Metro Herald, November 22, 2013

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Friday, November 22, 2013

Your Metro Herald packed with news, sport and features

friday, November 22, 2013

Christmas gift guide

Christmas Gift Guide SPECIAL Mini Edition

The Summit of all fears

Don’t miss our special free mini edition on the streets this lunchtime and this evening

Butting in…

Irish woman among trio

Media Brand of the Year

the media awards 2012

Film »p23

Claus for concern: Is Christmas in jeopardy?

picture: tHiNKStOcK

Sleigh it ain’t so, Santa!

North Pole in crisis as Mr Claus deletes millions of Christmas wish lists

THE Christmastown Elves called a crisis meeting last night after it emerg ed Santa Claus deleted all the world’s letters to him by mistake.

‘Now how are we going to know what presents people are supposed to get?’ groaned Head Elf, Fred, in his squeaky Head Elf voice. ‘Christmas is ruined!’

Santa, a big fat man in a red suit, struggles with technology at the best of times and thinks a laptop is a mountain in Lapland.

He is said to have dropped and broken the hard drive on which all the letters

Please recycle this Metro Herald when

by MARY CHRISTMAS

were stored, while reaching for ‘just one more mince pie’.

Even Head Elf Fred, who is known to ing a system restore, and panic set in.

But then hope arrived.

‘Don’t worry,’ piped up Junior Elf Mary, in her squeaky, Junior Elf voice.

‘Look at this,’ she said, brandishing Metro Herald’s mini Christmas Gift Guide 2013. ‘I think the day is saved…’

you are finished with it

Women kept as slaves for 30yrs Taoiseach Enda Kenny was pictured at the Science Gallery at Trinity College yesterday for the launch of four new exhibitions with student Ling Heaney and a mask created using human DNA traces found on cigarette butts taken from Dublin’s streets picture: pa

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by aidan radnedge both 67 and described as ‘the heads of the family’, were arrested yesterday, four weeks after the three women escaped.

The victims were freed last month but it took several weeks of careful negotiations and planning before UK police felt ready to raid the house in Lambeth yesterday.

The property was described as ‘an ordinary house in an ordinary street’.

There was no evidence the group, which also included a 69-year-old Malaysian, had been sexually abused and they walked out of the house.

Police do not believe any of the three are related to each other or the two suspects.

The women are now being looked after in care.

Police said they had to delay the arrests until the facts had been established from the victims. Det Insp Kevin Hyland, head of the Metropolitan Police’s human trafficking unit, said: ‘People have been held for up to ten years but we’ve never seen anything of this magnitude before.’

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PERFECT Party Pair

AN IRISH person is among the three women who were discovered being kept as slaves in a suburban London street, it has emerged.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said that everything was being be done to help the 57-year-old Irish woman and that embassy staff in London were working to find out who she is.

The three ‘deeply traumatised’ women had been enslaved for three decades before being found and freed.

One of the women is a 30-year-old who spent her entire life as a captive, with little contact with the outside world.

Their plight was ended only after one of them saw a TV documentary on forced marriages and contacted the Freedom charity which featured on it for help.

The organisation’s founder, Aneeta Prem, said their treatment was ‘so barbaric and so out of everyone’s imagination’. She added: ‘They felt they were in massive danger. For women to be kept in such a way seems almost unbelievable.’

A man and woman, neither British but

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METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Friday 22/11/13 How to contact us

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€1billion The

amount of funding Ireland hopes to win from the EU’s multi-billion Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Ireland’s rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 79%. Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you.

Today is...

Africa Industrialisation Day

This UN day highlights the role of job creation and entrepreneurship in eradicating poverty and will be observed in New York

From the archives (2010):

Ireland applies for €70bn bailout

Brian Cowen has insisted he was not the bogeyman personally to blame for the economic meltdown. With a IMF and European bailout of at least €70billion now on the table, he said the rescue package will address urgent issues.

Today’s birthdays

Robert Vaughn, actor, 81; Terry Gilliam, animator/filmmaker, 73; Jamie Lee Curtis, actress, 55 (right); Boris Becker, tennis player, 46; Scarlett Johansson, actress, 29.

CLOCkwORD

The solutions from 1 to 12 are all sixletter words ending with the letter L in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of a British businessman.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Frolic Gloss paint Sell Creature Deadly Of the back Jerk back Attack

L

9. Decorating tool 10. Silvery metal 11. Involve 12. Scamp Yesterday’s solution: Sophie Tucker

Weather Weather Today

Max: 8°c

Cold again today with frost and fog gradually clearing and with sunny spells developing in many areas. There'll be a few isolated showers on north and east facing coasts. Temperatures between 5°C to 8°C in light northeast winds.

Derry

7�C

Donegal

7�C

5�C

Cavan

Galway

6�C

Athlone

Dublin

5�C

6�C

Tipperary Waterford

Tralee

Cork

Tonight

Belfast

7�C

8�C Sunrise: 8.03am Sunset: 4.19pm

Min: -3°c

Another cold night ahead. Some patches of fog will form in the slack winds. Temperatures between -3°C to 1°C.

EUROPE today

Tomorrow A good deal of dry, settled weather, however some cloud will be embedded in the flow and there may be some coastal showers.

Temperatures between 6°C to 8°C in light winds.

8�C 8�C 6�C 6�C

6�C

6�C 6�C 7�C Max: 8°c

Athens

20 °c

Barcelona Berlin

14 °c 6 °c

Brussels

5 °c

London

8 °c 4 °c

Geneva Madrid Paris Rome

12 °c 4 °c 13 °c

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

Rising from the ocean floor, world’s newest island is smoking hot

Born in the fire of hell 1,000 km

RUSSIA JAPAN Tokyo

CHINA

Ogasawara Islands Volcanic eruption creates new islet PACIFIC OCEAN

IF YOU ever wondered what Earth looked like billions of years before man first appeared, take a look at this.

As hot rocks explode from a crater, toxic black smoke and steam pours into the atmosphere.

This black cauldron of ash won’t be getting many tourists for a while but it is a geologist’s dream.

The 220m-long islet has risen from the sea off the coast of Nishino-shima, a small, uninhabited island in the Ogasawara chain. It is the latest addition to the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire.

Not surprisingly, Japan’s coastguards were the first to spot it. The volcanos in the area last erupted in 1973

by jOEL TAyLOR and most seismic activity takes place much nearer the ocean floor.

Volcanic activity extends thousands of metres deep along the Izu-Ogasawara-Marianas Trench.

Japan, which is in a territorial dispute with China, welcomed the news of yet another piece of new territory. ‘This has happened before and in some cases the islands disappeared,’ said government spokesman Yoshihide Suga. ‘If it becomes a fully fledged island, we would be happy to have it.’

The National Concert Hall’s New Music Series Jan-Dec 2014

On sale Monday 25 November 10am

Tickets from €20 www.nch.ie 01 417 0000

Firepower: Driven upwards by the erupting volcano, the sea water is turned to steam

Brassland@NCH: Megafaun & Fight the Big Bull present Sounds of the South ft.

Justin Vernon & Frazey Ford Kodo The Gloaming Pantha Du Prince & The Bell Laboratory June Tabor’s Quercus Wayne Shorter Kilfenora Céilí Band Tradition Now Marathon

METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

‘Most wanted burglary gang’ arrested in high-speed chase DETECTIVES believe they have busted the country’s most wanted burglary gang after a two-year reign of terror targeting people in rural Ireland.

Garda sources say the mob – who are family-related and mostly from Coolock, north Dublin – used performance cars and the motorway network to amass hundreds of thousands of euro during violent hold-ups.

by bRiAn HuTTOn Seven men were arrested during an early morning high-speed cross-country chase after a brutal attack on a young family of five in Killenaule, near Thurles in Co Tipperary.

The arrests follow a lengthy investigation into a gang suspected of being behind heists in remote areas.

‘These are top drawer – they are top of our list,’ said one source.

A seven-man gang burst into the home of Mark and Emma Corcoran in Burnchurch, Killenaule, at around 3am on Wednesday morning.

Mr Corcoran, who runs a furniture and gym equipment business, was pistol-whipped and tied up along with his wife during the ordeal, while their

three daughters – all aged under eight – slept in their bedrooms.

The raiders made off with cash and jewellery. Gardaí scrambled cars and the Garda helicopter, and a high-speed chase resulted in five men being arrested in Naas, Co Kildare, at 4.30am.

During a follow-up sting operation on the N7 another two men were detained.

Stab conviction A PSYCHIATRIC nurse has been convicted of stabbing three people after a row with his neighbours following an 18th birthday party.

Brian Quinn, 46, formerly of Deer Park Avenue, Kiltipper, Tallaght, now of Balbriggan, had pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Stephen Keogh, Lee Harte and James Toner Sr on October 9, 2011. Quinn had his bail revoked and was remanded in custody until next week for sentencing.

The circle of leaf

Karis, an 11-week-old lion cub, frolics in a pile of fallen leaves that have been brushed up by keepers in her enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, Scotland Picture: PA

Arrest made over Ground collision State artefact theft due to pilot error A MAN has been arrested over the suspected theft of a large number of books and valuable artefacts from the National Library.

The 35-year-old man was detained after a tip-off from library bosses about texts and pamphlets that had gone missing over a period of time.

It is believed they had vanished from stores at the National Library and some are said to be important to the State.

Gardaí carried out a dawn raid on a house in Clonsilla, north Dublin at around 7am yesterday morning.

The man was arrested and was last night being questioned at Lucan Garda station.

TWO Ryanair jets collided on the ground at a Spanish airport last year because one of the pilots did not follow correct procedures, Spain’s air accident investigation authority has said.

The incident at Seville Airport on April 13, 2012 saw the winglet of one airplane strike the stabiliser and elevator of the other airplane as the first plane taxied for take-off.

Investigators established that the pilot did not follow the turning line all the way out of the parking stand and that this led to the incident.

No one was injured, but the planes were unable to continue their flights.

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METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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60 seconds Crime writer pATRiciA cORnwELL, 57, has sold more than 100million books worldwide and recently won a legal case against her former financial advisers

What is Dust, your new book featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, about? It opens when Scarpet-

ta’s just come back from a terrible case – the equivalent of the Newtown massacre, a mass murder by firearms. I’ve been to every kind of crime scene but I’ve never been to something like that, nor would I want to. I can’t imagine how human beings deal with such tragedy. The book starts with her returning from that, then she gets involved in another case.

It’s suspenseful – it involves financial crime and psychopathy.

young people becoming desensitised due to violent video games?

It’s a complex problem and we’d better try to figure it out because the knee-jerk reaction in the US is that everyone should carry a gun wherever they go because they can then put a stop to something – that’s crazy. You’ll have people shooting each other because they don’t know who the bad guy is. I don’t want to sit in a theatre where everyone’s wearing a firearm.

Can legislation fix it? Not necessarily. We have to deal with family issues. When I started writing my Scarpetta books, the biggest boogeyman was a serial killDid the Newtown maser. Now people are more sacre change your frightened to go to a shopping mall or own views on movie theatre gun control? than they of The problem Something’s gone so a sexual arepsywe’re having wrong when people chopath crawlgoes beyond ing in their gun control. think they can go windows.

Something has around killing people gone so wrong If people are they don’t know in our society more scared where people of psychopathic think an acceptable teenagers than form of dealing with serial killers, does that their frustration is to go around killing people they don’t even change your work? It does. I know. The frustration with the keep Scarpetta rooted in the world economy and our fame-obsessed we live in. If I didn’t, she’d be tresociety, especially for young peo- mendously outdated – the planet ple who are bullied or have trou- she lived on in the late 1980s, bles, leads people to choose to do when the first books came out, something so horrific they get the isn’t the same we live on today. attention of the president of the US. The more it happens, the There’s financial crime in more it’s going to happen. I don’t Dust and you’ve just been through a $51million know what the solution is.

“

But don’t people become so desensitised to it that the killers don’t achieve infamy? It’s a huge problem. Are

(€38m) legal battle with your former financial advisers – is it autobiographical?

