Metro Herald, Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Discuss your computing course options at our open day

Wednesday 27th Aug 5:30-8pm. Visit griffith.ie

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Joanne ahern aher puts renault’s first re e-car Zoe through her paces

US comic Tig Notaro on turning tragedy into comedy pAGE 19

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israel and hamas agree ceasefire pAGE 6

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Chloe Moretz tells Ross Angeles about life, love and death

« feWer signing on but recovery sloW pAGE 5 « pAGE 16

pAGE 17

commuters rescue girl pinned by luas

A SCHOOLGIRL became trapped under a Luas yesterday morning – but heroic passersby rescued her by pushing the tram off her.

The girl was taken to the Mater Hospital for ‘precautionary measures’ after the incident, which occurred at the Jervis stop on the Red Line.

In a video posted on Facebook, the girl, wearing a school uniform, appears to have her leg caught under the tram and is heard screaming in pain.

But pedestrians passing the scene banded together in an incredible show of communal strength to help the frightened girl.

Stunned after her eventual release, she sits on the path, her knee blood-

by aileen donegan

ied, as strangers try to comfort her.

The girl was believed to be starting her first day in fifth year and was carrying a heavy bag of school books.

Speaking to GoMetro.ie, a Luas spokeswoman said the collision was ‘minor’ and occurred at approximately 7.30am, with the emergency services called as a precaution.

It followed an earlier incident on the same line, when a van collided with the Luas near the Bluebell station on the Naas Road just 15 minutes beforehand. Both incidents caused traffic delays of up to an hour.

Trapped: The video shows the girl stuck under the front of a Red Line Luas.

Commuters grouped together gether tto help tip the front carriage age far enough for the girl to be pulled free

Keep Dublin tidy – Please recycle this Metro Herald when you are finished with it

BAD DONE GOOD: Breaking Bad stars Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn celebrate with their awards for outstanding supporting actor and actress in a drama series at the Emmy Awards in LA

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Picture: reuters

pAGEs 3&8

METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

JULIA’S TRIUMPH SEALED WITH A SNOG

Lip service: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston pucker up at the ceremony in LA Pictures: Getty VEEP star Julia Louis-Dreyfus praised Bryan Cranston’s kissing after the pair locked lips during her Emmy triumph.

She was grabbed and kissed by Breaking Bad’s Cranston as she

stepped up to accept her gong for outstanding lead actress for her role as vice-president Selina Meyer.

The 53-year-old gushed: ‘It was pretty good. He went for it.’ The kiss was a jokey blast from the

past for the pair – who have previously puckered up together on Seinfeld, when Cranston, 58, had a minor part in the show.

But Louis-Dreyfus claimed she could not remember the first kiss.

Even Sherlock didn’t have a clue he’d win

HIT TV show Sherlock scooped a hat-trick of awards at the Emmys – and writer Steven Moffat celebrated by revealing plans for a new special episode.

The drama’s stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, won gongs for actor and supporting actor in a mini-series, while Moffat was named best writer.

And he promised fans there was more

by ANDREI HARMSWORTH

to come from Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in the BBC show. ‘We are going to start shooting a special episode in January at the same time we start shooting Doctor Who so that will be great,’ he said.

Moffat said he was pleasantly surprised by the result. ‘I didn’t think to prepare a single word because I didn’t think we could win,’ he

said. But he admitted that filming Sherlock had got harder since Cumberbatch – who plays the sleuth – and Dr Watson actor Freeman had seen their stock rise.

The Britons missed the awards show in Los Angeles because of work commitments.

‘Now Benedict and Martin are being flown in by special jet to a big leaky shed in Wales. That makes it sound terrible,’ he said.

Emmys SPEcIAL

PAgES 8 & 9

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THE WINNERS

Best comedy series – Modern Family Actress, comedy – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep Actor, comedy – Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory Supporting actor, comedy – Ty Burrell, Modern Family Supporting actress, comedy – Allison Janney, Mom Best drama series – Breaking Bad Actress, drama – Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Actor, drama – Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad Supporting actor, drama – Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad Supporting actress, drama – Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad Best mini-series – Fargo Actress, mini-series – Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven Supporting actress, mini-series – Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Coven Actor, mini-series – Benedict Cumberbatch,

Sherlock: His Last Vow Supporting actor, mini-series – Martin Freeman, Sherlock: His Last Vow Reality-competition show – The Amazing Race Director, drama – True Detective Writer, mini-series – Sherlock Director, mini-series – Fargo Outstanding TV movie – The Normal Heart

Gong getters: Juliana Margulies, Ty Burrell and Jessica Lange Pictures: ePa/Getty

METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Father wins right to bring Bag a ‘real-life’ Transformer for €1,000...

Irish-born baby girl to UK THE High Court has cleared the way for the transfer to the UK of an Irishborn baby girl whose mother had come to Ireland using false ID to ‘escape social services’ in the UK. The court heard yesterday that the child was born at a private residence in Ireland in January of this year to a mother who suffers from a number of psychological problems. Childcare proceedings had already been brought in respect of an older child.

Last month Mr Justice George Birmingham ruled the child should be returned to the UK and yesterday

NO TO DRINK! FECK! GIRLS! At the launch of September Heart Month, Frank Kelly, aka Father Jack, joined heart transplant survivor John Healy and broadcaster Caroline Morahan to remind the public to Say When Sooner to alcohol to avoid heart problems

Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley granted the orders allowing the transfer.

She said the child was taken into care weeks after she was born after a concerned neighbour contacted the authorities. The woman’s other child is currently being cared for by the children’s father and the court heard it is planned the Irish-born baby will also be placed in his care.

The child’s mother, who has had supervised access to her daughter, would prefer if the child remained in Ireland as she did not intend to return to the UK, the court was told.

WE thought though that the Autobot faction of Transformers was onlyy the stuff of o over-the-top, op, explosive legend directed d by Michael Bay. But it turns ns out one of the hulking machines has made its way from the silver screen to Cork — disguised as a Peugeot 206. How a robot squeezed into the frame of a Peugeot is meant to defend the human race from the evil Decepticons, epticons, we’ll w never know. But with ith a price pr e tag of just €1,000, your own Optimus Prime is a bargain. The seller says on Adverts.ie: ‘It has been in Peugeot 206 mode since 2001 but can transform into whatever car you want it to. All you have to do is think you’re driving a Porsche and hey presto it is a Porsche!’ Prospective buyers needn’t worry about scratches either, as they are all part of a cunning plan to disguise ‘as the Decepticons will destroy it if it’s discovered’.

Older passengers stranded as yobs cause bus trouble

by LukE HOLOHAn COMMUTERS, including some elderly, were left stranded last week after Dublin Bus was forced to restrict the No.40 bus route due to anti-social behaviour.

According to Fianna Fáil local councillor Trevor Gilligan, the last bus on the route did not go into the North Clondalkin area after stones had been thrown at vehicles that same evening.

Mr Gilligan said: ‘This was the last bus, and senior citizens were left to walk from the Coldcut Road as far as Moorfield.

‘I’m furious and quite frankly disappointed that people would take to damaging buses for no reason. This has been an ongoing probAnger: Gilligan lem for years.’

Twenty people were on board the bus on August 20, with a number of passengers left with a 20-minute walk home at midnight.

Mr Gilligan said there was no indication that the bus service had

warned customers prior to the change.

He said: ‘I know Dublin Bus’s hands are tied, but I do think they could take a more active approach rather than calling off a service at such short notice.’

In response to the complaint, Dublin Bus said the service was curtailed in the Neilstown area from 9.45pm over concerns for passenger and staff safety.

The company added that in short notice situations information is communicated via the Dublin Bus website and through supervisors on the ground.

‘Do your school run the green way’ PARENTS taking their children to school are being urged to ditch the car and use alternative modes of transport, such as walking and cycling.

An Taisce, which is running the Green-Schools Travel programme, aims to get schoolgoers to choose more ‘active and sustainable’ modes of travel, giving their school a chance to win the Green Flag award.

While more than 1,500 primary and secondary schools take part in the environmental programme nationally, just 970 schools have been awarded the Green Flag for travel since 2008.

Teachers, parents and students are encouraged to scoot, carpool, cycle, walk or use public transport to complete the school run.

The programme’s national manager Jane Hackett said the start of the new school year is the ‘best time for parents’ to make little adjustments to the morning routine.

She said: ‘The journey to school is a great time to get some exercise, meet new friends and learn about your local environment, and what better way than on foot or by bike? We hope that by working with students, parents and teachers we will see a reduction in congestion.’

The seven-step school and community programme focuses primarily on raising awareness of litter, energy levels, water and travel.

Last year 90 per cent of schools in the country took part in it – the equivalent of 800,000 people.

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

‘No recovery in pockets’ despite fewer signing on

by bRiAN HuTTON

Just over a quarter of a million people are unemployed in Ireland as the rate of joblessness continues to slide, latest figures show. there were 254,500 out of work by the end of June, a drop of 46,000 on the same time last year. this means 11.5 per cent of the workforce are without a job, down from 12 per cent in a year, with over half (58 per cent) out of work for more than a year, although that figure is falling slightly. there were 31,600 more working at the end of June from a year ago – up to 1,901,600. the Quarterly National Household survey by the Central statistics Office shows men are driving the rise in jobs – 24,900 compared to 6,700 women. the number of men unemployed is also dropping a lot more sharply than for women.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he is encouraged by the range of new jobs, with employment growing in ten of the 14 industries surveyed. tánaiste Joan Burton admitted too many people are still out of work and she said the upcoming Budget would address the issue. she said there was increased funding for the JobsPlus scheme, in which employers get grants for recruiting from the Live Register.

However, union leader Jimmy Kelly of unite said the Government’s claim of an economic recovery is a myth: ‘Despite upbeat projections and rhetoric, there is no recovery in people’s pockets.’

ICE ICE BURKEY: Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke has become the latest public figure to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Sitting on the steps of the Mansion House in his ceremonial chain, Mr Burke nominated Acting Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan, Dublin footballer Stephen ephen Cluxt Cluxton and Dublin City Council senior executive Peter Finnegan.

Burke undertook the challenge for the Light it Up Gold campaign to raise awareness of childhood cancers

Appeal for witnesses to gang rape GARDAí have issued descriptions of suspects in a gang rape in a Dublin suburb in broad daylight.

The alleged assault took place in a laneway beside a convenience shop across from St Peter’s Church at Cabra Park in Phibsboro, between 7.15pm and 8.45pm on Sunday.

The victim, who is in her early 20s and not Irish, had been making her way to work when she was dragged into the lane by a group of Irish men who held her down while one of them raped her.

The victim contacted gardaí immediately, but no arrests have yet been made.

Three men are believed to have been involved in the incident. The main alleged culprit is described as being 5ft 9in, skinny with shaved blonde hair with a light facial stubble. He is described as having facial scarring. The second man is described as being 6ft, with a thin face and dark eyes, wearing a dark grey sweatshirt with hood. He has a distinctive scar on his left hand.

Anyone with information is asked to call Mountjoy Garda Station on (01) 666 8666, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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jusT wHEn yOu THOuGHT IT wAs sAFE... sOMEOnE HAs A sHARk LARk Jaws jape: The film quote is scrawled on the beach PICTURE: mPm

Panic: The shark is located by Massachusetts police BEACHGOERS showed their mischievous side when a 15ft great white shark caused a Jawslike panic.

As thousands of swimmers were ordered to leave the water, one left a message to the shark hunters.

