Metro Herald, December 17, 2013

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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‘I’ll rock Nama to its very core’

A SENATOR has claimed to have by joaNNe aherN information about corruption that would ‘rock the foundations of other investors to confer advantage the National Asset Management on them to ensure that they are goAgency to its very core’. ing to profit off the back of the taxSpeaking in the Seanad, Fianna payers and to profit and shut down Fáil’s Darragh O’Brien demanded viable businesses also’. the Taoiseach, minister for finance In a statement last night, Nama or minister for justice make a said: ‘If the Senator or any other statement in the house on whether party has evidence of any improthe Garda Commissioner has been priety, they are legally obliged, unasked to investigate ‘corruption der Section 19 of the Criminal Jusand impropriety’ within the tice Act 2011, to bring it to the State’s toxic loans agency. immediate attention of the Garda Mr O’Brien said it was so serious Síochána,’ and that it had not reit could ‘very much undermine ceived the information.

Nama itself, the propA Garda spokesman erty sector and our ficonfirmed an investinancial services secgation into a complaint tor’. He said there had from Nama about a been allegations in reformer employee was cent years about Nama ‘at an advanced stage’ and some current and and that it would be former staff had leaked ‘inappropriate’ to disinformation gleaned cuss it further. during their time at The Taoiseach’s deNama ‘to third parties, partment had no comto vulture funds and to Allegation: O’Brien ment last night.

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NOLLAIG SHONA DHUIT: President Michael D Higgins is pictured with Focus Ireland chief executive Joyce Loughnan and James McGuirk as he met service users on his Christmas visit to its coffee shop in Temple Bar. The homeless charity revealed demand for its services has increased by 18 per cent so far this year PICTURE: RobbIE REynolds

Subject to availability. Excludes pay as you go iPhones. See meteor.ie/getchristmassed

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METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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Tuesday 17/12/13 How to contact us Email:

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20 The percentage of

enterprises in Ireland with a formal policy for the use of social media – the highest in the EU, according to a new report from Eurostat

Ireland’s rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 79%. Keep reading, keep recycling – thank you.

Today is...

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers A day established in 2003 by the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA to highlight the dangers faced by sex workers across the world and to remember victims of attacks.

From the archives (2009): Bishop ‘mishandled’ abuse case

Bishop Donal Murray was expected to resign over the damning Murphy Report, which found he badly dealt with information about paedophile priest Fr Thomas Naughton, who was jailed for three years for sexually assaulting a boy.

Today’s birthdays

Pope Francis, 77; Bernard Hill, actor (The Lord Of The Rings), 69; Bill Pullman, actor, 60; Giovanni Ribisi, actor, 39; Milla Jovovich (pictured), actress and model, 38.

CLOCkWORD

The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter E in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of a Northern Irish politician.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Give to charity Turn up Leave Provoke Twice over Hairpiece Small wave Mad

E

9. Tiny 10. Turf accountant 11. Small 12. Develop naturally Yesterday’s solution: Mary Robinson

Weather Today

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EUROPE today

Tomorrow Dry and bright morning with rain spreading across the country later along with strong southwest winds.

Temperatures between 10° and 12°C.

11�C

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you’re pulling my leg

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

Worker has hand attached to ankle after machine slices it off

Nice handiwork: The severed hand is held in place by clamps after the doctors grafted it to the injured worker’s ankle Pictures: HAP/rex YOU’VE got to hand it to the doctors – they really thought on their feet when Xiao Wei suffered a horrific accident.

The medics grafted the factory worker’s right hand to his left ankle to preserve it after it was severed.

A month later – once his ripped and flattened arm had healed sufficiently – they were able to put it back where it belonged.

It answered the prayers of the grateful pa-

by HAyDEn SMiTH tient, who had been driven 168km by a friend to get to hospital.

‘I am still young and I couldn’t imagine life without a right hand,’ Mr Xiao admitted.

He was left ‘shocked and frozen to the spot’ when he lost the hand, while working with machinery at the factory in Changde in the northwest of Hunan province, China.

Colleagues retrieved the hand and took him to the nearest hospital – but staff there said they were unable to reattach it, prompting his journey to the provincial capital, Changsha.

He arrived at a larger hospital in the city some seven hours after the accident – meaning time was running out to stop the hand ‘dying’, by restoring the blood supply.

Doctors hope – after several more operations – he will regain full use of it.

Pointing: Doctors check the hand, top, and reattach it

Betterr make m tracks. Last posting date to Ireland.

METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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Barred man got even with pub by smashing windows A DUBLIN father who punched a woman and smashed the windows of five vehicles outside her pub has been given a partially suspended sentence.

Derek Lennon, 28, of Neagh Road, Terenure, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unauthorised taking of a vehicle, assault causing harm to bar owner Pauline Ryan and criminal damage to vehicles at Rosie O’Grady’s pub, Harold’s Cross on January 1, 2013.

He has 62 previous convictions, including assault and robbery.

Garda Michael Connolly revealed

LOOk wHO’s sTORking: A midwife wearing a stork hat attends a national protest demonstration in Paris.

Midwives – gathered under the Storks movement – have been on strike in France for two months, demanding salary increases and better recognition by the hospitals who employ them

although barred, Lennon entered the premises on New Year’s Eve 2012 but soon left after being confronted by Ms Ryan. Shortly later, a brick was thrown through a window and CCTV captured him smashing car windows.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring said it was ‘clear alcohol fuelled the frustration [Lennon] felt and he decided to get his own back’ and that his alcoholism ‘is blighting his own life, his family’s lives and the general public’.

She imposed a three-year sentence back-dated to February and suspended the final 18 months.

80 jobs at healthcare firm UP TO 80 jobs will be created over the next year at Sláinte Healthcare.

The firm, which is part funded by Enterprise Ireland, provides software solutions to healthcare facilities in a bid to improve patient care and cut costs.

Enterprise minister Richard Bruton and health minister James Reilly made a call for applications from companies

with the potential to address healthcare sector needs, particularly in infection control and hygiene management.

Mr Bruton said Sláinte Healthcare was one of six companies involved in the Health Innovation Hub, a joint initiative by the two departments.

The closing date for applications from firms is January 17.

Don’t give a dog as a gift this Christmas

CHY 16218

PICTURE: REUTERs

Taxis refused to help tourists as mob attacked

A MAN has been given a six-year sentence for his role in viciously attacking two US tourists who had tried to stop a robbery.

A garda told the court at the sentence hearing that the tourists attempted to get into several taxis to escape when the attackers threw glass bottles. He said the ‘drivers didn’t want to know about it’.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring criticised this failure to help the victims, saying the attack ‘happened in a public place, on the quays, in one of the busiest places in the city and yet, shamefully, no-one came to the assistance of these men’.

Anthony Clifford, 23, of Mourne Road, Drimnagh, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of violent disorder in Temple Bar on April 29, 2012. He will serve this sentence consecutive-

by cOnOR gALLAgHER

ly to a prison term for hijacking.

One of the victims, Garth Russell, is a stock broker. He suffered permanent facial scarring and still has glass embedded in his face.

His brother Patrick suffered a broken arm in the attack.

‘No-one came to their assistance’ Judge Ring called it ‘an outrageous attack’ and said Clifford could have been facing eight years in prison if it had gone to trial.

She suspended the final 12 months because of his early guilty plea, which meant the two victims didn’t have to come back to the country to ‘relive the horror’ of the attack.

The court heard the brothers came across a man lying on the ground surrounded by youths.

Garth Russell stepped in and said he would call the gardaí if the group didn’t leave the man alone.

The group assaulted the brothers by ‘throwing punches’, causing them to flee on to the quays.

The group then gave chase, throwing glass bottles at the men. Garth and Patrick tried to get into several taxis to escape but the drivers would not let them.

The youths, who included Clifford, caught up and hit them with bottles.

Garth got a blow to the back of the head, after which he said ‘everything went dark’. One of the attackers ‘smirked’ at Patrick as he hit him with another bottle.

Clifford has 55 previous convictions including drug dealing.

Vandalism a blow to city car scheme This year hundreds of puppies will become unwanted Christmas presents. At Dogs Trust, we’re asking you to ‘press paws’ and ask whether you’re in a position to look after a dog for the rest of its life?

A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

dogstrust.ie

CAR rental company GoCar has insisted it has faith in the project working in Dublin despite last week’s burning out of one of its vehicles on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.

GoCar is a members-only car sharing service that rents cars and vans by the hour and launched in Dublin in 2010.

The cars can park for free in the city, with some 1,000 trips taken in the city every month.

Managing director Colm Brady said: ‘This random act of violence is an unfortunate and expensive blow to the already successful and popular city car scheme.

‘We never had any reservations about placing our cars on the streets of Dublin.’

The successful Dublin Bikes scheme illustrated this clearly.

The vast majority of people are honourable and law abiding

Burnt out: GoCar’s ruined vehicle citizens who respect the scheme.’

Gardaí are currently investigating the incident.

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€5k of bath cash to go to Priory widow

by jOAnnE AHERn

THE partner of a Priory Hall resident who died by suicide is to benefit from a reward for the people who discovered €200,000 hidden underneath a bath at the former home of bankrupt developer Tom McFeely.

Stephanie Meehan, whose partner Fiachra Daly died in July, is to receive €5,000, at the request of the current owners of the home on Ailesbury Road in Ballsbridge.

The unexpected windfall came about after the official assignee responsible for managing the developer’s estate yesterday requested the High Court to release €10,000 to reward those who found the money when the house was being renovated.

Finders’ fee donated: Priory Hall resident Stephanie Meehan Assignee Chris Lehane asked that €2,500 be given to each of the two builders who discovered the money, with an additional €5,000 to go to the current owners of the house.

However, Mr Lehane yesterday told the court the homeowners requested their share instead go to Ms Meehan.

The rest of the money will go to the developer’s secured creditors.

McFeeley, who built the ‘firetrap’ Priory Hall complex, has denied that the money belongs to him, saying gardaí put it there. However, the court has rejected this.

The north Dublin apartment complex has been vacant since it was evacuated over fire safety concerns in 2011.

Residents, banks and the Department of the Environment eventually came to an agreement to wipe outstanding mortgages on the properties in October of this year.

Father-of-two Mr Daly was found dead in his Balgriffin home in July.

Ms Meehan believes the stress of dealing with the financial fallout contributed to his death, previously saying that Priory Hall was ‘the root’ of it.

Copper pipe thief was found soaked A REFORMED drug addict who was caught soaking wet as he stole copper piping from a property has received a suspended sentence.

Gardaí called to an empty premises in Finglas by other residents found the door forced open, pools of water around the house and Graham Harcourt, 33, of

Crannoge Close, Ballymun, soaked from head to toe.

Harcourt told gardaí: ‘You caught me red-handed. I was trying to rob the copper piping.’

Judge Mary Ellen Ring acknowledged Harcourt had come off drugs while in custody and imposed a twoand-a-half-year sentence, suspended entirely.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

Crime scene: The site of the shooting of Mr O’Connor on Sunday

3 held over shooting of man after brawl THREE people are being questioned by detectives after a grandfather was gunned down in front of his sons.

Edward O’Connor was shot dead following a street brawl on Ballycoolin Road in Finglas at around 5pm on Sunday.

The 41-year-old, from Barn Lodge in Finglas, was murdered

after two groups of people involved in a long-running feud organised the roadside fight.