Since going through that very difficult litigation, I’ve become very

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sensitive towards any abuses in the financial industry. If you’ve had your trust abused, it’s a terrible thing to go through. In all my books, there’s an emotional undercurrent propelled by my own experiences.

Was writing the book cathartic? I allowed Scarpetta to

be a little more aggressive and proactive in this book – when she finds out her husband is being betrayed by one of his colleagues and his career is going to ruin, she gets motivated to do something about it. She pushes things further than she does in the other books.

She’s going to fight the injustice.

I came from the same place – you can’t let people get away with doing something that is absolutely, categorically wrong because if you don’t fix it, they’ll do it to someone else.

What lessons has your career taught you? Remember

why you did it to begin with.

We’re usually motivated by a love of what we set out to try to do.

When I started, I had no contract – I was just trying to write. I remember working at the medical examiner’s and if we had a big snowstorm and the office would close, my first thought was: ‘This is wonderful, I get to work on my book’. It’s easy when something turns into a lucrative business to forget why you did it in the beginning. You shouldn’t lose that passion. Andrew williams

Dust (Little, Brown) is out now.

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x MARks THE spOT: If you want to impress hard-to-please gamers, you’ve got to be prepared to take things to the next level. Microsoft last night took over London’s Leicester Square ahead of the new Xbox One going on sale today. A giant Xbox symbol took pride of place as zombies, footballers and racing cars took over ‘Xbox One Square’. Last weekend more than 4,000 Xbox fans attended the Dublin leg of the world tour. The console will cost €499.99. Sony’s PS4 (€399) launches next Friday.

Top maternity doctor denies salary ‘top-up’ THE top doctor in one of the country’s largest maternity hospitals has said she has been vilified and faced unwarranted criticism over her earnings in a row over executives’ top-up pay.

Row: Dr Mahony Dr Rhona Mahony of the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street said her wages are strictly in line with public sector rules and that any additional money she earns is from her private practice.

As Taoiseach Enda Kenny revealed a number of hospitals stonewalled calls to confirm if they comply with salary scales

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by LynDsEy TELfORD after it emerged a senior manager at Tallaght Hospital was paid an additional €150,000 since 2005, the leading consultant obstetrician hit out at her name being linked to the controversy.

‘To be absolutely clear, I have never received any additional remuneration from the Health Service or any other source,’ she said.

Dr Mahony said she earned an additional €45,000 in private fees last year and accused the media of labelling it a ‘top-up’.

Dr Mahony said she owed it to herself, her family, colleagues and patients and to people who donated money to Holles Street to explain her earnings.

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Cowell eyes Cheryl yl and Rita for X Factor return n I

t’s the news X Factor fans have been waiting for – simon Cowell has confirmed he will return to his hot seat on the British talent show. the 54-year-old also revealed he was in talks with Rita Ora about a role and hinted that he

Michelle new face of Xposé

Former model Michelle Doherty has been revealed as the newest member of the Xposé team.

From next week, the Donegal native will be joining regulars Lisa Cannon, Glenda Gilson and Karen Koster on TV3’s teatime entertainment show.

A former Ifta nominee, Michelle recently headed to London to pursue an acting career so will have to travel to and from the UK for the presenting job.

Speaking about the new role, she said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be a part of the team. I’ve been a huge fan of the show for years and I’m looking forward to working alongside the girls.’

EXCLUSIVE by JAMES DAY in Los Angeles

year, was the most fun I’ve had – it was fantastic. When I look back at the clips wanted to coax Cheryl Cole back. On his own now and remind myself about it, it was a return, Cowell said: ‘I will at some point. I still really cool year that.’ miss that, I mean that show is my baby and that lsh With Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh last year we did, which was the One Direction quitting and sharon Osbourne retiring well at the end of the series, Cowell unveiled his plans to change the show as it slips further behind BBC rival strictly Come Dancing in the ratings war.

‘We’ve announced a new threeyear deal in England,’ he said. ‘I’ve got some ideas of how the show is going to evolve and that’s the fun of producing these shows, you can’t just make the same show that you did fivee years ago.’

It can be tough being the On his previous falling out with 30-year-old Cole, he said: ‘Cheryl and I offspring of an über patched up our differences a long time talented parent – as ago. I saw her recently, Daniel Day Lewis’s son we speak a lot on the Gabe Day found out phone and text each when his Green Auras other and I think both of YouTube rap video was us would likee the idea widely derided online. of working together Picking up the mic, again.

Gabe Day, born Gabriel‘she was a great judge.

Kane Day-Lewis, raps be off competition from fr Doherty beat I mean, apart from being about life as a son of a several high-profile contenders to cute, she’s a great judge Hollywood legend. land the role.

On the bizarre track the and she knows what she’s talking about and, teen touches on a variety oh my God, she wears her heart on her sleeve.’ of topics, including As for hiring Hot Right Now hitmaker Ora smoking marijuana and as one of his side-kicks, he said: ‘I met Rita at being bipolar, but my house recently and I was really, really imattempts to distance pressed with her and you just know she’s a himself from his famous future star.’ father, rhyming lines like Meanwhile, Cowell insisted he was not ad‘Call me Gabe Day and formitting defeat over the pond after his Us for not Gabe Day-Lewis, cuz mat suffered a humiliating drubbing in the if you’re trying to call me ratings. out I’m about to Gabe pected to pull in After once bragging he expected Day lose it, b**ch,’ 20million viewers in America, the father-toHe later adds: ‘Judging be had to settle for a not insignificant but dissomeone for who their appointing 3.6million. dad is just as bad as simon Cowell was speaking at the Jaguar Fbeing racist.’ type coupé launch party at Raleigh studios Green Auras seems to Playa Vista in Los Angeles.

Not the best Day for actor’s son Gabe

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be a biography of sorts, as he includes details about being bullied and the burden of being the child of an Oscar winner.

The 18-year-old son of triple Oscar-winner Daniel and his actress exgirlfriend Isabelle Adjani is also seen smoking a funky looking cigarette.

I’m back: Simon Cowell at the Jaguar F-TYPE Coupe launch party at Raleigh Studios in LA Picture: SPLASH

Harry puts on Styles for Kim’s little sister the romance rumour mill has gone into overdrive after Harry styles was seen having dinner with Kim Kardashian’s younger sister. the One Direction heartthrob took Kendall Jenner out to a Hollywood restaurant. they slipped out the back door when they left after midnight but were photographed as styles, 19, drove his 18-year-old dining companion away in his Range Rover. there is nothing standing in the way of a romance between the pair after Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Jenner shot down rumours that she was dating rapper Young Jinsu, 21.

‘Enough with the rumors, I’m single, people,’ she tweeted last month. styles is also unattached and told Jonathan Ross last weekend he was on the lookout for ‘someone who’s nice’, adding: ‘I think you know when you’ve found someone.’ the singer, who took Jenner to Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood, is in LA with his bandmates for tomorrow’s ‘1D Day’. they are to host a seven-hour transmission on Google+ and Youtube, with guests including simon Cowell, and Celine Dion, 45. styles’ spokesman refused to comment on his dinner with Kendall.

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

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CHRIS BROWN has been ordered back to rehab for 90 days after throwing a rock through his mother’s car window. The 24-year-old hurled the missile after a heated family discussion at a Malibu anger management centre. He was then kicked off the course he had been ordered to take after being arrested in Washington DC last month for assault. The singer has also agreed to submit to regular drug tests to avoid jail. He is still under supervision following his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Fox: I’m happy to be new Bieber Elyar Fox insists he is happy to be compared to the likes of Justin Bieber and Conor Maynard after making the jump from online smash to record label darling.

The 18-year-old is set to take over the airwaves this winter with his debut single, Do It All Over Again.

He has plenty of reasons to be confident after signing to Sony’s RCA label and clocking up 14million hits on YouTube with his cover versions of songs.

On Biebs and Maynard, the Londoner told Guilty Pleasures: ‘They are both successful and doing really well right now.

‘I would be flattered to be compared to someone as successful and making great music. What separates me is that

I came from a rock background and I started out when I was 13 in a pop-punk band in high school and gigging, doing all the messy pubs and bars and stuff.

‘I think [it gives me] a different edge to the other guys.’

With lyrics to his single detailing his lust to find a girl that ‘keeps me up all night’, Fox insisted his track was perfectly innocent.

‘It’s not about shagging! It’s about partying!’ he laughed – with a knowing wink.

Minger? I’m a Bond babe, says Naomie Skyfall actress Naomie Harris says playing a Bond girl makes her realise she ‘can’t be that much of a minger’.

The 37-year-old admits her self-esteem is lifted every time she thinks about her role as Eve MoneyPenny.

‘I have to say, it does make me feel pretty darn good,’ she told Total Film, out now. ‘When you get those moments when you feel “Oh God, I look like such a minger today”, then you think “I was cast as a Bond girl… you can’t really be that much of a minger,

Naomie.” The British star also admits she was ‘torn and conflicted’ about taking on the role of Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie in the biopic, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.

‘From reading about her, I was formulating an idea of who she was,’ she said. But it wasn’t until she met the 77-year-old that she realised what she had to do. ‘I asked how she wanted to be portrayed and she said, “you’ve done your research, you were chosen for this role, I trust you.” It allowed me to own it.’

Eminem credits hip-hop for saving his life as he battled with drug addiction. The Survivor rapper said: ‘It’s the only thing I’ve ever been decent at.

I don’t know how to do anything else.’ The 41-yearold also opened up about overdosing on methadone in 2005. ‘I relapsed on drugs. It was a little creepy,’ he said. ‘I certainly had some dark times with that s***, mostly due to taking a lot of pills and f****** drooling on myself.’

10 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

D picture: pa

Flying Fairy

by Flutterbye

It’s that time of the year again when Christmas cheer fills the air and children’s thoughts turn to their Santa wish list - and what better place to check out what’s on offer this Christmas than at the Dublin Toy Fair, which takes place at the RDS from November 27 to December 1.

OLD FAVOURITES IN NEW GUISES dominate the Top 10 Toys

for Christmas this year, with Lego and Monopoly sure to bring back memories for mums and dads (and grans and grandads too).

FURBY IS ALSO MAKING A REAPPEARANCE ON THE LIST

with the new Furby Boom combining physical and digital play, including the ability to hatch digital furbling friends via an app.

ROBOTIC PUPPY TEKSTA

meanwhile, performs a range of tricks using cutting-edge hand gesture technology and Robofish performs all the actions of a goldfish in a bowl.

AND FOR KIDS INTERESTED IN MULTIMEDIA there

are the InnoTab 3S and LeapPad Ultra tablets.

Also predicted to fill Santa’s sack this year are Nerf N-Strike Elite RapidStrike CS-18, The Doc McStuffins Doctor’s Set Playbag, the Flying Fairy and Monster High 13 wishes dolls.

As well as giving members of the public the chance to see and buy what’s on offer this Christmas, the Christmas Toy Fair also features a train ride through Santa’s magical kingdom. And the Transformers Optimus Prime Truck will be making its Irish debut at this year’s event.

ADVANCED BOOKING FOR THE FAIR is strongly recommended.

Tickets cost from €5 for a single ticket to €20 for a family of five and children under two go free.

Visit www.dublintoyfair.com for further details and for tickets

Teksta

Robotic Puppy

RoboFish

Nerf N-Strike

Elite RapidStrike CS-18

Monster High 13 Wishes Doll

LEGO City

Coast Guard 60014

www.dublintoyfair.com

Furby Boom!

Doc McStuffins Doctor's Bag Playset

Monopoly Empire

Pythons hold on for one more pay day LIFTING your former glamour girl is no easy task when you’re old enough for a bus pass and the knees are getting creaky. Carol ‘cleavage’ Cleveland, Monty Python’s only significant female performer, was centre stage as the reformed comedy quintet met the press in London yesterday to announce a comeback more than 30 years after their last stage show. Michael

Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones. Terry Gilliam and John Cleese said their live show will include film and TV sequences of sixth Python Graham Chapman, who died in 1989. Many old sketches, such as the dead parrot, will feature, but Cleese ruled out the return of the Ministry of Silly Walks. He said: ‘That’s impossible now because I have an artificial knee and an artificial hip.’