Scrawled in the sand is a quote from the classic 1970s film: ‘You’re

‘Open-ended’ ceasefire in Gaza conflict ISRAEL and Hamas have agreed to an open-ended ceasefire, halting a seven-week war that killed more than 2,200 people, mostly Palestinian civilians and left tens of thousands in Gaza homeless.

Hamas declared victory, and bursts of celebratory gunfire erupted across the Israel-blockaded territory, but the terms of the deal fell far short of Hamas’s demand that Israel and Egypt open Gaza’s borders.

Under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Israel is to ease restrictions on imports into Gaza, including aid and material for reconstruction. It also allows Palestinians to fish six nautical miles offshore, up from three nautical miles.

In a month, the ceasefire calls for talks to begin in Cairo on more complex issues, including building a seaport and airport in Gaza, and Israel’s demand

Sony boss on diverted ‘bomb tweet’ flight A SONY executive’s flight was diverted after hackers attacked the company’s PlayStation Network, then tweeted that there was a bomb on his plane.

American Airlines cut short a flight carrying John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, on Sunday and made an unplanned landing in Phoenix, Arizona.

The plane, with 179 passengers, was due to fly from Dallas to San Diego but stopped for what the FBI described as a security threat.

A Twitter account called Lizard Squad tweeted that there might be explosives on board.

by cOn DOHERTy that Hamas disarm. The agreement contained no major Israeli concessions.

Previous understandings after a round of fighting in 2012 quickly dissipated. Previous deals have collapsed since the war began on July 8. The truce took effect at 7pm local time, but violence persisted until the last minute. n Doubt has been thrown on a claim by exiled senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri that the organisation did indeed carry out the murders of three Israeli teens that sparked the conflict.

No other member of Hamas supports the claim, and analysts say he may have made it to further his own influence.

DIRT AppEAL: As the Ice Bucket Challenge continues, the Rubble Bucket Challenge is gaining traction online, with participants swapping precious ice for debris to show solidarity for Palestinians caught up in the conflict

British told to hand in Foley’s killers

Revealed: The killer’s ‘face’

FRIENDS and family of aspiring terrorists in Britain have been told to stop sheltering them and call the police.

The UK’s top counter-terrorism officer said that the biggest growth in Syrian-related investigations has occurred in London and the West Midlands.

‘The growth of dangerous individuals poses challenges for policing,’ said Asst Comm Mark Rowley. ‘Especially

gonna need a bigger boat.’

Duxbury Beach, near Boston, US, was evacuated when a police helicopter sighted the creature just 100m offshore. Bathers were allowed back later when harbourmaster boats surrounded the shark and forced it to swim into deeper waters.

when nearly half of Syria travellers of concern were not known as terrorist risks previously. Hence, we appeal to the public to help identify for us aspiring terrorists.

‘They may be about to travel abroad, have just returned or be showing signs of becoming radicalised.’

The British jihadist fighting with IS in Syria who killed American photographer James Foley has been

unmasked. American reconstruction experts watched the video of Mr Foley’s executioner which only showed his eyes, the rest is covered by a black hood.

The images show a man in his late 20s or 30s with Arabic features and sloping mouth.

Barack Obama has approved surveillance flights over Syria, in a move that could pave the way for US air strikes against IS militant targets.

Burger King in $11bn deal with coffee chain BuRgER KINg is to swallow up Canadian coffee and doughnuts chain Tim Hortons in an $11billion (€8.3bn) deal that will create the world’s third biggest fast food group.

With combined sales of about $23bn (€17.4bn) and about 18,000 sites, the tie-up will create a giant firm in order to compete with big-brand rivals such as McDonald’s and Starbucks. under the deal 3g Capital, which controls 70 per cent of Burger King, will own 51 per cent of the new firm, with each brand continuing to operate as a standalone chain.

Hijacker, 82, World tries to take over aircraft

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

digest

Widow kills leopard in hour-long battle

INDIA: A widow killed a leopard in an hour-long frenzied battle to the death. Kamla Devi tackled the big cat with a sickle after it attacked her in the jungle. The 54year-old mother, who needed about 100 stitches to bite and claw wounds, staggered back to Koti Bodna village in Uttarakhand state. The animal’s body was found near the scene. Wildlife expert Lakhpat Rawat said leopards rarely back down in a fight, adding: ‘This is possibly the first case of its kind.’

by DOMINIC YEATMAN

A TERRIFIED pilot had to fight for his life when an elderly passenger grabbed the controls of his plane and cut the engine.

James Chandler was forced to punch Leslie Nixon, 82, in the face, breaking his nose, to regain control.

The 23-year-old, who got his licence just two years ago, then glided the single-engine aircraft to land in a field near Oberon, 177km from Sydney.

In an emergency ‘pan-pan’ call to air traffic control, Mr Chandler could be heard shouting: ‘Whoah, whoah, my passenger’s taking the engines.

‘Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan, bravo foxtrot papa, bravo foxtrot papa, my passenger is trying to take over.’

Mr Nixon booked the flight with Sydney charter company Australia

By Air, telling staff he needed to ‘sign some papers’ in the town of Cowra.

He and Mr Chandler set off on Mon-

‘Fugitive’ held over murder of his lover Flight: Mr Chandler and Mr Nixon day afternoon – but midway through the flight, Mr Nixon tried to send the light aircraft into a deadly tailspin.

The pair were taken to hospital where Mr Chandler was treated for shock and Mr Nixon his facial injuries.

Police praised the pilot for keeping calm under pressure and avoiding ‘a real disaster’.

Officers were waiting to interview Mr Nixon to find out whether he deliberately tried to crash the plane.

NEW zEALAND: A businessman has been arrested over the murder of his girlfriend nearly 14 years ago in Switzerland. The 42year-old Sri Lankan was living under a fake ID in Auckland, said authorities. He is accused of murdering 23-year-old Kavitha Kandiah in December 2000 in Basel. Police said the suspect, who was arrested under a Swiss warrant, was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2004. He will appear in court next week.

RussIA: A ten-year-old model dressed as Ukraine ‘shoots’ herself in the head after a gun battle with other nations during a fashion show in Moscow. The stunt was criticised as ‘appalling’ picture: cen

Ex-FBI director hurt in car crash AMERICA: Former FBI boss Louis Freeh was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after a car crash. The 64year-old (pictured) careered off the road and hit a mailbox in Barnard, 144km from Boston, on Monday.

He ran the FBI from 1993 to 2001. More recently he led an inquiry which exposed a cover-up of child sex abuse involving Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky.

and finally...

JAPAN: A trade fair for coffin makers is encouraging customers to try before they die. The show features more than 50 stalls highlighting everything from undertakers to beauty services. ‘When I am dead, I won’t know so now is a good time to try it out,’ said one visitor in Tokyo.

METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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SETH MEYERS took a playful swipe at Justin Bieber while hosting Monday night’s Emmys.

The comedian had the audience groaning with laughter with his joke about the 20-yearold’s penchant for pot.

‘Cable is looking at Netflix the way Justin Bieber looks at One Direction – through a cloud of marijuana smoke,’ Meyers, 40, quipped. He was praised by US critics for his performance at the awards.

Rosie says she feels stupid posting selfies

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SUPERMODEL Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley ‘feels like a d***’ taking selfies – but does it for her fans. ‘I’m always mindful I’m not being too narcissistic,’ the 27-year-sometime actress, star of Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon star said.

I’M NO OBJECT SAYS SOFIA s shot down claims SOFIA VERGARA ha ‘sex object’ when a she was treated like ndy at the ca e ey as ed us s wa she Family actress n er od Emmys. The M ting platform was turned on a rota m Academy fro like a car to detract nblum’s ‘dull’ president Bruce Rose ld said she was -o speech. The 42-year and anyone lf’ rse he of n fu g in ak ‘m should ‘lighten ise rw he who thinks ot that night, she was up a little bit’. Later ound by Cheryl ar spotted being spun -Derek Hough ex i’s sin er Fernandez-V yfriend Joe after leaving hot bo e. m ho Manganiello, 37, at

SHOWING up to an event in similar outfits is normally a cause to see red. But January Jones, 36, Claire Danes, 35, and Heidi Klum, 41, looked sizzling as they arrived at the ceremony in rouge designs by Prabal Gurung, Givenchy and Zac Posen respectively Pictures: Getty

The A-list ladies in

Lena dressed ‘likre’ a toilet roll holde

LENA DUNHAM landed the one st dressed.

Emmy gong no-one wanted – wor ionistas fash by The Girls star, 28, was savaged her who clearly didn’t get the joke, for 2014 Couture Fall i Vall ista batt Giam unflattering gown.

She was compared with a ‘toilet roll a holder’ and ‘an insane muppet on ded bran ers oth le whi – e som by ’ der ben ic cosm ‘a and ly’ her outfit as ‘unsight disaster’.

However, some fans felt the actress was poking fun at herself and the awards in the cotton candycoloured costume. But another said: ‘She could have achieved this by not attending at all!’

red

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Emmys special

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JENNIFER LOPEZ has pulled in Iggy Azalea to rap on new track Booty to save her sagging career. She’s scrapped Pitbull from the original after her latest album stalled in the charts.

Barefoot Sarah: I’m never legless but I like my pot comedian whips out tHc vaporiser on red carpet The devices are currently legal in California but could soon be outlawed in a new bill. It certainly put a spring in Silverman’s step as she sprinte d

down the aisle – in a green frock, but shoeless – to collect a gong for her HBO show, SARAH SILVERMAN’S famous Sarah Silverman: We Are friends dubbed her ‘high as f***’ afMiracles. ter she revealed she had ‘liquid pot’ The actress thanked her Welsh in her purse at the Emmy Awards. boyfriend, Michael Sheen, The 43-year-old is teetotal – but 45, before rambling: ‘And we wasn’t shy about showing off the are just molecules and vaporiser during E!’s ‘clutch hurtling through space right cam’ interview outside the now.’

Nokia Theatre in Los AngeHer antics won attention les. from other stars watching ‘This is my pot. It’s liquid on. pot,’ she told interviewer Anna Kendrick, 29, Giuliana Rancic as she tweeted: ‘Silverman is unashamedly emptied out Barefoot and #HAF Live the contents of her handStoned meets stunned: Silverman and Rancic your life girl!’ bag.

by ANDREI HARMSWORTH

Now Kev, that’s a lame excuse...

KEVIN SPACEY blamed an tennis shot for turning iffy up with a black walking stick at the The House Of Cards sta Emmys. red carpet with the he r hit the lp – and TV journalist As of the stick hleigh Banfield – after he str ain hamstring on the tennis ed his co Speaking to Entertainm urt. he said: ‘I was racing for ent Tonight, – which I got, by the wa a drop shot winning point at least.’ y! It was the Spacey, 55, lost out to Bad’s Bryan Cranston Breaking in drama actor category. the best

You say Colbert, Gwen says Colbort GWEN STEFANI suffered a John Travolta-style reading fail while announcing one of the Emmy Award winners.

The 44-year-old Hollaback Girl slipped up when announcing Stephen Colbert had taken the best variety series, calling his show ‘The Colbort Report’. Her fail echoed Travolta introducing best original song winner Idina Menzel as Adele Dazeem at the Oscars.

Rolling Stone writer Sam Adams tweeted: ‘Gwen Stefani gives Colbert Report Emmy to Adele Dazeem.’

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

Chloë and Beckham, the next blockbuster?

CHLOË MORETZ could use her ‘romance’ with Brooklyn Beckham for on-screen inspiration. The If I Stay star, 17, has been glued to Beckham, 15, this summer.

