WEST CORK LOCALwww.localcampus.com | walter@localcampus.com

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THE ALTAR STONE

County Cork - The Green Capital?

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T o o r m o r e , G o l e e n

County Cork could be the Green Capital of Ireland ! Last week I drafted some ideas for an interview for with a Cork based organisation. Anyway I didn’t get the job! but rather than commit the ideas to computer memory here they are …. Ambitious 5 year ‘Cork Energy & Food’ security plan 2012-2016: EcoParks – beside all major towns for Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants, allotments, sustainable enterprises. 

Susta inab le Enterpr ise Search – encourage sustainable companies from abroad to set up in County Cork, and aim to create 50 jobs per year.

Home and Business Energy Savings booklet online. Communications – North, East, West C o r k , a n d C o r k C i t y R e g i o n a l newsletters. Discussions with transition year students, Community Councils, Development Associations.

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‘Based On a True Story’Now until Jan 6th - Philip Watkin’s Painting Exhibition - Le Voyage Restaurant, Bridge Street, Skibbereen.

Amour, SkibbereenNov 18th, 19th, and 20th. - 8pm each night - West Cork Arts Centre - See Pg 6 below.

Mizen’s Got TalentSemi-final take place November 18th in Schull Town Hall. For further info contact Kevin Kelleher on: 086 177 5498.

Cork Fashion AwardsFriday Nov 18th at the Blue Haven, Kinsale.

West Cork One Act Drama FestivalNov 18th - 20th - St. Mary’s Theatre, Rossmore, Clonakilty. See Pg 10 below.

Enquiries: 023-883 8526www.westcorkdramafestival.com

Irish National Flood ForumNov 19th. 9.30am University of Limerick. See Pg 8 below.

Cape Clear Walking TrailsNov 20th. Meeting at 2pm at Club Cléire. See Pg 8 below

Woodland Walk & Talk, KinsaleNov 20th 1.30pm - Shipool Woods, Kinsale. www.transitiontownkinsale.org

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Delicious Christmas Gift Box! To order yo u rs c a l l 0 2 8 2 8 2 3 1 o r e m a i l : cheese@gubbeen.com

GUBBEENFARMHOUSEPRODUCTS

FARMHOUSE PROPERTY FOR SALE

Cooranuller, Ballydehob

For more info CLICK HERE

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Music From The Movies ConcertNov 20th - Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery. Doors open 7pm - Tickets are available from ‘A Cut Above’ Hair Salon on Rossa Street, Clonakilty or from committee members Sarah 087 2752110 and Marie 087 207 0194

Selling At The Farmer’s MarketNov 22nd. West Cork Hotel, Skibbereen at 7.30pm. West Cork Development Partnership Meeting.

Maria Immaculata Community College, DunmanwayNov 24th 6.30pm - 8.30pm - Information evening for prospective students and their families are invited

A Victorian Tea Party...Nov 24th, Fri 25th, Sat 26th - Cox’s Hall, Dunmanway. Time - 1pm to 4pm. Advanced Booking: Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm - 023 8845102

Amour, SchullNov 25th at 8.30pm & 26th at 8.45pm Parish Hall, Schull.

BBC Good Food Show, BirminghamNov 25th - Please ring Eleanor on 027-62000 to represent you.

A Different Dimension, SkibbereenNov 26th to Jan 14th 2012 - West Cork Arts Centre www.westcorkartscentre.com

‘Stand And Be Counted’ in Support of ‘Occupy Dame Street’Nov 26th. Noon, Skibbereen Market for a photograph which Rob Heyland will deliver to Dame Street.

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New Energy Week – renewable energy technologies presentations, from all over the world, discussions, filmed, and placed on website. Sustainable Forestry – a plan to get every farm to plant 20,000 trees (2 Hectares), mostly deciduous for shelter belts, and coppicing. Promote managed forestry, and not clear felling. Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture – centralised AD plants, reduce slurry spreading, reduce artificial sprays and fertilisers. Short courses, films and articles on same. ‘Cork Equity Fund’ - Enterprise Finance – ra ise finance fo r sus ta inab le businesses. Renewable Energy Development – Special negotiated deals for micro-wind turbines, AD plants, hydro turbines, and biomass plants. Regional power supply companies. Research - energy usage, fuel usage, water usage, food imports – in conjunction with 3rd level college.Energy and Food Replacement Plan.A Clean Water Forum.Implementation Plan. Other – Meet Cork County and City Environmental Heads of Department, County and City Managers, SW Fisheries Board, Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, SECAD, WCDP, to discuss the roll-out of future sustainable plans. •82 post primary schools in Co. Cork.•119 primary schools in Co. Cork.•106 parishes in Co. Cork (not including Cork City).