‘Sensible’ signs to be reintroduced on our country roads COUNTRY roads and boreens are to have 80kph speed limits replaced with old-fashioned slow signs.

A road safety review has ordered the return of the generic circular signs – a black diagonal on a white background – warning motorists to keep their speed down.

And so-called silly speed limits, such as 100kph on a dangerous bend, or 80kph on a dual carriageway and 100kph on a single lane route, will also be revised.

Transport chiefs said any changes will create a more credible and consistent system.

The return to the old rural speed limit sign, last seen in 2004, will

by ED cARTy mean drivers must use their own judgment when it comes to speed but never exceed 80kph.

100kph The current speed limit many single lane roads

The Department of Transport said the wide-ranging revisions, due to be completed by the end of 2015, would result in better-informed road users to improve safety.

A new appeals systems is also be-

ing adopted to allow road users to fight for more consistent limits.

Local councils will be forced to listen to complaints and a national body can also be called in to adjudicate.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said it was about making speed restrictions safe and sensible.

‘If people are going to respect speed limits, we need to ensure that speed limits respect the motorist.

But we must also ensure that every limit is safe and sensible,’ he said.

Improving signage and enforcing the more sensible standards is expected to take two years and cost in the region of €8million.

Morning Dart Ireland’s busiest route the busiest rail networks in the country have been revealed for the first time ever.

A total of 124,000 journeys were made on the day of the heavy Rail Census 2012, which saw the 8am Dart from Greystones to Malahide top the list as the busiest service.

On the route, more than 1,400 passengers are squeezed into just eight carriages each morning, according to figures released by the National transport Authority. the rail census lists all 147 train stations nationwide on a single day and

is intended to be the starting point for what will become an annual report.

Its figures show almost one in two passenger journeys were taken on the Dart while 83 per cent of all journeys were taken in the greater Dublin area. the busiest hour was 8am on the Northern Line, between Dundalk and Dublin Connolly. Connolly came in as the country’s busiest station.

Meanwhile, a survey by Dún Laoghaire tD Mary Mitchell O’Connor saw some 98 per cent say they felt ‘dangerously overcrowded on the Dart at some point’.

Packed: Morning Dart

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

11

12 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

A REVIEW of domestic violence laws could change the lives of women abused at the hands of a partner.

Women’s Aid has called for a 24/7 on-call system for emergency barring orders so women in Ireland can be protected by the courts when they most need it.

The charity’s director Margaret Martin said: ‘The lack of access to legal protection when the courts are closed leaves women and children vulnerable to serious harm and further abuse overnight or over the weekend. Emergency barring orders increase the chances that women and children can remain safe in their own homes.’

The idea was put to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality.

He cut off my arms but went unpunished – singer Paloma’s harrowing trip to Honduras

PICTURE: JAMES KELLY/OXFAM

Rapid reaction for domestic abuse victims

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‘She seemed so strong’: Maribel’s husband has not faced justice and still visits her when he pleases

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MARIBEL needed her hands to care for her children and earn a living. But her life was changed in a single act of violence, when her husband chopped off her arms.

While she struggles in pain, he is free to roam the streets and visit when he likes.

This was just one of the horrific stories singer Paloma Faith heard on a visit to Honduras. The country is one of the most dangerous places a woman can live – 51 women are murdered every month. Yet 98 per cent of cases go unpunished.

The 32-year-old singer said: ‘She seemed so strong and strives to make a difference and stand up to her ex. Maribel said she gets her strength from her children.

‘I feel it is an injustice against women.

But I met some incredibly brave people in Honduras, it was both saddening and inspiring. I want to raise awareness about this problem so women can seek the justice they deserve,’ she added.

From 2002 to 2012, the number of women killed rose by 258 per cent, with most victims aged between 20 and 24.

Many killings are linked to impunity and the fact women are being forced into criminal activity. Women’s groups in Honduras are lobbying for equal job opportunities and better education.

Oxfam’s George Redman said: ‘By far the most urgent task for whoever wins power in Honduras is to end the murder spree against women.’

3D simulator may allow doctors to ‘rehearse delivery’ Difficult births could soon be rehearsed in advance using a ‘virtual birthing simulator’ being developed by uK scientists. the computer software, tailored to individual patients, will take account of factors such as the shape of a mother’s body and the baby’s position in the womb.

Project leader Dr Rudy lapeer, from the university of East Anglia’s School of computing Sciences, said: ‘We are creating a forward-engineered simulation of childbirth using 3D graphics to simulate the sequence of movements as a baby descends through

by jOHn vOn RADOwiTz the pelvis during labour. users will be able to input key anatomical data such as the size and shape of the mother’s pelvis, and the baby’s head and torso.

‘By doing this, you will be able to set different bespoke scenarios for both the mother and baby.’ the simulation software will use ultrasound readings to re-create a model of a baby’s skull and body, as well as the mother’s body.

Scientists can even measure the pushing during labour, and even modelling a pair of virtual mid-

wife’s hands. ‘Because this programme is patient-specific, doctors and midwives will be able to see how a birth may take place before it has happened on a caseby-case basis,’ said Dr lapeer, who presented the research at the international conference on E-Health and Bioengineering in iasi, Romania. ‘for example, you would be able to see if a baby’s shoulders will get stuck.

‘We hope that this could help to avoid complicated births altogether by guiding people in the medical profession to advise on caesarean sections where necessary.’

Most opt to get rid Ancient gene linked of severe pain first to inherited obesity ANticiPAtiNG pain sometimes brings more misery than the pain itself, scientists have found.

A study from imperial college london, the institute for Global Health innovation and the Wellcome trust centre for Neuroimaging found that most people would rather get unavoidable pain out of the way, while only a handful would prefer to put it off. in an experiment where participants were told they would get real electric shocks, most wanted to hasten the experience, while some were given the choice of waiting for a small shock or enduring more severe pain immediately. Many people went for the latter option. it is believed understanding how and why we dread pain could change how hospital treatments are given.

A SINGLE ‘fat gene’ may be to blame for severe obesity that runs in families, new research has suggested.

Inherited factors are known to be important in 40 to 90 per cent of cases of obesity. Now scientists at Mount Sinai in New York believe they have tracked down the culprit, a gene that has been around for hundreds of millions of years.

The gene, known as CEP19, appears to play a critical role in regulating energy balance and appetite, and is also linked to male fertility.

When it functions properly, it helps keep the body lean. But mutant versions may lead to obesity that passes from generation to generation.

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

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14 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Whitey to appeal ‘sham’ decision Former Boston crime boss James ‘Whitey’ Bulger is appealing the racketeering conviction that landed him a life sentence last week.

Bulger’s attorneys filed a brief notice of appeal in federal court late on Wednesday. The appeal was expected. Bulger’s lawyers have said he

Forever young: A make-up artist touches up the popular wax model of John F. Kennedy at Madame Tussauds in London.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the US president’s assassination in Dallas

believes his trial was a ‘sham’ because he wasn’t allowed to argue that a now-deceased federal prosecutor gave him immunity to commit crimes. The Winter Hill Gang boss was an FBI informant against the rival New england mafia.

Bulger was convicted

in August in a broad racketeering case, including 11 killings and other gangland crimes in the 1970s and 80s.

Bulger fled Boston in 1994 after being tipped off by a former FBI agent he was about to be indicted. He was a fugitive for 16 years until he was captured in 2011.

Immunity claim: Bulger

‘Dead’ baby cried out just before cremation A bAby just seven days old was saved from cremation when it uttered a tiny whimper in the funeral parlour.

The premature boy had been certified dead earlier that day but lastminute checks in the morgue saw signs of life.

‘It was when the funeral-home staff made a routine check on the body before it was to be cremated that the baby emitted a tiny cry,’ said a police spokesman. ‘The shocked funeral worker scooped

Picture: AP

by HAyDEN SMITH the child up in his arms screaming ‘‘it’s alive!’” The baby was taken back to the hospital where it had come from and given emergency treatment for an infection and dehydration.

The doctor who certified the boy as dead is now the focus of an inquiry. Reports said he and his staff had told the parents the child was very sick and would require costly treatment which they could not af-

World

ford. They signed papers leaving the baby in the care of the hospital in Hefei city, in China’s Anhui province, ‘to do with it as medical staff saw fit’.

It is alleged the doctor proceeded to sign a death certificate for the boy.

Users of China’s weibo microblogging services were outraged, blaming both the boy’s parents and the doctors involved. One wrote: ‘Doctors with white coats are really irresponsible, simply treating patients’ lives with utter disregard.’

digest

university fees to be paid for by bitcoins

cyPRuS: Students are being allowed to pay their tuition fees in bitcoins for the first time anywhere in the world. The University of Nicosia says using the digital currency will help those from countries where money transfers are difficult or costly. The government should attract digital currency trading companies to boost the bailed-out country’s economy, university officials say.

Jet stuck as it lands at the wrong airport

Cars take cash.

Buses take Leap Card.

www.leapcard.ie

AMERIcA: A jumbo jet landed at the wrong airport but could not take off again because the runway was so small. Officials drafted in a tug to turn the Boeing 747 around and give it enough room for take-off. The cargo plane was meant to land at the McConnell air force base in Wichita, Kansas, on Wednesday but touched down 13km away at Col James Jabara airport instead.

fRANcE: A driver comes up against police during a go-slow protest in Paris. Hundreds of farmers disrupted traffic as they descended on the capital to demonstrate against threatened subsidy cuts Picture: AP

fake bomb protester Hiker’s 10yrs on road caught at PM’s office like forrest Gump

TuRkEy: A protester carrying a fake bomb was arrested at the Ankara offices of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday.

The 53-year-old man, identified as Tugrul B, was overpowered by police who fired two warning shots after he called in a bomb threat. It is thought he wanted to draw attention to his debts but interior minister Muammer Guler said he may have ‘psychological problems’.

cHINA: He prefers to walk than to jog but Li Changbo rivals Forrest Gump for stamina. The former diplomat is marking ten years on the road after jacking in his job and setting off on foot with a small backpack, a camera and a flag. He has travelled thousands of miles on foot, just like movie character Gump, and reckons he’s used 1,000 pairs of shoes. The trekker plans to take a break soon to write a book.

and finally...

ROMANIA: Flight remains the best travel option for Dracula after a €45million route linking Transylvanian villages was branded the ‘road to nowhere’. It ends in the middle of a forest, following a planning mix-up.

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

Scammers seize moment as typhoon cash pours in

by AIDAN RADNEDGE

fraudsters and corrupt politicians must be stopped from getting their hands on the money pouring in to help the 4million left homeless by typhoon Haiyan, authorities say. there is a risk of supplies going to bogus aid agencies in the corruptionplagued Philippines, charities admit. and insurers have revealed that 2million requests for payouts have come in from tacloban – which had a population of only 220,000 before it was devastated by the storm.

International sOs assistance – which provides support for us insurance giant tricare – said impoverished filipinos have long been notorious for dubious claims. ‘the Philippines is always going to be the bane of our existence,’ said the organisation’s andrea Colley-Lopez, adding medical service providers had also submitted fraudulent claims for damaged hospitals, complicating insurance groups’ responses to legitimate typhoon victims.

Concerned donors have been warned about scams by the government of the Philippines, after con artists falsely

Victims: But as these children play board game Sungka in the toppled bathroom of a wrecked house in Tacloban, fraudsters are trying to get their hands on the money they so desperately need Picture: reuters

claimed to be distributing aid on behalf of the defence minister.

‘We would like to warn the public to be vigilant and not fall to this modus

operandi by unscrupulous individuals,’ the department of National defence said in a statement.

In the wake of the storm, Manila has

launched an online portal called faitH, to provide information on donations and address concerns that aid money might be stolen.