‘Everyone says you have to draw from a modicum of self-experience for a role – love, in particular,’ Moretz told OK! magazine, adding showbiz is ‘hard, but incredibly uplifting and eyeopening’. n See Ross Angeles, Page 17

e sure everyone ADAM LEVINE mad s – by practically wa knew who his wife ti Prinsloo ha Be e id br dry-humping his d his backstage. oon 5 frontman an The 35-year-old Mar lover tied the knot in 25-year-old model but the Mexico last month is clearly not yet honeymoon period r Levine left ge over. Payphone sin Nokia Theatre e th at ts es gu ish prud ushing as he bl , LA in awards bash ionately in a lipkissed his wife pass smacking PDA tures/aP Pictures: rex Fea

Kim tells fans: I’m now a Broke Girl...

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KIM KARDASHIAN has revealed she is busy working on another TV role. She tweeted: ‘Shooting an episode of #2BrokeGirls with @ OfficialKat & @BethBehrs!’

10 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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60 seconds Mailbox

For the past ten years I’ve been saying I don’t want to be an action star, I want to be an actor who can do action. I was planning this for seven years, writing the script, directing, working out what kind of action would work best. When I was in Cannes, I said: ‘That’s my last big action movie.’ I didn’t say last action movie, I said last big action movie.

Could you actually hurt someone, or is it just choreography? I’ve been

training for so many years, learnt so many different styles of martial arts, that I could, yes, when I was young. But the more you learn martial arts, the more you learn about respect.

Have you ever hurt anyone? Oh yes.

from your blood. I did this when I was young. It’s nonsense. It’s like you put tiger balm on if you get hurt but it still hurts. We need to teach people that there are better things to use now. And it’s important to preserve wildlife.

You’ve been very busy lately with charity and wildlife work… Chinese people still think

that if you eat pig’s brain, it’ll make you more clever and if you drink pig’s blood, it cleans the toxins

LITTLE CRITTERS: Reader Declan Kilty from Ballyboden sent us this picture he took of foxes playing in Dublin

Do you go to Chinatown when you go to London? No, I used to go down and talk to people but now I can’t – they’d mob me.

And I don’t have time. I’m always travelling, scouting for locations. I was in China last night, and next I’m back to hong Kong.

Why do you work so hard?

You could retire… I don’t know.

I’m starting a new movie and I’ve got Kung Fu Panda 3 coming. I have to go somewhere as a Unicef ambassador to promote peace and information about landmines. I have a theatre business and 26 schools. Now I’ve started the Jackie Chan Stunt Park, teaching kids how to become good stunt guys. I have a good team.

“

doing this kind of thing for so many years. For some people, they’re ready to retire by now but me, writing, directing, stunt co-ordinator… I’m like that on every movie. Sometimes, with fighting, it’s easier to work it all out yourself.

Facebook.com/ metroherald

@metrohnews #metromailbox

Quick pic

When I was young, I hurt someone and I almost got killed.

Chinese people Did they ask you They had a spear still think that if you to be in hidden in a eat pig’s brain, it’ll Expendables 3? motorcycle and I Yes. The producer just felt make you more was calling me, something here Stallone called. he clever [on his side]. And really helped me in it was that. Some hollywood – he was the friends and I were just first one to send me a firstwalking around and there class ticket, before I even knew were seven motorbikes. One of him. he brought me over to see the my friends pointed and said: ‘One premiere of the first Cliffhanger. It day, I want one of those.’ The guy was my first time on the red carpet sitting there was like: ‘What the and I thought, one day I want my f***?’ There were seven of them own red carpet. Ten years later: and it all happened so quickly… boom! he called me for Bam! Bam! Bam! Until all seven Expendables 1, 2 and 3 but I don’t were down and we ran. Then I want to be in a film with so many could hear the blood dripping on the floor. My hand was swollen and people. he said he’d change the script, but I said: ‘Let’s just do I thought it was a broken bone but two days later I found a tooth under something with you and me rather than be in a film for one second.’ the skin from a punch.

Why did you multitask so much on this film? I’ve been

Text: ‘Mail’ to 53131*

*Please include a name and location. Emails with attachments cannot be received. 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

JAckiE cHAn, 60, is a legendary martial artist and action star of Rush Hour and Kung Fu Panda. He’s still kicking butt in his latest release Chinese Zodiac

There’s a lot of action in your movie Chinese Zodiac. Is there an age limit on action?

Email: mail@metroherald.ie

Why do people want to see old men fighting anyway? I think it reminds them of the old days.

Is Chinese Zodiac okay for kids? When I direct my own films,

I like action but I hate violence.

You can have fun with it. And after, everyone has to become friends.

And I don’t like swearing in films. I want to provide positive messages.

You’re a good man, Mr Chan!

I was a bad boy before.

simon gage Chinese Zodiac is out now on Blu-ray and DVD

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

Public and private workers – unite!

T

hE Irish media is anything but independent.

We are getting bombarded with the usual public v private propaganda to pit worker against worker. Their focus is clearly on keeping wages down. hopefully the Irish workforce has developed a backbone and can use these tired tactics and spin to their advantage.

Interest rates have been at a record low for the last five years.

All indications are they will rise over the coming years. Wage increases are the only insulation that can protect us from the bankers. Unless we stand as one there is a lot more pain ahead for both public and private workers.

Rashers ■ Thank you Irish Rail for the hassle yesterday. To the union: I hope you get what you want, but

next time show consideration to the commuters who probably work harder than you. To Irish Rail: Whatever it is, FIX IT! A sarcastic kudos to coach operators for promising extra services that were INVISIBLE. Anonymous ■ Further to yesterday’s rail strike, I paid €9.70 return on Bus Éireann to get to work. I have a yearly rail tax saver ticket. Iarnrod Éireann tell me that I am only entitled to a refund of one days’ use of my tax saver ticket.

Surely I should be refunded the bus fare? Sneaky hoors!

CW ■ Underwhelmed Dart User, don’t get too upset about these public sector pay figures. As usual, the CSO have taken an average and made it look like we’re all earning a fortune. My wages are less than half the €900 you quote.

Low-paid civil servant

gOOD On yA ● Thank you very much to the kind person who handed in my set of keys to Supervalu beside the Sallins and Naas train station and left a note on my car last Friday. I have left a token of my appreciation for you in Supervalu.

Just mention the make of the car that you found them beside at the customer service counter. Thanks again.

Stephen

RAnDOM AcTs Of kinDnEss

TREnDing #Kate Bush ● I’d love to be going to see Kate Bush. I think ‘Hey Mickey’ is my favourite song of hers.

@mostly_grumpy

● I have a Kate Bush ticket. If you take away the ‘h’ and the ‘Kate’ bits. @Gary_Bainbridge ● Don’t know if this is important, but I’ve just seen Kate Bush in glasses and a false moustache on the Ostend ferry.

@danielmaier

● Can’t wait for tonight’s deep, magical, moving, beautiful, spiritual experience which will leave me weeping. Then I’ll go and see Kate Bush. @IrkthePurists @metrohnews #metromailbox

yEH big RiDE

● To the ample-figured chap holding a big placard outside Connolly Station yesterday. Do you know you’re very, very striking Solid Pun Lover

yOuR RusH-HOuR cRusH

in the know, on the go

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Why sex and selfies really spoil a dinner with friends

by TARiq TAHiR

placing elbows on the table,’ said Diana Mather, etiquette expert and author.

‘Though it’s surprising people are becoming less concerned with the eating habits of fellow diners, the fact they don’t like to be ignored shows our social values haven’t changed that much.’

She also has a solution to the mobile phone. ‘Place phones in the centre of the table – whoever reaches for theirs first gets to wash the dishes.’

Top ten dinner table faux pas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Checking your phone 58% Eating too loudly 39% Taking selfies 38% Instagramming your meal 22% Being too opinionated 20% Talking about me, me, me 18% Eating with fingers 18% Dipping a spoon back into food after using it 15% Drinking from a can 8% Beating everyone to seconds 6%

Worst dinner party topics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11

Sex 54% Politics 35% Reality TV 31% Dieting 27% Children’s achievements 24% Money 22% Divorce 20% Work 19% Pets 12% Source: Rachel’s Divine Desserts range Single life 5%

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picture: reuters

IF YOU really want to annoy those you’re dining with, then take a selfie or photo of your meal, bring up reality TV as a topic of conversation and talk about sex.

Research into the dining habits of 2,000 people highlights the things we find most infuriating.

As you can see from the table below, there are any number of ways to leave fellow guests simmering. ‘It seems checking your phone at the dinner table has become the modern equivalent of

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

BROOM HERO: Mangetsu-man (Mr Full Moon) chats to one of his team of volunteers on a mission to keep Tokyo’s ky Nihonbashi bridge idge clean. Mangestu is petitioning the government go to o get rid r of the highway over the bridge and clean it up ahead of the next Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020

Facebook promises to tackle ‘clickbait’ links

Amazon pays €735m for game-viewing site

FACEBOOK has announced plans to cut down on ‘clickbait’ articles that appear on news feeds, in a bid to tackle spam on the site.

The term refers to articles that encourage readers to click the link to a story to see more, without telling them what they will see. Common headlines include ‘You won’t believe what happened next’.

Facebook will time how long users spend on a site before returning to it as a way of gauging the value of content. The site’s algorithm currently pushes stories that receive more clicks up a feed meaning users felt content from friends and family was ‘drowned out’. One survey found 80 per cent of the time users preferred headlines that gave them more information on an article before they clicked on it.

AMAZON has splashed out nearly a billion dollars to buy game-streaming website Twitch – just three years after it was founded.

The internet giant spent $970m (€735m) to snap up the San Francisco-based firm. It stepped in after Google had previously been in talks to buy the website but no deal materialised.

Twitch has grown rapidly amid the increasing popularity of video-gaming as an online spectator sport. Its network had 55million unique users in July, up from 20million in 2012, with most visiting its site to see other people play live or view recorded games.

The streams are interspersed with advertising. It is a lucrative market, with the value of digital video commercials expected to reach $5.96bn this year.

WHO call for curb on the sale of e-cigarettes

THE sale of electronic cigarettes should be restricted, the World Health Organisation has said.

Despite releasing vapour instead of smoke, the devices still carry a risk to those standing around users, a report for the UN organisation said.

The report also recommends

preventing manufacturers from marketing e-cigs as ‘smoking cessation aids’ until they provide scientific evidence to back the claim.

It also says the products should be banned from sale to minors, and that vending machines should be removed ‘in almost all locations’.

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12 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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television

★ Must see

Film due date

RTÉ1, 9.35pm Hangover star Zach Galifianakis reunites with director Todd Phillips for this comedy road-trip movie about tightly-wound architect Peter (Robert Downey Jr) thrown off a plane when the wannabe actor behind him utters the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘bomb’. The problem is he needs to get home before his wife gives birth, and with Ethan (Galifianakis) in tow, things are bound to go awry.

Ireland’s gypsy blood TV3, 10PM Award-winning photographer Leo Maguire immersed himself in the lives of two Irish Traveller families – including that of Francie Doherty (pictured) – and Romany gypsy families to make this compelling documentary revealing the brutal realities behind some gypsy traditions. Male honour codes are an integral part of these communities, where, as a rite of passage, sons prove themselves in bare-knuckle fights as the legacy of violence is handed down through the generations.

NEW ON

★ IndIana Jones

and the KIngdom of the Crystal sKull BBC3, 9pm

Available to rent/buy now

ghghghghgh

▲

▲

DEMAn D pompeII

Kit Harington plays Milo – a gladiator who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he is taken to fight in Pompeii just as Vesuvius is about to errupt.