R e g u l a r e m a i l c o m m u n i c a t i o n , competitions, and film distribution. ‘Cork Eco Farm’ online shop with gardening products, biodegradable packaging, organic products, recycled goods (much like www.dirtworks.net in the US). Demonstration farms and gardens around the County to showcase good food production. What other ideas would you add to implement real change in County Cork?? Would the Development Agencies in City and County join forces and drive such a plan? It would cost approximately €50,000 per year.  Please send your ideas to:

walter@localcampus.com

Save The Internet!Right now, the US Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world's Internet -- creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even groups like Avaaz!

Under the new law, the US could force Internet providers to block any website on suspicion of violating copyright or trademark legislation, or even failing to sufficiently police their users' activities. And, because so much of the Internet's hosts and hardware are located in the US, their blacklist would clamp down on the free web for all of us.

The vote could happen any day now, but we can help stop this -- champions in Congress want to preserve free speech and tell us that an international outcry would strengthen their hand. Let’s urgently raise our voices from every corner of the world and build an unprecedented global petition calling on US decision makers to reject the bill and stop Internet censorship. Click below to sign and then forward as widely as possible -- our message will be delivered directly to key members of the US Congress ahead of the crucial vote:

h t t p : / / w w w . a v a a z . o r g / e n /save_the_internet/?vl

For years, the US government has condemned countries like China and Iran for their clampdown on Internet use.

AcapellabellaWest Cork Community Choir

For more info CLICK HERE

Hobby Horse #2 by Rob Heyland

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I don’t know what they stand for . . . but I agree with them.”

Silence has a range of effects. In music the silences between the notes, the moments when the listeners fill in their own hopes and expectations for what is to follow, can be as potent as the notes themselves. So in conversation, if a question is followed by silence, and the expected compliment or endorsement doesn’t come, how loaded that silence can be.

So with the occupations of Dame Street, Wall Street and St. Paul’s. On Friday I went to Dublin, for a meeting. But I went early to have time to witness the elevation of Michael D. Higgins and to visit the occupiers on Dame Street.

Right there, in front of the Central Bank, so culpably neglectful of its duty of care during the run up to the present crash, is a cramped grouping 20 or so tents, all quite neatly fenced in by a barricade of wooden pallets, and visible but causing no obstruction to city life. There are two larger tents, one for meetings and one used as a kitchen and larder for the shelves heaving with grocery gifts. The weather was foul, wild winds and lashing rain tearing at the plastic and string constructions. In the kitchen tent a kettle was on the gas and welcome coffee and tea was being distributed to the handful of busy occupants. One man was washing up, another planning a later march, another on a mobile phone. There was nobody in charge but was there was still a sense of concerted purpose.

I looked like the enemy, with briefcase

Roy Heyland - A BAFTA TV Society, Writer’s Guild & Critics Award Winner

there, mostly standing, watching this saintly little fellow being crowned. They politely applauded the speeches and sang the anthems and were visibly moved by Michael D. The audience was full of hope, almost desperate hope and when it was over the mood dropped quite fast. One man said that, even though Higgins is a good man, he has no power, and can’t really offer leadership or push for change. For all his brimming socialism and passion for the oppressed he will be imprisoned in his tower in Áras an Uachtaráin, watching the technocrat Head Prefect Kenny, sucking up to headmistress Merkel and with more of the same on the menu. Or should that be less of the same?

And then it was time to dash off to my meeting. Into a taxi. And there was my biggest surprise of the day. If Attila The Hun had a job before he discovered his mass-murdering skills I suspect he was a taxi driver. Taxi drivers tend to the right - but not this boy. We chatted about Michael D. and he said what a great day it was for the country and that he hoped he might buck the tradition and actually challenge the Irish Government from time to time. Then I mentioned I had been visiting the Dame Street Occupiers and he uttered the immortal line - “I don’t really know what they stand for . . . but I agree with them.”

Well! There’s hope for us all. The silent witness of those bedraggled few is resonating even unto taxi drivers. And suddenly what I had experienced in the plastic kitchen tent made sense to me. They don’t have a soundbite definition of their views because they accept that their views are all different. hey have made a conscious decision to have no spokespeople and no leaders.

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WestCorkSOS Protest MarchSat November 26th in Skibbereen starting at 12.30pm

A protest march takes place to support this crucial fight for the retention of the current levels of emergency ambulance se r v ices and the maintaining of the threatened Minor Injuries Assessment Unit at Bantry Hospital. For more info see: www.westcorksos.com.

Celebrate Advent with the West Cork Choral SingersNov 27th., 8pm. St. Matthias Church, Ballydehob.

Amour, ClonakiltyNov 29th at 8pm at the Parish Hall Clonakilty.