19

Gunman at newspaper was known anarchist THE suspect arrested for shooting a photographer at a Paris newspaper was a known anarchist who lived in Britain until recently, it has emerged. Abedlhakim Dekhar, pictured, has been confirmed as a DNA match for the gunman caught on CCTV earlier this week. The 48-year-old was yesterday being held in a secure hospital while police waited for him to recover from an overdose. The FrenchAlgerian also faces charges over three other attacks in the capital over the past week.

He went to Britain after serving four years in prison after being convicted of supplying the weapon in the ‘French Bonnie and Clyde’ case of 1994, in which three policemen were killed.

“A HYSTERICALLY FUNNY TWIST ON THE GANGSTER MOVIE” EMMA JONES, BBC NEWS

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IN CINEMAS TODAY

20 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Business&Careers Playtime for sibling enterprise

cogs the Brain Shop is the brainchild of brother and sister team conor and ruth Brady. in the course of her work, ruth, a primary school teacher with a masters in education Studies from tcd, found it difficult to find good-quality, stimulating and educational toys and games in ireland. Both conor, 31, a former chartered surveyor specialising in property, and ruth, 27, from Malahide also regularly host games nights with their friends, and so cogs was born What’s your most popular game? For young children from

three to eight, Imaginets is a beautiful game to boost their fine motor and visual thinking skills. With a

news@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

Career Doctor Jane Downes wnes

Gameboy: Ruth and Conor Brady play games with their nephew, Harry, 2, in Cogs The Brain Shop in the St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre Picture: feargal ward

sturdy wood carrying case, inside brightly-colored magnetic blocks can be arranged on the boards to replicate any of the 50 full-colour design challenges. For adults the most popular is Katamino.

What Irish-made games do you stock? Our best selling Irish

products are the Irish-designed Story Cubes and Atlas adventure.

Is it hard to drag people away from their TVs and computer

screens? No. The feedback we get from customers that they love the human interaction and intergenerational nature of our games.

For example, grandparents, parents and grandchildren can enjoy games together. That social element of the products was one to the reasons we opened the shop.

Do you sell computer games or are you keeping it old school? We don’t sell computer

games.

What’s your favourite game?

Monkey Pod Tangram is constructed of beautifully handcrafted monkey-pod wood, making it the perfect piece of ‘playable art’. The objective is to form a specific shape, given only in silhouette, using all seven pieces. Finding the solution is such addictive fun that is is impossible to walk way with a challenge unsolved.

Visit Cogs The Brain Shop at 122A Saint Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, www.cogs.ie

Refurbished Clerys reveals historic ties CLERYS department store marked its renovation by revealing detail on what it cost to get back in business after its last great destruction.

The company put in a claim for £78,556, one shilling and eight pence after the building was destroyed during the 1916 Easter Rising, state papers have shown.

Documents held by the National Archives show that in July 1916 Clerys sought to restock as they took up temporary premises on Lower Abbey Street.

Almost a century later, Clerys was open again after the latest refit in its colourful history.

by ED CARTy The 160-year-old department store was destroyed from top to bottom in a 16-minute flash flood caused by a torrential downpour in July.

At the reopening, Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, said the shop and its staff have witnessed some of the most important events in Dublin.

‘The Easter Rising commenced just across the road at the GPO. At that time, the original Clerys building was destroyed. But, undaunted, the shop was rebuilt and restocked and opened once again,’ he said.

businEss biTEs n GREECE’S battered economy is expected to emerge from recession and grow slightly next year. The Greek government has been dependent on an EU/IMF bailout since May 2010, but the 2014 budget projects economic growth of 0.6 per cent next year. The economy this year is expected to contract four per cent, slightly less than the originally forecast 4.5 percent. Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said: ‘For the first time, the major sacrifices made by the Greek people are paying off, with the first signs of recovery this year,’ he said.

‘Clerys adds to the life of this historic street and of our capital city.’

The building, which is as well known as a meeting point and landmark as a shop, was designed by the world-famous architect Robert Atkinson in 1922.

The renovation has used many original features from the first rebuild in a bid to revive its fortunes.

The store’s owner, OCS Operations, a subsidiary of a private investment company, paid €1million for it after Bank of Ireland appointed a receiver to the business, having taken it from the Guiney family Opening time: Clerys reopens just in time for the Christmas rush Picture: Pa who ran the business for 70 years.

n THE fragile recovery in the euro zone private sector weakened this month despite resurgent growth in Germany. Markit’s Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, which gauges business activity across thousands of service sector companies, fell from 51.6 last month to 50.9 in November. The survey found order books at companies ranging from major international banks to high street hairdressers filled at an unchanged rate and that factories cut staff at a slower pace, with the employment index rising from 48.8 to 49.1. While companies cut customer prices at a faster rate, business energy bills increased at the fastest rate in almost a year.

Regular readers will know I keep coming back to the importance of sideways moves into industries that are doing well. Being adaptable and backing the ‘right horse’ is the name of the game.

Case in point: Mobile software company Qstream is locating its European HQ in Dublin. The company’s founder is UCD computer science graduate and Irish tech entrepreneur Duncan Lennox, who sees Dublin as ‘a vibrant start-up eco-system like Silicon Valley and Boston’.

They plan to hire 30 staff, initially brilliant engineers.

They want to make Dublin their R&D centre as opposed to outsourcing the development work to lowwage countries.

Qstream’s European HQ will also include sales and marketing support for its expansion out of the US. They have developed an app-based training Get to grips system for sales reps. with the So watch concept of a this space European for nonengineering HQ roles too.

Engineers would be well advised to get up to speed on this company.

Consider doing a short app development course to add to your engineering background and get to grips with the concept of a European HQ and the markets it may target.

An interest in apps could serve non-engineers as well.

So too could an e-business or digital skills qualification.

Show evidence of strong business support and/or technical sales and marketing skills gained in fast-paced environments, and you could be in with a shout.

“

Career coach Jane Downes is the author of The Career Book (thecareerbook.ie) and principal coach of Clearview Coaching Group, clearviewcoachgroup.com.

n IRELAND has emerged top of the list for Europe’s tech entrepreneurs as a country to do business with. The Wall Street Journal found that, with a venture capital figure of $278.73billion (€206.9bn), Ireland topped the list, attracting four times as much funding as the per capita average, and closely followed by Sweden. The analysis used data from Dow Jones VentureSource on the total venture capital figure that streamed into countries in the past ten years and divided it by the country’s population, resulting in a per capita figure. Since 2003, some 311 venture capital deals were recorded, with nearly half of that – 42 per cent – occurring since 2009.

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A ‘lack of awareness’ to blame for daft bus etiquette

E

lbows McGinty, I totally agree with you! It annoys me so much that people are so consumed in their little bubbles that they fail to see the world around them.

The other day, I missed a bus in the morning as a result of this.

The driver drove off because there was no room in front only for me to see that the whole back area was empty. Next time you notice the stumbling block, tell the person to move (if you are within reach) – that’s what I do now.

NK, Balbriggan ■ Elbows McGinty, this phenomenon of people insisting on standing near the front of the bus

has been bothering me too. sometimes this is a case of there just being too many passengers.

However, the problem often seems to arise as soon as the first misanthrope, who neither wants to take any available seat downstairs, risk going upstairs or stand too close to their fellow passengers, decides to set themselves apart and stand at the bottom of the stairs.

Every subsequent passenger then assumes that the upper deck is full, though it rarely is, and the aisle fills with people two abreast up to the driver. This makes it very difficult for anyone getting off, or on if the driver will let you, not to mention ensuring you become more intimate with

Send your photos to pictures@ metroherald.ie with ‘Quick pic’ as the subject and we will print the best each day in the paper

strangers than either of you would wish to be. occasionally, a driver can be heard to encourage people to move upstairs, but until some measure is taken to prevent people blocking the stairs they will continue to be ignored.

Frustrated Bus Patron ■ It seems Irish Rail have given up. I called their customer service number to ask why they have not released performance statistics for september or october but the number is now disconnected. when I emailed, I got an automated reply about ‘leaves on the track’. Having got one on-time train since mid-october, I’d love to see those stats...

Paul C

● Good on ya to the off-duty bus driver who caught the scumbag exposing himself to the young girls and then urinating upstairs on the bus. When he ejected him, a do-gooder threatened the driver and told him she would report him – shame on you! I wonder if they were your daughters would you feel the same way.

Saoirse, Navan Rd

● To the white van man I see at Cowper every morning – there’s plenty of room for two...

AB, Rathmines

● To the man and woman who helped the young lady who fainted on the train from Maynooth on Tuesday morning. She was lucky you guys were nearby.

Hannah

● I’m looking for a decent single lady, aged between 20 and 30, who isn’t full of s***.

Please note also that this is not a beauty contest, but rather a character contest. If you think this is you, contact looking.for.decent.single.lady@gmail.com and provide proof. Responses will be judged fairly. The chosen lady will be one truly lucky lady...

Decent Bloke On A Quest

RAnDOM AcTs Of kinDnEss

yOuR RusH-HOuR cRusH

● Got to meet Dan Carter and the All Blacks today #toplads @Grahamgarland11

● Jealous that the All Blacks are in Dublin. I love that city! @Rugbynerd ● Off to hunt down the All Blacks. We aren’t coming home until we meet Dan Carter! #OperationAllBlacks

@shannenstanley

*Please include a name and location.

Texts cost €0.30 per message + standard network charges. SP. Oxygen8 Communications, 4th Floor, Malt House North, Grand Canal Quay, D2. Customer service number 0818286606

LOOKING UP AT THE SUNDOWN: Kevin Wheldon was good enough to send us this painterly shot of sunset over Dáil Éireann by Merrion Square West

yEH big RiDE

#allblacks

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21

Quick pic

gOOD On yA

TREnDing

Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

● I need to stop reading about sporting events. Last night, I had a dream where Roy Keane kicked a dropgoal against the All Blacks. @CaptainRiley ● Not a bad day in work. Met five players from the All Blacks :) @finneganshelly

22 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Life television

weekend watch

JFK: News OF A shOOtiNg More 4, 9pM George Clooney presents this feature-length documentary about the way the shocking news of the assassination of John F Kennedy – 50 years ago today – was broken to a stunned world. In the days before the internet and mobile phones, it was a logistical struggle that demanded reporters overcome their own emotions to deliver the details of the history-changing story as it unfolded. For an overcooked Hollywood review of the event, JFK (RTÉ1, 9pm) sees Oliver Stone theorising that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t the only gunman that day in Dallas, an idea since quashed.

LiVe iNteRNAtiONAL RUgBY UNiON rtÉ2, sUnday, 1pM

Ireland will beat New Zealand in rugby... some day. This weekend, however, with injuries casting doubt on key players Johnny Sexton and Brian O’Driscoll – not to mention the seemingly unstoppable momentum of the All Blacks as they eye up an unbeaten calendar year – the prospect seems unlikely. You never know, though. Brent Pope, Conor O’Shea, Shane Horgan and the always chirpy George Hook join Tom McGurk for live coverage. Kick-off is at 2pm.

i’M A CeLeBRitY... get Me OUt OF heRe 3e/UtV, sUnday, 9pM

FiLM OF the dAY shakespeare iN love, Film 4, 9pM Joseph Fiennes (where’s he been lately, eh?) is the titular playwright, here a struggling upand-comer suffering from writer’s block on his latest script, provisionally titled Romeo And Ethel, The Pirate’s Daughter.

What with women being forbidden to act on stage, Shakespeare casts a youth called Thomas Kent as Romeo, only to discover ‘he’ is actually a rich man’s daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow).

However, their true love instantly hits obstacles: he’s poor and already married, she’s betrothed to Lord Wessex (Colin Firth) and, from thence onwards, the course of true love never runs smooth. It’s brilliantly witty, light and packed with superb performances including Judi Dench who won a best supporting Oscar as Queen Elizabeth despite only being on screen for eight minutes. LI-Z

Eleven years later and there still seems to be a need for TV to show C-list celebrities chewing kangaroo penis and bickering over latrines. This time around, the token Irishman is erstwhile Westlife crooner Kian Egan (pictured). He joins a typically disparate motley crew that includes snooker legend Steve Davis and that dude who played cousin Carlton in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Sigh.