Milo finds time to woo posh girl Cassia (Emily Browning, below with Harington) – as death falls from the skies.

Factual horIzon: allergIes – modern lIfe and me

C4, 11pm

French comedy about two actors preparing for a production of Molière’s play, The Misanthrope. Gauthier has found fame on a TV soap, while Serge hasn’t acted for three years due to showbiz backstabbing.

They argue over who will get the lead while they cycle. Breezy but bitter.

ChampIons league lIve RTÉ2, 7.30pm

BBC2, 9pm

We’re in the middle of an allergy epidemic. Dangerous reactions to hitherto harmless things such as peanuts used to be a rarity.

But not any more. So what has changed in the past few decades? This report sets out to investigate why so many people are becoming allergic to modern society.

addICts’ symphony

CyClIng wIth molIére

★

Sport

We’re used to rock stars being wrecked on drugs and heading for rehab, but the image of classical musicians is not so edgy. Think again.

This diverting film follows ten musicians, led by composer James McConnel – himself a recovering alcoholic – as they battle addiction while preparing for a major concert.

Having ground out a 0--0 draw in Turkey, Arsenal will be confident they can see off Istanbul’s Beşiktaş in tonight’s qualifying second leg at the Emirates Stadium and progress to the group stages.

But the Gunners look short of firepower, with striker Olivier Giroud (above) more likely to sport an on-trend haircut and new tattoo than he is to find the back of the net. OK, so he bagged a late equaliser at Everton but you get the point. Also featuring highlights from the other second leg games.

Drama suspeCts

Channel 5, 10pm

Last week DS Jack Weston (Damien Molony) lost his rag when dealing with a schizophrenic which rattled skeletons in his family closet.

This week he’s getting worryingly personally involved when his team lands a case involving child sex offenders. The result is a complex character you hope has legs beyond this two-part story which ends this all-too-brief series.

savIng hope Watch, 8pm

The supernatural side of Hope Zion hospital takes a back seat in this episode as Dr Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) and his fellow surgeons come over all twitchy when they face the tricky task of operating on a malpractice lawyer who is notorious for suing the stethoscopes off negligent doctors. You’ve got to love the US, land of the litigious.

★

Fun star paws: the rIse of the superstar pets C4, 9pm

If your kitten has featured in a YouTube video that’s gone viral, then you’d better get yourself an agent – there are major bucks to be made from the cute pet business. There’s a strong economic edge to this documentary about animals in the advertising industry, if you sniff hard enough, but mostly it’s an excuse to coo over animal cutesiness. Something we can’t get enough of here at Metro Herald Towers.

The long-awaited fourth instalment to the Indiana Jones franchise received a mixed response due to the presence of Shia LaBeouf as Indy’s sidekick and some farfetched plot elements. For example, can hiding in a fridge really save you from nuclear annihilation? But it’s a fun tale nevertheless with Harrison Ford (above) as Jones and his pals going to the Amazon jungle in search of the crystal skull – while Cate Blanchett as a deranged Russian agent puts a spanner in the works.

the full monty Sky 1, 9pm

This feel-good drama was nominated for four Oscars on its release in 1997. It tells the story of a group of jobless former steelworkers in Sheffield who turn to stripping to overcome money worries and the associated mental health problems of long-term unemployment.

While the protagonists deal with divorce and depression laughs are never far away.

Great soundtrack.

fantastIC 4: rIse of the sIlver surfer Film4, 7.15pm

Weak superhero film that killed off the already shaky Fantastic Four franchise (they’ll be rebooted as teenagers next year). Ioan Gruffudd plays Mr Fantastic – the bendy, stretchy leader of this superhero team, who must protect the Earth from an evil alien space cloud.

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

13

There’s no business like MØ business Amy Dawson meets the coolest girl in pop – even if she does have a name that sounds like ‘moo’

DERBY FINAL NIGHT at

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14 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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music

ou’ll have certainly seen a woman wearing a scrunchie. And one wearing a baseball cap. But have you ever seen a woman wearing her hair in a scrunchie, thrust through a backwards cap so that a bun projects from the front of her head – and make it look absolutely awesome? That’s the look sported by 26-year-old Danish singer/songwriter MØ – punk activist-turned-coolest girl in pop – when I manage to grab her for an hour during her hectic summer of festivals.

Born Karen Marie Ørsted in a suburb of Odense, Denmark, MØ’s stage-name is both a

“I was the biggest Spice fan in Denmark” play on her full title and the Old Norse word for ‘virgin’ (it’s pronounced more like ‘moo,’ though she won’t mind if you get it wrong).

Her debut solo album No Mythologies To Follow, filled with songs such as Maiden, Pilgrim and XXX 88 (featuring Diplo) and mixing irresistible pop hooks with synthy left-field production, came out in March – and her reputation has been building ever since.

film

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features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

Imagine a musical mix of Grimes, Lana Del Rey and Lykke Li, with the attitude of Debbie Harry or Kim Gordon, and you’re on the right lines. Ørsted spent five wild years in an underground electro punk duo called MOR and has a Pussy Riot tattoo, so it’s fair to say her bad chick credentials are pretty much unimpeachable. That said, MØ’s more than happy to reveal her first musical passion was for a slightly less rock star act: The Spice Girls. (She drops a dreamy cover of Say You’ll Be There into her live sets.)

‘As a child I was the biggest Spice fan in Denmark, and when Geri left I cried this big a pool of tears,’ she says, sweeping her hand across the table and nearly knocking over her latte.

‘The Spice Girls made me want to get into music. I started writing songs, and no-one else in my family is a musician so I was just fumbling in the dark, inspired by what I was listening to – the Spice Girls, Venga Boys, Cher. But when I turned 13 I started rebelling, dressing all in black and getting involved in political activism and the local punk scene...

I totally tried to hide that I’d once been into really cheesy pop. But it’s just all really naturally come together; I can mix the catchy pop hooks with the edginess and balls of punk and also the heaviness and beats of rap. Oh yeah, I used to rap.’

If No Mythologies has a theme, it’s youth and youthful confusion. Are those issues still bothering her as she makes her sophomore

Punky: Karen Marie Ørsted, aka MØ, owes it all to the Spice Girls (but don’t tell anyone)

record? ‘When I was a kid I thought by this age I’d be grown-up, but I’m so not! We’re Generation Y: we question everything, and we’re all so selfish, as social media makes it all about you. I think my mind might get

After the original Sin...

Pimps, prostitutes, cops and killers – prepare to plunge once more into the world of Sin City.

By James Mottram

T

HeY say patience is a virtue. Well, if that’s the case, then Sin City fans must be approaching sainthood by now. It’s been nine years since Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller took us to the fictional world of Basin City, first glimpsed in Miller’s graphic novel series that began in 1991. With 2005’s electric film adaptation taking $158 million at the box office, a sequel to Sin City seemed inevitable. And then?

Nothing – except the sound of cash registers ringing as Marvel took a huge slice of Hollywood’s comic-book pie.

‘It was always really an alive project with us,’ shrugs Rodriguez. ‘It was always in the works.’ It’s not as if either were being lazy.

Rodriguez made six other movies in the interim, while Miller directed another comicbook adaptation, The Spirit – which flopped.

‘Robert said at the beginning of Sin City: “This is the best it’s ever going to get for you”,’ remembers Miller. ‘And after Sin City I went on to direct on my own and work with a big studio, and I learned exactly that.’

The pair are finally back together behind the camera, directing Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Once again we’re immersed in Miller’s nightmarish world of pimps, prostitutes, cops

Sin City’s not so private dancer: The naive stripper Nancy is once again played

by Jessica Alba Femme fatale: Eva Green leads Josh Brolin’s PI on a merry dance

se and killers – with several actors, including Mick Mickey Rourk Rourke (as bruiser Marv), reprising their roles. As before, it’s a series of short interlocking vignettes – notably the title story, based on Miller’s 1993 work, starring eva Green as the dangerous femme fatale Ava Lord, who wraps Josh Brolin’s luckless PI Dwight McCarthy around her little pinkie.

If these violent, vivid yarns of blood and betrayal seem familiar, Miller dismisses thoughts this is merely a cash-in sequel. ‘The result is a movie that is, in all the best ways, very different from the first,’ he says. Unlike the original, this black-and-white beauty is shot in 3D and features two new stories unfamiliar to Miller’s fans – plus Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring as a gambler named Johnny out to bring down Sin City’s bigwigs.

For Rodriguez, while he’s keen to satisfy fans, it’s all about Miller. ‘He’s the one we want to please. He’s the one who’s been to Sin City. He knows when that world is right.’

Shooting at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Texas – well away from interfering Hollywood studios – Miller was in his element. ‘He’d have a huge grin on his face,’ says Rodriguez, ‘and you’ll know that he just lived a moment he wrote maybe 20 years ago, never thinking he’d see it come to life.”

While both men are already talking about a third Sin City movie, Miller admits he’s been pleased, generally, with the rash of comic-book movies that have hit the screens.

‘The movies with Captain America, Hulk and Iron Man… they are clearly done by people who love comics. They’ve realised that you have to take them very seriously.”

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For is in cinemas now

calmer as I get older but it’ll always be searching, because I’m a very restless person.’

No Mythologies To Follow (Chess Club/RCA) is out now. MØ plays The Academy, Dublin, on November 4

Role that’s poles apart for Jessica Never mind that it meant shedding clothes and gyrating around a pole, Jessica Alba was desperate to reunite with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. ‘Robert’s a friend, so when he asks me to do something, I’ll do it,’ says the 33-year-old star. ‘He knows that.

Regardless of whether it’s a movie I would normally do.’

The usually shy actress had to summon all her courage to return as Nancy, the naive stripper she played in 2005’s Sin City.

‘I appreciated the fact that I was by myself in Austin [during the filming].

It would be really hard to go and be Mommy to my kids and live my normal life and then go and shoot Sin City.’

It wasn’t just revisiting the fragile Nancy that did for her.

Every waking minute off-camera was spent honing her dance routines with choreographer Jennifer Johnson.

‘It was so physically tough.

I’m not a dancer, you know, so it’s not like it came naturally to me.’ At least she didn’t have to visit strip clubs this time.

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fringe festival

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

15

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

In the second of a two-part series, Metro Life has invited a selection of performers from this year’s Tiger Dublin Fringe to explain how their respective works came about

Oddie Braddell – Bastard: A Family History

John Rogers – Artist Scientist Priest ‘In the making of my new play, I set myself a challenge: to perform a one-man-show non-stop for 24 hours straight. The play is about the origin and journey of the human race from our earliest days through to the present and asks questions about what our shared future will be. In devising the piece I discovered I required a true understanding of evolution. In the early stages of development, Artist

‘I am always being asked where I’m from. I always answer…. Donegal, and nobody believes me. This is mainly because I have an English accent.

But I’m not English. My family have been in Ireland for 400 years.

Admittedly, they haven’t always been very popular. My ancestor ‘Bloody Braddell of Drogheda’ was an officer in the Cromwellian army. My great, great, great granddad, John Waller Braddell, was a land agent who held the record for the highest number of evictions during the famine. But none of that is my fault. This play is my attempt to explain who I am: why I act the way I do, why I speak the way I do, why, even though I grew up in Ireland, live in Ireland, support the sodding rugby team, I am constantly having to apologise to you lot for things I didn’t do... Sorry, I got carried away there. It’s also a play about my dad. Like most of my ancestors he was an officer in the British army. Unlike most of my ancestors he left my mother, brother, sister and I when I was 14 and ran off to London to live with a guy called Yewel. A few years later he ran off to Indonesia with a guy called James and set up a hairdressers. So I guess it’s really a play about family. You can’t choose your family, but you can’t escape them either. These are the things I’ll be trying to explain, onstage… in a pair of Y fronts.’