Total Waste PreventionDec 1st, Moran Silver Springs Hotel, Cork. How to reduce costs and optimise resources for your business. www.preventandsave.ie

Amour, Sherkin IslandDec 2nd. at 8pm. Ferry from Baltimore at 7pm and return ferry after the show.

Goleen Christmas Craft FairDec 4th. Community Hall Goleen. See Pg 9 below

West Cork Chamber Music Festival, BantryJune 29th. to July 7th. 2012. www.westcorkmusic.ie

West Cork Literary Festival, BantryJuly 8th to 14th 2012. www.westcorkmusic.ie

Masters Of Tradition, BantryAugust 15th to 19th 2012.

I looked like the enemy, with briefcase and awash with middle class, middle-aged , co rduroyness . Ye t I was welcomed and found it easy to engage people in conversation. I wanted to know what they were doing there, what they hoped to achieve, how long they intended to stay . . . all that.

They said that they are there because they have to be, and they are going to stay as long as it takes. Which is all very well, but don’t we need some answers at this time? Don’t we need leadership not shapeless aimless groups of grumblers?

I enjoyed their company but reluctantly left them to go to Dublin Castle. Rather than join the crowds in the rain I took the handy option of watching the ceremony live in a pub. All the DT-ridden purple-cheeked noontime drinkers were

The other way the end of democracy might swing is that men and women who are not dependent on a fickle electorate or vested interests in the business community, men l ike Rowan Wi l l iams, may r ise in importance. Men like Michael D. Higgins. Men and women like Steve and Linda occupying Dame Street.

These are new, frightening but also exciting times. I personally don’t fancy sleeping out, and don’t think Michael D. has a hope of making his feelings heard and I don’t believe in God. But I believe in Rowan Williams.I don’t entirely know what any of these people stand for . . . but I agree with them.

PS: Those of us who do support the Dame Street occupation are assembling informally at the market in Skibbereen at noon on Saturday November 26th. All we are going to do is stand in a group, take a photo and I will deliver it to Steve and Linda in Dame Street the following

week - as a modest acknowledgment of our support and respect. PPS: Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. Thomas Jefferson 1816.

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Perhaps because the name of Marxism or socialism or whichever way they lean has tended to be diminished by the leadership - Stalin, Mao, Ceauşescu - the roll of dishonour is long.

And they have no soundbite answers to our present woes - because, and when will the powers-that-be figure this out? - there are no soundbite answers.

The occupiers, and their supporters, just know it’s all wrong. It is wrong that ordinary people are suffering from a crisis not of their making, while those who made the crisis - the bankers, financiers, technocrats - are earning ever more and gaining ever more control over political affairs.

[As an aside it is worth noting Cowen and Brown, the two men at the financial helm when Ireland and Britain hit the iceberg, were not jailed or thrown overboard but were promoted to captain. Hmm!?]

The occupiers are silently drawing attention to a world being consumed by a system addicted to GROWTH. A world that is obese with consumption, yet is being told that more consumption is the way out. A world obese with debt being told that more borrowing is the only solution. The snake oil men suggesting they have finally discovered the diet where you can lose weight by eating more.

There is a rumbling silence out there, that our leaders seem deaf to, that is saying that the economy cannot be patched up, that the emperor really is naked, that Rome really is burning and that the system, having lost the run of itself through greed, gambling, usury and debt,is absolutely unequivocally and utterly UNFIT FOR PURPOSE.

The silent rumble is growing to such a pitch that even the Church of England has decided to flirt with Christianity again. When the London occupation chanced upon the steps of St Paul’s there was a brief honeymoon. Then followed closure of the cathedral on somewhat spurious “health grounds”. A nasty sense that maybe the board of the cathedral was populated by City People and was taking sides, that maybe the Church of England really is the Tory party at prayer. And then the wonderful moment of the Canon resigning, citing the fact that, in his view, Jesus would have been in the tents not in the cathedral. And later the Dean followed suit. And finally Rowan Williams fleetingly broke his silence. And he spoke for the oppressed. And he gently placed the church on the side of the occupiers, and then he returned to silence.

We are entering a phase of the end-game where democracy is crumbling. Partly because democracy is so clearly in the hands of the men of money - so clearly seen by the people of Greece being denied a referendum and having a new government imposed upon them. Partly because democracy is clearly not suited to the present challenge - we know there is hardship ahead and there is something too hollow in just voting for whoever offers the most jam tomorrow.

That fading of democracy can go two ways. In Italy it means that the new technocrat Prime Minister has appointed a cabinet made entirely (at time of going to press) of unelected establishment figures and . . . technocrats. A government hand-picked by Goldman Sachs. This has an air of desperation about it, a fear of listening to the people, a fear of restless masses. Such arrogance has nasty echoes of the hardening of the line in Libya and Syria, and we know how well that worked out for the rulers.

