TRAVEL
Home & Away with Robert Walshe Tourism Ireland’s Flash mob of Irish dancers in Sydney is one of the world’s top branded viral videos, according to marketing magazine Contagious. The magazine’s Contagious Viral chart, which rates the hottest marketing videos around the globe each month, has named the ‘Top Ten Most Shared Videos’ in March. The list includes videos produced by big global brands like Volkswagen and Adidas, with Tourism Ireland’s Flashmob video coming in at a very respectable number five. The Flashmob, organised by Tourism Ireland in Australia, is on YouTube, where it has been viewed by almost 740,000 people around the globe. Scandinavia hosts several pride festivals each year, making it a great travel destination for the gay and lesbian community. The Pride festivals, held every year in June, July and August are the highlight of the year in the Scandinavian gay calendar. The best pride events in Scandinavia include the Stockholm Pride Festival in late July now the highlight of the year for many gays, lesbians and transgender. It is the largest event for GLBT in Scandinavia. There are many international performers, activities, and other events to keep you busy. Other summer festivals include the Copenhagen Pride Festival in August and the Oslo Pride Festival in late June Scandinavian Airlines fly 24 times a week direct from Dublin to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and onwards to Scandinavia and the Baltic’s from as little as €65 one way including taxes. www. flysas.ie
Weekend Hotspot
The superb 4 star Radisson is located in Little Island, just ten minutes from Cork city centre and Cork Airport and is also on the doorstep of the wonderfully artisan East Cork. Featuring Ditchley House, a Victorian style building dating back to the 19th Century, the hotel is a mix of old world charm and sophisticated style. All the guestrooms styled in that deep Radisson red
& blue have flat-panel televisions with satellite channels and pay movies. The bathrooms offer handheld showerheads, designer toiletries, makeup/shaving mirrors, and hair dryers. Additional amenities include minibars, desks, and irons/ironing boards which take a little get used to finding! The spa features nine treatment rooms offering a Island n Radisson Suite Little range of luxurious Elemis treatments and relaxation suites, and the hotel offers a selection of packages available at the Retreat a world famous Irish wildlife Spa, from one-day to two-night park, award wining heritage censtay packages. I was treated to tres, historic houses, museums, the “Tri- Enzyme Resurfacing Fa- designated Irish heritage towns, cial” which helps to reduce the beautiful gardens, galleries, casappearance of fine lines & wrin- tles and churches. The beaches kles, uneven skin tone & superfi- are a wonder with three blue cial scaring. and the results were flag beaches close together. amazing! The Island Grillroom The hotel’s proximity to the city restaurant provides an array of centre is ideal for shopping and imaginatively prepared dishes the main attractions include an and my choice of the chef’s sea- abundance of museums and hisfood chowder followed by pan- torical sites. No trip to Cork is fried Irish fillet steak was simply complete without sampling its cooked to perfection. The infa- traditional Irish pubs, where the mous Radisson Super Breakfast stout of choice is Murphy’s. In Buffet is served each morning and addition, hotel guests can visit the Little Island personal touch Blarney Castle, which is home stands out as truly remarkable. to the Blarney Stone. Golfing enThe buffet boasts an exciting and thusiasts will be both challenged delicious range of 63 different op- and enchanted with the many tions so you really are spoilt for fine courses nearby on Little Ischoice. It’s not every day that land, Fota Island, Douglas and you can enjoy food prepared by Rochestown. www.radissonblu. an award-winning chef as well as ie/hotel-cork two nights in this stylish accommodation from €129 per person, Weekly Best Buy but that’s exactly what you can The new Game Drive Package get with the special Dine & Stay at Bilila Lodge Kempinski offers package from the Radisson Blu adventure seekers to explore the Hotel & Spa Cork. Stay two nights vast plains of the famous Serat the four star hotel and enjoy engeti National Park Tanzania a Super Buffet Breakfast on both and to experience the thrilling mornings plus a delicious dinner wild African bush. The package on the evening of your choice in rates start from $400 (approx. the Island Grillroom restaurant £250) per person per night, in where head chef James Rendell a Savannah room, on full board was awarded the accolade of basis and it includes one game Munster’s Best Chef in the Good drive per day (morning or afEating Guide to Ireland 2010. ternoon) and roundtrip airport East Cork has a tremendous se- transfers. The package is valid lection of visitor attractions for until December 31, 2011 and reone small region. You can visit quires a three night minimum
Pet’s Corner...
