Marianne Heron

AS I SEE IT

MARIANNE HERON

e thing about working as a journalist is that you spend lots of time trying to have bright ideas about things to write about. Some of the ideas may not be so bright and are likely to be shot down by critical editors with remarks like: “People don’t want to read about stu like that over their corn akes/ muesli.”

Sometimes the past ideas were about things that I would really like to do: being a millionaire for a day was a good one, it involved persuading a company to lend me a helicopter, complete with pilot so that I could y around Ireland popping in to the best hotels and restaurants with some exciting contour ying on the way. e article about emu farming – this was in South Africa – was memorable too, maybe because emus lay dark green eggs, have incredibly bad hair days and are more friendly than ostriches which are liable to kick you if they are males in the mating season. My take home from this is that it’s a good idea to aim do things that you really enjoy doing.

Ideas for articles can turn into potential books, like the one I had titled e Gentle Art of Self- Management. It didn’t get written but it could have turned into one of those How To books which have lots of catchy acronyms which are meant to remind you of the ingredients you need for a happy-ever- after- life. e problem is that you – well certainly I – have trouble remembering what the letter in the acronyms stand for.

Nuggets, I decided were a better idea. A nugget is a handy piece tip or advice which might be worth its weight in gold as you prospect life’s hills and valleys. You can mine a whole How To book and, perhaps, nd just one nugget worth treasuring. e nugget approach evolved when I was training as a life coach on an assignment to coach young IT entrepreneurs. I know minus nothing about IT but the idea was to facilitate the clients to de ne and reach their business goals. As well as homework after each session, they each got a nugget, and I like to think these tips were useful.

Sometimes other people give you a valuable nugget. I have a friend who was fond of remarking: “I have to have my carrot.” She meant that she needed to have a daily treat, something to look forward to and a reward for getting jobs done. It works like a charm, for me anyway, and the carrot doesn’t have to be anything extravagant... a cup of co ee shared, time spent in the garden or a favourite walk.

Do the worst rst, was another handy piece of advice, and a sure cure for procrastination. e paradox about avoiding doing things is that apparently people who put things on the long nger are more stressed than those who actually tackle the task they would rather avoid. It also required more energy nding reasons to procrastinate, than to do the thing itself and if you put it o until last you won’t have so much energy left anyhow.

My late mother- in- law – not that you necessarily pay much attention to MIL views – had a good one too: it was always do the creative things rst. I really did follow that one, always writing, painting or whatever rst thing in the morning, leaving routine stu like the housework or doing the washing up until later, the kind of things that are de nitely thieves of creative time.

To this day I have trained myself not to see dust, generally only getting around to hoovering or dusting by the time it is dark and I really can’t see the grime.

Be creative... find your everyday nugget

Saving friendships from the aftermath of Covid

ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST

Two years of limited socialising, or none at all, left scars. We’re out of practice in the art of being around others. Navigating inevitable bumps in the roads of friendships isn’t secondary nature anymore.

Psychologists say that two years apart from our friends created new tensions. We’re quicker to overreact to slights, even unintentional ones. Being left out of social events, even accidentally, makes us feel insecure.

People are lonelier because of lockdown. is increases our vulnerability. ings which only bothered us slightly, or perhaps not at all, in the past, seem worse now.

Psychological studies show less in-person interaction leads to insecurity and overanalysis. A missed text message or an invite which never arrives can explode into a full-blown confrontation. e fact that social occasions are now less frequent doesn’t help. Before lockdown, a missed co ee date was no big deal, shrugged o with ‘we’ll meet up in another couple of days’. Now, the next event might be much further away and missing out feels much bigger.

Pressure also plays a part. During lockdown, for many, going to work meant simply getting up and turning the laptop on. With re-opening, we are faced with commuting again, and all the frustrations involved.

We are also being hit with mass news coverage. Covid was perhaps the rst major event for many decades which absolutely dominated life. Not since World War Two has a news story been so constant and in our faces. Most of us weren’t even alive then.

However, as soon as coronavirus diminished, two new mass events have taken over. First, it was in ation, which still continues, and for the last couple of months, the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.