BOttLeR tV3, 9pM the inimitable charm of old-school, working-class dublin is brought to vivid life in this one-off special. comedian Brendan Grace is arguably best known for the eponymous character – the wily schoolboy who runs around 1960s dublin, getting in and out of scrapes with his pals. an added air of nostalgia permeates this show given that it uses real historical events in its backdrop as it flits from animation to live action, while also featuring some of the larger-thanlife characters who once hung around this special city of ours.

the gRAhAM NORtON shOw BBc1, 10.35pM

LiVe At the APOLLO BBc1, 9.30pM

Doctor Who duo and new best buddies matt smith and David Tennant reach the ‘one last push stage’ on the campaign trail for the 50th anniversary special, which blasts into our homes tomorrow evening (BBC1, 7.50pm). sharing Graham’s Tardis are acting great emma Thompson, comedian Jimmy Carr, with music from robbie Williams.

Eddie Izzard saddles up as host for the first of a new season – and kicks off with a comedy canter around the Greek gods and dressage. Tonight’s bright new star is Trevor Noah – born in apartheid South Africa, the son of a black mother and a white father, his witty take on cultural identity stems from being ‘born a crime’. He’s going to be huge.

ROOM tO iMPROVe rtÉ1, sUnday, 9.30pM

Dublin born Eilín and her husband David returned from the UK to live in Ireland and bought a rambling period house near Clane with the intention of refurbishing one of the estate’s adjoining properties. The hope is to make this a home for them and their three year-old twin sons. However, their budget is being stretched severely, not to mention the pressure being put on everyone by fulltime jobs and a totally unrealistic schedule. Dermot Bannon (pictured) has his work cut out for him.

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The summit of all fears

Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD 23

weekend The deaths of Limerick man Ger McDonnell and ten other climbers on K2 in 2008 shocked the world.

Director Nick Ryan talks to Pavel Barter about capturing the events of the ill-fated expedition in new film The Summit

T

he timing was terrible. Director Nick Ryan spent almost a year trying to get visas and funding to travel to Pakistan. Then, a few weeks before he left in 2011, Osama Bin Laden was killed. Ryan arrived in the country as controversy raged and he passed Bin Laden’s cordoned-off compound in Abbottabad.

Ryan was less worried about his personal safety and more concerned he might not reach his destination: the Savage Mountain.

K2, the second highest mountain in the world, is ten days from civilisation by foot, he explains: ‘It’s not like finding everest, where there are tea houses all way there’. The director eventually hitched a lift with a Pakistani military helicopter.

After hearing stories about this dreaded peak for years, to see it in person was shocking.

‘I’m looking at a monitor in the helicopter, panning around the mountains, and there it was. It was like seeing a horror film as a kid. Tingles up my spine. It’s like a child’s drawing of a savage mountain. A jagged tooth of a mountain. A single peak and a shoulder. A mountain on a mountain. To look at the place where all this happened was spine chilling. I knew that Ger was somewhere there still.’

Ryan’s stunning documentary

The Summit recounts a notorious expedition in 2008 when 11 climbers lost their lives, including Limerick’s Ger McDonnell.

This mountain is not for the faint-hearted. ‘For the 300 people who stood on the summit of K2, 77 have died. It’s a ridiculous statistic,’ says Ryan.

The 24-hour rolling news footage that followed the tragedy peddled inaccuracies and stripped the climbers of their dignity. News outlets also failed to tell the story of the sherpas, the unsung heroes of the mountain that August. Ryan began his investigations shortly after the tragedy, interviewing Sherpa Pemba Gyalje. ‘Pemba alerted us to what actually happened on the mountain and what Ger had done. Nobody is at fault. No one is to blame. It’s like an airplane crash: a series of calamitous events that ends up in a catastrophe.’

From meeting McDonnell’s family and fellow climbers, Ryan learned the Limerick man had a propensity not to abandon people.

When climbing Denali, the highest mountain in North America, he came across an injured climber who had been cut loose from his own team, and held his hand until he died. On an expedition to everest in 2003, McDonnell guided Cork adventurer Pat Falvey back to base

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This Sunday

24th November at 1pm

www.donaghmedesc.com

24 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

films

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camp after Falvey became hypoxic from lack of oxygen.

‘In the film, morality is skewed 180 degrees. The morally right thing to do is not the right thing to do when above 8,000metres, the Death Zone. There’s nothing you can do to help people at that altitude. When you agree to climb an 8,000metre peak, every climber makes a contract within themselves to know that if they get into trouble, they are on their own.’

For The Summit, Ryan had access to raw footage from the ill-fated climb and he

“K2 is a siren.

It drags you in” interviewed surviving mountaineers, including Wilco van Rooijen, Marco Confortola, and Cecilie Skog, whose husband was killed on the descent. Ryan questions Confortola’s testimony, though.

D

‘I

’M not trying to lambast Marco.

Marco’s not a bad guy. He went through one of the most traumatic events any man can go through. He was a hero. He stopped for three hours and did what most people would not do. The two of them started to descend.

Ger stopped and went back up. If there’s a fault, it’s that he probably took advice from someone who said, “Say whatever you like happened up there because the other guy is dead”.’

The director filmed reconstructed events of the expedition in the Swiss Alps. Ryan – best known for The German, a short film about a WWII fighter pilot – dragged green screens and actors up a 3,700metre peak.

Sherpas from the K2 expedition were technical advisers.

‘When we got there, the actor who was playing Wilco told us he was terrified of heights. He was hanging on to a cliff face over a 100 foot drop, so the look of fear in his face is not acting. But look, a ten foot fall will kill you. A thousand foot just takes a bit longer.’

Peak practice: Filming the reconstruction scenes in the Alps The Summit touches on the obsession that draws people back to K2: an obsession that fascinates and frightens the director.

‘It demonstrates the power this mountain has over people. K2 is a siren. It drags you in. There’s an incredible shot in the

film of the shadow of K2 looking into China. Every time I see that, the absence of light strikes fear into my heart. It’s a black light that says, “You should not be here”.’

The Summit is out today (see review opposite)

YOUR DUBLIN WEEKEND GET DOWN TO…

Sun, The Workman’s Club, 10 Wellington Quay D2, 8pm, €18.50.

Tel: 0818 719 300. www.theworkmansclub.com

Austra

FEAST YOUR EYES ON...

Gone With The Wind

If there’s one thing you can say about Hollywood, it’s that it’s impossible to predict a hit. When asked to produce a new script for David O Selznick’s version of Gone With The Wind, screenwriter Ben Hecht refused to believe a movie about the Civil War would ever make a dime. The result, as they say, is history. Gone With The Wind became the highest grossing movie of all time.

Until Nov 28, Light House Cinema, Smithfield Square D7, various times, prices. Tel: (01) 872 8006. www.lighthousecinema.ie

to save my sensitive skin, please buy me this for christmas...

Connoisseurs of delectably dark electro-pop confections have a fresh treat in store – Canadian combo Austra, driven by the enticingly icy (and enigmatically European-sounding) vocals of founder Katie Stelmanis – bring their Gothic dance schtick to Dublin this weekend. Already a firm favourite on the Irish festival circuit, their brooding tunes are somehow both murky and outrageously insistent Tonight, Button Factory, Curved Street D2, 7.30pm, €17.

Tel: (01) 670 9202. www.buttonfactory.ie (sold out)

Jason Isbell

Alabama guitarist/singer-songwriter Jason Isbell enjoyed a lengthy stint with southern rock cowpunks Drive-By Truckers between 2002 and 2007.

He quickly rose to prominence as a core contributor to the band’s whiskey-steeped rock sound on albums Decoration Day and The Dirty South.

Following many successful outings with his own band The 400 Unit, he’s enjoyed a critical – if not commercial – success with this year’s cracking Southeastern LP

Peter Hook And The Light

The erstwhile New Order/Joy Division bassist turns grizzled frontman with his latest band, playing full live versions of New Order albums, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies.

Tonight, The Academy, 57 Middle Abbey Street D1, 8pm, €22.50. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.theacademydublin.com

Inni-K

The multi-talented Kildare folk mavin brings her wispy, on-trend rustic indie to The Unitarian Church this weekend.

Support from Rhob Cunnigham Tomorrow, Umitarian Church, St Stephens Green D2, 8pm, €10.

Tickets from www. entertainment.ie

GIGGLE AT...

CURIOUS ABOUT...

Tony Law

Improvising Dutch cellist – not a phrase you hear often – Ernst Reijseger is perhaps best known for contributing to the soundtracks to Werner Herzog’s The Wild Blue Yonder and Cave Of Forgotten Dreams. Expect some impassioned playing this weekend when he joins pianist Harmen Fraanje and vocalist Mola Sylla at The Fumbally Café, where the triumvirate will present unique ‘readings’ of their material. Admission includes dinner Tomorrow, The Fumbally Café, Clanbrassil Stret D8, 7.30pm, €25.

See www.note.ie for booking details

Reijseger – Fraanje – Sylla

helly hansen

seven j jacket

€95.00

01 443 0800

108-109 Middle Abbey St, Dublin 1

basecamp.ie

The cerebral Canadianborn Londoner brings his Maximum Nonsense tour to Dublin this weekend.

Expect surreal flights of fancy and riffs on everything from his Viking/pirate heritage to deep space exploration Tonight, Whelan’s, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, e15. Tel: 1890 200 078. www.whelanslive.com

QUÉ SABRÁ EL RELÓ DE NÁ

Presented by Dublin Flamenco Festival, with the support of art consultant Olivier Cornet, this multi-disciplinary evening brings together contemporary Spanish art, music and poetry as part of the Dublin Flamenco Festival Tonight, Smock Alley Theatre, 8 Lower Exchange Street, Temple Bar D2, 8pm, €18 to €22. Tel: (01) 677 0014. www.smockalley.com

D

Slow burning girl power

Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD 25

High drama on K2

THE Big RELEAsE

the hunger games: CatChing Fire (12A) HHHH✩

Was it really only a year ago this dark, game-changing, female-led action franchise was being touted as ‘the new Twilight’?

Now, $700m box office gross later, every wannabe teen blockbuster wants to be ‘the new Hunger Games’, though none have quite managed it. Including this one.

We are again in a not-too-distant future fascist dystopia where selected teenagers are tossed into an arena and forced to fight to the death until only one survives – all as entertainment for a baying TV audience.

Here, last year’s victor, Katniss Everdeen (captivating closed book Jennifer Lawrence), finds her dreams of returning home to sort out her love triangle between cute, sensitive baker (Josh Hutcherson) and hunky miner (Liam Hemsworth) dashed.

As a reluctant symbol of a burgeoning revolution, Katniss is a danger to President Snow (Donald Sutherland) who hurls our traumatised heroine back into a special

the summit (12A) HHHH✩

vERDiCT A smart action sequel of great moments rather than a triumphant whole but even at 146 minutes, I was still hungry for more.

Hunger Games to batter all previous victors as well as some slightly uninspired CGI peril, such as dry ice and killer baboons.

This bridging sequel is too faithful to what’s the weakest volume of author Suzanne Collins’s original trilogy. However new director Francis Lawrence (Water For Elephants) does a fair job on a rushed production: juggling dark wit, striking visual style and set-piece fights without

compromising the story’s grimmer, more provocative concepts. But it is Lawrence, Hollywood’s hottest property, who lifts this to a four-star. Her wonderfully unloveable Katniss may be as surly as Twighlight’s Bella but she’s not defined by her love triangle and never strips to her knickers.

Thanks to Katniss and Lawrence, ‘girl power’ is finally more than a sexy little label.

Larushka ivan-Zadeh

Warmest colour blue is red hot Blue is the Warmest Colour (18) HHHHH Steven Spielberg and his Cannes jury made history earlier this year: they awarded not just draconian director Abdellatif Kechiche (Couscous) but his two young actresses the Palme D’Or for what’s been reductively labelled as the ‘lesbian sex movie’. Good call, Steven. For there are definitely three people in this marriage.