Two men in their 20s and the woman in her 30s can be held for up to seven days.

Mr O’Connor was shot as he walked away from the fight, and was rushed to Connolly Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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meTRO HeRAld Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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60 seconds Singer-songwriter Kim Wilde, 53, sold 20 million copies of hits such as Kids In America and Cambodia. She is married with two children and has released a new Christmas album

Everyone associates you with drunkenly singing Christmas songs on the Tube, now, since last year’s YouTube hit, don’t they? Yes they do. And I applaud

the generosity of the people who allowed me to be absolutely ratted on a train, singing. It was very sweet the way the public reacted to it. That was the most heart-warming, overwhelming Christmas present I could ever have.

It was hilarious. Of course, there were those who were totally appalled, disgusted and embarrassed by it but, overwhelmingly, people rather liked it. It was one of the reasons I thought if ever there was a time to get this Christmas album out, it’s now. I’ve always wanted to make one so I thought, now, 30 years after my career began, I could be forgiven for indulging myself.

Acupuncture ‘helps Anti-bacterial soaps weight loss’ claim may pose health risk ACUPUNCTURE in the ear can help people shed the pounds, researchers have claimed.

The technique is ‘effective’ for treating overweight people, they said.

A small study of 58 Korean participants found that those who underwent a treatment involving five points in the ear over eight weeks had an average 6.1 per cent lower body mass index (BMI) and lower weight than those in a control group who had acupuncture on a single point.

Anti-bActeriAl soaps and washes may not help prevent the spread of germs, and there is evidence they may pose health risks, experts say. the US Food and Drug Administration ruling on triclosan and other anti-bacterial ingredients lends new support to warnings from scientists who say the chemicals can interfere with hormone levels. the agency will now require manufacturers to prove their anti-bacterial cleaners are safe and more effective than plain soap and water.

she came around and stole my crown. And I’ve never recovered it [laughs]. I had ambitions about meeting my soulmate and having children. Even when we had a No.1 in the US, I had no inclination to go over there and go for it. It just wasn’t what I wanted to do.

leAdinG by exAmple: Roy Keane was for once left flatfooted when he was asked if he could choose between football and dogs. Ireland’s new assistant manager, known for his steely focus and frankness, was asked the tough question by the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind annual publication Guidelines. ‘Soccer has given me a great life, but I love my dogs. I really don’t know, I’m going to have to pass on that one. That’s the toughest question I’ve had in the 20 odd years I’ve been a professional,’ Keane, the Irish Guide Dog main patron since 2001, said

How old are your kids now?

My daughter’s 13 and my son is 15.

He’s in a band called Blighty Inc and plays an amazing electric guitar.

They dream of being a great rock band, which they’re fast becoming.

Our daughter Rose is a singer-songwriter.

Your dad, Marty, was a big popstar back in the day. How was that, growing up?

I used to notice all the mums would giggle when my dad was around but growing up with him was so normal.

We didn’t have these rock’n’roll parAre you a Christmassy per- ties, he was just a good old dad at home, strumming the guitar, son? I’ve always loved writing us lullabies. And Christmas and loved he made lovely little buying Christmas stories for us and he albums. I really I never thought used to put them on enjoyed Michael Christmas songs were a reel-to-reel and Bublé’s one. Actuhe’d speed them up ally, I love anynaff, never. I don’t so he was talking thing that just gives like a chipmunk. know, I’m just a into romance at Christmas: you can sentimental How is it for you really indulge in those as a mum seeing old fool sentiments without feelyour kids going into ing too bad about it. the industry? This industry A lot of people think of Christ- is one of the most successful the mas records as naff, don’t country has going for it now. It’s not they? I don’t know about that like when my dad started and it was really, do they? I love Mariah Carey like: ‘Get yourself a proper job!’ singing Christmas songs. I mean, You were sexy but not Miley I’ve never thought Christmas songs were naff, never. I don’t know, I’m Cyrus sexual. How do you feel when you look at that? There just a sentimental old fool. were really overtly sexy girls around Have you ever had a bad when I was growing up and I didn’t Christmas? You know what? I want to be them. I was listening to Lou Reed records when I was 13 don’t think I have. and all he ever sung about was takYou also sang Kids In America ing drugs and it didn’t ever make me on that Tube train. Do you want to do that. I’m not sure I buy think there’s ever going to be into that whole role-model thing. an age limit on singing that? I What about if your daughter did think that. That’s when I got out of the music business, when I was started to go in a Miley direc36 and I got married. I thought I’d tion? If she felt it was how she never sing Kids In America again. wanted to express herself, I’d be Several years after I got reeled into there 100 per cent. I’d be a hypocrite doing a charity event and they asked if I said anything different. You’ve us: ‘How about doing Kids In Amer- got to be true to yourself. Even if ica?’ I said: ‘Oh, you are joking!’ you screw up, at least you’ve screwed up on your own terms and But it brought the house down! maybe you’ll learn something. Says You kind of got things ready a wise old Kim. Simon Gage for Madonna, didn’t you? I was just before Madonna and I held The album Wilde Winter Songbook reign for a very short while and then is out now.

“

PICture: DArAgh MCSweeney

Sacked chef creates a storm on Twitter by cAmillA TuRneR A HEAD chef who was fired a week before Christmas has become an online sensation when a series of tweets he published from his pub’s account went viral.

Jim Knight, 28, took to Twitter to air his grievances – and was even offered a new job as a result.

In a sequence of messages, posted from the Twitter account he created for The Plough, a pub in Oxfordshire in the UK where he had been the head chef, Mr Knight said he had been sacked because he wanted Christmas Day and a weekend off with his family.

But Steve Potts, landlord of the pub in Great Haseley, said he had been clear about the need to work Sundays when Mr Knight started work in October and was left with little choice but to part company with his chef when he could not work those days.

Mr Knight began by writing: ‘Happy Christmas everyone.’

He continued: ‘We’d like to inform you that we’ve just fired our head Knight: Sacked chef. Unfortunately he wanted to have a weekend off this month and Christmas Day this year for family commitments so we thought we’d sack him.’

His next messages read: ‘Yeah a week before Christmas! We don’t care that he has a 7 1/2 month old baby daughter.’

The former head chef’s final message from The Plough’s account was: ‘Happy Christmas everyone!!!!!!’

Mr Potts responded: ‘When Jim, as head chef, informed me he

would not be working on Christmas Day, and other Sundays in the near future, I was left with little choice but to end our arrangement.

‘I had been quite clear with him when he started here that Sundays are our busiest days of the week, and that all our chefs have to work that day.’

Mr Knight used his personal account, to say: ‘I would like to make it crystal clear I have not ‘hacked’ any account. I created the account with permission of my ex-employers.’

His response to the Twitter storm caused by his messages, which were retweeted thousands of times, was ‘Blimey’.

Yesterday morning he wrote: ‘I have very kindly been offered a serious job offer directly off the back of this.’

The Plough say on their website they are now looking to recruit a new head chef.

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

Horses used in labs ‘ended up on French dinner tables’

by LORi HinnAnT

Meat from horses used in laboratory procedures was illegally sold as fit for human consumption and landed on French dinner tables, it has been claimed.

Police, food safety and veterinary investigators carried out raids in 11 regions around southern France, arresting 21 people.

Prosecutor Brice Robin said the animals had been used in laboratories – including that of drugmaker Sanofi-Pasteur – and instead of being destroyed, ended up in the food chain. He said Sanofi-Pasteur correctly labelled its meat, and ‘considers itself a victim’ in the case. the prosecutor said he has no proof so far the horsemeat was toxic, just that it wasn’t supposed to be sold as meat.

He said a network of veterinarians, computer experts and others allegedly worked together to falsify documents. the horses were exported to Spain among other countries, Mr Robin said.

Sanofi told Le Parisien newspaper that the horses were used to create antibodies against rabies and tetanus among others.

Benoit Hamon, consumer affairs minister, told RtL radio: ‘these were horses that should have ended up at the slaughterhouse, and instead they ended up at the butcher.’

Cocaine smuggler got lost at airport A DUTCH national was caught importing €70,000 worth of cocaine into the country after he got lost in the airport and asked customs officers for directions.

Cristobal Nieuw, 64, with an address in The Hague but originally from the Dominican Republic, had ingested 98 pellets of cocaine and was transporting them from Brazil when he was caught.

He pleaded guilty to importation of more than 1kg of cocaine.

Judge Patrick McCartan sentenced Nieuw, who wrote a letter apologising to the people of Ireland, to four years in prison.

Ex-soldier had 2kg of drugs in laptop

after two men tried to dig it up Look wad gardaí in a field. convicted criminal and turned a Aman53-year-old in his 40s who were arrested following the find in Portcrusha, up in Castleconnell, Co Limerick were later without charge.

Limerick released Some €450,000 was found in a THIS is the €1million stash seized by

tumble dryer and a container in the back of a mini digger, while officers later found €800,000 underground.

The arrests on Saturday followed a Garda surveillance operation and the money is believed to be profits from the drugs trade.

A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A FORMER US soldier has been jailed for five years for trying to import over 2kgs of cocaine through Dublin Airport.

Wasiu Otutuloro, 45, was caught when customs officers X-rayed his laptop bag and found 2.4kg of cocaine with a value of €166,838.

Otutuloro, a US citizen with an address in Madrid, admitted importing cocaine at Dublin Airport on March 3, 2013.

Noting Otutuloro’s military record, Judge Patrick McCartan said ‘a significant sentence’ must be imposed ‘because of the message it sent out’.

METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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Star bombshells of 2013

Following our A to Z of calamities yesterday, AnDREi HARMswORTH looks at celebrity shocks, scandals, arrests and breakups of the year...

A

t times, it seems like our fame-hungry celebrities will do anything to get into Guilty Pleasures – but occasionally life takes an unexpected twist.

Simon Cowell, Justin Bieber and Nigella Lawson were among those who learned that the hard way when their lives derailed in 2013.

Cowell led the baby bombshell stakes

in July when it emerged that the 54year-old was having a child with his friend’s then wife, Lauren Silverman.

Si and his 36-year-old lover are now looking forward to welcoming the arrival of a son in February. the X Factor boss wasn’t the only one sneaking around the bedroom as Liam Gallagher’s marriage to All Saints singer Nicole Appleton came crashing

Clockwise from top: Justin Bieber, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman, Reese Witherspoon and Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson all had their fair share of ups and downs in the past 12 months, including love splits, trouble with the law and fights with photographers PICTUREs: X17/FamEFlynET/EPa

down in July. the swaggering Oasis the paparazzi, spitting on fans and a star was named in a €2.5million baby bat- charming episode when he peed in a tle lawsuit when it finally emerged the club cleaner’s mop bucket all followed 41-year-old was the father of journalist throughout his world tour.

Liza Ghorbani’s daughter.

Former X Factor judge tulisa ContoIn September, Bressie finally con- stavlos was arrested in June and went firmed, after months of rumours, that he into hiding before the 25-year-old was and model Roz Purcell were an item, finally charged for allegedly helping while the nation breathed a collective, supply drugs to an undercover reporter. aw, when golden couple Gerald Kean But it was wholesome Reese Witherand Lisa Murphyy got back together. spoon who stunned the world in April Robert Pattinson, 27, when the 37-year-old’s called time on his romugshot was taken for mance with 23-yeardisorderly conduct. old Kristen Stewart but there was further emthe pair are rumoured barrassment when it to be making Christmas emerged she tried to emer plans together. sweet talk her way out When it wasn’t bedher arrest with the hopping sinking the ‘Don’t you know who I ‘Don’ stars, it was drug scanam?’ card.