Bastard: A Family History runs at Project Arts Centre from Sep 6 to Sep 12

Ross Dungan – Reckoners ‘Reckoners is a tale of vengeance set in a fictional, outlaw west-of-Ireland town named The Stra; it’s difficult to know how the idea dropped into my head. It wasn’t a particularly violent Tuesday when the notion came to me, nor were the summer weeks I spent writing it notably post-apocalyptic. But the place and the two main characters of Conal McCarthy and Jamie McHugh arrived fully formed. To tell you a little more about them: Conal McCarthy is returning home to a much changed town after a 22-year jail stint for the knifing of a fella. He’ll have bones to pick with those looking to put a knife through his heart, while dealing with his past and a family member with a particularly overactive thyroid.

Jamie McHugh, 21, is the runt of the litter of the powerful, bloodthirsty McHugh dynasty. But today Jamie McHugh will prove his family wrong. He’ll do battle with the 16-year old girl who won’t return his affection, a tie, the shotgun blasts of Graham Cutliffe and a red and black switchblade that hasn’t been opened in 22 years.’

Reckoners runs at The Lir Academy Sep 15 to Sep 20

Philip Doherty – Pilgrim

Dylan Coburn Gray – B(r)itches

‘The idea for Pilgrim is one I’ve had since 2005... one of those stories a writer keeps locked away until the right time. I used to work as a barman in a hotel, and a customer told me a story that’s never left me. He was flying to Dallas from London and during the fight, two US stealth bombers flanked the plane suddenly and the flight, along with every other plane in US airspace, was grounded. 9/11 had just happened, and thousands of passengers from across the world had to stay for a week in villages across Newfoundland... living with local families, being fed by them, and even wearing their clothes. Rex Ryan acted in both previous Gonzo Fringe shows and was nominated for Best Male Performer in The Birthday Man. I felt Christopher, the protagonist, would be a character he’d love playing. We want to try something dynamic and imaginative with the staging, and create a spectacle around an intimate coming-ofage story. Director Aoife Spillane-Hinks came on board and helped me shape the story, using Homer’s Odyssey as a framework, to creating an honest journey for Christopher. Against the backdrop of 9/11 and a vaguely apocalyptic world, Christopher’s life pulls into focus.’

Pilgrim runs at Smock Alley Theatre Sep 11 to Sep 18

‘First of all, we should warn you that there is no actual nudity in B(r)itches. People keep asking because they’ve seen the poster; we maybe should have expected this when we chose an image of two naked women covering themselves with pictures of naked men. It’s a lie though.

Which is appropriate, as B(r)itches grew out of an interest in lying. That interest is matched by the belief that lying is not just interesting but funny, particularly when people do it badly. In our show, Leah and Claire take a slightly mad look at how lying and performance are related to one another. They attempt tasks taken from a sketchpad with orders like ‘Be men, talking about women,’ or ‘impress us’, or ‘make a sex scene’. It’s a performance about how we perform, the actors are as interesting as the acting, and failure is sometimes funnier and more interesting than success. People often talk about a piece of theatre as their baby, and if B(r)itches is ours we want it to grow up to be Tina Fey: funny, bizarre, and brainy in equal measure.’

B(r)itches runs at Project Arts Centre, Sep 16 to Sep 20

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To book a show, Tel: 1850 374 643. www.fringefest.com

Scientist Priest was intended to be a 90minute play that would take place over the course of a “day”.

From there it was the logical step to instead make it 24 hours non-stop. Logic is dangerous. By using the language and emotions of art, science and religion, I’ll explore what defines humanity in some small way.

Expect ritual, song, movement, food, fun and an atmosphere of discovery. Come see the show and help make my day.’

Artist Scientist Priest runs at the Centre for Creative Practices, Sep 13 & Sep 14

Open Evenings: 20 August, 10 & 17 September, between 4pm-7.30pm. (Location: 8 Belvedere Place, D1)

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16 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

wheels

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motoring@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

Zoe goes to the country E-CAR TEST: The newly arrived Renault Zoe supermini is Renault’s first purpose-built e-car.

Joanne Ahern took it on a cross-country run out of its familiar urban setting

I

reland’s great motorway network now means you can travel the 250km from dublin to West limerick in less than three hours (taking local roads fic to bypass traffic blackspot adare, of course).

It’s brilliant, you simply hop in your car, maybe makee e-minute one five-minute re fuel stop and you’re there before you know it, with dual carriageway or motorway all the way from naas to just before adare.

When I first started driving this route in the early 2000s it used to take around five hours – and that is

roughly how long it takes in the renault Zoe pure electric car.

Unlike a hybrid, there’s no petrol/ diesel back-up engine in an electric vehicle (eV) – the Zoe runs totally on electricity.

This five-door hatchback is essentially a city car and it is brilliant in the city. The electric ‘engine’ and automatic transmission means it’s peppy at the lights, there are no emissions and it’s very quiet. There is an artificial noise that sounds when you’re you’ driving at lo speed to alert low pedestrians to your presence.

I found the Zoe has a range of around 130kph, so range anxiety is unlikely to be an issue for urban commuters. But who spends all of their time in the city? I took our renault Zoe out of its comfort zone, down through the country, arriving at my destination 250km away six hours later (yes, you read that right). admittedly, I was conservative with my range on my way down

Power: There are 1,200 charging stations around the island of Ireland

and drove the Zoe like a normal car so I had to stop to charge four times – three essential stops, one a range anxiety issue. In my defence, I had charging issues before I left the city – two of the chargers I visited were Fast Charge dC only (the Zoe takes an accelerated charge from an aC charger) and non-eVs were blocking the on-street charger outside the Ulster Bank in Walkinstown.

I took a punt on our next option and decided I wouldn’t have accessibility issues at the luas Park and ride at the red Cow – I didn’t, but

n Number of EVs sold in Ireland this year: 125 to the end of June; there are between 700 and 800 in the country in total n Best selling EV in Ireland: Nissan Leaf n No of charge points in the country: More than 1,200 across island of Ireland n Charge time: Between 30 minutes and 9 hours depending on the car and the type of charge point used n Charge costs: Currently free at public charge points; Around €2 for a full charge on a home charger. I did all my charging at public charge points.

five minutes after I plugged in, there was a powercut. One quick call to the esB eCars helpline later and I was on to the next charge point. eventually, an hour after I left home, I was able to charge my car.

I was disappointed with the very basic esB eCars Connect android app – while it maps all of the charge points in the country, it doesn’t tell you if they’re currently being used and doesn’t offer a routing system to make the most of your journey. a spokeses man for the esB said the app is being reviewed.

One 100 per cent, 55-minute charge later and I was on my way.

The Zoe can do anything a ‘normal’ car can do, so 120kph on the motorway is no bother to it. It does drain the battery faster than eco driving though, which limits the upper speed to 95kph.

I took charge stops at Mayfield Junction 14, roscrea, nenagh and adare for times of between 20 and

TEcH spEc Powertrain: Electric, 65kW/ 88bhp Range: Renault says 150km in warm weather and 100km in cold weather, only once did we get a charge close to 150km, all the others were around the 130km mark Charge time: Between 30minutes (for an 80 per cent charge), and 9 hours, depending on the type of charger used Acceleration: 0-100kph in 13.5seconds Maximum Speed: 135kph CO2 emissions: 0g/km Annual road tax: €120

Design: The Zoe’s dashing dashboard; above left, the car’s charging point, and, above right, the boot

55 minutes. I had a quick systems check in abbeyfeale to sort out a Check Connections error notice – I’d unplugged the charge point in the wrong order. all but the adare and abbeyfeale stops were in well lit areas. The charge points in both limerick towns are in isolated carparks off the beaten track – I would not feel safe there on my own late at night. a spokesman for esB said charger locations are selected in conjunction with the relevant local authority or private host, ie a filling station.

The key to a successful road trip in the Zoe is planning and I did much better on the way back – comfortably arriving home on just two full charges.

T

he Government wants ten per cent of all new cars on Irish roads by 2020 to be electric vehicles. The esB said it anticipated a ‘gentle uptake’ of eVs, but believes that when driver familiarity and range improves, so too will people’s interest in eVs. While the Zoe is great in the city, its range means it’s just not practical for longer journeys. It isn’t alone in this – most eVs available in Ireland have a similar range. however, the Zoe’s low running costs should make it of interest to low mileage urban commuters, although the €50 monthly battery fee could take the gloss off of that.

While I found the cross country journey in the Zoe very tedious, as a city driver I liked the car and I was a little bit sad handing it back. n Price: From €17,490 after €5,000 government grant. The Dynamique Zen model we drove starts from €19,290.

Visit www.esb.ie/ electric-cars for details on EVs in Ireland. See atTheLights.com to read the full review

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

17

1.

It’s set in 1924, with the election of Britain’s first Labour

government, and the times they are a-changing. Below stairs, opportunity knocks. Upstairs, feathers are being ruffled.

2.

Anna Chancellor will be ruffling even more feathers as

Lady Anstruther – she’s a saucy one, that one.

3.

s t c a f n u f Ten about

Richard E Grant also pops up as art historian Simon Bricker for a few episodes, but not everyone who wants a part gets one. ‘It’s got to be organic with the story,’ says exec producer Liz Trubridge of the five-star casting.

Downton 5

4.

Branson – former chauffeur turned-

husband of the dead Sybil – is now well into the aristocratic fold but with the socialists in power his political loyalties are tested. ‘It’s definitely a challenge for Branson, not only where he sits within his classes, but what kind of man he wants to be,’ says Irish actor Allen Leech

(pictured), who plays him. ‘In terms of politics, I think he’s such a changed man, it would be impossible to go back to the man he was.’

ROSS MCDONAGH reveals a crush on Chloë Grace Moretz, 17, who’s dating Brooklyn Beckham

I

’m sitting across from Chloë in love at first sight? And my Grace moretz and I’m a little answer was I believe in lust at first confused. Am I allowed fancy sight, I don’t believe in love at first her? We’re talking about Hit sight. I think that’s the way Girl from Kick Ass here, the teenagers are. I think everything is child with very mature ass-kicking hormone-filled,’ she says.

‘Of course some people can abilities and a very adult vocabuperceive some things as lary, but nevertheless, a love, when it’s really child. She’s a lot older their hormones now, and stunningly raging at such a beautiful, but…

Some people can level, they are (sneaks in a quick Google) … yup, perceive some things experiencing so many new she’s 17. So no, as love, when it’s really feelings that they then.

Besides she’s their hormones raging are comprehending it as love. going out with at such a level ‘But I do believe Brooklyn Beckham it is a form of love. now. Brooklyn ‘But I don’t think Beckham! That’ll tell there’s only one love in you how young she is. Isn’t your entire life. I think there’s many Brooklyn David and Victoria’s new loves. The world is too big to only baby boy that was born last week? have one.’

‘Someone asked me do I believe

5. There may be more scandals following last season’s rape

storyline. ‘We’ve always tried to have those right-angled moments,’ says exec Gareth Neame.

6. We see more of the next

In her latest film, If I Stay, Chloë’s character ends up in a coma after a terrible car accident that wipes half her family out, and while in limbo she must decide whether she should continue to the beyond or remain with her surviving family and friends, and one boy in particular.