For many people, this is too much. It has weighed them down with unbearable stress. is tension then creates relationship problems.

So how do we overcome this? Before deciding whether to address something, question what the friendship really means to you. Is it a relationship worth ghting over? If not, the best course of action might be to walk away.

If your di culty is with a friend you truly care for, ask yourself whether this is a problem which can be resolved at a later date. Tackling an issue immediately means the pain is at its rawest. Emotions take over, and something which was fairly minor can become a massive deal very quickly. Giving yourself, and your friend, time to calm down could help. e ip side is also true. Allowing something to niggle away at you but saying nothing is liable to lead to an explosion at a later date. Trust your instincts on when it feels right to resolve a problem.

Perhaps above all, remember to be kind. Just as you are feeling overstressed, so too may be your friends. Showing understanding is a powerful weapon in relieving tension. Good friends support each other and this works both ways.

Balance blood sugar naturally

CLAIR WHITTY

LET’S talk about balancing blood sugar levels and ways to curb sugar cravings for a healthier you. Long term problems associated with blood sugar imbalance can result in problems like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, chronic in ammation, hormone imbalance, and increased risk of cognitive problems.

Prediabetes is a health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes which can be prevented through diet and lifestyle. I’m not suggesting that you have no sugar in your diet, the brain needs glucose to function as this is its energy source. But you don’t need it from sugary treats, instead choose fruit, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. If you crave sugar, you could be lacking magnesium, or not have enough protein in your diet. Protein helps you to feel more satis ed from your meal. You might crave sugar when you’re are tired, stressed, hungry, or many women crave sugar at the time of the month. Eat regularly and don’t skip your meals. Ditch the sweet treats and high sugar drinks. Add cinnamon to food as it may help lower blood sugar and ght diabetes by imitating the e ects of insulin and increasing glucose transport into cells. Take a drink of water when you think you are hungry you might just be thirsty. A table spoon of cider vinegar diluted in water sipped with your meal can be helpful. Increase green vegetables as they are a good source of magnesium. Eat food rich in omega 3, an essential good fat, as this can help to turn on fat burner genes!

My favourite supplement to help you control blood sugar balance is New Nordic Apple Cider Vinegar Mega Strength tablets. It contains 1000mg highly concentrated apple cider vinegar per tablet with “the Mother” and chromium which contributes to the maintenance or normal blood glucose levels and therefore help to control appetite and cravings. Of course, excess sugar in your diet may be the cause of weight gain and this is an ideal in this occasion to use this supplement to balance blood sugars. Many of you love this supplement and tell me that it works for you, all the goodness of apple cider without the strong taste.

I believe that balancing blood sugars is one thing you can do ensure a healthier you.

Natural Health Store, Market Cross Shopping Centre Phone: 056 7764538 Email: info@ naturalhealthstore.ie Shop online www.naturalhealthstore.ie

Teac Tom:

Fundraisers, volunteers and supporters needed

LIKE many community- based organisations Teac Tom relies heavily on the support of local businesses, individuals and community groups to fundraise throughout the year. e impact of Covid-19 on the charity sector is well-known, with fewer opportunities for fundraising and higher costs associated with putting health and safety measures in place for sta and clients. Teac Tom was grateful to receive some grant funding from the local authorities to help cover these costs but was unable to hold any large-scale fundraisers for over two years. It is money raised from these fundraisers that provides the vital income required to cover our operational costs and provide our professional counselling services.

As a mental health support charity, we play a vital role in the community when it comes to supporting people struggling with their mental health or those having suicidal thoughts. We also support families who have been bereaved by suicide. We provide a 24-hour phone line, counselling services for adolescents and adults and play therapy for children. We run a Community Engagement programme that reaches young people in schools and clubs throughout the southeast region. We believe that mental health issues need to be spoken about openly and honestly and that there is no shame in seeking help. Teac Tom provides a safe and nurturing space for people to get support for their mental health. Our open-door policy allows us to be accessible to everyone in the community.