with Kathleen Murray
with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist This is an important story for the top of them to the ground. that it was better for the dogs people to read. It has many Tragically, he died. Jess and the if they were not around for lessons in it and may help pup were with him at the time the wake so she let them go people to understand what and saw it all happen. to her brother-in-law’s farm. life is like for a dog when their As it is the lambing season Jess refused to go. She would owner dies. Jess is five-years the ewe’s were all giving birth. not leave. old and was raised on a farm. The farmer’s wife worked away She stayed at home and was She is a Collie and is a work- from home but in the evenings there for everything that haping sheepdog. She worked on she helped on the farm. When pened. As dogs mourn the the farm in the daytime and she came home from work same as us for their losses it was a much-valued pet in the that evening she got changed was a hard time for Jess. She evening. Jess and her three- and went out to find her hus- had lost one of her owners, year old pup worked together band to give him a hand. She she had lost her pup and her and lived together all day got a terrible shock when she remaining owner was in deep everyday and life was good. discovered him lying on the mourning so it was a very sad They got their dinners every ground with the two dogs lying time all round. During the evening, a walk at 7pm, some beside him. The dogs stayed quiet days after the funeral fun time with their owners with him out of loyalty to their Jess and her owner started and two digestive biscuits as a master and also to keep him their new life alone together. treat at bedtime every night. warm with their body heat. Things were very different They were much-loved dogs Unfortunately, it was too for both of them and both of and very well taken care of. One late for help. As Jess was the them were feeling a big sense day, out of the blue, tragedy first dog she was more closely of loss. Her owner was still in struck. The farmer was working bonded to her owner. shock and not sure what to with bales of hay and fell from The farmers wife thought feel and Jess was out in the
n Old and ne
Living
w at the R
adisson Li
ttle Island,
Cork.
n Spa & Pool at Radisson Little Island.
stay. Nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Earth,” an abundance of wildebeest and other grazing herbivores attracts visitors from all over the world during the annual Great Migration. The journey buzzes past the Bilila Lodge Kempinski each May/June and October/November, but visitors trekking the plains anytime of the year can easily see why the Serengeti is considered one of the natural wonders of the world, and the ideal backdrop to capture. Bilila Lodge Kempinski boasts the most spacious accommodations in the entire Serengeti. Each of the Lodge’s rooms overlooks the plains of the national park, allowing guests to observe wildlife from their personal sun decks. www.kempinski.com/serengeti. Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland
Home and Away Extra BAA is considering using geothermal energy to “de-ice” the ground under aircraft during the winter at Heathrow, so as to avoid a repeat of the long delays during last December’s snow. The airport operator is considering harvesting waste energy in the summer months, storing it underground and then using it to warm the ground directly below aircraft in icy conditions. Similar systems are use at Scandinavian airports, but at present there is no form of heating for the runways at Heathrow. Transport problems remain one of the “biggest risks” to the London 2012 Olympic Game according to a new report. More than one million Olympic-related journeys are predicted to be triggered on public transport over the nine busiest days of the games. The committee behind the report warned that, apart from the Jubilee line, the network was running at near to top capacity and could not easily absorb extra demand. There were 22 predicted “travel hotspots” in 2012, including some of London’s most congested roads, plus underground stations that already suffer chronic overcrowding.
Jess’s story – a thought provoking read fields looking for her owner and her pup. Everyone felt the loss. As the weeks went by Jess had to learn to get used to a lead and get into a car, lots of new experiences. She had never been on a lead before as she was a working farm dog and there was no need for a lead. Her owner found that Jess was not taking this well and was not eating properly so she was worried. When I met them both for the first time I felt the sense of loss for both of them. It was easy to see that there was still shock and tragedy. The owner wanted help with Jess as Jess was all she had left that was close to her husband. They had been married 23 years and there were no children. Just them and the dogs. I decided to keep Jess for a
n Jess
bit to help her to readjust to a new life and give her owner a chance to readjust to her new life. Together they were keep-
ing each other back because the tragedy was all they had. Jess has now adjusted to being a full-time pet. She’s walking on a lead, travels well in the car, is not afraid to jump in or out and is eating better. She is coming out of her mourning and will be now able to help her owner to do the same in time. Dogs normally mourn for a couple of weeks and then they pick up and move on but it was difficult for Jess as she was dealing with too much at the same time. She had become the centre of the mourning as her owner depended on her company to help her so she couldn’t get back to normality again. Her owner is doing really well now, coming to terms with all that has happened and is braving a new life with the help of Jess.