewers to understand what the Islanders are feeling and to help move narrative threads on.'

So if there was more than one take, it doesn't necessarily mean that nay aspect of the exchange was staged – if Jack and Georgia kissed and the cameras missed it, they may have been asked to do it again. 

In that case, the kiss still happened as we saw it, and the drama surrounding it still would have occurred. 

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Our fave Love Island babe, Caroline Flack has reportedly called off her engagement to Andrew Brady.

The Sun has claimed this is due to Caroline believing that Andrew is "full of lies."

The 38-year-old began dating the Apprentice participant, Andrew, in January of this year.

Clearly they enjoy living life in the fast-lane, as three months later Caroline announced on the gram that the 27-year-old had popped the question. 

Andrew took to Insta stories to reveal the news, which according to a friend of the presenter, wasn't the way she wanted to do it. (Not cool, dude). 

According to The Sun, the source said: "Caroline is so sad about what has happened."

"She’s disappointed that Andrew has decided to make this public at this stage. She had hoped to deal with this privately.

"At this point she feels like he has used her so much, and that he’s full of lies," alleged the source.

 

A post shared by Caroline Flack (@carolineflack) on

In a statement to The Sun, Caroline confirmed the break-up news.

“I’m sad to announce that Andrew and I have decided to part ways. Unfortunately it was not to be.

"I wish him all the best. At least there’s a Villa waiting for me. It’s back to the ol’ grafting.”

We'd LIVE for the moment Caroline rocks up as a Love Island contestant. 

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An iconic household staple back in 2004, every house with a clunky PC and one of those massive leather computer chairs had to have the latest version of The Sims. 

Whether you were a fan of The Sims 1,2,3 or 4, here are some of our fondest moments in the game: 

11. Perfecting your family tree was an art, and when you got further than three or four generations, your heart warmed a little. 

10. Convincing yourself you had mad architectural skills after building a nice gaff.

 

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9. Wanting to throw your PC out the window when your Sim set the kitchen on fire AGAIN.

8. Woo-hooing. Enough said.

7. Cheating like you have never cheated before. How else could you build that mansion your Sim family deserves without motherload. 

6. SHRIEKING at your parents to please please please get you that expansion pack… especially the Pets one.

5. Up-skilling your Sims was a national hobby – and when you got to level 10 on any skill, it felt like waking up on Christmas morning.

4. If your computer crashed (as many PCs did back in the day) you could lose LITERAL YEARS of your Sims life. Not ideal.

3. Strangetown was where s*** got weird. Anyone else remember those guys who were pregnant with the alien babies?

Fanpop

2. Murdering your unwanted Sims was not only acceptable, but encouraged. Especially if it involved drowning them in the swimming pool or just building a door-less room around them. 

1. On a related note, flirting and falling in love with the ghosts of said dead Sims was also not only acceptable, but encouraged. 

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It has been confirmed that Ryanair will cancel up to 30 Irish flights this Thursday, 12 July due to strike action by pilots.

Pilots will strike for 24 hours on Thursday. The strike will begin at 1am  and end at 1am the next day.

They are taking action following a conflict over management’s approach to the transferring of pilots between it's African and European bases.

Ryanair said only some services will be affected by the strike. Flights from Ireland to Europe will continue as normal.

The airline has issued a statement following the strike announcement. They said they tried their best to avert this disruption, but it will go ahead on Thursday.
"All customers on these flights have received text and email notification of these cancellations earlier today and our Customer Service teams are assisting them with refunds, free transfers to alternative flights on Thursday, or Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

"For customers travelling to the UK we will also be assisting them with alternative transport on comparable operators (both flights & ferries) where there is some limited space available."

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Summer is in full swing, and with it comes the midsummer sale shopping. 

ASOS is serving us looks with their offering of up to 70% off, and we're taking the opportunity to add to our ever-growing shoe collection. 

Finding the right summer flat or perfect night out heel can be tough, but we have spotted a few in the sale that we would wear all summer long: 

 ASOS FRANCO Wide Fit Western Sliders €21.29, Coco Wren Platform Heel Sandal €33.18

 SixtySeven Belle Black Raffia Pom Slide Sandals €44.93, ASOS DESIGN Fringey Premium Pom Pom Flat Sandals €29.03

 Truffle Collection Fringe Tie Up Flat Sandal €16.59, Park Lane Wide Fit Double Buckle Flat Sandals €24.89

Kaltur Avocado Espadrilles €30.42, QUPID Fray Detail Heeled Sandals €44.24

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They were set to play the All-Ireland qualifier against Cavan this Saturday.

Nevertheless, it seems that all is not well with the Mayo ladies football team. 

Reports have just emerged that there has been a mass walk out, with 10 players leaving the squad.

The Mayo News has said that the dispute was caused by welfare issues. 

The players who have walked include captain Sarah Tierney, vice-captain Fiona MacHale and Cora Staunton.

The team selector Michel MacHale – who is the father of Fiona MacHale – has also left the set-up.

The paper reports that the players informed manager Peter Leahy of their decision and then the county board.

Public Relations Officer Susan Rodgers confirmed that players had left the squad in the last week.

''Mayo Ladies County Board can confirm that a number of players have departed the county panel. Preparations are ongoing for Saturday’s All-Ireland Qualifier against Cavan and we will not be making any further comment until that game is over,'' she confirmed. 

Mayo would have been considered championship contenders going into this season after losing last year's All-Ireland final to Dublin.

Watch this space but it sure looks like the future of the Mayo ladies football team is on uncertain ground for the time being.  

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The X Factor is coming back to our screens very soon!

So, bring on the the sick Granny sob stories and the so-bad-they're-truly-appalling singers that the producers put through just to fill up the Daily Mail Showbiz comment sections. 

Excited?Us neither.

If you are an X Factor fan (all twelve of you that are left) then here's some hot off the press news about the judging panel. 

Proving that he's come full circle, 1D pop star Louis Tomlinson is said to have nabbed one of the much sought-after seats.

Joining him will be the highly exciting line-up of  Robbie Williams, his wife Ayda Field and of course, Mr Simon Cowell.

Now if that's not a reason to tune in, we don't know what is. 

According to The Mirror, ''Louis is very much a part of the X Factor family.''

“He’s a close friend of the show and would make a brilliant judge. Simon mentored One Direction and signed them to Syco Records. Simon hopes the deal will be done in the next few days.”

His addition will make the panel three men and one woman for the first time in the competition's 15-year history.

Social media's reaction to the news was as we'd expect…tumbleweed. 

However, there were a few people who had their say, tweeting, ''oh god what a FLOP'' and ''I have no interest in X Factor anymore, it's gone really down hill. But IF this is true than I will be watching only for Louis.'' 

So it seems that this might draw in some much-needed ratings.

The 15th series is getting underway with auditions starting on July 18 at Wembley Arena in London, so expect it all to come crashing back onto our screens in a matter of weeks.

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President Michael D Higgins has said in a statement that he will run for a second term in the Áras.

Previously, the figure head had said on the night of his election in 2011 that he would not seek another term in the position.

However, in recent years he has changed his mind and it was widely speculated that he would seek re-election.

Last autumn, the president said he would set out his intentions by September 2018, on seeking a second-term.

Nevertheless in recent weeks, he signalled that he would make his position known this month. 

A statement issued today stated:

“President Michael D. Higgins wishes to confirm that he will be offering himself as an independent candidate, under Article 12.4.4 of Bunreacht Na hÉireann, when the Ministerial Order for a Presidential Election is made later in the year.

“The Government has been informed of this decision.

“The President’s programme of official duties and engagements continues.”

Would you re-elect Michael D Higgins? 

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