A report in 2021 issued by the Charities Regulator states that “a constant challenge for the sector, regardless of an organisation’s size or complexity, is funding and income.” e ndings also con rm that the pandemic has had an impact on traditional sources of income for many charities as well services and volunteering. At Teac Tom we are no di erent and that is why we are looking for Volunteers and Supporters to help us with our fundraising e orts this year.

VOLUNTEERING WITH TEAC TOM

Volunteering is a great way to use and develop your skills, meet new people and help a cause that you are passionate about. For students and young people, volunteering allows you to gain hands-on experience in a variety of areas which is great for building your CV and is appealing to many employers. Over the years our volunteers have come from all walks of life, at di erent ages and stages. Volunteering has many bene ts for the volunteer but is also crucial to our success; having volunteers to help at events, assist with administrative tasks and support our fundraising e orts leaves more funding available to provide our frontline counselling services. Right now, we need volunteers in two main areas – Events Team and Community Fundraisers.

EVENTS TEAM

We have a range of exciting fundraisers planned for the year ahead. In order to make these events a success we need enthusiastic, community-minded people who can roll up their sleeves and get stuck into whatever needs doing. Volunteers are essential to helping us hold these events. We need people to help with everything from distributing marketing material to helping with behind the scenes set up, shaking buckets to painting faces. e key is to generate excitement for participants and a greater awareness of Teac Tom for those attending. We also need volunteers to actively participate in the more active fundraisers! Keep an eye out for our upcoming events: e Round the Clock Cycle and Women’s MiniMarathon will both take place on the June Bank Holiday weekend. In the summer we will host another Golf Classic and the autumn will see the return of the Teac Tom OsKars.

FUNDRAISERS WANTED!

We rely on the generosity of the public to fundraise for Teac Tom. All money that is donated goes towards covering our counselling costs and operating costs of our centres. People have had to get creative over the last few years as most fundraising was done virtually. Now that we can get back to in-person events it is a chance for people to come together and do something enjoyable for a cause they believe in. Often people fundraise for Teac Tom in memory of a loved one lost to suicide. Over the last few years, we have had skydives, beard shaves, quilt ra es, a virtual walk to Croagh Patrick and an online gaming day. ere have been Fantasy Football Leagues, Kilimanjaro Climbs and rugby tournaments. ere are endless possibilities for community fundraisers, all you need is a great idea, a Teac Tom application form and the commitment to holding the event.

Additional Opportunities

From time to time we may need additional support in admin, marketing or to join our team of Volunteer Listeners – all details can be found on our website so please get in touch there for more information or to apply.

BREATHE WITH THE BEAT

On Monday April 18th, all are welcome to the beautiful setting of Ballykee e Amphitheatre to take part in ‘Breathe with the Beat’. Led by Karla Kelly, this unique mindfulness practice is full of fun, tness and fantastic music. It’s a fun way to understand our breath and its relationship to our mind and body, heart and spirit. Check out our event page of Facebook for more details.

If you would like further information on Teac Tom’s counselling services or to book an appointment, please get in touch with our team.

www.thethomashayestrust. com / thethomashayestrust@ gmail.com / 056 7796592 / Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @teactom

Censor radio saga ‘staggering’

A SUGGESTION by Wexford County Council that a radio station agree its presenters would not express personal opinions on air in return for the council taking out advertising on the station, has been described as “staggering’ by the local station’s managing director. e suggestion is one of a number made by the county secretary, David Minogue, in an email to the managing director of South East Radio, Eamonn Buttle, during discussions over a proposed €40,000-€50,000 spend this year by the council on advertising with the station.

According to e Irish Times, in January the Standards in Public O ce Commission (Sipo) issued a report in which it criticised Tom Enright, chief executive of Wexford County Council, for putting “unwarranted” pressure on South East Radio during a 2019 row about coverage of the council by the station, and in particular by one of its presenters, local businessman Karl Fitzpatrick.