While she spends most of the film as a ghost of sorts, she doesn’t go possessing Whoopi Goldberg and making her have sex with Demi moore or anything like that – she’s more of an observer.

‘We didn’t want that. RJ [Cutler] and I, the director, had a really long conversation about it,’ she recalls.

‘We didn’t want any hands going through tables, or trying to touch things and not being able to pick it up, or moving people. It was just too comedic. We tried a couple of takes and it just didn’t work. It didn’t hit at all. The gravity of the

generation of kids in this one: at this rate we’ll end up in Thatcher’s Britain.

‘We hope to be back again next year,’ says Neame.

situation was much heavier, and we figured the audience would be smart enough to pick up on it eventually, like why I never open a door.

‘We have takes of it but we just didn’t use it, he said it looked too cheesy,’ she smiles.

All this joking and talk of cheesy ghosts is clearly just a mask though, because both her and manx co-star Jamie Blackley were bricking themselves filming it.

‘We actually shot this in an insane asylum. Which was horrible.

Absolutely terrifying,’ she says. ‘It was this old run-down insane asylum. Really haunted.’

‘Yeah very creepy,’ 23-year-old Blackley adds. ‘They closed it down and let thousands of patients just go, and just take care of themselves.

Which is kind of sad.’

Blackley claims that while watching recorded footage, one of

“

True romantic: Chloë Grace Moretz says she believes in lust at first sight

7.

There’s more rivalry promised between Mary (left) and Edith (below) now things might just be cheering up again.

8.

There’s a fire! But don’t worry, Highclere Castle fans – no historic building was harmed in the making of Downton…

Anna faces some big questions 9.

– does she want a baby with Bates?

Is Bates a serial killer?

10.

Leech earned the nickname Dragon Man on set –

for keeping the youngsters entertained by hunting down Highclere’s dragon effigies between takes. Aww. Downton, which missed out at the Emmys last night, returns with season five on UTV in late September Sharon Lougher

the assistants claimed there was a woman in a long gown walking beside him on-screen. moretz, meanwhile, says a boom operator at one stage could hear someone running towards him through his headphones while everyone else on the set was oblivious.

While the film itself could never be described as spooky at all, it does deal with death and the afterlife, something moretz remains very open-minded about.

‘I watched this documentary while we were filming which was really interesting, just randomly on TV while we were filming this movie, it was a documentary about these three people; one was a Buddhist, one was a Christian and one was an atheist,’ she recalls. ‘Three totally different religions, totally different ideals, everything.

‘But the one common theme was that all of them were in a coma from really traumatic experiences.

And they all experienced the same thing which was a full out-of-body experience, what they saw, they heard, they felt, everything.

‘And they also felt someone, or something, telling them that they can leave, and they can go someplace which will be easy, and life will be calm and simple.

‘But they also felt that if they stepped on the other side of the line, which would mean going back to reality, it would be tumultuous and hard. But it might be worth it because that’s where your family is.

‘And all three of them said the same thing.’

Not one of them mentioned a potter’s wheel though.

18 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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body matters

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

Start your day the Bircher way Chloe Scott cooks tried and tested recipes to make the ultimate Bircher muesli

T

he quest to find the best way to kickstart your day as healthily as possible is the nutritional holy Grail.

So how does Swiss favourite Bircher muesli shape up when it comes to getting the body motor running? here’s a look at how to make the best version.

MiLking iT?

According to The Breakfast Bible

by Seb emina and Malcolm eggs, the original recipe by Maximilian Bircher-Benner – a pioneering early-20th century nutritionist – consisted of oats soaked overnight in water, along with fresh lemon juice and condensed milk. They were then mixed with grated apple, apple juice and ground nuts.

I duly follow the instructions but the condensed milk is sickly and risks curdling with the apple juice.

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Balancing act: Chloe’s muesli has the ideal ratio of rolled oats to apple

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Ultimately, I think you have to question whether the milk should really be included.

For Yotam Ottolenghi’s version I pour milk on the oats and then add apple juice. As long as you don’t directly mingle them together, there are no curdles to worry about. The outcome is a sweet and glossy heap.

HOw MucH juicE is EnOugH?

There is debate over whether Bircher should be wet or dry. I make The Breakfast Bible’s modern recipe with 125g rolled oats and 250ml juice left in the fridge overnight. The result is a slurry-like consistency. I make Jamie Oliver’s equivalent from dailymail.co.uk and pour in apple juice. For me, both of these have too much juice.

In contrast, Skye Gyngell’s recipe on independent.co.uk advocates pouring 85ml juice on 125g oats, and leaving overnight.

Gyngell’s mixture is deliciously chewy. There are traces of dryness among the oats so the verdict is that 100ml apple juice to 125g oats is the best ratio.

Not everyone believes the oats need to be soaked. Ottolenghi recommends stirring them and leaving them aside for ten minutes to soften. But this speedy version

Chloe’s recipe ingREDiEnTs serves 2

125g rolled oats ♦ 80ml apple juice ♦ 1 apple, grated (Braeburns are best) ♦ 2tbsp live plain yoghurt ♦ 1tbsp honey ♦ 30g raisins The compote: 100g raspberries ♦ 1tbsp honey Garnish: 2tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds METHOD step 1 Place the oats in a bowl and pour the apple juice on top. Add the grated apple and stir well to combine. Cover and then place in the fridge for the night. step 2 The next day, dry-fry the pumpkin seeds

doesn’t have the texture of the overnight versions. I’m in the Jamie and Gyngell camp. If you are using quality rolled oats they need some time to expand for your digestive system.

A swEET TOucH

Bircher also needs an element of sweetness. Ottolenghi drizzles agave nectar, Gyngell prefers honey and raisins. The sweet

for 2-3min on low to medium heat in a pan so they toast a little. Remove and set aside.

step 3 To make the

compote, place the compote ingredients in a pan and simmer gently on a low heat for 15min. Leave to cool.

step 4 Spoon the cooled

compote equally into the two bowls. Then spoon the oat mix in equally. Drizzle the yoghurt, honey and raisins equally on top of both bowls. Then sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds evenly. Let it all sit for 5min. Serve.

honey melds with the raisins and, compared to agave, it’s more in keeping with the original ethos.

Leon’s Bircher in Allegra Mcevedy’s book Leon suggests a seasonal fruit compote. I simmer up the strawberry and raspberry one, although I prefer raspberry on its own as it has more astringency.

Also, try dolloping on some yoghurt, live and plain. For a little extra, add nuts.

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body matters

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

19

features@metroherald.ie to advertise, call 01 7055010

‘There was a rawness to it that people got’

US comic TIG NOTARO became an overnight sensation when she gave a frank account of her cancer, bereavement and freefalling love life. By Andrew Williams

T

hINk you’ve had a bad day?

Why not take inspiration from stand-up comedian Tig Notaro, who turned her misery into money when she took to the stage at Los Angeles’ comedy club Largo in 2012, told the room about her catalogue of disasters and propelled her career through the stratosphere.

Tig’s set that night has now become the stuff of comedy legend. Originally planning on doing her usual patter about the state of the LA freeways, she instead told everyone about what was going on in her life: she’d just been diagnosed with breast cancer, her mother had recently died after a fall, her long-term girlfriend had left her, she’d had a bout of pneumonia and fought a near-fatal

intestinal disease. On paper this doesn’t look like a barrel of laughs – but esteemed comedian Louis Ck saw the gig, called it ‘one of the greatest standup performances I’ve ever seen’ and the next day she was a viral sensation.

‘It literally was overnight,’ says Notaro, 43. ‘I woke up and was very shocked. I didn’t realise people would be tweeting and blogging about it.’

The gig was confessional, confrontational, but also extremely funny. As she goes on, the sheer cumulative impact of adversity she’s contending with proves unexpectedly hilarious. ‘There’s a rawness to it that people appreciate,’ says Notaro. ‘It’s not a comfortable ride and people want to see how it turns out.

Losing people, going through tragedy – people connect with it on so many levels. And some people think it’s just a funny show – I find that amusing.’

After a little bit of persuading (‘I didn’t want people to say, “I guess you had to be there”,’ she laughs) she let Louis Ck sell the recording through his website. It sold 100,000 in six weeks and was nominated for the Best Comedy Album Grammy.

So do audiences expect this kind of self-revelatory comedy at all her shows now? ‘I hope not, I had a lifetime of trauma packed into four months – I can’t go through that again. Now I hope people will come and stick around and enjoy the show for what it is.’ her recent shows such as last year’s Boyish Girl Interrupted – are a mix of observational humour, absurdity and some physical comedy involving a chair – but her foray into confessionalism has opened up new opportunities for her.

She’s a film star now, of sorts, working on her own project Clown Service, recently appearing in Ryan Phillippe’s Catch hell as a Cajun drug addict, and last year’s comedy Walk of Shame with Elizabeth Banks. She’s also written a book and is the subject of a documentary about her life.

‘I’ve done way more than I ever imagined. Anything that happens at this point is beyond my dreams. I’m in love, I’ve bought my first house, I feel that everything’s been a highlight since I’ve lived through everything that’s happened.’

Tig Notaro performs at the Sugar Club on September 5. www.tignotaro.com

Overnight success: Tig Notaro’s confessional show was a hit

Could ‘cyberdildonics’ mean a future of sex robots?

App-operated vibrators are today’s toy – and sexbots may be a not-too-distant reality, says Lisa Scott OhMiBod is the sex toy line that launched the iPod vibrator – a device that vibrates to the rhythm of your music. Now its new invention could revolutionise long-distance relationships. The ‘BlueMotion’ is a Bluetooth-enabled vibrator (€95, shop. ohmibod.com) that one partner wears and the other can control through an app on their smartphone.

To keep things interesting for the controller, there is a range of functions that control the speed and frequency. The audio record function, for example, allows them to speak a sentence into their phone. The vibrator will then use this to mimic the pattern of their speech.

The newly launched Wii-Vibe, another app-operated sex toy, even allows couples to create a ‘playlist’ of their favourite vibrations.

OhMiBod founder Suki Dunham says such cyberdildonics – a fancy word for sex toys controlled by computers – embraces the paradigm shift

in intimacy: ‘When I was young, my first intimate experience may have been holding hands at school. Technology has redefined intimacy for this new generation of young people growing up with smartphones. Their first intimate experiences may now involve these devices,’ she says.

Many futurists (scientists who do a lot of crystal ball-gazing) believe such technology means sex robots are a not-too-distant reality.

Sexologist Dr Michelle Mars worked with futurist Ian Yeoman on an article entitled ‘Robots, Men and Sex Tourism’, which depicts a sex club in Amsterdam named Yub-Yum in the year 2050.

For about €7,000, the human replicas will provide ‘all-inclusive services’, including ‘massages, lap dances and intercourse’. Mars and Yeoman argue that these androids, which will look like humans – ‘physical perfection is likely to be one of their charms,’ says Mars – could stop the spread of STIs and stem the flow of human trafficking associated with prostitution.

‘People have paid for sex since the dawn of time and will continue to do so,’ says Mars. ‘Sex robots and sites like Red Light Centre, a 3D adult virtual world where people can explore

their fantasies, will offer a degree of protection for sex workers.’

There will be negatives. ‘We learn about human relationships as we age and grow, and for people who have difficulty with interpersonal relations they will become a viable alternative to loneliness – we may end up with a larger proportion of socially awkward and shy adults,’ she adds.

‘But they will be excellent companions, they will never forget anything you share with them. Will it be plain sailing? Of course not. We are human.’