Cara dals.

Model Away from the prison Aw Delevingne had a walls, plenty of our faguilty-looking face in mous couples were at May when the 21-yearhome nursing broken embarrassingly old hearts. dropped a wrap of white Orlando Bloom and powder on her doorstep Miranda Kerr took evein front of the cameras. ryone by surprise when Break: Lewis and Nicole But the biggest bombthey called time on their shell of them all came marriage in October afwhen domestic goddess Nigella Law- ter just three years. son was dubbed ‘Higella’ by ex-hubby And unlucky-in-love Kylie Minogue Charles Saatchi, as the 53-year-old ce- is back on the shelf at 45 after she and lebrity chef admitted to a courtroom Andrés Velencoso called it quits after that she had taken cocaine. five years together in October.

Justin Bieber landed himself in the sin Joining them on the on-off merry-gobin at the start of the year when he was round was X Factor judge Nicole Scherpictured at a party in a hotel suite hold- zinger, who left Lewis Hamilton pining a dodgy-looking cigarette. ning like an abandoned puppy after lling of his ending their five-year romance (yet It kicked off the unravelling squeaky clean image as scuffles with again) in the summer. squeak

It’s all over: Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom split in October PICTURE: Pa

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

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On a more serious note, the hardest moment for the showbiz world came with some sad goodbyes. Glee star Cory Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room at the age of 31 following a drugs and alcohol overdose in July. And Fast & Furious pin-up Paul Walker died aged 40 in a sports car inferno after the Porsche he was in crashed in Los Angeles last month.

Bailey: I’d be happy to be half as successful as SuBo X FACTOR champion Sam Bailey says her ‘Screwbo’ transformation is complete now that she can afford to fix her teeth.

But the 36-year-old prison officer, who took more than half the votes in Sunday’s final, will stop her image overhaul there – despite having plastic surgery queen Sharon Osbourne for a mentor.

‘Oh no! My boobs are as big as they could possibly be,’ she told Metro Herald.

‘I don’t like injections. So I think the only thing I will be doing is looking after myself, going to the gym and possibly getting a few teeth fixed.’

The mother-of-two, who was the viewers’ favourite to win from the very first week, said she took comparisons with Susan Boyle as a compliment.

I thought, I’m in the X Factor final and my dad’s a drummer – what bet‘I just thought, if I can be half as good ter way to get back into it?’ as SuBo was and half as successful, then I’m happy,’ she explained. ‘I’ve been called worse. I took it as a positive.’ But she has yet to reap the rewards of her makeover in the bedroom. ‘I’ve been called a Milf a few times but I haven’t seen my husband yet – we’ll see!’

And the rising star, who has a husband Craig and two sons, Brooke, eight, and Tommy, four, insists her baby-making days are over. ‘Oh no! I am done. I don’t want any more – this is it,’ she said.

Instead, she plans to spend some of her rumoured €1.2million recording contract on a drum kit, in honour of her late father.

‘My dad taught me to play the drums.

by ANDREI HARMSWORTH

Her single, Skyscraper, can be downloaded now, with all profits going to charity.

Bailey: Comparisons to Susan Boyle ‘are a positive’ Picture: reX

Sparkle ThiS ChriSTmaS

Harry wins paparazzi order

Harry Styles yesterday won a High Court order to stop the paparazzi harassing him. The 19-year-old One Direction singer took action to stop photographers as a last resort, said his counsel David Sherborne. The order prevents them chasing Styles (pictured) by car or motorbike, placing him under surveillance, waiting within 50m of his home or taking photos of him while there. ‘This is not a privacy injunction. Mr Styles is not trying to

prevent fans approaching him in the street and taking photos. He remains happy to do that,’ Mr Sherborne added.

Styles was not in court when judge Nicola Davies made the injunction against ‘Paparazzi AAA and others’. Four are currently in the process of being identified.

limiTed ediTion

kardazzle kiTS

rrp €19.99

AvAilAble in leAding phArmAcies nAtionwide And online

10 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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uN seeks €13bn for 2014, €4.7bn of that for Syria PicTURE: EPA

Snow stripes

A clown dressed as a tiger plays in snow on a hill in the West Bank city of Nablus. Thousands of people were without power after a four-day snowstorm hit the Middle East, one of the heaviest ever seen in Israel and Palestine

give the gift of

THE United Nations said yesterday it needs almost $13billion (€9.5billion) to meet some of the world’s biggest humanitarian needs in 2014, and almost half of that would go to Syria and its surrounding region.

The request is meant to reach 52 million people in 17 countries, and is the largest amount the UN and its partner agencies have ever asked at the start of the year to meet global humanitarian needs.

It comes a day after reports at least 76 people were killed in a series of airstrikes targeting the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

The civil war, which activists say has claimed more than 120,000

by JOHN HEILpRIN lives, appears to be spiralling, as an estimated two million refugees flee at the onset of a bitter winter.

The crisis prompted a record appeal by the UN yesterday for $6.5billion to help displaced Syrians and their host countries, with hundreds of thousands more refugees expected as the civil war rages.

A year ago, the UN’s humanitarian request for 2013 was for €6.2billion, but Syria’s civil war forced them to revise that upward to €9.9billion.

Their 2013 request will be only 60 per cent funded.

World

digest

this christmas

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Best wishes for Christmas & the New Year to all Metro Herald staff and readers.

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Mandela interpreter ‘in vigilante gang’ SOuTH AfRIcA: The bogus signer at Nelson Mandela’s funeral was allegedly part of a vigilante gang that burned two thieves to death.

Thamsanqa Jantjie was said to be among those who put tyres around the men’s necks and set them on fire in 2003. Jantjie, who claimed to have a schizophrenic episode at Mandela’s funeral, did not face trial in 2006 because he was deemed mentally unfit. He was committed to an institution for at least a year.

HOPE

If you are considering making a donation to charity this Christmas, please consider Aware.

Such funding gaps will leave many people hungry, lacking shelter and unprotected from violence, said Valeria Amos, the UN’s humanitarian chief.

The UN admits their funding request for 2014 is formidable, ‘but attainable’.

Ms Amos said even if the nearly three-year-old conflict ends tomorrow, ‘we would have to maintain help on the humanitarian front’.

Besides Syria, where €4.7billion is being sought, the next biggest requests are for €800million for South Sudan, €724m for Sudan, €675m for Somalia, €605m for the Congo, and €575m for Philippines.

ITALY: Lava spews during a spectacular eruption on Mount Etna on Sicily. Ash fallout from Etna – Europe’s most active volcano – caused the closure of Catania airport on the Mediterranean island PicTURE: AP

Bomb scare has Harvard on red alert AMERIcA: A bomb scare forced Harvard University to evacuate four buildings yesterday after an email claimed explosives had been planted in them. As students prepared to sit their winter exams, police were called to the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, clearing the science centre and the Thayer, Sever and Emerson halls of residence ‘out of an abundance of caution’.

All four had been reopened last night.

Beauty queen ‘was threatened by exec’ JApAN: A beauty queen has been blocked from handing over her crown after a legal row with a talent agency executive. Miss International 2012 winner Ikumi Yoshimatsu claims Genichi Taniguchi threatened her life after she refused to sign with him.

Organisers have banned the 26-year-old from today’s ceremony in Tokyo fearing bad publicity will overshadow the event. Mr Taniguchi denies the allegations.

The leaning tower is going straight and finally... cHINA: It could perhaps have given Pisa’s a run for its money as a tourist attraction – but a leaning tower is to be straightened after officials pledged funds. The six-storey Ming dynasty building – left tilted after a heavy rainstorm in 2011 – is in danger of toppling on to a school in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province. A fence put up to stop pupils going near it takes up most of the sports field and splits the running track.

ROMANIA: Radu Beligan, 95, is officially the world’s oldest active actor. He was handed a Guinness World Records certificate on stage in Bucharest and said: ‘I have no merits – I am the result of the love you’ve shown me.’

in focus

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

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11

news@metroherald.ie The sites are preserved using the latest in

Pompeii

3D

Mount Rushmore

laser scanning technology

These sites are at

risk

of natural disasters, human conflict and deterioration

CyArk has taken scans of: Pompeii and Leaning Tower of Pisa

Mount Rushmore

Italy

US

Merv

Turkmenistan

Thebes

Egypt

Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza

Mexico

Kasubi Tombs

Uganda CyArk 500 is a project to digitally preserve

Thebes

Kasubi Tombs

500

cultural sites around the world within the next five years

Teotihuacan

Pictures: CyArk

Preserving icons in 3D H

ANGING off the nose of one of the granite US presidents at Mount Rushmore is something we normally associate with an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

But these are the lengths you must go to if you want to save the world’s most stunning heritage sites.

The combination of a hammer and chisel is no longer the best way to preserve the minute detail that has made these monuments so great. An ambitious plan to scan hundreds of the planet’s best cultural spaces with a 3D laser is a plot old Hitch himself would have been proud of.

But this is no movie. A non-profit US organisation called CyArk, which stands for Cyber Archive, wants to digitally preserve 500 sites within five years.

CyArk has already scanned 100 such sites, including Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Tikal in Guatemala and Pompeii in Italy.

Sites are scanned using the latest laser technology, which can plot millions of points of data. CyArk collects all the information and then archives it online, where it is free for the public to access.

Web users can gather information on monuments through photos, videos, animations, fly-throughs and virtual tours.

Many of the world’s heritage sites are being eroded or are disappearing altogether. ROSS McGUINNESS talks to the head of a group seeking to preserve these landmarks using cuttingedge 3D laser technology The goal of CyArk 500 is to keep a digital map of our most culturally important locations before they are ravaged by nature or man.

CyArk insists we are losing heritage sites faster than they can be preserved physically; meaning digital conservation is the best option.

The idea for the organisation was born out of the Taliban’s 2001 destruction of the two Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan. Carved into a sandstone cliff face in the sixth century, one of the Buddhas was 55m tall.

Founder Ben Kacyra was spurred on by this desecration. There was no detailed documentation of the Buddhas and he didn’t want other monuments to suffer a similar fate.

He told In Focus how CyArk 500 came to fruition.

‘It was really clear to us that there wasn’t enough time or money in the world for conservationists to do conservation based on physical methods,’ he said. That’s very important to do, of course, but it’s too slow and too expensive. We can’t keep up with the rate of destruction.

With our new methods, we can capture these much, much faster.’

T

He group’s 3D scanners, which have a range of hundreds of metres, accomplish in a week what would have taken months under more traditional data collection methods. This is why Mr Kacyra is confident they can reach their target.

‘The scanners, although they are 3D, operate like a camera – what they see is what they can capture,’ he said. ‘The scanner is like a large camera sitting on a tripod. You need to take it round the building. It will create a 3D model automatically once you go all around.’

In the case of Mount Rushmore, however, this was a little more tricky.

While most of the monument could be scanned from the top of the mountain or on a walkway, the site’s climbing team had to navigate their way into the presidents’ eyes and noses to capture every tiny detail.

The work on Mount Rushmore was carried out with teams from Historic Scotland and Glasgow

School of Art. A number of sites in Scotland are part of the CyArk archive, including Stirling Castle and Rosslyn Chapel.