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Your Comments

Please send your letters, comments or ideas for publication to:

walter@localcampus.com

West Cork Local Archive

For previous issues CLICK HERE

Economist Richard Douthwaite (1942-2011)Economist Richard Douthwaite (1942-2011) has sadly passed away at his home near Cloona, Westport.

Richard was for many years our only 'voice in the wilderness'. His 'Ecology of Money' outlined the destructive mathematics of modern banking in simple terms. He outlined the 'inevitable' collapse of Anglo in Construct Ireland magazine eight months before the event. Richard's economics was human-centered, like 'The Growth Illusion: How Economic Growth Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet.' and 'Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economics for Security in an Unstable World'. He spoke publicly in Cork on many occasions, once at the invitation of Cork Lets when we held a public market.

Richard founded FEASTA, the Irish Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability (Economics as if people & the planet mattered). He never spoke in economic abstractions: all his assertions were rooted and illustrated in the real world.

A great humanist has left us. May his legacy bear fruit.

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A performance by PlayActing Theatre Productions Written and Directed by Karen Minihan West Cork Arts Centre on Friday 18, Saturday 19, and Sunday 20 November at 8.00 pm Schull Parish Hall on Friday November 25 at 8.30 pm and Saturday November 26 at 8.45 pm Clonakilty Parish Centre on Tuesday November 29 at 8 pm Sherkin Island on Friday December 2 at 8 pm(ferry from Baltimore at 7 pm and returns after the show).

Amour is a short play written and directed by Karen Minihan based on the Guy de Maupassant story of the same title. The play involves two actors - Con (played by Isaac Slaleia ) and Karl (Peter FitzGerald), and two dancers - a Man (Ben Townsend) and a Woman (Terri Leiber). In their vision for this performance, the production team presents a sensory experience that combines acting, dance, and a haunting sound score including the music of Kíla. Admission €7.50. Concessions available. Advance booking is recommended as seating is limited. Bookings: 028 – 22090 for West Cork Arts Centre performances  086 8785304 for other performances.

Local Photo Competition

Prize: Samuel Beckett Photograph

Le Petit Boulevard St. Jacque, Paris 1985

Closing date 15th February, 2012.

To Enter Competition CLICK HERE

Judged by John Minihan www.johnminihan.com

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West Cork Rural TransportCancer Connect is a free and flexible transport service to Cork hospitals from West Cork for people receiving cancer treatments (radiotherapy, chemotherapy etc.). The service has been running along the N71 (Goleen/Skibbereen/Clonakilty)  since April, and currently carries 45 passengers approximately to Cork on a regular basis. Cancer Connect is now travelling from Castletownbere through Bantry and Dunmanway to Cork every day. This service means a great deal to community members and their families, and we are looking for support to ensure that the service in the Bantry area is as successful as in neighbouring towns. 

We are currently seeking volunteers who would give one day per month, and drive passengers to Cork University Hospital. Drivers do not need a bus licence and a vehicle is provided. If you are interested in supporting the project, call Helen on 027 52727 / 087 1224404 — at West Cork Rural Transport.

Brown Envelope Seeds

An exhibition of Sonia Caldwell's paintings, from the gardens at Brown Envelope Seeds, and the Brown Envelope Seeds calendar, and 2012 catalogue is on display at the Riverside Cafe in Skibbereen. Both the calendar and catalogue are illustrated with Sonia's watercolours of vegetables and their flowers. The theme of the Brown Envelope Seeds catalogue is 'Our Seeds, Our Heritage', and highlights the global sources of our food plants. This is reflected in carefully crafted and vibrantly coloured pictures of such vegetables as the Crimson Flowered Broad Bean and the Winterkefe Pea. The Riverside Café has a reputation for serving creative dishes using local foods. The calendar is available directly from Sonia soniacaldwell@eircom.net, Hosfords Garden Centre, and whole food shops in West Cork. The seed catalogue is available from seeds@brownenvelopeseeds.com and the seeds are available from the website  www.brownenvelopeseeds.com and various shops nationwide. 

http://www.brownenvelopeseeds.com/

http://brownenvelopeseeds.blogspot.com/

http://homepages.iol.ie/~spm/riverside/

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Fairy Glen, Glannaphucca, Skibbereen

For more info CLICK HERE

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MASSAGERelax over-worked muscles, reduce stress levels,

improve circulation, stimulate immune system, lower blood pressure......

 Special discount for 1st time visit

Save €10!! 

Normal Price €601st visit  Price €50

 At John Garvey's holistic centre, Killinga Leap

 Also at Fionnuisce, (an Tobairín)

Heron court, Market Quay, Bandon          

Triona O’Sullivan

087 986 0069 

Triona O’Sullivan completed 1500 hours of supervised training at San Francisco School of Massage, The Kinesiology Institute, Berkeley CA and the Heartwood Institute, Mendecino. She has been practising massage for over 14 years and has worked in both the USA and Ireland.