For now, however, we have cyber sex toys. Mars says they will, of course, appeal to some couples and not to others.

‘If you are the kind of person who gets off on sex toys then they will be fabulous for your sex life from afar. If intimacy is your turn-on and you prefer a kiss and a hug, then sex toys are not going to do it for you.’

20 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

puzzles

D

METROSCOPE

by Patrick Arundell

NEMI by Lise

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20

Just as you have tried to get a head of steam up about life, self doubts, disillusion or low vitality can challenge even the best laid plans. If you feel below par today, don’t be surprised, even if it is hard to pinpoint why.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 70

Taurus Apr 21 – May 21

scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22

Gemini May 22 – Jun 21

For your forecast, call 15609 114 77

If you find yourself thinking more about personal issues, it’s going to be important to set realistic expectations. There may be part of you that wants to cocoon yourself away from the harsh realities of life but you will still need to meet some of its demands.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 72

Cancer Jun 22 – Jul 23

Someone can say something to you today, make a pledge or try to persuade you of something. And the more amazing this might be, the more sceptical you need to be. Put simply, if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 73

Leo Jul 24 – Aug 23

If you are wanting to make the most of your finances, Mercury’s activities in your sector of finance would suggest you can grapple with things in a clear-headed way. But another link can confuse and bemuse you.

Leave big decisions to another time.

PEARLs BEFORE swINE

For your forecast, call 15609 114 76

Generally, you can be more optimistic about your prospects but be realistic.

In your social circle there could be an element of unreality. Someone may not be totally honest, or be subtly blocking your hopes.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 71

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

to make the most of skills recently, and may also have benefited from the legacy of past hard work too. Yet something about today can leave you strangely underwhelmed with life. Stay strong, Libra!

For your forecast, call 15609 114 74

Virgo Aug 24 – Sep 23

Your penchant for planning can hold you in excellent stead but only if you go through the process in a step-bystep way. Because there may be some information missing. Because of this, do be extra vigilant, Virgo.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 75

Libra Sep 24 – Oct 23

On one hand, you can feel a sense of solidness with a plan you’ve been working on. Yet on the other, it may feel as if nothing you try to do today will gain any traction. The best thing is not to be hard on yourself.

sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21

You generally demonstrate an upbeat vibe but even if you are not showing it openly, if something in your personal life is slightly out of kilter, just be conscious of how this influences your actions in other ways.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 78

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

The stars are suggesting that a slice of escapism could bring the greatest joy to your day. Now, that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? But if you can, ring-fence at least 30 minutes, and make this your time to indulge your senses.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 79

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

As Mercury angles with Saturn, business or property hopes can take on a nice firm feel. So why would you consider the ideas or suggestions of one person today, who lacks the clear vision that you’re needing right now?

Stick with established goals.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 80

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20

Are you a bit of a dreamer, Pisces, or is this something of a myth? If you feel there is a grain of truth in this, then today can present the potential for some challenges. While it may be fine for you to drift along in your own bubble, someone else could be less impressed.

For your forecast, call 15609 114 81

DOWN 1 Join together (7) 2 Disagree (7) 3 Discovers (5) 4 Include (7) 5 Malice (5) 6 Change (5) 9 Partner (9) 14 Apparition (7) 15 Pardon (7) 16 Twist (7) 19 Fortunate (5) 20 Motionless (5) 21 Sham (5)

Yesterday’s Solutions Across: 1 Dread; 4 Portend; 8 Secrete; 9 Class; 10 Only; 11 Derision; 13 Brow; 14 Cede; 16 Rearmost; 17 Pate; 20 Brain; 21 Eclipse; 22 Entreat; 23 Greet.

Down: 1 Dishonourable; 2 Excel; 3 Deed; 4 Prefer; 5 Receiver; 6 Examine; 7 Disengagement; 12 Commence; 13 Blatant; 15 Ascent; 18 Ample; 19 Flag.

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

ENIGMA Steve McQueen (that name again!)

Was this, the envy of most men?

A quality that girls admire.

(But you can’t be this by a fire.)

WHO AM I? A singer, I was born in Ontario, Canada in 1973. I was in a girl group with my younger sister. I am married to Liam Howlett of The Prodigy.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? WHO… does the union the INTO represent?

WHAT... is the waratah, the symbol of New South Wales?

WHERE... does the flour come from which is used to make black bread?

WHEN... was the post-war Berlin Blockade finally lifted?

SCRIBBLE BOX

ACROSS 7 Source (6) 8 Force (6) 10 In addition to (7) 11 Name (5) 12 Not one (4) 13 Subject of discussion (5) 17 Mar (5) 18 Unaccompanied (4) 22 Caper (5) 23 Idea (7) 24 Worthless (6) 25 Shiver (6)

QuIz

Crossword No. 1042 See next edition for solutions

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

QUIZ ANSWERS: ENIGMA: Cool. WHO AM I? Natalie Appleton.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN? Teachers; Shrub or tree; Rye; 1949.

QUICK CROsswORd

You have shown a remarkable ability

gaa dublin v donegal

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flynn ready to kick on with third ‘Holy grail’ by pAuL kEAnE IT WAS only four years ago that housemates Paul Flynn and Michael Murphy admitted in a private conversation that one All-Ireland medal was the ‘Holy Grail’ for them.

The DCU students were sharing a house along with Cork’s Aidan Walsh and found themselves chatting about their ambitions.

Four seasons on, the Dublin AllStar and Donegal captain possess three All-Ireland medals between them and whoever wins Sunday’s semi-final may very well go on to bring that total to four.

‘That was a good while ago, probably our first year in college, maybe our second year,’ recalled two-time medallist Flynn. ‘We’d got beaten

by Cork that year (2010). Donegal lost to Armagh in the qualifiers. We probably both thought we were never going to reach the pinnacle, the Holy Grail or whatever.

‘It’s funny because in the next two years we both did it. It’s mad now looking back and thinking about that chat.’

The pair remain friends though, naturally enough, communications have been kept brief in recent weeks.

‘I actually texted Mick the other night to congratulate him on his new shop,’ said Flynn, referencing Murphy’s new business venture in Letterkenny.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD

pictures: inpho

Come a long way: Flynn looks back on his college days when he longed for All-Ireland glory, with amusement

‘I haven’t had an open conversation with him on how we’re going to set up and I don’t think he’s going to text me to tell me how they’re going to set up.

‘At the end of the day, life goes on too and no matter who wins the game, it doesn’t mean we won’t still be friends.

‘I don’t let emotion get too involved. I just go out and play the game and get on with it.’

Best known as a hard working half-forward, Flynn credited Murphy with helping to improve his kicking ability in front of goals and, ultimately, his scoring returns.

‘It’s no secret I was horrendous at shooting a couple of years back and I didn’t have any confidence,’ said Flynn.

‘So I said to myself that if I was going to be playing wing-forward for Dublin, if I got opportunities to score – it might only be two a game – I’d convert them.

‘So I worked a lot on it. Going back to being in college, that helped because I had more time to be able to spend on it and get my technique right.

‘Me and Mick (Murphy) used to go kicking. It definitely helped.’

suggestion that a special €1million payment, ring fenced for the promotion of Gaelic games in Dublin – provided for by the irish Sports Council but distributed by the GAA – be broken up and partly diverted elsewhere.

The Dublin chief said he accepted that ‘weaker counties should get more help’ but claimed the proposal was that this be done at the expense of money

which is badly needed in the capital.

‘Why rob Peter to pay Paul?’ asked Kettle. ‘To me, there could be some other areas of the Association where budgets could be trimmed a little bit to fund that, as distinct from taking away from something that is successful.’

Kettle revealed the time line of events with regard to the new report. ‘last Friday week, a

spORT DigEsT Matthews retains his lead in Vuelta cycLing Michael

Matthews retained the overall lead of the Vuelta a Espana after coming in third on stage four behind Vincente Reynes and winner John Degenkolb (pictured), who led the riders home on the 164.7km stage to Cordoba.

Orica-GreenEdge leader Matthews retains a slender general classification lead over Nairo Quintana, with the latter’s Movistar team-mate Alejandro Valverde third. Australian Matthews held off Canondale’s Damiano Caruso and Garmin-Sharp’s Irish rider Dan Martin at the finish, with the pair claiming fourth and fifth. Team Sky leader Chris Froome moved up to 15th overall after finishing in the lead group.

Djokovic cruises to a first round win TEnnis Novak Djokovic cast off

concerns over his form and mindset by easing to a 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman in the first round of the US Open. Since winning Wimbledon, the world number one has had offcourt matters on his mind, with marriage to long-term partner Jelena to be followed in October by the birth of their first child. But Djokovic was quick to show Argentinian Schwartzman who was boss under the lights on the Arthur Ashe court, and served out for victory after an hour and 37 minutes. The Serb next plays France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Hamilton vows to avoid dirty tricks fORMuLA1 Lewis

Kettle lets off steam about cuts to Dubs funding Dublin GAA chairman Andy Kettle insists the county will strongly resist any attempts to cut its funding and redistribute it to other counties.

Kettle has confirmed that a GAA report into how funding of counties could be better managed has suggested a reduction in what Dublin receive.

GAA President liam O’neill admitted in the wake of Dublin’s new multi-million euro sponsorship deal with AiG last October that, ‘it may well change our thinking on how we finance counties, across the board, to equalise things’.

Kettle revealed that included in the current report is a

21

document was released to counties at lunch time indicating what funds were going to come to any particular county,’ he said. ‘it didn’t give an awful lot of time to study the document because there was a meeting called for the Saturday to go through it. Our county secretary attended that meeting and highlighted the fact that Dublin were the only county that had a potential cut.

‘That cut would have been in the coaching and games area and it would also have been contained in the proposal that Fingal would not be treated as a county for their share of the national league fund.’

Hamilton has promised he will not be seeking revenge against Nico Rosberg following his Mercedes teammate’s actions in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. All-out war has now broken out between Hamilton and Rosberg following the events that unfolded at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Hamilton claimed the lap-two collision between the duo was engineered ‘on purpose’ by Rosberg to ‘make a point’. ‘I will always put the team first and I won’t take anything into my own hands.,’ Hamilton (pictured) said, adding of Rosberg: ‘I’ll have to make sure we’re not wheel to wheel.’

Dunbar wins again cycLing Cork teenager Eddie

Dunbar was in sterling form over the weekend, banking the Junior of Wales overall and the final mountainous stage. His winning margin was a huge four minutes and 51 seconds. ‘Back-toback wins in the Junior Tour of Ireland, the National Junior Road Race title and passing my Leaving Certificate were a huge plus,’ said Dunbar as he accepted the good wishes of all assembled at the final presentation.

22 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

LEINSTER RUGBY

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No bid for Blind bid just yet, says agent Manchester United have yet to make an offer for Daley Blind, according to the player’s agent rob Jansen.

United boss Louis van Gaal knows Blind well from his time in charge of the Dutch national side but, despite the speculation, has not made a move for the ajax utility man. ‘at this moment Manchester United have not been

in touch with me or ajax about Daley and I’m not sitting here waiting for the call,’ Jansen said.