The selection of the remainder of the 500 monuments will be based on a number of factors, including the short-term risk of destruction and the impact it has on the surrounding community. A panel of heritage experts will make its decisions based on the feedback it receives.

CyArk’s data has already proved crucial. When part of the Kasubi Tombs in Uganda, a Unesco World Heritage Site, were destroyed in a suspected arson attack in 2010, the

authorities there turned to CyArk and requested the information it had already gathered. The plan is to restore the buildings using this data.

Mr Kacyra fears other sites will be eventually destroyed, either by man’s hand or nature’s.

‘I hope and pray to God that none of them gets hit with an earthquake or terrorism, but I can tell you that some of them will. We will be very happy that data is sitting in the archive available to be used.’

That information will be in a safe place. A gold copy of archive data is kept in a bunker 67m below the ground in Pennsylvania.

Raiders of the (soon to be) lost ark: Some of the CyArk team behind the cyber archive project

12 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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‘Mail’ to 53131* Facebook.com/ metroherald

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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

We should not feel proud over bailout exit, Enda

S

ome people probably feel quite proud that Ireland has completed the ImF bailout programme. They shouldn’t, however. It shows how willing we Irish are to capitulate to unjust austerity and foreign demands.

When mr Kenny hinted at more new taxes, he must have felt confident we’d just cough up given how much of a pushover we’ve proven to be so far. It reminded me of what Hitler said: ‘By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.’

Darren ■ Last Thursday evening in Tallagh, a man and two women saw me being viciously attacked and mugged right in front of their house

while they sat in their living room and did absolutely nothing, studiously ignoring my cries for help.

To those people, I say you are every bit as much what is wrong with our society as the desperate female junkie who attacked me.

When I think back on the incident what haunts me is not the face of my attacker but your cowardice and indifference. You disgust me.

To the woman with the buggy who came back to see if I was okay, my sincerest thanks.

Dismayed Girl ■ Joe Hussey (mailbox, mon), you make a great point and I fully agree.

People of all ages are not taking recycling and composting seriously enough.

I’ve a great admiration for people who do it properly instead of putting waste in the wrong coloured bins

gOOD On yA

IT’S A CAT’S LIFE: Metro Herald reader Henry White sent us this rather cute image of his cat Monkey having a stressful afternoon.

Oh to be a cat in the next life...

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

and contaminating the lorry. In parts of mayo, the Council had to take back green bins as people wouldn’t use them. We need to get the message out to make people realise the seriousness of the problem. The ad with the rats running and the young kids was very strong but unfortunately there are no such ads any more.

With all the extra wrappings and paper/cardboard waste that will be generated this Christmas, I would appeal to everyone to recycle and compost all your waste. Have a very happy and peaceful Christ-

yEH big RiDE

● To the two Irish Rail workers in Connolly Station on Saturday who let me on to the Howth train after my tickets blew away in Phoenix Park doing the 10km run. Hope you both have a great Christmas. Wee Man ● To Gareth, the greatest taxi driver in the world, who returned my phone to the address I was going to on Saturday night, after I’d left it on his back seat. You sir, are a legend. Thank you for being brilliant. Immie

● To the girl on 8am Skerries train. Yes, I am... Pass me your number...

J ● To my lil sweetness, Aisling… you really are the belle of Belfast City. I hope you have the best birthday ever, your loving boyfriend : ) Paddy ● To the gorgeous dark-haired lady in Belmayne. I can’t get your smile out of my mind...

GR

yOuR RuSH-HOuR cRuSH

RAnDOM AcTS Of kinDnESS

in yOuR fAcE Saw a red nose on a jeep the other day but the car’s logo was in the middle so the nose had to be tied to the side. It looked like the car had one red cheek!

Lorraine Morley I just love it! Looks so Christmassy. Now we just need a bit of snow...

Paula Bitinaite Brutal! Ridiculous really.

Quick pic

John O’Brien

Love it! Miss the cranes all lit up with flashing

Today we asked our Facebook followers: Red noses and antlers on cars at Christmas time – cool or not? lights and flying Santas!

Not. Looks kinda stupid really.

Katharine Gibney Seán Brennan Andrew Nolan

It seems guys hate it, girls love it...

Gav Owens

mas and a prosperous New Year.

Phil Greenstar, Sallynoggin ■ To whoever stole my bike from outside Kilkenny Design on Nassau Street last Thursday: may your underpants be infested with the fleas of 1,000 camels, and may your arms be too short to scratch...

Cyclepath ■ To the gorgeous engineer I met in Bruxelles last Friday night, I can’t believe I went home without giving you my number. Please get in touch, you’re all I want for Christmas!

Mags

TREnDing #AVB ● Big admirer of #AVB, the man; loved his passion. Just grew tired of his unwillingness to shift his tactics at all. #COYS #Spurs @nirvana454 ● I hate seeing managers fired halfway through the season...

There’s so much that could still happen #AVB #Tottenham

@zangaranoo

Carols, creeps and flossing...

■ Carol – Jingle Bells and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer are Christmas songs, not carols. Silent Night and Hark The Herald etc are carols.

Maybe leave the fire a while and attend mass or church – the real reason for Christmas.

True Meaning ■ I sit across the lunch table from a man who should know better but continues to floss even though I may still be eating mine, ignoring all my past protestations. He uses a torn-off piece of the plastic bag he carries his lunch in (bits do fly). Please print as he may finally get the message seeing it in print. You know who you are, Nudge...

Manufan62 ■ Grossed out Gertie, on the Dart I saw a guy taking pics on the sly of girls sitting next to him. He noticed and got off before I could tell him off. Bloody weirdo creep.

TeaToGo

● I don’t imagine it will escape Villas-Boas’s notice that he leaves with highest win percentage (55.7) of any Tottenham manager since 1899

football writer @OliverKayTimes

● I really wish AVB well in whatever he does in the future.

Maybe the Premier League just wasn’t for him. #AVB

@mrjoshuadoyle

● AVB gone, thank heavens.

Sorry it didn’t work out, Andre.

Good luck for the future. All I want for Christmas now is two strikers up front #AVB

@amandafennelly

@metrohnews #metromailbox

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

Yule like it if you try it Stuck for Christmas ideas? Get inspired here! Some of the hottest food bloggers around give Metro Life some alternative tips for adventurous foodies who’d like to mix things up on Christmas Day EAT LIKE A GIRL: NIAMH SHIELDS Who is she: A leading Irish food blogger, writer and cook, Niamh Shields (pictured right) grew up in Waterford (her dad worked for Waterford Crystal) where she was reared on simple, fuss-free ‘mammy’ dinners.

She now lives in London where she has been writing her food blog, Eat Like A Girl, since 2007. Her accomplishments include publishing a cookbook, Comfort And Spice. She’s working on her new book, Project BACON, now. See www.kickstarter.com Her dream alternative Christmas: ‘I’m cooking a selection of authentic curries which can be prepared in

advance and taste even better the next day. Homemade pita breads and rice will make it a smooth, spicy Christmas for everyone to enjoy, even the cook.’

Top tips: ‘If going traditional, brine your turkey for extra moist meat seasoned the whole way through.’

Hottest foodie present: ‘I would love a fresh white truffle. They should be just still in season. I would have it on fried eggs for breakfast and enjoy a glorious, luxurious few minutes.’

Find her @eatlikeagirl, blog: www.eatlikeagirl.com

➔

€ 55 special menu for 2

Festive Evening Menu Just € 22 - 2 courses Or € 25 - 3 courses

2 course evening menu for 2 people including bottle of house wine available all evening!

Ranelagh’s best kept secret

Beside The Beechwood Luas Stop.

Just 10 Minutes From Stephen’s Green

Bookings: 01 534 0018

www.peperina.ie

delicious food, amazing value!

13

14 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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food&drink

➔

MS MARMITE LOvER: KERSTIN RODGERS Who is she: MsMarmiteLover is the author of author of Supper Club, which includes recipes and notes from her Underground Restaurant in London, and a new book’s due out in spring monikered MsMarmite’s Secret Tea Party.

Hottest foodie present: ‘I’d love some copper saucepans, particularly a sauté pan. Copper not only looks wonderful on the table, wearing down into a gorgeous patina, it conducts heat. I once did two risottos: one in a stainless steel pan and

FOOD NEWS LE BON CRUBEEN

Ok, so while Talbot Street is never going to be considered a hub of fine dining, it’s got fine two restaurants that wouldn’t look out of place on trendier thoroughfares such as Dawson or George’s Street. As well as Talbot 101, nearby Le Bon Crubeen (pictured) has been quietly going about its business of offering top quality nosh to discerning foodies in exceptionally attractive surroundings for several years now. Following a fire in its kitchen recently the restaurant has taken a short hiatus but has capitalised on the setback by using it as an opportunity for a little bit of a refurb. Be sure to pop by over Christmas following its reopening this Friday.

Le Bon Crubeen, 81 to 82 Talbot Street D2.

Tel: (01) 704 0126. www.leboncrubeen.ie

The Good, The Bad and The Inedible

The last of the Little Museum’s Dublin lectures will

Christmas wishes

Santa and celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio got into the festive mood with Make A Wish child Andrew Burke, having some fun in Stephen’s Green as they launched the tenth anniversary of the annual Fairy and Make A Wish Christmas Campaign,which will help the charity grant magical wishes this winter. You can be a Fairy Godmother (or father) and help children fighting lifethreatening medical conditions to see their wishes fulfilled – look out for the special packs of Fairy MakeA-Wish washing up liquids and Fairy dishwasher tablets. You can also donate €2 directly by texting MAKEAWISH to 50300. 100 per cent of your donation goes to Make-A-Wish Ireland Picture: Brian Mcevoy

to advertise, call 01 7055010

the other in a copper pan. The risotto cooked in copper was noticeably creamier, with a better texture.’

Find her @msmarmitelover, blog: Marmitelover.blogspot.com

FOOD STORIES: HELEN GRAvES

Her dream alternative Christmas: ‘My favourite alternative Christmas meal was when I stayed with a “pieds noir” family of Algerian descent in France one Christmas.

The mum made home-made harissa sauce, a tajine vegetable stew with saffron, a jewelled couscous with apricots, nuts, dates and Argan oil. Middle Eastern food uses all those classic Christmas spices, fruits and nuts, incorporating both sweet and sour flavours. It’s nearer to food of the middle ages, when mincemeat was meat with sugar and spice.’

Top tips: ‘If you’re keen to try this style, I recommend Sally Butcher’s books on Persian Food: Veggiestan, and for party catering, Snackistan (see veggiestan. com).’

features@metroherald.ie

Who is she: Graves is renowned for her witty blog, Food Stories. She’s also author of 101 Sandwiches, a collection of the finest sandwich recipes world-wide. Cook Your Date Into Bed, due out in February, is recipes and stories from the complex world of courtship.

Her dream alternative Christmas: ‘We’ve enjoyed a Mexican Christmas dinner in the past and it was great fun. Decorate your room and table with bright colours. You can use coloured tissue paper to make bunting to hang around the room and to decorate the table. www.mexgrocer.co.uk sell coloured tissue with cut-out designs that are perfect.’