By threatening to withdraw council advertising from the station during the row, Sipo said, Enright had breached the provisions of the Local Government Act and failed to maintain proper standards of integrity. e public ethics body said Enright had wrongly con ated the issue of his dispute with the station over its coverage of the council, and the council’s commercial position as the station’s primary advertiser. e Sipo report was discussed by a special meeting of the council in January, during which councillors criticised the public ethics body before voting to take no action on foot of its report. e councillors then gave the county manager a standing ovation.

In February the council’s decision to take no action was raised in the Dáil by Wexford TD Verona Murphy, who said the “message is that we will all do what we like ... ere was no impact. [ e report] made no di erence. He got a standing ovation and a round of applause.”

Think before you pour this Easter!

SPRING has sprung, bringing with it beautiful pastel colours, chocolate eggs, adorable chicks and long awaited reunions with family and friends over celebratory Easter dinners. is Easter, Clean Coasts in partnership with Irish Water is partnering with Edward Hayden to ask the people of Kilkenny to ‘Rethink the Sink’ and never pour fats, oils and greases (FOGs) from the Easter roast down the sink. Instead, collect FOGs into a heat proof container (egg cartons, tins and jars are eggcellent choices!), allow them to cool and empty into the bin.

Edward Hayden along with other celebrity chefs and well known personalities from around Ireland are participating in this years Easter ‘ ink Before You Pour’ campaign including Kevin Dundon, Gina Daly, Lilly Higgins, JP McMahon, Guy Sinnott and Mark Murphy as well as wellknown food blogger, Niamh O’Sullivan. All pictured here.

‘ ink Before You Pour’ is operated by Clean Coasts in partnership with Irish Water and appeals to the public not to pour FOGs down the kitchen sink, as a B&A survey reveals that approximately 4 out of 10 people admit to doing so.

FOGs may seem like liquid when poured, but they cool and harden as they travel along the pipes and can cause blockages in our homes, businesses, the public sewer network and wastewater treatment plants and can even lead to over ows of sewage in our communities and pollution in rivers, on beaches and in the ocean.

When FOGs combine with wipes and other sewage related litter such as hair and dental oss that shouldn’t be ushed down the toilet, fatbergs can form. Irish Water clears hundreds of blockages including fatbergs from the wastewater network every week.

Renowned Kilkenny chef Edward Hayden said: “ is Easter I am delighted to be working with Clean Coasts and Irish Water on the ink Before You Pour campaign. It is so important that we dispose of fats from cooking correctly.

“If they are poured down the sink they can lead to blockages and fatbergs. An easy solution is to simply pour the fats in to a container once they are cooled and throw the contents in the bin. Trays and pans can be wiped with a kitchen towels to get any extra fatty residues before washing.”

Jim Fitzgerald, Regional Operational Manager, South East Region, said: “Irish Water is delighted to be teaming up with Clean Coasts and chefs from all around Ireland for the ‘Rethink the Sink’ Easter campaign. Last year we responded to approximately 10,000 customer noti ed blockages along the wastewater network, which were leading to sewer over ows. Removing fatbergs and blockages from our public sewers and cleaning up sewer over ows is a dirty job with nasty consequences but so easy to prevent. “

“We are reminding the public to ‘ ink Before You Pour’ this Easter, not to use the kitchen sink as a bin and to help us safeguard the wastewater network and local environment by collecting cooled fats, oils and greases and disposing of them in their bin.”

Speaking about the campaign, Sinead McCoy, Coastal Communities Manager, Clean Coasts said: “ e prevention of blockages in our wastewater systems by fats, oils and greases is something everybody can engage in. Simply by being more conscious of our behaviour at the sink, and by making small changes, we can all have a positive impact on our natural environment. I would encourage and remind everyone to ‘ ink Before You Pour’ this Easter.”

Drug breakthrough offers fresh cancer hope

A NEW treatment that redirects the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells may er hope to patients who have run out of options.

UK researchers have been trialling the drug, AFM24, and say it shows signs of e ectiveness in a third of patients with advanced cancers that had stopped responding to treatment, including bowel, lung and pancreatic cancers. e team from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust hope it will be safer than existing cell-based treatments. e drug redirects the body’s natural immune system to kill tumour cells without having to go through the complex process of re-engineering a patient’s own cells, known as CAR-T cell therapy.