Irish National Flood Forum LTD.Working For Flooded Communities in Ireland

Irish National Flood Forum LTD. is a voluntary group, who aim to help communities that flood or are at risk of flooding to develop a better understanding of the complex issues associated with flooding. Working together to insure the other stakeholders (OPW, Councils, etc.) understand our fears, working to get communities insurance, and get concrete flood prevention measures completed to prevent future flooding This Saturday the 19th of November Irish National Flood Forum LTD. will be holding their second National Flood Forum, in the Jean Monnet Theatre in University of Limerick The event starts at 9.30am, and should be finished by about 4.00pm. The speakers on the day include members of the OPW, IFA, Insurance Industry, MEP, UL, with Minister with responsibility for the OPW, Minister Brian Hayes TD is the keynote speaker. The Chairman for the day will be Seán McCarthy. The event is free and everybody will be more than welcome.

Launch of Field Ecology Certificate & DiplomaUCC are now inviting applications for the Field Ecology Certificate and Diploma Distance Learning Course. The course will run over 2 years,  and there is an option to complete year one and graduate with a Certificate in Field Ecology. Completion of Year 2 will result in a Diploma in Field Ecology. There will be 3 weekend classes during each year and a 2-week summer field course. The method of assessment is a mixture of continuous assessment and exams. The course fee is €1,150 per year. Application forms can be downloaded at www.ucc.ie/en/study/ace/how/ Closing date for applications is December 2nd 2011. For further queries please contact Caroline Hurley, Course Co-ordinator on c.hurley@ucc.ie

Cape Clear Walking TrailsCosáin Siúlóide Oileán Chléire

James O’Mahoney, Rural Recreation Office will visit Cape Clear Island next Sunday 20th November to meet/brief  landowners and land occupiers interested in the development of walking trails on the Island. The meeting will take place in Club Cléire at 2pm to be completed in time for the Quiz at 3.30 pm.

Beidh James O’Mahoney, Oifigeach Caitheamh Aimsire Tuaithe i gCléire Dé Domhnaigh seo chugainn 20 Samhain chun bualadh le húineirí agus áitreoirí talún go bhfuil spéis acu i bhforbairt na cosáin siúlóide san Oileán. Beidh an chruinniú sa Chlub at 2 pm le bheith críochnaithe in am don Tráth na gCeist ag 3.30 pm.

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Construction & Engineering Jobs in AustraliaIf you are interested or know of anybody that is interested here are the details of Construction Jobs at the Gorgon plant in Western Australia. JobContax in association with our Australian partners are currently recruiting for a number of large civils projects in Australia. Our Australian partner on the Gorgon Project will be holding face to face interviews in London from November 10th to 17th and in Dublin from November 18th to 25th . The interviews will be for the following roles:

Construction Foremen €140k - €170k + Relocation + Family VisaSite Managers €140k - €170k + Relocation + Family VisaSite Managers - Civils €140k - €170k + Relocation + Family VisaProject Engineers - Civils €120k - €140k + Relocation + Family Visa

All roles come with excellent packages including relocation costs and employer sponsored family Australian 457 visas. These positions represent a fantastic opportunity to progress your career and gain large project experience. To be considered for interview, apply through our website for the job/jobs which you feel you are qualified for and one of our consultants will contact you and explain the interview process in detail.

http://www.jobcontax.com/

Goleen Craft FairDate for your diary Dec 04. Goleen Annual Christmas Craft Fair is not to be missed.  This year we will have 50 traders varying from jewellery, antiques, baking, ceramics, pottery and crafts of every description. Santa of course will be in attendance. Also on the day we will have steaming hot mulled wine as well as delicious homemade soup with bread roll. Come and get all your Christmas presents in Goleen. Free Parking.  Free Entry.

Bantry’s Three FestivalsWith preparations now well under way for next summer's festivals in Bantry, West Cork Music has revealed that the total economic impact of the three festivals in 2011, as calculated by the Department of Economics UCC, was €1.6 million.

More than 3000 people attended the trio of festivals - the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, West Cork Literary Festival and Masters of Tradition - and the audience grew by 11%.

The programme will soon be available for the 2012 West Cork Chamber Music Festival which takes place from Friday 29 June to Saturday 7 July. The line-up will include cellist Natalie Clein, Apollon Musagete Quartet which are currently touring with Tori Amos, violinist Alina Ibragimova, soprano Ruby Hughes, pianist Julius Drake, the Irish Chamber Orchestra and many more. The West Cork Literary Festival runs on immediately from Sunday 8 to Saturday 14 July. There will be five and three day workshops, afternoon events, main evening readings, book fair, book launches and children's events. The line-up will be revealed in the new year. Masters of Tradition runs from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th August and will be headlined as usual by Artistic Director Martin Hayes. More details from www.westcorkmusic.ie and on West Cork Music's Facebook Page.