Top tips: ‘If going conventional, get a whole pack of butter on the turkey and even more if you can. Stick it under the breast between the meat and the skin and just generally give it an all over rubbing. Cover it with streaky bacon.’

see food historian Frank Armstrong deliver a colourful talk on the history of dining in Dublin, chronicling the history of the city’s most famous eateries, from Jammet’s to the Unicorn. Price includes prelecture wine reception.

Tomorrow, Little Museum, 15 St Stephen’s Green D2, 7pm, €9. Tel: (01) 661 1000. www.littlemuseum.ie

Peperina

Peperina Garden Bistro, one of South Dublin’s newest restaurants, has pulled out all the stops this Christmas with a cracking festive a la carte menu (€22 for 2 courses or €25 for 3 courses) and a two-for-two offer (two courses and a bottle of wine for €55). If you’d like to enjoy the Peperina experience at home, pick up a gift from the diner’s Home & Food, which, as well as selling these delicious mince pies, below, stocks covetable kitchen accessories from Falcon Enamelware, Nicolas Mosse, Stuart Gardiner Designs and more.

Peperina Garden Bistro, 25 Dunville Avenue, Ranelagh D6. Tel: (01) 534 0018. www.peperina.ie

TINNED TOMATOES: JACQUELINE MELDRUM recipes, all of which are vegetarian.

Her dream alternative Christmas: ‘On a tight budget? I’d be happy with a really well-made pie; the filling could include cuts of meat like pigs’ cheeks or braising steak. The meal would be really comforting and satisfying, which is all anyone really wants from their Christmas dinner.’

Hottest foodie present: ‘I really want a professional ice cream maker. Oh and a bottle of Fernet Branca is always welcome for hangover relief on Stephen’s Day.’ Fernet Branca is €26 from www. thewhiskyexchange.com.

Find her @FoodStories, blog: www.helengraves.co.uk

Who is she? Well known for her food blog Tinned Tomatoes, each month Scottish-based Meldrum makes hundreds of thrifty

Top tips: ‘Prepare the vegetables the day before. Potatoes and parsnips can be peeled and stored in a pan of water overnight and vegetables can be prepared and stored in freezer bags in the fridge, ready to cook. Why not make a dish of cauliflower cheese the day before and keep it in the fridge, ready to be popped in the oven on Christmas day?’

Hottest foodie present: ‘I would love some new wine glasses as I keep knocking mine over and I am now down to a pitiful three glasses.’

Find her @ tinnedtoms, blog: tinned tomatoes. com

COMPETITION FESTIVE DRINKS HAMPER

✹ w in

Findlater Wine & Spirit Group have teamed up with Metro Herald to offer one lucky reader the chance of winning a hamper packed with some of the finest spirits, fortified wines and liqueurs available this festive season. The hamper includes one bottle of each of the following: Stolichnaya vodka; Tullamore Dew; Grant’s Family Reserve Scotch; Graham’s LBV Port; A Winter’s Tale sherry: Sea Dog rum; Drambuie; Irish Mist; and Carolan’s Irish Cream.

For your chance to win, just answer the question below and text LIFE followed by your full answer, e-mail address and name to 53133 (texts cost €0.60 + standard network charge).

Q If you poured yourself a glass of uisce beatha this Christmas, what would you be drinking?

A Whiskey B Filthy dish water

Terms & Conditions: The competition closes at noon today. The winner(s) will be chosen at random from the entries received and notified by e-mail. Entrants must be over 18 years of age. Usual Metro Herald rules apply. The editor’s decision is final. By entering this competition you agree to sign up to the Metro Herald promotions list – to opt out text NOMETRO to 51155. SP. Oxygen8, 4th Floor, Malt House North, Grand Canal Quay D2. Customer service number: 0818 286 606.

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food&drink

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

15

Quick and easy Christmas dinner

Our simple meal planner will ensure you enjoy the big day and serve up a meal to impress. By Emma Sturgess

pEAR, pARMA HAM AnD pEcORInO sALAD IngREDIEnTs serves 6 8-10 thin slices of Parma ham ♦ Big knob of butter ♦ 4 juicy pears (the shorter, fatter kind) washed, cut into 8 wedges and cored ♦ 400g mixed leaves (any mix of rocket/radicchio/Italian leaves works well) ♦ 2tbsp white balsamic or white wine vinegar ♦ 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus a splash more ♦ 80-100g pecorino (the aged one), thinly sliced or shaved ♦ Salt and pepper

I

f you don’t usually cook, or you’d rather supervise the sherry bottle than the kitchen on Christmas morning, the prospect of getting lunch on the table can seem time-consuming.

We’ve gathered a handful of simple recipes from our favourite cooks to help you through the day. from Allegra McEvedy’s crisp salad and Mary Berry’s turkey crown to the Ethicurean’s offbeat, wintry cider ice – serve it after a bought pudding, if you like – they all feel special without demanding vast amounts of time, energy or equipment.

Let the nice people at the supermarket make the side dishes for you and it’ll be wrapped up, in fully festive fashion, by the time Jason And The Argonauts comes on.

METHOD step 1: Put a wide frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the slices of Parma ham on each side (in two batches) until crispy and smelling scrummy. When the first lot is done, take it out and drain on kitchen paper while you get the next lot in. step 2: When all the ham is crisped, melt the butter in the

ROAsT TuRkEy cROwn 24IngREDIEnTs serves 12-15

4-4.5kg turkey crown on the bone ♦ 1 lemon, thinly sliced ♦ 3 small sprigs of fresh thyme ♦ 75g butter, softened

METHOD step 1: Preheat the oven to 220C.

Line a large roasting tin with foil. Loosen the skin over the breast of the turkey and arrange the lemon and thyme in a neat layer between the skin and breast. Spread with the butter. step 2: Put the turkey crown into the roasting tin. Roast in the middle of the oven for 25-30 mins until lightly golden brown. Reduce the

temperature to 180C and continue to roast for 1-1 ½ hours until golden and cooked through.

Test if the bird is cooked by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the breast and checking that the juices run clear. The temperature of the thickest part of the breast should be about 75C if tested with a thermometer. step 3: Leave to rest for 20 mins before carving.

From Mary Berry’s Christmas Collection (Headline, €24)

pan and chuck in all the pear wedges.

Once they have warmed through, turn the heat down a bit and cook for about 5mins with a grinding of pepper, until the pears are sweet and softening around the edges but not falling apart. step 3: Put the leaves into a big mixing bowl and dress with the vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning.

Chuck in most of the pecorino and all of the pears along with their juices and give it a good fumble with your paws.

Share this between the number of plates/people you have, then top each one with some crispy ham, broken up a bit, and the last of the pecorino.

Big Table, Busy Kitchen by Allegra McEvedy (Quercus, €30)

jAnET’s jungLE juIcE wITH cHEDDAR 99 fLAkE IngREDIEnTs serves 6-8 1 litre Janet’s Jungle Juice or good rough, dry scrumpy cider ♦ 60g caster sugar ♦ 65ml cider brandy ♦ 150g cheddar, cut to rectangular ‘99’ flake shapes ♦ Mint leaves, preferably apple mint, to garnish

METHOD step 1: Put a

metal tray in the freezer.

Combine the cider, sugar and cider brandy in a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the mixture into the chilled tray and freeze. step 2: Leave until it begins to freeze around the edges, then stir thoroughly. Every 30 minutes or so, stir with a fork, crushing any lumps, until the ice is firm but not frozen solid – this will take about 3 hours.

Transfer to a container with a lid and store in the freezer. step 2: Serve the ice in teacups or glasses, with the cheddar ‘flakes’ added, garnished with mint leaves.

From The Ethicurean Cookbook by Jack Adair Bevan, Iain Pennington, Matthew Pennington and Paula Zarate (Ebury Press, €30)

Thursday 19th December 2013

10am - 5pm FREE ENTRY!

16 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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tech&gaming

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Ushered from the court of the $3bn king

T

hey laughed when evan Spiegel stood up to present his prototype app at California’s Stanford University. The idea was simple – send friends photos that selfdelete within ten seconds.

But students, tutors and a panel of investors gave a clear verdict, ‘Mostly, that it was pretty silly and why would anyone want to do that, unless they were, like, a spy?’ says Spiegel. But he’s the one with a smile on his face now, with Snapchat one of the biggest apps in the world.

Spiegel, 23, who co-founded the app with fraternity brother Bobby Murphy, is now sitting on a company valued at $3billion (€2.2billion) despite having never made a profit, with Facebook and Google reportedly among potential suitors.

The app is used to send 400million photos a day (more than Instagram) and is on a quarter of our smartphones. Its core audience is aged 13 to 25, so at 27, I need some convincing. ‘Traditional social media, in the view of our company, has become a bit repetitive,’ says Spiegel. ‘It doesn’t feel very good to be marketed to by your friends. Snapchat is different because it says, look, friends aren’t valuable to you just because they can get you into a cool party. If traditional social media is more of the workplace, Snapchat is the playground.’

Spiegel, who dropped out of uni-

Founder of app sensation Snapchat Evan Spiegel talks to Etan Smallman – until their interview time is cut short versity just shy of graduation to develop the app, says: ‘I snap with my mom. It was a great way for me to see my dog when I was in college.

We send selfies too.’ Despite being a chief executive, he still lives at home with his lawyer dad in LA and enjoys reading, snowboarding and going for walks. he has a Facebook account but only two friends on it.

Spiegel seems frustrated his brainchild is seen as ‘the sexting app for teenagers’. Just weeks after launching the prototype, then-US congressman Anthony Weiner posted a lewd picture of himself on Twitter. People joked he should have used Snapchat.

‘It certainly meant that when we described the service, people jumped to the sexting explanation rather than maybe hearing us out,’ Spiegel laments. he points out 70 per cent of users are female and adds: ‘Given the nature of traffic throughout the day it makes a pretty compelling case that the service is used for communication.’ how can he tell?

‘Well, I typically keep my pants on at the office.’

Addressing fears that Snapchat is a tool for cyber bullies, he says: ‘having been bullied growing up, it’s something that’s really near and

Snap happy: Evan Spiegel dear to my heart. you probably won’t have many friends on Snapchat if you’re being a jerk.’

The company’s mission statement ‘Deletion should be the default’ is a sensible mantra for dealing with personal information online and is bolstered by Snapchat’s appointment of an in-house sociologist. Bearing this in mind, what does he make of the edward Snowden digital surveillance scandal? ‘I’ve always wanted to say this in an interview,’ he says.

‘2 Chainz is a rapper and he has this song called Feds Watching. The notion is that if the feds are watching, you might as well look “fresh”.’

The point being, if you are being monitored by the authorities, poten-

thE StORIES SO faR SnapchaT conTroverSieS In the courts

Dubbed ‘The Third Winklevoss’ after the twins who sued Facebook, Frank Reginald Brown could be in line for a multimillion dollar payout, claiming he conceived the concept for Snapchat. Spiegel has admitted Brown ‘may deserve something’, although a statement from his legal team states: ‘We are aware of the allegations, believe them to be utterly devoid of merit and will vigorously defend ourselves against this frivolous suit.’

In the papers

This month, police in Canada arrested ten boys aged 13 to 15 on child pornography charges after they allegedly captured and shared explicit images of girls through

Snapchat. Florida teacher Joseph Lamar Johnson is being held on charges of distribution of obscene material to a minor after allegedly sending an obscene Snapchat to a former female student. However, explicit images can be shared through many platforms.