Initial results from the ongoing phase I trial in 24 patients will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research conference in New Orleans.

Dr Juanita Lopez, the trial’s UK lead and consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), said: “Natural killer cells are an essential part of the immune system and are able to recognise cancer cells.”

See also, Page 22

The roles of women in defending Ukraine

Ukraine o ers a unique insight into the roles that women can play in defending the nation and as leaders in their own right.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian women have taken up arms during the war sparked by Russia’s invasion. According to media reports, women constitute as much as 15% to 17% of the Ukrainian ghting force.

In the rst two weeks of the con ict, social media was replete with images of Ukrainian women training for combat. On March 15, CNN reported that after dropping o their parents and children in the border town of Przemysl, Poland, some Ukrainian women are turning around to go back to the ght.

“ ey view returning home to a war zone as an act of symbolic resistance to Russian aggressors,” CNN reporters Ed Lavandera and Cristiana Moisescu wrote.

Ukrainian women have historically enjoyed independence not common in other parts of the world.

One reason for this is Ukraine’s geography. A temperate climate and fertile land combined to enable independence for hardworking people. Fathers didn’t need to trade their daughters for dowry to till the land, nor were they indebted like serfs to wealthy landowners. A widow could remain unmarried if she chose to and thrive by cultivating her garden and tending to her animals. In Ukrainian folklore, there is a recurrent character of a single woman, often a widow, who can survive and thrive without a man. e Ukrainian Government is highlighting during the war the country’s tradition of women’s empowerment, as seen in this tweet from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture. Twitter account, e Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine

No doubt, the real life of Ukrainian women was no fairy tale, and their experiences might not universally t into this narrative.

However, from a diversity of human experience, a culture retains those stories that resonate with most of its members as an ideal upon which they can agree. In Ukraine, this ideal includes ercely independent women.

Ukraine’s geographic circumstances also gave rise to a feminist culture in which women had a say in marriage, rather than being ‘given away’ by their fathers or male relatives.

In the fall, when marriage proposals were traditionally delivered via ‘svaty’ – a delegation from the groom’s family – the bride could refuse the o er by giving the family a pumpkin as a consolation prize. e Ukrainian phrase “to catch a pumpkin” means to be rejected by a woman. A Ukrainian girl’s beauty was sometimes gauged as having “a closetful of pumpkins,” implying she could expect to have many suitors.

Such narratives have shaped Ukrainian cultural psychology and, as a result, attitudes toward women.

Since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion, the internet ampli ed several remarkable videos depicting Ukrainian women opposing armed Russian soldiers. One woman was famously shown o ering sun ower seeds to the troops, instructing them to “at least put these seeds in your pockets, so sun owers will grow when you all die here.” Another video showed a woman yelling at a heavily armed Russian soldier atop his tank in Konotop, “Don’t you know where you are? You’re in Konotop. Every other woman here is a witch. You’ll never get an erection, starting tomorrow.”

Ukrainian women who are not already in the armed forces or confronting Russian soldiers with sharp tongues or tomatoes have been volunteering on the front lines. is volunteering practice traces its roots to the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, when volunteers created a de facto second state while the o cial state failed, crippled by Russian-led corruption and cronyism.

In 2014, female volunteers delivered meals, clothes and fuel to the men who defended Maidan – Kyiv’s Independence Square, which became the stage for months long protests against riot police and pro-Russian mercenaries employed by the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych. Volunteers supplied hospitals and ambulances with medicines; they assembled rapidresponse defence teams to shield locations where attacks were imminent; women wove camou age nets and hid the wounded from persecution.

In 2022, some of the same Ukrainian women stepped into what are now familiar roles, working day and night to address the needs of the army and of the volunteer Territorial Defense Forces, stranded civilians, the disabled and elderly, medical practitioners and even abandoned pets.