Loosely based on a graphic novel by Julie Maroh, it’s the hormonally-charged, coming-

of-age tale of Adèle (astonishing Adèle Exarchopoulos), who is a bi-curious 15-yearold when she meets blue-haired art student Emma (gap-toothed Léa Seydoux – this century’s Béatrice Dalle).

Their worlds couldn’t be more different but it is voracious eroticism that ties them together. Cue the controversial, eight-minute girl-on-girl bed scene, featuring more positions than the puppets in Team America: World Police. Zooming in on Adèle’s every flush – not to mention up her pert derrière – the camera is so profoundly intimate you

urge to swat it away. But the rumoured 200 takes Kechiche demanded pay off. His stars may have since branded the shoot as ‘horrible’, but it produced three hours of compelling drama that fascinatingly explores desire, the relation of artist to muse and of essence and existence. More thrillingly alive than any other film you’ll see this year. Li-Z

ALsO OUT more New Films rateD vendetta (18) HH✩✩✩

By the standards of the Danny Dyer CV, this revenge thriller is semi-ambitious and actually partway watchable, with a central turn that suggests its star isn’t solely knocking about for the pay cheque. For one thing, our Dan’s pwoper bulked up to play the rogue special op whose pursuit of the ne’er-do-wells behind his parents’ murders sparks a national security crisis.

Boasting enough conviction to strong arm us past the plot holes, writer/director stephen reynolds makes some effort to interrogate this vigilante’s methods; a pity he isn’t above the usual leering business in lap dancing clubs, or a wildly silly, sequelchasing finale, which repositions Dyer as Canning town’s answer to the Dark Knight.

Mike McCahill.

the Family (15) HH✩✩✩

weirdly intent on sending his early ‘serious’ scorsese-era catalogue to swim with the fishes, robert De Niro is back in meet the Parents mode again with this tonally messy black comedy from luc Besson. He’s the ex-mafia daddy of a family (a thankfully fabulous michelle Pfeiffer, John D’leo and Glee’s Dianna agron) on

the run from the mob, currently hiding out in a teeny village in France – where handily everyone speaks american. Cue much cross-cultural humour that’s as tired as costar tommy lee Jones (unenergetically doing tommy lee Jones) permanently looks. that the family meets every obstacle from cowboy plumbers to stolen pencilcases with sociopathic violence is unoriginal, barely amusing, and soon disturbing. and, apart from confirming americans as vulgar, grabby, gun-crazed, peanut butter-munchers, little about this makes sense. Li-Z

parkland (15) HHH✩✩ amid all the tV documentaries and dramatisations based around President John F Kennedy’s assassination on Nov 22 1963, this film, produced by Bill Paxton and tom Hanks and adapted from Vincent Bugliosi’s riveting Four Days in November, takes

a different approach. it’s a docu-dramastyled tapestry of real, mostly ordinary people’s lives impacted by the chaotic events. these include the young er trauma surgeon (Zac efron) on call at Parkland Hospital when JFK was wheeled in, his head blown to pieces but still with a pulse, to the bystander (Paul Giamatti, pictured) who recorded the most famous home movie footage in history. Vividly filmed by journalist turned director Peter landesman and cinematographer Barry ackroyd (the go-to guy for photorealism by Paul Greengrass and Ken loach), it’s a film of highly effective, affecting moments. the ensemble has serious acting chops (marcia Gay Harden, Billy Bob thornton, Jacki weaver), even if there are too many FBi special agents-in-Charge, all the president’s men and confrontational mini-dramas to engage with. However James Badge Dale is a standout as robert oswald, the gunman’s shocked elder brother who stepped up to support the family – even though he never doubted his brother lee’s guilt.

Angie Errigo

‘What goes up must come down’ is not a phrase that applies to K2, the second highest mountain in the world. On average, one out of every four climbers who reach the summit perish on the descent. Nick Ryan’s documentary about 2008’s illfated expedition on K2, which resulted in the deaths of 11 climbers, is an expertly crafted tale in the mould of Touching The Void. Unlike that docudrama, The Summit is more a tale of tragedy than triumph. Ryan approaches his doc like a detective, melding footage from the climb, interviews and re-enactments, to unearth the truth behind a bizarre sequence of events. At the heart of the story: Limerick mountaineer Ger McDonnell, a heart-warming character who died on the mountain, and Sherpa Pemba Gyalje, who survived. Exploring themes of obsession, memory, endurance, the distortions of mass media, and nature’s deadly allure, The Summit ranks alongside such survival documentaries as 2006’s Deep Water.

Pavel Barter

puzzles

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METROSCOPE

by Patrick Arundell

NEMI by Lise

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20

You might have found yourself getting more competitive about work and lifestyle strands. Home comforts may appeal too, as a Moon-Jupiter connection might make an evening at your place seem a great way to pass the time. The Sun also primes thoughts of faraway places.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 70

Taurus Apr 21 – May 21

METROKU Easy, Moderate and Challenging. For solutions, visit Metro.co.uk/metroku

Today’s Moon-Mars link suggests positive feelings may motivate you to meet with someone who can be excellent company. And this friend, partner or love interest may help you relax – if you feel like getting away from responsibilities for a while.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 71

Gemini May 22 – Jun 21

There may be plenty of people to share ideas with. Your social life may brighten up with a chance to review the potential in your associations. Push back any sense of inhibition in friendships as well as with those within a more intimate bond.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 72

Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23

Today’s Moon-Jupiter link may be happy and upbeat, helping you feel generally good about life. Meanwhile, a Moon-Mars influence might motivate you to connect with folk who may be instrumental in helping you make progress.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 73

Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23

PEARLs BEFORE swINE

You may start to feel lighter from today as the Sun zips into Sagittarius and your leisure zone. Your love of entertainment, creative pastimes and amorous opportunities might entice you to get out more and enjoy relaxing with friends.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 74

Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23

ACROSS 7 Remonstrance (13) 8 Abridges (8) 9 Assert (4) 10 Additional building (6) 12 End (6) 14 Meal (6) 16 Hark (6) 18 Demonstrate (4) 20 Drug (8) 22 Book of information (13)

DOWN 1 Swap (8) 2 Prescribed series (6) 3 Inflamed eyelid (4) 4 Rapturous (8) 5 Stress (6) 6 Solitary (4) 11 Involve (8) 13 Definite (8) 15 Ever (6) 17 Purloined (6) 19 Suspend (4) 21 Mature (4)

Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 1 Quit; 8 Inimitable; 9 Man-eater; 10 Dark; 12 Silver; 14 Enable; 15 Sinner; 17 Preach; 18 Brag; 19 Jeremiad; 21 Correction; 22 Deep. down: 2 Unfamiliar; 3 Tire; 4 Bitter; 5 Fierce; 6 Hardware; 7 Peak; 11 Reluctance; 13 Vinegary; 16 Reject; 17 Permit; 18 Back; 20 Mend.

– Oct 23

An intuitive prompting can encourage you to explore career opportunities.

You might feel a desire to get ahead.

The Sun’s move into your communication zone may goad you into learning something that’s important.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 76

scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22

You may feel lighter and brighter as the Sun leaves your sign and departs into Sagittarius. Perhaps you’ll be more relaxed about your income, though you may be mulling over joint finances.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 77

sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21

Enjoy the presence of the Sun in your sign from today. It will stay here for a month and coincides with a chance to get involved in meaningful projects.

Lunar links might also help you move ahead career wise.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 78

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

The Sun begins a natural phase in which you may feel like taking time out to recharge. You might notice that time spent alone can be profitable, as it may bring an opportunity to see things from a different perspective.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 79

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

You may feel you’ve made a lot of headway career-wise and can ease off a little, and perhaps socialise more.

The Sun’s move into Sagittarius may correspond with opportunities for mixing and mingling, whether for work or pleasure.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 80

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20

Creative and romantic opportunities may be highlighted as a Lunar link with Mars and Jupiter can motivate you to connect and collaborate. Your career zone gets a special boost from the Sun as it tours this sector for a month.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 81

For a live one-to-one consultation with one of my gifted psychics, call 15809 113 68 or 1800 719 688 to book using credit card Astrology calls cost 1.27 euros per min from a BT landline. Live Services cost 2.40 euros per minute. Calls from mobiles/other networks may cost more. Callers must be 18 or over to use this service and have the bill payers permission. For entertainment purposes only. All calls are recorded. PhonePayPlus regulated(ComReg in ROI) UK SP: StreamLive Ltd, NR7 0HR, 08700 234 567. ROI SP:Moveda, 1 Courtyard Business Park, Orchard Lane, Blackrock, Co Dublin, 0818 241 398

QuIz

Crossword No. 864 See next edition for solutions

Libra Sep 24

ENIGMA This comic song by Billy Merson Tells of an Iberian person Who stole his wife quite clean away, A crime for which he’ll die one day.

WHO AM I? A politician, I was born in Belfast in 1944. In 2007 I announced my decision to join the Conservative Party. I was elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in 1995 and was the first minister of Northern Ireland from 1998-2002.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… regained the world heavyweight boxing championship after more than 20 years?

WHAT… beetle has the wireworm as a larva?

WHERE… is Karachi, the largest city in that country?

WHEN… was the cruise ship the Achille Lauro hijacked by Palestinian militants?

ANSWERS: ENIGMA: The Spaniard That Blighted My Life. WHO AM I? David Trimble.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE AND WHEN? George Foreman; Click beetle; Pakistan; 1985..

QUICK CROsswORd

This can be a good time to think about the coming festive season and about getting your place ready in advance, Virgo. You might also be busy socially, with a view to enhancing current friendships and making lively new connections.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 75

SCRIBBLE BOX

26 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

D

weekend

Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD 27

cLubS Loud-E

Nut will crack the hardest cynic bALLET REviEw

Nutcracker HHHHH Ballet Ireland’s Nutcracker is an absolute pleasure from the minute the first bars of the overture strike up to the several curtain calls that end this superb production – if you’re in need of cheering up as the economic and meteorological gloom continues, this is about as uplifting as it gets: pure magic. Of course, it helps that the music is so good: peformed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Tchaikovsky’s lush Romantic score would make a perfect night out at the Concert Hall in itself…

Although the Nutcracker story – of a toy that comes to life on Christmas Eve and takes a little girl, Clara, on a journey through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets – means it’s ideal for children, it’s so accessible it would also make an excellent introduction to ballet for adults.

The dancing, needless to say, is phenomenal. Ryoko Yaguya, a Ballet Ireland regular, puts in a fantastic performance in the demanding role of Clara, while James Loffler makes a fine Nutcracker – the wonderful duet they dance towards the end of Act I will completely hypnotise you. And it gets even better – the highlight of the evening has to be the next scene, when the Nutcracker leads Clara into a dark forest and the corps de ballet, each personifying a snowflake, dance around them. When the Supertones children’s choir join in and the snow falls on the dancers from above, you would want to be a hardened old cynic not to be completely enchanted by the sight.

The battle between the Nutcracker and his tin soldiers and the army of rats is also memorable, mostly for the dancers’ perfect rendition of the scuttling movements of rats (not to mention the fantastic giant rat

costumes, which can’t be to easy to manouevre in) – again, it’s the type of fun scene that makes this perfect for children.

The second act features some extremly familiar music (the score has been plundered by advert directors for decades – think ‘Everyone’s a fruit and nutcase’) and a divertissement of dances from around the world as the Sugar Plum Fairy (an exellent Emma Lister) asks her subjects to entertain Clara. Niklas Blomqvist stands out for his breathtakingly acrobatic Russian Dance, as does Kesi Olley-Dorey in the Arabian number.

This charming Nutcracker makes for an unforgettable night out – I can’t think of a better early Christmas present, so book now for this short-running production.

Sheena Davitt

Until Nov 23, Gaiety, South King Street D2 & on Dec 21, The Helix, DCU, Collins Ave D9, €25.