In the lab

A Forbes report from May claims images aren’t actually deleted. In July, forensics researcher Richard Hickman alleged Android devices only hide photos.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center has also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission stating Snapchat deceived users. A Snapchat article states: ‘If you’ve ever tried to recover lost data after

accidentally deleting a drive, or maybe watched an episode of CSI, you might know that with the right forensic tools, it’s sometimes possible to retrieve data after it has been deleted. So… you know… keep that in mind before putting any state secrets in your selfies :)’ James Day

DaRInG DROp-Out EntREpREnEuRS tial employers or your parents, you might as well be conscious of what you’re posting for posterity.

Facebook is certainly watching Snapchat very closely, reportedly offering a record $3billion cash bid to buy it. ‘erm, Mark [Zuckerberg] has not made us any formal offers but he remains a good friend and we’re obviously inspired by his business – it’s really remarkable,’ says Spiegel, toeing the PR line like a pro. has Facebook made any informal offers? There is a five-second pause, before his aide mimes to him emphatically: ‘No comment.’

Common ground that does exist between both companies is being subject to lawsuits, with a third former Stanford student claiming he helped found Snapchat (see box, left) in a strikingly similar case to Facebook versus the Winklevoss twins. I ask why so many tech startups based on the concept of friendship appear to destroy the personal relationships of the alleged founders?

‘Quite frankly, that’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask,’ says Spiegel. ‘It’s no surprise companies that quickly grow in value attract those who may want to also profit from the hard work of others.’

We are only halfway through our allotted time but Snapchat’s PR man tells me I’ve asked my last question and I’m ushered out.

Spiegel is a young entrepreneur who is as sharp as a tack – not to mention a man with the cojones to leave a potential $3billion cash deal on the table. If he was simply trying to illustrate the concept of Snapchat, he’s done a sterling job. Within ten seconds, it felt like the interview had evaporated before my eyes.

Mark Zuckerberg erberg

Despite founding Facebook in his dorm room, Zuckerberg quit Harvard in his second yearr and is currently worth $19billion.

Russell Simmons

The hip hop mogul left Manhattan City College short of completing a sociology degree.

He co-founded music label Def Jam in 1983 and has a reported net worth of $330million.

Steve Jobs

The Apple founder left Reed fo College Co after just six mon months due to the financial strain placed pl on his parents. par He died in 2011 as Forbes’ 17th most powerful person on the planet.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah left Tennessee State University in 1976 to lay the foundations for her $2.9billion media empire. She completed her degree a decade later.

Bill Gates

‘Harvard’s most successful dropout’ is currently sitting on $72billion.

Despite leaving after just two years ears in 1975, he received an honorary doctorate in 2007. JD

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tech&gaming

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

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Life behind a smartphone lens

T

here are around 30,000 photography apps in existence but such plentiful choice – and the throw-away nature of many of them – has given smartphone photography a bad name. Now, though, they’re finally losing their reputation as tacky filters for hastily-snapped photos.

Four years after the launch of hipstamatic, the first photo app to go mainstream, legitimate photography tools are now available that change how people interact with one another, encouraging a new wave to pick up a camera and look at things from a new angle. They offer more than the likes of Justin Bieber-backed app Shots Of Me, which considers the trend of sharing selfies a viable pastime.

Take Snapchat, an app whose developers recently turned down a $3billion (€2.2bn) offer from Facebook in the belief it’s worth more (see opposite page feature). Sure, headlines have pointed at how teenagers are using it to share nude photos or bully their peers, but among older users it’s an ephemeral glance at something considered not worthy of a more permanent fixture on social networking sites.

That may mean photos are more throwaway but it’s through exchanging these tiny peeks into someone’s life that you often understand more about them than from a well-crafted Facebook status. however, Snapchat is long in the tooth compared with these pixel-snapping apps.

Dubble (iOS, free)

Those who still remember loading rolls of 35mm film into cameras may recoil at the thought of deliberately setting out to create multiple exposures but this is all Dubble offers – and it’s all the better for it. Created by combining a user’s photo with a random shot from another Dubble

Make the most of your happy snaps as photography apps are finally getting clever, writes Kat Hannaford user, the two photos are layered and often produce breathtaking results. There’s no distracting pretence of being a social network; instead, photo creation is at the very heart of this app.

Vine (iOS/Android/Windows Phone, free)

having recently arrived on Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, Vine is the easiest way to share six-second bits of looping video, minus the distracting neon filters of photo rival Instagram.

With parent company Twitter pushing it hard and brands, including Marks & Spencer, Samsung and Bacardi, leaping on the platform to reach more potential customers, it’s not going to disappear anytime soon. The latest update also allows you to edit videos, so brace yourself for a new generation of Kubricks and Scorseses plucked right from Vine itself.

Find your focus: Dubble allows you to layer two photos over each other to create interesting results

Nokia Refocus (Nokia Lumia PureView)

Nokia’s Windows Phone app will see a few Apple and Android users turn green with envy when they see the shared photos on Facebook. When taking a photo, the app captures between two and eight shots.

That means the finished result, while looking like a normal image with one defined depth of field, is fully interactive, with various subject matters capable of being drawn in and out of focus. Tapping a face in the foreground draws it into focus but if a sign in the background is tapped, the face then blurs slightly with the sign rendered legible instead.

triggertrap (iOS/Android, free download + €23 cable)

If you still baulk at the idea of taking photos on your phone, there’s an app that helps you get the most from your digital camera by acting as a trigger for fast or long exposures.

It can even harness your smartphone’s sensors to take photos instantly based on sound, motion and lots of other commands.

THE Big RELEAsE

Wii Fit U (Wii U) HHHH✩

The release of Super Mario 3D World has finally given the Wii U a classic game to call its own. With the console having been in store for more than a year, though, that’s not an impressive batting average. It’s been further dragged down because many of the games Nintendo announced for 2013, such as Mario Kart 8 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, have been postponed until next year.

Bridging the gap is Wii Fit U, a recently released download that requires you to buy a Fit Meter activity tracker to use it.

Today, though, it hits stores as a full retail bundle with the Fit Meter and an added Balance Board peripheral.

The board is essentially a pair of hi-tech bathroom scales that sense the movement of your body as you gyrate on top. The five-year-old technology is showing its age next to the Xbox’s Kinect but

All aboard: Wii Fit U is more structured and has more sporting outlets for gamers to enjoy exercise you do. The Wii U various exercises and miniGamePad is slightly games require skill. It’s also superfluous, but because you much more structured than the can display everything on its original Wii Fit, with a screen, it leaves the TV clear personal trainer, dance mode for something else while and more workouts. It’s always exercising. Although it’s easy been said that Wii Fit’s main to claim Wii Fit U isn’t goal is to get you more into actually a video game, it has exercise and this succeeds as goals to achieve and the well as ever. David Jenkins

given the innate simplicity of Wii Fit U – and the fact that whatever else the Kinect does, it can’t tell you how much you weigh – the Balance Board is still fit for purpose. The Fit Meter is a combination pedometer and altimeter that connects wirelessly to the console and monitors all the

sTAR BUY STOCKING FILLER

We have to admit, we were sceptical when we saw these chunky knit earmuff headphones land on our desk, but we were pleasantly surprised with them. Not only do they keep your ears warm, the sound quality is also excellent – so good in o believe they’re only fact, it’s hard to €19.99.

KitSound Audio Chunky Cable Knit Earmuffs, €19.99, Carphone Warehouse

Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, D2 http://dublin.cervantes.es Tel: (01) 631 15 00

18 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

travel

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High-roller in nYC

big APPLE: New York city still can’t be beaten for atmosphere as the place to spend the Christmas holidays

By Adam White

T

here was a time, not so long ago, when fuselageloads of Irish would hurtle off to New York City armed with credit cards and empty suitcases to do Christmas shopping. Such a thing seems grotesquely extravagant now, but strip away its retail identity and the Big Apple still can’t be beaten for atmosphere as a place to spend the high festive days themselves.

It makes perfect sense, really.

After all, regardless of the season, visitors to Manhattan often feel like the rest of the planet is revolving around this iconic high-rise island.

First-timers are hit with an overpowering sense of déjà vous.

It’s everywhere. The NYPD squad car over there, with steam wafting out of the manhole beside it; the couples ice skating down by the rockefeller Centre; the doorman at The Plaza patting white-gloved hands together to keep warm. The brain is inhaling the sights and sounds, muddling them with a hundred films and shows and converting it into sorbet for the grey matter. This doesn’t happen in Birmingham.

Why, then, shouldn’t NYC do Christmas better than anywhere else? The Special Time Of Year is made all the more special by the city’s stores and shop fronts. Whole

streets explode with glitter and tinsel, lighting up the sky-scraping canyons like Christmas trees and turning every Midtown or Chelsea window into a preening diorama of dollar-happy elegance.

Climbing out of the subway at Union Square early on Christmas eve morning, the city’s columns and spires rise sleepily in the morning cold. The streets are quiet, so I walk and walk and walk, all the way up to 42nd St and Pershing Square, home of the best French toast on the planet (‘if you don’t order it, don’t ever talk to me again’ a friend had sworn at me).

Inside, latter-day Don and Betty Drapers read morning papers on red velvet seats and smartly dressed waitresses move to the croons of Bing Crosby and Ol’ Blue eyes.

Union Square itself is opening its Christmas market when I stroll back down there. Smells of hot cider and cottage cosmetics breeze through stalls selling artisan toys, nifty T-Shirts and bric-a-brac. The traders pack up for the evening, hollering warmly at each other and visibly charged to be going home to be with loved ones. Just beyond the market perimeter, various lesser hawkers piggyback on the attention. A twenty-something wears a tweed jacket and thickframe specs while clutching an arch pipe. Beside him sits a middle-aged woman in deep conversation and a sign that reads ‘Free Street Therapist’.

Christmas Day itself starts as gently as it does anywhere, but a very New York gold soon announces itself during a stroll around Central Park. every size, shape and colour of dog and dogowner shuffles around the glistening frosts. The price of a coffee upstairs in the Mandarin

Festive finery: Snow at Central Park, main, Rockefeller Center, bottom right and Times Square Oriental is worth it for the view over the city’s lungs at this time of day, or an evening whiskey in the Plaza is a nice way to make like you’re a high-roller. I’ve already tried both so today opt for a festive breakfast roll and coffee from one of the many muscular delis dotted about. I shovel this into me on a bench near the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon, but the man standing with headphones over the mosaic, weeping gently to himself, is the only one who’d notice.

A short while later, the good folk at the renaissance hotel kindly let me into their r Lounge to Skype the family back home.

Understandably, everyone is far more interested in the postcard view of Times Square’s neon explosives behind me.

O

Ne of the great things is that quick and inexpensive does not equal tasteless cack in this multi-ethnic and food-mad metropolis. On St

piCtures: thiNkstoCk

Stephen’s Day, the wind up on the enchanting elevated public park known as The highline is starting to sting so it’s convenient to find Artichoke Basille’s Pizzeria right below in the Meat Packing District. here, a slice of gourmet pizza is the size of a shovel-head. Another night after watching a mass carolsinging session on Washington Square, I ducked into the Minetta Tavern, a classy, vaguely Mafioso bar near Greenwich Village. I ordered an Old Fashioned and their famous Minetta Burger, staples that have sustained everyone from ernest hemingway to ezra Pound down through the years. If it’s good enough for hemingway...