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West Cork One Act Drama FestivalSt Mary’s Theatre, Rossmore, Clonakilty

18th – 20th Nov

Adjudicator: Mr Flor Dullea

Fri 18 Nov 8pm

Blue Hat Drama Group – Melody by Deirdre Kinahan (Confined)Insight Theatre Group – The Collection by Harold Pinter (Open)Insight Theatre Group – Life Sentence by Mark Seaman (Open)

Sat 19 Nov 8pm

Take 5 Drama Group – Faded Footsteps by Maura Williamson (Confined)Kilmeen Drama Group – Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh (Open)

Schull Drama Group – Alternative Accommodation by Pam Valentine (Confined)

Sun 20 Nov Afternoon 2pm

Amphitheatre Drama Group – Two For A Girl by Mary Kelly & Nonie Stapleton (Confined)Schull Drama Group – A Family Affair (Confined)

Rasper Players – Sucking Dublin by Enda Walsh (Open) ADULT

Sun 20 Nov 8pm

Castlewood Players – The Shewing Up Of Blanco Posnet by George Bernard Shaw (Confined)

Brideview Drama Group – The Poppy and The Shamrock by George Peet (Confined)

Advertisment Space

€20/week | €50/3 weeks

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Fluoridation of WaterWater, water everywhere nor any drop to drink................Almost appears that Mr Coleridge anticipated the level of fluoridation in Ireland - currently about 70%.  One wonders why the Irish people, noted for their independent attitude and rebelliousness against imposed authority have done nothing about their illegal mass medication. Historically for years Fluoride was used as an insecticide, great for poisoning…….

Full article in the Local Campus library. To view CLICK HERE.

A Different Dimension, SkibbereenMartha Cashman, Miranda Daly & Angie Shanahan

26 November 2011 – 14 January 2012 Martha Cashman, ceramic artist; Angie Shanahan, painter and Miranda Daly, film-maker present an exhibition exploring the narrative of the former Wolfe's Bakery in Skibbereen, West Cork. The artists are interested in the transition from one state of being to another and in conveying a sense of past human activity and industrial output associated with this building. 

Wolfe's Bakery is the site for the planned new building for West Cork Arts Centre. 

West Cork Arts Centre, North Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork. 

Mon - Sat, 10.00am - 5.00pm.

Telephone: 028 - 22090

Email: info@westcorkartscentre.com

Website: www.westcorkartscentre.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/westcorkartscentre

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€20/week | €50/3 weeks

www.localcampus.com/ad.html

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Your Views...Letter From Dave McInerney, Independent Candidate in the 2011 General Election

I am trying to spur people into action, I am trying to turn the blog I used for the election in to a focal point for change, change to our society, to help create a better all inclusive society, one that is planned rather than one (which is what is happening now) evolves as a result of blind panic.  It will be similar to the cooperative idea you are trying to spearhead in Skibbereen.  It will be a cooperative of ideas and suggestions, of thought and of community spirit a place where people can share ideas on how to make our lives more fulfilling and as a result more meaningful and happier. Can you read my latest blog at www.aBetterIreland.com and if you share my vision maybe you would send out an email to your subscribers making them aware of the concept.  I believe that we as a people are at a crossroads and the decisions that we take over the next few weeks and months will have vital and far reaching consequences for us all.  This being the case it is important that those decisions are all inclusive, and that those decisions make everyone’s lives better and not just of the few.  We can see already from around the world that the people are being excluded from any say in how their countries and societies are run, as of now we still have a say in how we are to live our lives, lets exercise that right while we still can lets share our ideas and let’s together build a better society.

Baltimore Community Leisure Centre EGM

An extraordinary meeting to secure Baltimore Community Leisure Complex for the long term will be held in the community hall, Baltimore, at 8 pm on November 24th.

All members and interested parties are urged to attend this extraordinary meeting as plans are at an advanced stage to not only secure the future of Baltimore Community Leisure Centre for the long term but to enhance the facilities whilst making them more cost effective. Baltimore Community Leisure centre has now been up and running for almost 30 months. We, as a community, got together to save the closure of our leisure centre due to the economic downturn in 2009. We put a call out to the general community to assist us in getting 200 members signed up for two years. With the assistance of The Southern Star and C103FM enough members joined to keep the leisure centre open.

This year saw the two years initial programme end in March and the numbers again dropped off, so another call was made to get the numbers back up so we could continue in the short term to continue the services we had been offering.