Decamping from their home at Odessa, the Forza party welcomes another Dutch guest, the inimitable Loud-E aka Rard Laudy (pictured) to the Sugar Club. Mixing up obscure grooves with well-known disco and Italo tunes, Laudy has put out a series of unofficial sought-after mixes – the Dance Your Pants Off series – as well as edits of disco songs like Black Jack’s Jungle Man Jive for Ambassador’s Reception and Big Bear. Dispel the winter gloom with Italo Disco’s sweetest DJ. Tonight, Forza Zucchero, The Sugar Club, Leeson Street, D2, 10.30pm, €7.50. Tel: (01) 678 7188

Simian Mobile Disco

In their recorded work, Simian Mobile Disco break down the barriers between indie and electronic music, but as DJs UK duo James Ford and James Shaw are more impressive. Last year’s Patterns & Cycles selection for Mixmag saw them weave a thread that started with archexperimentalist Byteone and took in cuts from house pioneer Larry Heard and new school techno artists Peter Van Hoesen and Analogue Cops.

Tonight, Simian Mobile Disco @ Hidden Agenda, the Button Factory, Curved Street, Temple Bar, D2, 11pm, €12. Tel: (01) 670 9202

Ben Klock

At this stage, Ben Klock visits Dublin almost as regularly as he DJs in Berlin, but it seems the Twisted Pepper crowd cannot get enough of his locked-on house/techno sets and chiselled good looks. If you haven’t heard or seen him before, you’re in for a treat this weekend.

Tomorrow, Pogo/Culture Shock, The Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street, D1, 10.30pm, €13 to €15. Tel: (086) 325 2471 Richard brophy

gig

GIFTS FOR ALL THE FAMILY

kODALinE Everything is proceeding according to the script for Swords soft-rockers Kodaline, assuming the script involved winning thousands of swooning lady-fans while earning the enduring opprobrium of critics. You can, to be fair, see why things have panned out this way. With their manly stubble, wafting hair and liquid gazes, the quartet are basically what The Coronas would look like with slightly better stylists.

Musically, on the other hand, we’re mired in the darkest recesses of Chris Martin’s mojo, a Dante’s Inferno of languid break-up ballads, treacly torch songs… well, actually that’s pretty much it, repackaged and re-calibrated ad nauseam.

Especially contentious is their de-fanged tilt at LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends, wherein Kodaline leech all the pathos from the track and replace it with lip-quivering, non-specific weepiness. Still, there’s no disputing their popularity. Up against Kanye West, their debut LP very nearly reached No.1 in the UK (naturally it roared to the top of the charts here). Twelve months since they were playing The Button Factory, a multiple night stand at The Olympia beckons – and even that is merely a taster for an O2 date in 2014. Roll your eyes all you want – who could possibly

What kind of

GIFTS do you give?

Boring...

or

Brilliant! dispute that Kodaline know exactly what they are doing and are executing the battle plan with ruthless efficiency?

Eamon de Paor Tonight & tomorrow, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame Street D2, €20, 7.30pm. www.kodaline.com

Play your way to a better brain First Floor, St Stephen’s Green Centre, Dublin 2

www.cogs.ie

28 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

boxing

Collins: Out to settle a score

cOLLiNs TO sETTLE ‘18-yEAR gRUDgE’ wiTH ROy jONEs

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seb’s a schu-in to equal feat in 2013 finale

formula one brazilian gp

Steve CollinS says his fight with a leicester builder next month is a tune-up for a clash with Roy Jones Jnr. Collins is in the record books as the only irishman to win world titles at two weights, and comes out of retirement to box Steve Grieves in an exhibition bout in front of a sell-out crowd at the Maher Centre a week on Saturday.

After that, he is targeting Jones, who has won world honours from middleweight to heavyweight.

Collins reckons he has an ‘18-year grudge’ to settle with the American before he finally hangs up his gloves.

Collins, who took the WBo middleweight title from leicester’s Chris Pyatt in 1994, said: ‘the only reason i’m keeping in shape is because myself and Roy Jones have an 18-year grudge that needs to be sorted out.’

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Soaking it up: The retiring Webber takes a picture at the drivers’ press conference

picture: reuters

by ADAM HAy-NicHOLLs Formula One Correspondent It has been 118 days since sebastian Vettel last failed to win a grand prix. that was in hungary, where he finished third. since then, he’s won a record-breaking eight races straight and will hope to take his 13th win of 2013 in sao Paulo this sunday, the final race of the year, which would match Michael schumacher’s 2004 record of the most wins in a year. some say this season – certainly the second half – has been boring. I wouldn’t disagree, except to say we have witnessed a display of brilliance from Vettel and Red Bull that will go down in history as a vintage period.

Undoubtedly, we are watching the greatest union of this generation but things can change quickly in Formula One, of course. the era of the V8 engine is coming to an end. In Brazil we will hear for the last time the 18,000RPM scream of an eightcylinder F1 engine. Next year, we will hear the softer and quieter sound of 1.6 litre V6 turbos, in a bid to give F1 cars

Home favourite: Massa better fuel economy and bring the sport into line with automotive engineering. the technical changes may shuffle the pack. after winning last week in austin, Vettel told his team: ‘We have to remember these days boys, there’s no guarantee they will last. We must enjoy it.’ there will be other goodbyes in Brazil.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber will drive his final grand prix. the 37-year-old says he’s chosen to retire before he fades.

‘I’m on a little bit of a slippery slope now,’ said the candid australian. ‘I think I’m still driving well, but I don’t want to be around not driving well.’

Felipe Massa is the man the sao Paulistas cheer for most loudly, and he is making his final appearance in red before joining Williams.

Massa, who made his F1 debut in 2002 alongside Webber, has never raced a car without a Ferrari engine. this will be his 139th race for the scuderia, at a track on which he’s made the podium four times.

We would all love to see him up there again on sunday for his Ferrari farewell.

spORT DigEsT All back to Hein as the door THEy sAiD iT... Perfect form shuts on England’s aloof elite ‘We pay him to washed out

RUgBy UNiON Top English

teams could be frozen out of topflight European club rugby next season. Five unions – the Welsh, Scottish, Irish, French and Italian – have committed to continuing the European Rugby Cup [ERC, currently the Heineken Cup] after talks in Dublin yesterday. A statement from the unions read: ‘A European club competition is to take place during the 2014/2015 season following an optimised

sporting and economic format with 20 teams, no matter how many countries are involved.’

The French clubs and Welsh regions had previously indicated they would join English clubs in a breakaway competition next term. Premiership Rugby, the umbrella organisation for the English clubs, has consistently said it no longer recognises the ERC and will not participate in its tournaments.

perform well on the road and he must concentrate fully on that’

Mark Cavendish’s team manager appears to put an end to his hopes of racing on the track at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Cavendish has hinted at a return to the velodrome in Rio but Omega Pharma-Quick Step boss Patrick Lefevere isn’t keen.

cRickET Ireland’s 100 per cent record in the ICC World Twenty20 qualifying was ended by the weather as their meeting with Italy was washed out without a ball being bowled. Heavy rain left the sides taking a point each. Wins from their games against Uganda and Hong Kong will see Ireland into the semi-finals as group winners.

football premier league

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD 29 picture: robbie reynolds

Martinez: We are on Red alert for the SAS by jOn HARvEy EvErton boss roberto Martinez is confident his team can deal with Liverpool’s fearsome forward pairing.

Strike duo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge head into tomorrow’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park having scored 18 goals between them in all competitions this campaign, Martinez is well aware of the danger they pose but is concerned mainly about getting his own side’s approach right rather than formulating a specific plan to nullify them. the Spaniard said: ‘they have had a very good start to the season, they are very influential in their team.

‘From that partnership up front, they

Robbie Keane gave the thumbs up at the launch of the Xbox One yesterday. The console went on sale at midnight last night and offers multiplayer experiences through XBox Live. Titles available for the console include Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son Of Rome, as well as Fifa 14, Call Of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4

kEAnE EyES gOing fROM CAPTAin TO COACHing At the Age of 33 and with Achilles problems beginning to niggle, you’d forgive Robbie Keane for thinking ahead to the time when he will be forced to hang up his boots.

Although the Republic of Ireland skipper and LA galaxy star still has plenty of wind left in his sail, a stint of coaching players in January has got the record goal-scorer considering his options after retirement. By the sounds of things, the challenge of coaching is something Keane would relish.

‘I’m in the process of speaking to the FAI now,’ Keane said. ‘I’m looking forward to it. It’s something new to me. I remember the lads during the summer there, how nervous they were doing it, even with people that they knew, just because it’s out of their comfort zone. You have to have everything set up properly.’

72 Per cent of Liverpool’s goals have been scored by Suarez and Sturridge this season have got a real goalscoring threat.

‘But as a team, you are always used to coping with threats of the opposition.

‘It is more about what we can do and how we can perform in the derby rather than being worried about what the opposition can bring.’

Everton’s current strength appears to be their defence, which has not conceded in their last three outings. on the downside they have not scored in their last two matches either – goalless draws against tottenham and Crystal Palace – but Martinez is not overly concerned about that.

He said: ‘We are very close to getting into a position where we can control games and score goals at the end of it.

‘We see it as a normal process we need to get through rather than something that is lacking.’

Deadly duo: Suarez and Sturridge have led the Liverpool attack

Once he has acquired these badges, a pathway into a coaching career could be forged, should Keane decide to go down that route.

‘I might do it in January and after a few days think “f**k this!”’ the striker joked. ‘No, of course, down the road it’s something that I want to do. It’s alright playing a game and talking about it, but to actually put on a session for 20 lads, that’s probably something completely different, so to actually learn to be able to do that, I’m looking forward to that.

When exactly that point arrives, however, is something Keane can’t put a number on just yet, it seems. ‘I still have a good few years left so I want to play as long as I can first.

[A training badge] is just something to have, because once you finish playing you don’t know what opportunities will come up.’

picture: pA

Kelly can’t wait for euro qualifiers under new management team international

Raring to go: Stephen Kelly looks forward to getting down to the business of qualifying for the Euros after two promising friendlies

StepheN KeLLY admits he can’t wait for Ireland’s new qualifying campaign to get under way after a positive start to Martin O’Neill’s reign. the 30-year-old Reading defender was handed a 37th senior cap as he played the full 90 minutes in tuesday night’s 0-0 friendly draw in poland, which followed hot on the heels of a 3-0 victory over Latvia in the new manager’s first game.

Ireland will learn in February which nations stand between them and their hopes of making it to the euro 2016 finals when the draw is made, but optimism is already growing with the memories of their failure to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil under giovanni trapattoni starting to fade.

Kelly said: ‘Fingers crossed, that’s the plan. the new management team comes in and everybody is looking to perform, the goal is now qualification. ‘everybody is going to be judged on how we do when it gets to those times.

Friendlies – it’s great to perform in them

and great to do well in them, but it’s the games in the qualifiers which are the ones we are going to be judged on, so when it gets to them in September, we will see how we go then.’

In the short-term, O’Neill will be able to reflect upon a hugely positive first ten days getting to know his players. the initial signs are promising, but the manager has acknowledged there is much work to be done.

Kelly said: ‘the manager has come in and he has got a squad of players – he knows a couple of the lads from working with them at club level, but the majority of them, he probably doesn’t know because he wouldn’t have worked with us before.

‘It’s for him to come in, take notice in training, watch us, see how we perform in the game and then judge what he wants and what he thinks is the best for us.’

Much of the buzz surrounding O’Neill’s appointment has centred around his choice of Roy Keane as his number two.

But the response from the players has been one of delight, and as one of the few members of the squad to have worked alongside Keane in the past, Kelly is well-placed to judge his input to date. he said: ‘I was fortunate enough to be in the squad with Roy back when Brian Kerr was manager. Back then, I was so young, I didn’t speak to him much.

‘But he has been so relaxed. I suppose he has got a persona, hasn’t he? But it’s been excellent and the atmosphere has been fantastic.’

30 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

Keith Wood is

On THE spOT The Guinness Plus App is offering fans the chance to meet Irish rugby legend Keith Wood, but he spoke to Metro Herald first.