19 Holland caps for Blind – with one goal in the 3-0 World Cup victory over Brazil the 24-year-old son of former holland international Danny

Blind, can operate at left-back or in central midfield, where United are in desperate need of reinforcements. the Old trafford outfit have also been linked with chilean midfielder arturo Vidal, although the club have reservations about the state of the Juventus star’s right knee, which was operated on in May.

football

Target: Daley Blind

capital one cup second round

LVG’S REIGN LEfT IN THE DON-DRUMS

BY CUP ExIT

Heaslip: Leinster leader

NO BOD BUT TE’O AND CO AIMING TO KEEP TITLE FOr the FIrst time since 1999 Leinster will be without Brian O’Driscoll, but with Queensland’s state of Origin star Ben te’o, the reigning Guinness PrO12 champions are hoping their title charge is in safe hands. replacing a man who has represented Leinster on 180 occasions and scored 311 points – and pulled on an Ireland shirt a further 133 times – is no easy task. te’o will join up with his new teammates at the completion of the nrL season and the Boys in Blue have a tough start to the defence of their PrO12 crown.

Gregor townsend’s Glasgow Warriors, beaten 34-12 at the rDs in last season’s final, welcome the two-time reigning champions to scotstoun to get their campaign underway. te’o, 27, has played rugby union in the past and will provide options for Leinster boss Matt O’connor in the centre. and O’connor, who hails from Down Under himself, is excited to see the aucklandborn powerhouse hit the ground running in the Guinness PrO12.

‘Ben is someone that we have taken an active interest in for some time now, in particular as he made his intentions to change codes some time ago,’ he said.

‘I was home during the summer and met with him a number of times. he is keen and eager to make a lasting impression at Leinster and to develop into a world-class rugby player.’

Leinster have also announced the signing of Wallabies lock Kane Douglas, bolstering their international-laden roster that includes sean O’Brien, cian healy, rob Kearney and Jamie heaslip.

MK DONS ........................4 MANCHESTER UTD ....... 0 Manchester United plumbed new depths as they were routed by League One MK Dons to leave Louis van Gaal still searching for a win.

Jonny evans set the tone on an error-strewn night for a largely second-string United when he gifted Dons a 25thminute lead – the defender’s lazy pass intercepted by Ben reeves who teed up Will Grigg to fire into a gaping net.

Dons doubled the lead in the 63rd minute when more sloppy United play ended with Grigg converting reeves’ cross with his chest. six minutes later Benik afobe slid in a third before the 21-year-old completed the humiliation by skipping through United’s rearguard and slotting home with six minutes remaining.

Opener: Grigg celebrates the first of his brace at Stadium:MK

picture: actioN images

Van Gaal backs Di Maria to restore the fear factor ANGEL DI MARIA has pledged to help Louis van Gaal restore Manchester United to their former glory after completing a British record £59.7million transfer.

The Argentina winger, whose deal eclipses the £50m Chelsea paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres in 2011, admits the United manager was a major influence on his decision to move to Old Trafford.

‘Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach with a proven track record of success,’ said 26-year-old Di Maria. ‘I am impressed by the vision and determination everyone has to get this club

by JOHN PAYNE back to the top – where it belongs. I now just cannot wait to get started.’

The deal smashed United’s previous record – the £37.1million they paid

‘He’s a tremendously fast left-footed player’ for Chelsea’s Juan Mata in January – but Van Gaal has no doubt that Di Maria, who was named man-of-thematch in Real’s Champions League

United visionary: Di Maria

final victory over Atletico Madrid in May, will justify the huge fee.

‘Angel is a world-class midfielder but most importantly he is a team player,’ said the Dutchman.

‘There is no doubting his immense natural talent.

‘He is a tremendously fast and incisive left-footed player who puts fear into the most accomplished defence.

‘His dribbling skills and his ability to take on and beat opponents are a joy to watch. He is an excellent addition to the team.’

Di Maria’s signing takes United’s summer spending to over £130m.

Hammers out after Blades win shoot-out

WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce saw his side lose on penalties to Sheffield United last night at Upton Park.

Despite taking a first-half lead through Diafra Sakho, the Hammers were pegged back by their League One opponents when Winston Reid diverted into his own net.

Allardyce, who led his side to the semi-finals of this competition last

3 Goals for Dwight Gayle

whose first-half hat-trick handed crystal Palace a comfortable 3-0 victory at league one Walsall

season, handed full debuts to three of his summer signings, Diego Poyet, Enner Valencia and Sakho for the visit of United, in nine changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace at the weekend.

And the West Ham manager’s decision to opt for new blood looked to have paid off when Sakho put the Hammers ahead with his first goal

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 METRO HERALD 23

TRANSFER TALK

Milan hoping to fashion deal for Reds’ Fabio

hammer blow: Downing rues a near miss picture: getty

LiVerPooL striker Fabio Borini is a target for italian giants Ac Milan as they look to fill the void left by Mario Balotelli’s exit. the italian forward signed for the reds in a £16million deal on Monday and yesterday Milan’s official television station for the club, Milan channel, named Borini (pictured) as one of four targets. the three other strikers on the short-list are chelsea misfit Fernando torres, Fulham’s greek international Konstantinos Mitroglou and Spurs forward roberto Soldado.

Sunderland, who had Borini on loan last season, also want to secure the italian’s services but interest from Milan may put the £14m switch in jeopardy.

cApiTAL ONE cup

weSt ham ............ 1 SheFFIeLD UtD...... 1

4-5 on penalties aeT

by Jack Fox for the club five minutes before the interval. The Senegalese striker, a £3.5million signing from Metz, nodded home Mo Diame’s cross following a neat exchange with midfielder Ravel Morrison.

The hosts’ joy proved to be short lived, however, as United were back on terms just five minutes after the restart. A speculative cross skimmed off the head of Blades striker Marc McNulty before being diverted into the Hammers’ net off the shin of defender Reid.

Allardyce threw on Stewart Downing and Mauro Zarate for Sakho and Ricardo Vaz Te respectively as the hosts looked to settle the game without the need for extra-time but the visitors held firm before winning 5-4 in the shoot-out.

United steel: Blades boss nigel clough

Shrews spring surprise as Leicester slump to defeat anDY ManGan netted to give league Two shrewsbury a 1-0 victory at leicester. nigel Pearson’s team are still waiting for their first win of the season, as the battling shrews claimed an unlikely place in the third round. There was another surprise when a visar nuhiu penalty gave sheffield Wednesday a 1-0 win at Burnley. Dwight Gayle eased some of the pressure on crystal Palace with a first half hat-

round-up trick to give the eagles a 3-0 win at Walsall. Two goals from former Manchester United forward Federico Macheda handed cardiff a 3-2 win at Port vale. an own goal from John egan gave newcastle a 10 win at Gillingham, while in-form nottingham Forest were 2-0 winners at huddersfield.

FAi FORD cup

rovers to face Dundalk in pick of quarter-final ties

RecoRd winners of the competition Shamrock Rovers will host league leaders dundalk in the pick of the ties from yesterday evening’s FAI Ford cup quarter-final draw.

Rovers haven’t won the trophy since 1987 when they beat dundalk, who last lifted it in 2002, in the final. The sides are also due to meet in the final of the eA Sports cup at oriel Park on September 20.

The winners of the Shelbourne-St called off: shels coach Johnnyy Patrick’s Athletic third round replay, McDonald talks to Fai official which was last night postponed at the

last minute due to an electrical fault with floodlights, have been drawn at home to Bohs in another dublin derby. drogheda United, last year’s beaten finalists, should be happy with a home draw against derry city, whom they beat at United Park in the league as recently as last week.

While pleased to have avoided the bigger sides, Finn Harps, who had to travel to knock out fellow First division side Wexford Youths in the last round, face anther long journey to play the winners of Avondale United versus

St Michael’s. The non-league sides meet in their third round replay on Saturday.

quarter-final draw shelbourne or st Patrick’s athletic v Bohemians Drogheda United v Derry city shamrock rovers v Dundalk avondale United or st Michael’s v Finn harps (Ties to be played on week ending september 14)

Agger may exit Daniel aGGer has admitted he is uncertain if he will still be at liverpool when the transfer window shuts on Monday. The defender, 29, (pictured) said: ‘The future is complicated. There are a few things that have to be sorted and we have to take it from there. i actually don’t know what will happen. it is a bit up to liverpool.’

ONTHEgRApEviNE u Javier Mascherano has ended speculation about his future by extending his contract at Barcelona until 2018. u Brighton have signed Aston Villa midfielder gary gardner (pictured) on loan. u arsenal have missed out on Kostas Manolas with the Greece defender set to join roma. u BAyern Munich have won the race to sign highly-rated defender Mehdi Benatia from roma. the Morocco international, 27, had reportedly been a target for both Arsenal and Manchester united.

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SPoRt

24 METRO HERALD Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Provinces prepare for the new PRO12 season

« SEE pAgE 22

DUBLIN LOOK TO DALY FOR A LONG-TERM EXTENSION TO HURLING BOSS CONTRACT Anthony DAly has been told that the Dublin senior hurling manager’s job is his to keep – providing he agrees to a new three-year deal.

Dublin GAA chairman Andy Kettle said he expects to meet the Clare man in the coming days to nail down his plans for 2015.

Daly has completed a six-year term and, according to Kettle, has given ‘absolutely no indication’ of his future plans prior to jetting out to Portugal on holidays last week.

But Kettle said Daly is aware Dublin are looking for a medium-

Daly grind: Dublin GAA chief says job is long-term

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picture: inpho

KETTLE – pAgE 21

term appointment and don’t want to agree to a mere one-year extension.

If Daly accepts then he would be committing to nine years in total with the county he guided to breakthrough national league and leinster titles in 2011 and 2013.

‘I don’t think a year’s extension is what’s required for Dublin hurling going forward,’ said Kettle. ‘I think it’s a three-year project. We have to sit down and flesh that out and see how that works.

‘I have absolutely no indication from Anthony because we haven’t spoken. And I wouldn’t like to put any perceived pressure on him.

‘As far as I’m aware, he recognises that it is more than a

year’s extension that we’re looking for. So he’s had time to think about it, he’s had time to talk to his family, he’s had time to evaluate his own personal life and whether the road up to Dublin is getting longer or shorter is probably going to be a big factor in his thinking too.’

Asked if the job is still Daly’s or if Dublin are considering other candidates for the post, Kettle shook his head. ‘not at all, we’re not looking at anyone else,’ he said. ‘And I would pose the question – are there many people to look at anyway? that in itself has to be taken into consideration. I’m not saying there’s nobody else but top managers like Anthony Daly are thin on the ground.’

Angel delighted but United are humbled

by GAvIN BROwN

ANGEL Di Maria claimed he would only have left Real Madrid for Manchester United after last night completing his £59.7million move to Old Trafford.

United confirmed the Argentina international has signed a five-year contract and Di Maria is in line to make his Premier League debut against Burnley on Saturday.

‘I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United,’ said the 26-year-old.

‘I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for.’

Di Maria is United’s second signing since the start of the season, joining compatriot Marcos Rojo in Manchester.

However, Di Maria’s new side suffered further embarrassment last night as a youthful side were soundly beaten 3-0 by League One outfit MK Dons in the Capital One Cup second round, suggesting Louis van Gaal needs to strengthen his team further.

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rEporT – pAgE 22

It only takes a minute: Maribor’s Marcos Tavares, right, celebrates his goal last night

CeLtiC ................. 0 maRibOR ............ 1 (maribor win 2-1 on aggregate)

Champions League dream dies in horror Hoops defeat CELTIC crashed out of the Champions League last night after a crushing home defeat

by Maribor.

Callum McGregor had scored a valuable away goal in last week’s 1-1 first-leg draw in Slovenia and he hit the bar as they pushed in the second half last night.

But Marcos Tavares’ 75minute strike silenced Celtic Park and condemned Ronny Deila’s men to the Europa League this season.