With great support from the wider community we are once again getting closer to the required numbers. We had great support from all the members, staff and the committee in getting the message out there and the great news is that we are nearly there.

The next important step is to secure the leisure complex for the long term and enhance the facilities that we offer. We are at an advanced stage in securing the Leisure complex for the long term use for the community, but in order to do this we will need the assistance of the wider community once again. I urge all with interest in the long term plan of securing the pool to attend an extraordinary general meeting on November 24th in the community hall in Baltimore at 8pm. We have exciting plans including new and extended facilities and cost saving systems to make the complex more viable.

The Baltimore Community Leisure Centre is there for all from children learning to swim to a tourist facility in bad weather. We need as many people to attend on the night to show there is an interest in securing these much needed facilities long term.

Thanks for your support

John KearneyChairpersonBaltimore Community Leisure Centre

John Kearney was also an independent candidate in the 2011 General Election

Dear Walter, Eleanor O’Regan from Cashelfean Holiday Houses here. I have been asked to represent the Irish Self Catering Federation and Tourism Ireland at the forthcoming BBC Good Food show on 25th November in Birmingham (88,000 thousand attended last year) to promote Self Catering Holidays etc.  Could you please put a note on the newsletter if anyone would like me to promote their product or services I would be happy to do so or perhaps we could make out a leaflet with list of amenities in West Cork? Best regards, Eleanor Tel: 027 62000 P.S. I would like to book an ad for Cashelfean Holiday Houses (3 weeks) in January issue.

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Your Views...We are past ‘Peak Oil’ and Colin Campbell is proven correct. The price of oil will become prohibitive. We are also past ‘Peak Readily Available Phosphate’ and that can be more serious. However, oil is not recyclable but phosphate is. The extensive reserves of high quality phosphate that were available in NW Africa and in Florida are rapidly depleting, and the major such reserves are now in China. Understandably, China is not willing to supply the world needs in Phosphorous. There are large reserves of Phosphorous in the soil. Some of that is indigenous in soil minerals, and much has become immobilized from ‘available P’ that has been applied as fertilizer. We are now able to develop microbial systems that will mobilise that Phosphorous and make it available for plants. But there must be huge emphasis on recycling phosphate. That is why it is disastrous to know that the Dublin City Council (DCC) is going ahead with incineration. Incineration has long been outdated, and we now have technologies to recycle effectively the so-called organic wastes. I have repeatedly asked DCC to have an open debate on the matter, but they have always refused. I note that the Sunday Business Post has formulated a programme for discussion later this month that promotes only the wasteful and outdated technologies and approaches. Colin Campbell has eloquently presented the case that globalisation, and the vast proliferation of wealth that was based on oil, is coming to an end.  But that does not mean that civilisation will end. It does mean, however, that we will base our future wealth on a localized economy. We must return to energy from the sun that is transformed through photosynthesis into biomass that will provide everything that we now get from oil.  This will not require using essential foodstuffs. We can use lignocellulosic biomass, and so-called carbohydrate wastes to provide us with the platform chemicals sourced in petrochemicals at this time.  My colleague, Professor Austin Darragh and our members of the Carbolea group (www.Carbolea.ul.ie) repeatedly stress. “Farewell Petroleum (oil from rocks), Hail Carboleum (oil from carbohydrates)”. I consider that our liaison with Sammy Mayfield Pierce of Energenetics Energies (USA), being arranged by Professor Darragh, will allow us to get high value nutraceuticals from grains, even straws, and far more efficiently to obtain added value from all products that  have their origins in photosynthesis. The Pierce ‘Minibiorefinery’ concept could mean a revitalisation of a Co-Op system on a national scale, and re-ruralisation. He has the technologies to utilise efficiently all parts of growing crops.

We are lucky in Ireland to have the soil and climate that we need to support in an

expanded scale the agri-industrial based industries of the future. But halting the DCC concept of incineration is hugely important because it will waste a great resource that is needed for the economies that will soon emerge. I see it, if it goes ahead, as a tragic ‘white elephant’ that should be obsolete from the beginning. You have the scientific background to bring about the awareness that is needed. I hope that you will take up the challenge, and in so doing lay the foundations for a future that will bring prosperity to Ireland, as the wealth of nations that is based on oil will wane. Yours sincerely

Dr. Michael H.B.Hayes MRIAResearch Professor Carbolea GroupCES DepartmentUniversity of Limerick

What makes Holland Tick?I have recently returned from a horticultural trip to Holland. This is a country the size of Munster with a population 16.5 million. Following the US and France,the Dutch come third in the world in Agricultural exports ,earning 60 Billion euros annually. A big chunk of this   is derived from the sale of bulbs and the flower business but there is also 22,000 dairy farmers in Holland.More than 60% of global exports, and   up to 40% of international trade in plants pass through the broker desks in the Netherlands. One apple in six sold in the world comes from Holland. I had a period of total immersion in Horticulture during my recent visit and have come home unable to answer the question. What makes Holland Tick? True, all National school children between the ages 7 to 10 are allocated a small plot 1 metre by 2 to grow a garden, while nationally there are up to 250,000 allotments but this connectivity with the land does not explain the stellar performance of horticulture on the world stage.There must be some secret that makes Holland tick.