Grandmothers are using their sewing machines to make ak jackets and military uniforms. A joke on Ukrainian social media is: “If you tell Ukrainian volunteers that a nuclear warhead is needed, it will take them about two hours to put one together and deliver it to the speci ed address. Along with tea and cookies.” While not every volunteer in Ukraine is a woman, for the tasks of supplying food, clothes, medicines, protective gear, identifying and helping vulnerable individuals, women reportedly form the majority of the volunteer force.

On a more serious note, the o cial Facebook account of the Ukrainian military’s head of defence posted a note of gratitude to the volunteers, which reads in part:

“ ank you, our Volunteers. Yes, today the Army is much better equipped than in 2014. But First Aid kits, bulletproof vests, helmets, medicines, hygiene products are always needed. But most important for us is to know that you exist. 24/7. You call, write, o er help, bring something, create, support us, joke with us. You make us feel our unity and invincibility. To feel that there is a nation, that you are among yours and for them you hold this country on your shoulders. ... Together to victory!”

As with the Kurdish women known as the ‘Daughters of Kobani’ who fought in Syria and Iraq, there are powerful psychological e ects when women take up arms.

Soldiers who perceive they could lose against women might feel emasculated, which was the e ect of YPJ, the Women’s Protection Units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, on Islamic State group ghters 2014-2016. Like Ukrainian women now, those women rose to the occasion. ey were courageous and deadly e ective. e famous saying goes, behind every successful man is a woman. e Ukrainian war reveals that, perhaps, behind the success of the Ukrainian army is an army of Ukrainian women.

How the Russians miscalculated their invasion strategy

As Russia refocuses its energies on capturing Ukraine’s eastern region, the crucial question will be whether its military can redress the mistakes of the early assault. e biggest mistake of all was to underestimate both the will and the capacity of the Ukrainians to resist. Russia had planned for a swift and easy victory, expecting its troops to be greeted as liberators. Instead, the Ukrainians fought back ferociously, aided by weaponry from the West.

And it wasn’t just the army that fought back. Ordinary civilians also seized the initiative to thwart Russian advances, such as those in the farming town of Voznesensk who picked up hunting ri es and hurled bricks to help halt Russian soldiers along the southern coast.

Many of the setbacks Russia encountered sprung from this initial miscalculation — but not all.

Testimonies of captured Russian soldiers suggest many troops had not been told they would be invading Ukraine. Some said they were told they were participating in a military exercise, others that they were being sent just to the eastern Donbas region. at meant they were psychologically unprepared to be shot at and blown up, as happened almost instantly, which took an immediate toll on troops’ morale, noted Jack Watling of the London-based Royal United Services Institute. e enormity of the casualties Russia subsequently suffered has only exacerbated the low morale, he said. NATO put the number of Russian dead at 15,000 more than two weeks ago, more than in the Soviet Union’s decade-long war in Afghanistan. Ukrainian o cials say they have collected 7,000 Russian corpses from the battle eld, though Russia maintains it has lost only 1,351 soldiers.

Russian units seemed wholly unprepared for the conditions and circumstances they encountered. Units expecting to roll unopposed into Kyiv and other cities brought just two weeks of supplies, and those quickly ran out. Videos quickly emerged showing Russian soldiers stranded on roadsides next to their vehicles because they had no fuel and hungry soldiers looting stores and stealing chickens.

Surprisingly, those troops also lacked some of the key tools of modern warfare, such as night-vision equipment, said John Spencer, who chairs the Urban Warfare Studies program at America’s Madison Policy Forum. Ukrainians have such equipment and were able to control the night, launching attacks and ambushes under cover of darkness against an enemy unable to see them.

Russia might not even have enough regular weapons to equip all the forces it is sending into battle. Some newly drafted soldiers on the eastern front have been issued ri es rst developed in the 19th century and out of production for decades, according to witnesses quoted in a Reuters report.

Military experts describe a massive logistical failure as when troops ran out of food and other supplies after the initial plan went wrong, their superiors had no plans for resupply. Tanks stalled, and the poorly maintained trucks that were then sent lost tires or broke down, contributing to the infamous 40-mile convoyturned-tra c jam.