Down in Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park, in the hulking shadow of the Financial District, memorials lament the passing of WWII servicemen and victims of the holocaust and 9/11 attacks. There’s even an Irish hunger Memorial to raise awareness of world famine.

You’re reminded that Christmas is as much about indulgence as remembering what’s important, and conclude that few places cover both departments quite like New York.

gETTing THERE Adam flew Dublin to JFK New York return with Delta Airlines. For more information on travelling to New York, visit Aereps.ie

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Life television

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

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WHAT I’m WATCHING rosemary shrager coronation strEEt

I love it, I love it, I love it. I love it because of the humour, the whole thing. I’ve always loved Corrie. All sorts of things have been going on lately: the pub has been changing hands; the builder has been getting into a bit of a trouble; one person nearly died; someone else has had a surrogate baby. But I never know anybody’s names.

homEland

I can’t watch all of it at the moment because I’m moving house but I’m going to get the DVD. Damian Lewis (below) is lovely – I saw him recently, at the harvest festival the Duchess of Cornwall organised at Westminster Abbey.

Bad Education: christmas spEcial BBC3, 10pm Jack Whitehall, fresh from retaining his crown as King of Comedy, takes a crack at that old favourite, the school nativity play, with the help of his Bad Education reprobates. A somewhat uneasy marriage of Robocop and The Nutcracker, teacher Alfie’s ambitious production finds room for tolerance channelled through the medium of expressive dance, guest turns from Frances Barber as Alfie’s mum and Howard from Fresh Meat (Greg McHugh) as a thespian tramp, and no shortage of near-the-knuckle humour. Not forgetting some clinches with no need of mistletoe to pack some heat.

film of thE day snaTch, Tv3, 9pm

i’m a cElEBrity… gEt mE out of hErE!

thE moaning of lifE sKy1, 9pm This final roam-the-globe philosophical probe with TV’s most reluctant traveller was postponed out of respect for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. The theme of this episode is how different societies regard death – witness dancing in the streets to celebrate the life of Nelson mandela – which finds the typically phlegmatic Karl pilkington (aka an Idiot Abroad, right) attending a funeral in Ghana as he offers his thoughts about how best to address shuffling off this mortal coil.

After the success of his debut, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, director Guy Ritchie came up with another flashy dose of East End gangsters, guns, set-ups and shootouts. There are more than just genre similarities: Vinnie Jones is back as hitman Bullet-Tooth Tony, and Jason Statham as narrator Turkish, an unlicensed fight promoter in trouble with thug Bricktop (Alan Ford) because his crazy Irish boxer Mickey (a hilariously lowlife Brad Pitt, pictured) keeps messing up Bricktop’s fight fixing. How these poor saps have ended up involved in the heist of an 84-carat diamond by Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) for his US boss Avi (Dennis Farina) is anyone’s guess. Snatch is as sharp and effective as the bullets Ritchie seems so fond of.

fíorscÉal TG4, 10.55pm Guilin, in southern China, is one of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. Night fishing with ospreys was traditionally the main source of income. However since Guilin became a popular tourist destination in the 1980s, the locals fish under the gaze of thousands of foreign tourists.

Will the charm of Guilin be spoiled by its own success?

I thought Matthew Wright (below) was amazing. I think people were mean voting for him all the time. It’s what you make of it yourself, and when I did it I just had fun. Joey Essex doesn’t do anything for me – he doesn’t even know how to blow his nose. If I was in there, I’d say: ‘Get a life.’

my favouritE tv charactEr

thE grEat British christmas BakE off BBC2, 8pm stuff the turkey – all we want for christmas is baked goodies from our cheery Bake Off judging duo. mary Berry serves alternative mince pies and a festive gingerbread house while paul hollywood gets to grips with a fruity marzipan log and christmas leftovers pie. all served up with brandy butter and the odd glass of wine.

This year I’m in Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, and guess who is headlining? Basil Brush (left)! He’s one of my favourite people ever. He’s so funny. When they asked me if I would do panto with him, I couldn’t pass up that up.

Sharon Lougher Rosemary Shrager’s Classic Christmas is on this Friday at 8pm on Food Network.

puzzles

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METROSCOPE

by Patrick Arundell

NEMI by Lise

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20

You may be on a quest for excitement or looking for an experience that might involve a challenge. Today’s Full Moon might be the catalyst that inspires you to research what’s available.

Taurus Apr 21 – May 21

scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22

For your forecast, call 15609 114 71

For your forecast, call 15609 114 77

For your forecast, call 15609 114 70

With festive fever ramping up, you might enjoy a spot of shopping, especially if you have last-minute presents to buy. While today’s Full Moon might make this an enjoyable experience, it could also be an expensive one.

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

Gemini May 22 – Jun 21

Today’s Full Moon may make for a very entertaining day, although it might bring feelings to the surface, meaning you could be a touch tetchy.

However, possibilities for some interesting interactions may show up.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 72

Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23

Uranus forges forward after being retrograde for some time, which might impact your path ahead in a positive way. You might find your intuitive impulses regarding what’s best for you and what to do next may seem to resonate more.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 73

Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23

You may feel like it’s time to celebrate something. If nothing’s showing up, you may feel moved to create a reason to have fun, as today’s Full Moon suggests that being with friends or holding an impromptu gettogether can make your day.

PEARLs BEFORE swINE

For your forecast, call 15609 114 74

Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23

Mars continues to power through Libra, highlighting opportunities to better manage your finances. Yet, with outgoings possible too, look for value for money. As Uranus pushes onwards from today, you may notice that joint cash matters aren’t so unpredictable.

DOWN 2 Relative (10) 3 Couple (4) 4 Glass vessel (6) 5 Centre (6) 6 Lax (8) 7 Despatched (4) 11 Unlikely (10) 13 Control (8) 16 Shrink back (6) 17 Hue (6) 18 Neat (4) 20 Want (4)

Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 7 Curve; 8 Trolley; 9 Indulge; 10 Elver; 12 Aristocrat; 15 Triviality; 18 Label; 19 Tempter; 21 Control; 22 Dread. Down: 1 Occidental; 2 Grade; 3 Well; 4 Stress; 5 Foremost; 6 Slavery; 11 Retrograde; 13 Raillery; 14 Disband; 16 Little; 17 Steer; 20 Mode.

You might feel like a festive splurge, particularly as a Full Moon can enhance your enjoyment of shopping. However, you could end up buying far more than intended, so it might help to make a list and set a limit.

sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21

The focus seems to be on sociability.

Relationships may be upbeat although volatile but nothing will stick. Uranus turns direct too, so you may find creative projects and romantic hopes can seem less unsettled.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 78

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

It may help to trim your schedule a little or to make a concerted effort to relax. Today’s line-up could mean you’re a little edgy. This can be particularly the case if you have had lots on or the pressure has piled up.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 79

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

You may find that certain situations seem less prone to disruption from today as Uranus begins to push forward once again. Any unexpected hiccups can be replaced by a more intuitive and inventive flow that could prove quite creative.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 80

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20

A Full Moon in your home zone might inspire you to cook up a storm or get to grips with decorations or any last-minute DIY. You might like to be with the family or have friends around, or even to relax with some seasonal goodies while enjoying a movie or a good read.

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

ACROSS 1 Stumble (4) 8 Hateful (10) 9 Lively (8) 10 Way out (4) 12 Infrequent (6) 14 Not liable (6) 15 Tarry (6) 17 Habit (6) 18 Inform (4) 19 Almanac (8) 21 Deal out (10) 22 Profound (4)

For your forecast, call 15609 114 76

ENIGMA Any ornamental trim to make a garment look less grim.

From its name you’d think it meant ‘fluffy pelt beneath garment’.

WHO AM I? A singer, I was born in Edinburgh in 1975. I won the award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2006 Brits.

My hit albums have included Eye To The Telescope and

Drastic Fantastic.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… created the Secret Seven?

WHAT... do we call the bird corvus corax?

WHERE... in South America is Asunción the capital?

WHEN... was the by-election in which Enda Kenny was first elected to the Dáil?

QUIZ ANSWERS: ENIGMA: Furbelow. WHO AM I? KT Tunstall. WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? Enid Blyton; Raven; Paraguay; 1975.

QUICK CROsswORd

For your forecast, call 15609 114 75

Crossword No. 880 See next edition for solutions

Libra Sep 24 – Oct 23

A lively curiosity may bring opportunities to learn something new or connect with key people in your life. The Full Moon in Gemini may also highlight important connections in your world, or encourage you to catch up with an old friend.

SCRIBBLE BOX

20 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

spORT DIGEsT

Quitting: Zola

Zola departs with a farewell letter fOOTBALL Gianfranco Zola has

resigned as manager of Championship club Watford. The Italian, a Chelsea legend and former West Ham manager, led Watford to the play-off final last season but leaves the Hornets in 13th place having lost five straight matches at Vicarage Road. Zola wrote on the club’s website: ‘I feel it is in the best interests of the team that somebody new is given the chance to bring the success we have all hoped for.’

rugby

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD

Leinster go back to basics after saints setback

10 Match ban for Croatia’s

Josip Simunic for leading fans in a pro-Nazi chant after a World Cup play-off game. The defender will now miss the tournament in Brazil

RUGBY Warren

Khan’s Floyd plan BOXING Amir Khan is confident he is just weeks away from sealing a clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Khan has been holding out for a lucrative fight with the pound-for-pound No.1 since suffering a scare in his last fight against Julio Diaz in April. The 27-year-old says the deal is close to being sealed. ‘It’s the fight I’ve always been after and we’re very close now,’ he said. ‘Hopefully something is going to be announced within the next couple of weeks.’

Link-up: Luke Fitzgerald shapes to pass to Ian Madigan during Leinster training yesterday

PICTURE: InPho

Striking the right balance key for Feek Leinster head into Friday’s visit to edinburgh with few injury concerns but could see their options limited by the irFU’s player management policy as it kicks in again following the latest round of Heineken Cup games. sean O’Brien did not

train again yesterday as he recovers from ‘a really good dead leg’, while prop Jack McGrath must complete return to play protocols after suffering a blow to the head against northampton. ‘some [players] may need a rest, some have the management

thing and some haven’t played a lot,’ said scrum coach Greg Feek. ‘You have to get the balance right within the group and what is needed. We’re not looking too bad in terms of what we’ll have out there and we always want to put out the best team we possibly can.’

ODDBALLs

Klitschko bows out

Leinster must cut out the basic errors that riddled their disappointing performance against northampton if they are to bounce back to winning ways in the Pro12 this weekend, Luke Fitzgerald has warned. the province were a shadow of the side that hammered saints seven days earlier as they fell to defeat at the Aviva stadium on saturday, but there is no time to wallow in Heineken Cup disappointment, with Friday’s trip to resurgent edinburgh focusing minds ahead of festive derbies against Ulster and Connacht.

‘We have to take a pretty close look at ourselves, as we always do after a loss, but we are a performance-focused team and we just didn’t perform well,’ Fitzgerald said of the 18-9 result.

‘Our basics were very poor. i thought we allowed them into the game with poor handing errors, very unlike us. We let them into the game in a number of areas where we were just very disappointing. ‘i think they are easy things to fix. it is important we are calm at this point.

We don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

We just have to focus on ourselves, work on the basics and get them right and things will hopefully turn around for us very quickly.