During my visit I attended  Hortifair, the biggest international trade fair on technology, innovation and inspiration in Horticulture. The trade fair had 600 stands and apart from Bord na Mona and two other small companies the Irish were very thin on the ground. Perhaps the Irish government did sent a representative and if not what a missed opportunity. The other half of the RAI trade fair building had an International gathering focused on the  Theme of WATER.It is ironic that both events were held under sea level. Hortifair was home to International companies exhibiting new developments in cultivation technology, improvement in strains,and greenhouse technology spread over 9 thematic pavilions. Greenport Holland is an international organisation that ensures that Dutch Horticulture and knowledge maintains an international orientation.

Why have the Dutch horti-culturalists not come to Ireland in numbers? Have they not discovered our Irish climate? There must be some well kept secret.I would like to know WHAT MAKES HOLLAND TICK.Perhaps some of your readers can help me!Email: roaringwater@eircom.net

Your CommentsPlease send your letters, comments

or ideas for publication to: walter@localcampus.com

Belling West Cork Artisan Food AwardsInaugural Belling West Cork Artisan Food Awards celebrates p i o n e e r i n g I r i s h f o o d artisans. Short list of 8 nominees announced for Ireland's most lucrative food awards.

The short list of 8 nominees for the first Belling West Cork Artisan Food Awards has just been announced.

Four food producers in the Originals category, and four food producers in the Newcomers category, are in the race to win the Belling Artisan Award, and a prize of €5,000.

John McKenna, one of the six judges who selected the nominees, said: “ West Cork is the Big Bang of Irish speciality food.  If it wasn't for West Cork, and the way in which people work with food and think about food in West Cork, I don't believe that we would have seen the speciality food revolution which we have enjoyed in Ireland over the last thirty years. West Cork set the template for small-scale, high-quality production, and every corner of Ireland has tried to imitate the West Cork model over the last fifteen to twenty years.” 

“What the judges were looking for, in both The Originals and the Newcomer category, were food producers who combine originality, skill, tenacity and individuality”, said McKenna. “We have chosen e i g h t e x t r a o r d i n a r y f o o d businesses, people who define not just world-class food, but who also work in the most sustainable and authentic way. All of these food

producers make a living making something that matters”.

The judg ing pane l cons is ts of  Darina Allen of the Ballymaloe Cookery School; Rose O'Driscoll of Belling Ireland; Ella McSweeney of RTÉ ; John F i e ld o f F i e ld ' s Supervalu; Carmel Somers of Good Things Café; and John McKenna of the Bridgestone Guides. 

The judges will now decide which of the nominees in each category – The Originals and The Newcomers – will win the Belling Award, and a cash prize of €5,000.00. The two winners, and the person chosen for the first Belling Artisan Bursary, a €5,000 prize which will allow a student to pursue a Diploma course at the school of Speciality Food Production in UCC, will be announced at a ceremony in West Cork Hotel, Skibbereen on Sunday, December 4th, 2011.

The Belling Awards are sponsored by Belling Ireland. Belling Ireland is part of the Glen Dimplex Group, Ireland's largest privately-owned business, with a turnover of €2 billion annually and a workforce of 10,000. 

Sean O'Driscoll, the chief executive and chairman of the Glen Dimplex Group, is a West Cork man, born in Drimoleague.  “We are delighted that Belling, our leading cooking brand, is associated with and sponsors of the West Cork Artisan Awards”,  said Mr O'Driscoll. “The artisan food producers of West Cork espouse what the Belling Brand aspires to be”.

Short list of Nominees in The Originals category:

Norman & Veronica Steele, Milleens Cheese, Eyeries.

G i a n a F e r g u s o n , G u b b e e n Farmhouse Cheese, Schull.

Sally Barnes, Woodcock Smokery, Castletownshend.

Alan & Valerie Kingston, Glenilen Dairy, Drimoleague.

Short list of Nominees in the Newcomers category:

Toby Simmonds & Johnny Lynch, Toonsbridge Dairy, Toonsbridge.

F i n g a l F e rg u s o n , G u b b e e n Smokehouse, Schull.

Madele ine McKeever, Brown Envelope Seeds, Turk Head.

Avril & Willie Allshire, Rosscarbery Recipes, Rosscarbery.

For further information see:

www.westcorkartisanawards.com

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