Download the app from the iTunes and Google Play Stores now ■ Do you think Saturdays result was a true reflection of where Ireland are right now?

Absolutely not, I thought our intensity wasn’t anywhere good enough and that’s something that can change in a couple of days. That’s not what anybody would expect from an Irish team.

But they were just off the pace.

have him, and I didn’t come within two or three yards of him, it was quite embarrassing actually. I thought I had him, but wasn’t even close. Another thing is the fact that they were so clinical. Even if they didn’t play well, you gave them one chance and they took it.

■ It’s early days, but Ireland are making a lot of line breaks under Joe Schmidt, that must be encouraging? It would be more encouraging if we had people picking those line breaks and running off the shoulder of the players. It’s hard to be very encouraged after last week. I think we’ll ultimately see what Joe comes up with in the next few months.

■ They have so much talent in their team, but is Kieran Read as big an influence as Richie McCaw and Dan Carter? Yes, I think his leap in standard over the last three years has been phenomenal. I think he is playing a hugely influential role and whereas McCaw is still the biggest nuisance in world rugby at a ruck, Kieran Read’s interlinking play with the outside backs opens teams up.

■ When players are trying to focus on implementing a new game plan does that mean standards can slip in other aspects of play? It could be, It’s

■ How do you go about trying to beat New Zealand? Ideally beating Australia the week before! You have to believe you have a chance to do it.

‘I don’t see Ireland winning but you always live in hope’ trying to figure out what went wrong. Whether people are doubting what they’re doing or are a little bit uncertain. There were an awful lot of errors there from players who you don’t expect to make those errors.

■ What will the atmosphere in the Ireland camp be this week with the All Blacks coming to town? There will be a fair dollop of fear from a group of players who won’t want to let themselves down, won’t want to let the jersey down. I don’t think there will be any doubt there will be a full reaction to their own performance and that is especially heightened because it’s the All Blacks.

rugby autumn series

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■ What is reasonable to expect for the Six Nations? I think it would be reasonable to expect us to win our home games. The Six Nations is all about momentum. If you can get off to a good start you can win it, get off to bad start and you can find things can crumble quite quickly.

■ How do you think the game will play out on Sunday? I think it will be closer than people think. I don’t see Ireland winning but you always live in hope of that one chance.

■ What do make of all this talk of the World Cup coming to Ireland? I think it is realistic. It will be a big ask of the Government and IRFU. Its payback to the country could be ■ What always stood out for phenomenal. There still needs to you in your experience playing be an awful lot more work to the All Blacks? Their speed, the make it happen. We were difficulty in trying to get to fortunate in that the last World players at times. I remember Cup was in a country with a trying to tackle Doug Howlett at similar population to our own. one stage in his pomp. I said I They showed it could be done. inTERviEw: LiAM COsTELLO

BOD and D’Arcy are tasked to stop Read

Brian O’DriscOll and Gordon D’arcy look set to resume their centre partnership when ireland name their team for sunday’s clash with new Zealand today.

The decision to release Ulster’s luke Marshall and Darren cave for raboDirect PrO12 action points to D’arcy starting in the number 12 jersey alongside O’Driscoll.

O’Driscoll is on course to shake off a calf niggle in time for the climax to the Guinness series in his final appearance against new Zealand before retiring at the end of the season.

Jonathan sexton has been struggling with a hamstring injury incurred in the loss to australia and has until late this morning to prove his fitness. should he fail to recover, Paddy Jackson is favourite to start after directing the autumn-opening 40-9 win against samoa.

Full-back rob Kearney is expected

by DAnny HOgAn

to win his battle with a rib problem. new Zealand are chasing the end of a perfect season by posting a 14th successive victory to become the first Test side to finish a calendar year with an immaculate record spearheading sunday’s assault on Dublin will be number eight Kieran read, favourite for the in-

ternational rugby Board player of the year award. read has been the sport’s outstanding player in any position this year and ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip (pictured) regards him as exceptional.

‘We were talking to australia last weekend at the dinner and they said “just mark Kieran read”.

That is how much of an influence he can have,’ Heaslip said. ‘i would put him and sergio Parisse as the best eights out there and Kieran is showing incredible form.

‘Kieran’s the full package. He’s got great distribution and carrying skills.

He’s a serious athlete.

O’Driscoll relishing last opportunity Last chance: O’Driscoll has faced New Zealand 14 times but has never been on the winning side pIcture: InphO

Ireland centre, and their dominant performer over the last decade, Brian O’driscoll will have his last chance to claim a victory over the all Blacks in dublin on Sunday.

The former British and Irish lions, and Ireland, captain has known many of rugby’s honours, but like his countrymen who first met the all Blacks in 1905, they have never known victory over new Zealand. as he contemplates retirement he said never having beaten new Zealand would be a frustration if it wasn’t achieved on Sunday, but he didn’t think it would be something that would ‘gnaw’ at him.

‘It’s very hard to answer that going into the last time I’m ever going to play against them. Going in thinking

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Friday, November 22, 2013 METRO HERALD

31

Recall: Gordon D’Arcy is likely to start at centre as Joe Schmidt needs to call on his old reliables to face the best team in world rugby

Read it and weep: The All Blacks No.8 is at the top of his game, with Jamie Heaslip calling him ‘the complete package’

BETTER PERFORMANCE WILL BE GOOD RESULT ON SUNDAY

It mIght have been tempting to look at last weekend’s disappointment against the Wallabies – a defeat more emphatic than the 32-15 scoreline might suggest – and think things can only get better for Ireland, but unfortunately that sentiment fails to factor in the all Blacks looming large on Sunday afternoon.

Irish players and management have been rattling through a game of bounce-back bingo this week – ‘extra edge in training’, ‘fixable problems’, ‘belief’, ‘physicality’, etc, – but the 60-0 thrashing doled out when the sides met last in hamilton stills hangs heavily over many in the Irish squad, and any hope of catching the visitors off balance in their last fixture of the season is negated by New Zealand’s desire to round off 2013 by becoming the first side in nearly 20 years to complete a calendar year with a 100 per cent record. that, combined with Ireland’s struggle for form, raises the spectre of a similar hammering this time around, so expect Ireland boss Joe Schmidt to lean on his more experienced lieutenants as much as he can with the eyes of his countrymen on the aviva Stadium.

Rob Kearney’s apparent availability is a real boost, but Schmidt will no doubt be biting his nails over the injuries to Brian O’Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton. after watching his anguished departure against the aussies it would be a real surprise if Sexton was over his hamstring injury, leaving Paddy Jackson the likely starter at ten and ensuring gordon D’arcy’s recall at inside centre (Luke marshall’s release for Ulster’s Pro12 tie against edinburgh tonight serving to spill the beans there). there will also be interesting calls on the bench, notably at tighthead, where Declan Fitzpatrick and Stephen archer made little impact over the past fortnight behind struggling starter mike Ross. Schmidt must be tempted to give Leinster’s martin moore a chance, but the occasion may be asking too much of a 22-year-old essentially in his first full season of professional rugby.

It’s frankly impossible to give Ireland much chance of winning this weekend, but it’s fair to expect a big improvement in intensity and application as a wounded bunch look for some positives to take forward to the Six Nations. @garethmakim

to end Ireland’s All Blacks hoodoo that [that Ireland had never won] this week is a defeatist attitude.

‘I’m going into it thinking there’s a distinct possibility of beating them, and we need to do everything we can to give ourselves a good chance,’ he said.

‘Reflection is for when you’re not playing anymore and I’m not a reflective guy, certainly not now and I don’t even know if I will be in time. ‘all you can ask is for these opportunities. You’re never guaranteed any more than that and this is just one more opportunity, and for me it’s my last,’ he said. the contest this weekend would be his 14th against New Zealand

and given the last encounter was a 60-0 defeat at hamilton last year it was a tough task, especially when adding their defeat by australia last weekend.

But the experienced O’Driscoll said the fear factor might not be a bad thing – it concentrated the mind. ‘a fear fact is often a good motivation. It’s a combination of the anger of our performance and then the realisation that yes, we did get 60 points put against us to no score last time.

‘It is something that heightens my concentration that you need to stay on your toes for 80 minutes because they can score for fun; if you’re in any scenario

they can score 14 points in two or three minutes if they are given the opportunity,’ he said of the all Blacks.

O’Driscoll said Steve hansen’s team were playing with more tempo and speed and backed themselves to play that type of game.

‘You see the speed of getting to the ball that has been kicked out of the play, the speed at which the lineout goes, they are always playing front-foot football and they back themselves from a fitness point of view, but they are a vastly skilful team across the board,’ he said.

‘When you win in scenarios like that, that’s why it feels special.’

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32 METRO HERALD Friday, November 22, 2013

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Vettel set to match Schumacher’s win record at Brazilian Grand Prix

it’s more than just a derby

«see page 28

TOMMy guns fOR An upsET AgAinsT ALL BLAcks

Gerrard shares Reds title dream as Martinez raises Everton ambitions

by JOn HARvEy

THE Merseyside derby promises to be about more than local bragging rights after Steven Gerrard revealed Liverpool’s title dream, while Everton manager Roberto Martinez urged his own players to think big.

England captain Gerrard returns to club duty tomorrow looking for three points to aid his bid for the one prize missing from his trophy cabinet.

The Reds sit second in the Premier League after a good

Leader: Gerrard start to the season but the midfielder said no-one is getting carried away.

‘It’s important for me as captain not to raise expectations,’ the 33-year-old said.

‘When you’re talking about winning titles, it’s premature,

it’s too early, and I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.’

Martinez meanwhile, says Everton must aim for more than just local pride after guiding the Toffees to within a point of the top four.

‘This could be a very significant game,’ he said.

‘We want to get away from the feeling of just fighting for the Merseyside rights.

‘It goes a little bit further than that and making sure it is a strong start to the season.’

« sas warNiNg – page 29

pochettino praises for the leaders SouTHAMPTon boss Mauricio Pochettino believes Arsenal are playing the best football in the Premier League right now and is convinced they are genuine title contenders this season.

The Argentinian takes his high-flying team to the Emirates tomorrow knowing a victory could see them usurp Arsene Wenger’s men at the top of the table.

However, Pochettino is under no illusions how difficult a task the thirdplaced Saints face.

‘I would say that the team that we’re going to play against on Saturday is the one that’s playing the best football in the league,’ he said.

Monthly Certified Distribution Sep 30 - Oct 27, 2013: 59,764

Respect: Pochettino is full of praise for tomorrow’s opponents PICTURE: ACTION IMAGES ‘I think they can win the league, but I also think that there’s other teams that’ll be in the running.

‘I think it’s going to be a hard-fought competition. It’s going to be a very exciting end to the season.’

The Gunners’ hopes of a first league title since 2003/04 will rely heavily on the creative options at their disposal – not least clubrecord signing Mesut ozil and Spaniard Santi Cazorla, who Pochettino knows well from their time in La Liga.

‘I rate Mesut ozil as one of the top ten players in the world,’ said the former Espanyol boss.

‘It is clear they are two great football players. They are players with individual actions who can decide a game on their own. They are amazing talents as we saw in La Liga and now as we see in the Premier League, so we have to be careful with them.’

Tommy Bowe has urged Joe Schmidt’s Ireland to write their names in the Lansdowne Road history books by defeating New Zealand for the first time.

The All Blacks have won all but one of the 27 meetings between the nations – the exception a 10-10 draw in Dublin in 1973 – and are overwhelming favourites to claim Ireland as their 14th victim of the year.

Sunday’s clash at the Aviva Stadium concludes this autumn’s Guinness Series and Schmidt’s side are determined to atone for their 32-15 defeat by Australia last weekend. ‘we know what a great opportunity we have in front of us. when you get that, it’s a great chance to make history,’ Bowe said. ‘To beat the All Blacks this weekend, we know we’ll have to take the game to them, finish those chances that we create.

‘For us not to score a try against Australia, we’re very disappointed with that. with the players we’ve got, we know we can score tries.’

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