‘it’s very important we do that this weekend because edinburgh are very tough opposition and have been for us for a very long period. it’s a very big game so we’ve got to get our stuff together very quickly.’ individually, there is evidence of fleet-footed Fitzgerald returning to his best form since coming back from yet another lengthy injury absence, placing the 26-year-old firmly in the thick of a crowded battle for places in Joe schmidt’s six nations backline, assuming he can remain injury free. ‘that’s always the aim,’ he said. ‘that’s the aim for any irish guy, to get into that international team. that’s a focus of mine but it is most important that i focus on my performances with Leinster and let that do the talking. ‘there’s a lot of competition around the provinces, a lot of irish guys playing very well, so i just have to keep my performance level as high as i can and let Joe do the rest. i feel like i’m in a good place. i feel dangerous whenever i get the ball so i just have to get my hands on it as much as i can. Obviously there are a few areas where i would like to improve, like everyone in the team this week, so i’ll focus on them and hopefully keep the other stuff going.’

@MetroHSport

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Dad thumbs bill after mascot’s Luis jibe

BOXING Vitali Klitschko has vacated

his WBC belt but was named champion emeritus yesterday, leaving the door open for the Ukraine politician to one day return. Klitschko, who last fought in September 2012, is unlikely to box again as he joins protesters in demonstrations against the government in Kiev.

by GARETH MAkIM

‘We’ve got to get our stuff together quickly’

Gatland sticks with Wales until 2019 Gatland has signed a new contract to remain as head coach of Wales until after the 2019 World Cup. Gatland (left) will take charge of Wales’ next two World Cup campaigns after committing his future to the WRU for the next six years, taking his overall tenure to 12 years. He said: ‘I am proud and delighted to have been chosen to take charge for the next two World Cups. I have chosen to stay because of my confidence in the players, the coaching structures we have developed and the succession plan of talent we constantly update.’

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Duped: Suarez

The cheeky Spurs mascot who snubbed a handshake with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez did it all for a £20 bet, her dad has admitted.

Olivia Brown, ten, gave the Reds captain the classic ‘schoolboy’ (or

girl, in this case) handshake as the two sides lined up before the 5-0 massacre at White Hart Lane.

However, the youngster’s dad told the Bedfordshire on Sunday he put his daughter up to the prank by

offering a cash incentive. ‘I said I’d give her £20 to give him the thumb to the nose and the twiddly fingers,’ Des Brown said. ‘Afterwards she came back and said “dad I’ve done it”. It’s made my day – it’s hilarious.’

22 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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football champions league draw

Moyes will come good Pellegrini facing month without Aguero at United, says Adnan MANCHESTER UNITED youngster Adnan Januzaj is convinced David Moyes will bring trophies to Old Trafford.

Moyes has endured a tough season so far as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement, but Sunday’s fine 3-0 win at Aston Villa was followed by yesterday’s Champions League last-16 draw handing United a clash with Olympiakos which looks very winnable on paper.

And a confident Januzaj, who was one of United’s star performers in their Villa Park win, said: ‘He will win trophies. Don’t forget, it is a new coach. Everything is new. You have to give it time.

‘I think he is a good coach. All the

Manuel Pellegrini has revealed Manchester City could be without striker Sergio aguero for at least a month with a calf injury. aguero was injured early in the second half of Saturday’s impressive 6-3 defeat of

arsenal. The argentine, who has scored 19 goals this season, is set to miss the St Stephen’s Day clash with liverpool as well as games against Fulham, Crystal Palace and Swansea.

Pellegrini said: ‘i think he

will be at least one month out. He has a calf injury.

Maybe the doctor can say exactly how many weeks he will be.’

The City manager was speaking ahead of tonight’s Capital One Cup quarter-

final trip to leicester for which changes to his side were likely anyway.

The Chilean said: ‘Of course, when you have a good squad, it is easy for the manager to make changes. i trust in this squad.’

Sidelined: Aguero

Tough season: Moyes players are ready to work hard as well and everything will come.’

Reacting to the Champions League draw, United club secretary John Alexander contrasted the Olympiakos clash with tough games for Arsenal and City, against Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively.

Alexander suggested United’s rivals had themselves to blame, saying: ‘If you look at the ties Arsenal and City got, that shows why you have got to win the group.

Whoever came out of the pot would have been a good one to draw.

‘United are a big club in greece so we will have a good following over there.’

THEDRAw Manchester City v Barcelona Olympiakos v Manchester Utd AC Milan v Atletico Madrid B Leverkusen v Paris St-Germain Galatasaray v Chelsea Schalke 04 v Real Madrid Zenit St P’sburg v B Dortmund Arsenal v Bayern Munich First legs to be played 18/19/25/26th Feb 2014. Second legs to be played 11//12/18/19th March

Catalan class: But Neymar and his Barcelona team-mates face a tough tie after drawing City and upbeat boss Pellegrini, inset by jOn HARvEy FACINg Spanish giants Barcelona is not the fearsome prospect it once was, claims Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.

City have been handed a testing tie against the La Liga title holders in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Pellegrini’s men might have avoided such a difficult task had they not misunderstood the group stage goal difference rules last week.

City beat Bayern Munich 3-2 but Pellegrini failed to realise victory by one more goal would have secured top spot in their group and, theoretically, a more favourable draw.

Yet after beating the European champions, and then putting six past

Home where Drog’s heart is DiDier DrOgba is relishing playing two ‘home’ games in the Champions league last-16 after galatasaray drew his former club Chelsea. The striker, 35, is expected to receive a hero’s welcome at the second leg at Stamford bridge. His crucial

equaliser and decisive penalty helped Chelsea to beat bayern Munich in the 2012 final. ‘What a draw… i’m the luckiest man in this competition,’ Drogba said via his official instagram account. ‘in both games i’ll be playing home!

See you in few months.’

Picture: reuterS

Barca’s fear factor has gone, insists City boss Manuel

Premier League leaders Arsenal, Pellegrini is confident enough.

He said: ‘I think they will be very concerned also. Barcelona is not the team it was two years ago.

‘It’s a beautiful game with two very good teams.

‘All the 16 teams are the best teams of Europe – so Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-germain for me was the same.’

Pellegrini believes City, who have qualified for the knockout phase for the first time, will take a lot from beating Bayern in Munich.

He said: ‘The most important thing, and we had already done it, was to qualify for the next round but to play against Bayern was a big test for what we can do in the future.’

City may have paid a steep price for failing to top their group but

‘They are not the side of two years ago’

in the build-up to the draw they were the one team that Barcelona had been keen to avoid – the local sports daily El Mundo Deportivo’s front page had stated simply ‘El City, No!’ City director of football Txiki Begiristain – formerly of Barcelona – said the team is in a confident mood.

‘Ours is a team with a lot of confidence especially after winning against the champions in Munich – that will give us a lot of confidence,’ he said.

‘Not just at home but away as well.’

football

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013 METRO HERALD 23

Fab choice on cards as time runs out for AVB ForMEr England managers Fabio Capello and Glenn Hoddle and Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino have emerged as contenders for the Tottenham job after yesterday’s sacking of Andre Villas-Boas.

The 36-year-old’s reign came to an abrupt end a day after Spurs’ 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool.

Tim Sherwood, who is on the coaching staff at White Hart Lane, will take charge for tomorrow night’s Capital one Cup quarter-final at home to West Ham and perhaps longer in an interim role.

The humiliation by Liverpool, which followed a 6-0 drubbing by

by gAVin BROwn

Manchester City last month, appears to have been the final straw for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who delivered the news in person at the club’s training ground.

A Tottenham statement said ‘the decision was by mutual consent and in the interests of all parties’, but, with Villas-Boas vowing not to quit on Sunday night, it was clear he was pushed.

The Portuguese, who was able to say farewell to the players before his departure, leaves after 18 months in the post.

Bookmakers have installed Capello as the early favourite. Although he is currently russia’s head coach and due to take them to the World Cup finals, Franco Baldini, his former assistant with England, is Spurs’ technical director and Capello was at the Liverpool game.

‘The decision was by mutual consent and in the interest of all parties’

RAMOs RETuRns

Hard to take: Villas-Boas can’t watch as Spurs lose to Liverpool on Sunday picture: action images

AN Hour after Andre VillasBoas got the boot at Tottenham, it was confirmed former boss Juande ramos will be returning to White Hart Lane. ramos (pictured) will bring his Dnipro team to London in the Europa League last 32. There will be another familiar face in the dug-out when Swansea face Napoli, as rafael Benitez will lead the Italians.

other names in the frame include Hoddle, Pochettino and former Tottenham striker Jurgen Klinsmann, currently coach of the uSA. Michael Laudrup also featured in the early betting but his agent has insisted the Dane is committed to Swansea until the summer.

Spurs are seventh in the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester united, and won their Europa League group with a 100 per cent record.

But they spent heavily in the summer – to the tune of £108million – reinvesting Gareth Bale’s enormous transfer fee, however, some of the signings were seemingly made over Villas-Boas’ head and that led to a breakdown in the relationship with the club’s hierarchy.

Andre deserved time, says gus as he rules himself out of the running SunDErLAnD manager Gus Poyet believes Andre Villas-Boas did not get the time he needed to mould his team, and has ruled himself out of replacing the Portuguese at White Hart Lane.

Poyet said: ‘nothing surprises me in football. From the managers’ point of view it is not nice.

‘We always want time, especially when you have just made a new team with plenty of new faces. Without any doubt, you Monthly Certified Distribution Oct 28 - Nov 24, 2013: 60,208

54 Win percentage for Villas-Boas, the highest for

any Tottenham manager in the Premier League era need time.’ Poyet has been touted as a possible candidate to replace Villas-Boas in recent weeks, but he insists he is concentrating only on the task of dragging the Black Cats out of relegation trouble.

He said: ‘It’s always flattering, but I just came here and I am

concentrating here.’ Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, who led his side to a 6-0 thrashing of Spurs in the league last month, said: ‘Always when a manager is sacked, I am surprised. He didn’t have time but I am absolutely sure he will continue his career.’

Staying put: Poyet

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Intense tie ahead: Boateng

Tough luck for Bayern as holders net Arsenal Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng has labelled arsenal as the ‘toughest draw’ his team could have landed in the champions League last 16.

The holders, who progressed against the Gunners courtesy of the away goals rule at the same stage last year, could not have drawn Manchester city having already faced them in the group stages, and Boateng believes the Germans have been handed a genuine banana skin. he said: ‘They’re the toughest opponents we could have had.

‘They’ll be totally up for it after what happened last year.

Both matches will be very intense.’

Bayern Munich director Karl-heinz rummenigge was also quick to point out the difficulty of the draw against arsene Wenger’s side.

‘There were more manageable and easier opponents in the hat, but we can’t change it,’ he said.

‘We know we have to approach arsenal with great respect, and that’s what we’ll do.

‘We’ll have to turn in two very good performances.’

While Bayern may be taking nothing for granted against the Premier League leaders, Pep Guardiola’s men will still head into the tie as firm favourites. however, Gunners winger alex Oxlade-chamberlain believes arsenal can go to Germany with nothing to fear.

‘We managed to get a good result away at Bayern last season so that brings back good memories,’ said the england man, who will be hoping to be fit for the first leg at the end of February, as he continues his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury. ‘if you’re going to do well in the competition you’ve got to beat the best teams.’

24 METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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