Laura Izibor at the Savoy.

This Dublin singer made an appearance in Cork over the Jazz Weekend and she was absolutely superb... she's so young (not yet 20) and has such a terrific soulful voice. Now signed to Jive Records (same label as Britney Spears!), she's getting ready to release her debut album in the New Year. If there's any justice in the world, it'll be a massive success. She writes all her own material - but did a few covers on Saturday night as well - Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' and Roberta Flack's 'Killing Me Softly' (also made famous by the Fugees). She really made them sound like her own actually. Here are my pics from the gig below. RedFM's Stevie G was there too - DJing afterwards - so no doubt he will also have some pics on his blog.


...And below are my glamorous companions for the evening, Vivienne Kelly and Emer O'Sullivan

Hope Foundation events and the great people I met.....

Just added a few pics from various things that have been going on over the last while. Above is me at the recent Hope in India Ball at the Silversprings Hotel. Raising funds for the abused and abandoned street children of Calcutta, it was an Indian themed night, with ladies being presented with a bindi on arrival (no, that's not a spot on my forehead!) and the men with an Indian shawl. We were also treated to a performance of Indian dance from Honey George and Leena Shaha, who were decked out in luxurious Indian costumes (see below).
The other photo shows Honey (don't you just
love the name?!) in the centre with Bijohn Shaha on the left and Omar Osman on the left - fellow guests at my table.



It's not the only HOPE event I've been to lately... a few weeks beforehand I was at a HOPE Foundation lunch at the same venue, where I met the girls from Aquaspa at my table. They were great company (pictured below) and we have promised to meet up again for another girlie evening sometime soon.

The Italian Job!

I was away last week in beautiful Italy... where I took in Rome and Naples, along with day-trips to Pompei and Capri.

I should be Ten-Ton-Tessie by now with the amount of Pizza and Pasta I consumed... but rest assured I burnt off all those calories with a massive amount of walking. I'm a big fan of sight-seeing and I literally wore holes into the soles of my shoes!

There are awsome buildings and sights at every turn in Rome and I could easily go back and see many more interesting things, as well as retracing some of my footsteps to see certain sights in a more relaxed manner. I just missed the Pope apparently - he gave a mass outside the Vatican but I had the wrong time and so the majority were leaving as I arrived! That's me pictured above amongst all the empty seats. I did however, see the tomb of Pope John Paul II (the real pope!). That attracted so many people that a sort of traffic jam formed and hence the security guard got a bit impatient with me as I didn't have my camera 100% ready... mind you, he spoke in Italian so I couldn't understand him anyway!

The highlight though, for me was Rome's Trevi Fountain... it's so spectacular! You just round a corner and there it is at the back of a building.... over-run with tourists of course, butI'm sure it's much worse in high season. Managed to pick up a pair of gorgeous shoes in a shop directly accross from the fountain too... well, a little retail therapy has to be indulged, doesn't it? And Rome is famous for its bags and shoes... what's a girl to do?!

The island of Capri was also beautiful... you get to see how the other half live with all the villas up the hills... and all the designer stores... NOTHING is cheap in Capri, so it might be wise to bring a packed lunch! You'll see photos everywhere of famous people who have visited... Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Hurley, Jackie Onassis, Audrey Hepburn, Uma Thurman, Sylvester Stallone... and so on. The paparrazzi musn't have recognised me... sniff!

I was blessed with lovely weather throughout my trip, sort of like nice summer days in Ireland 23/24 degrees celcius, getting slightly chillier at night. I was told it rained there on the evening I left so I timed it well. Naturally it was raining here the moment I arrived back... always such a welcome (not).

Below are some photos from Capri... those gorgeous blue, tourqoise seas... so beautiful!

Last weekend I went to my first ball... yes, I've had a deprived life, I know!

In aid of Cystic Fibrosis and held in the Rochestown Park Hotel, it was the Sixty Five Roses Ball, so named because a child suffering from Cystic Fibrosis was unable to pronounce the name of the condition and so he made up his own much lovelier words for it.

Of course the ball was a lot of fun but also there was a lot to be learned from the occasion:
Cystic Fibrosis is Ireland's most common life-threatening genetically inherited disease. Approximately 1 in 20 people are carriers of the CF gene and where two carriers parent a child together, there is a 1 in 4 chance of the baby being born with CF. Unfortunately Ireland has the worst survival statistics in the developed world with a life expectancy of 25 years here compared with 35 years in the UK.

Cystic Fibrosis affects the glands, damaging many organs, including the lungs, pancreas, the digestive tract and the reproductive system. It causes thick sticky mucus to be produced, blocking the bronchial tubes and preventing the body's natural enzymes from digesting food. There is no cure for the condition but medical research is on-going in the hope of finding such a cure.

One of the hopes is that an isolation unit will be built at CUH, as currently when CF patients are treated, they are sharing wards with people might have colds, flus and other contagious ailments. However, the CF patients find it harder to fight those ailments and it takes an uneccessary toll on their bodies.

Anyway, that's the science bit... now the money bit....

I met two very inspirational mothers who were instrumental in organising the ball last Saturday. Caroline O'Leary is mum to Cian, aged four and Arron, aged two, who both have cystic fibrosis. Olive Hughes' five-year-old daughter also has CF. Happily the hard work they and other committe members have put in, has resulted in the region of 40,000 euro being raised through the ball and its auction and raffle. A big congratulations to them on a remarkable achievement, especially as it is the first year of this particular ball. However, more money needs to be raised and there is a bank account set up for donations. The details are: "Sixty Five Roses Ball" 93-43-48-36646025 Allied Irish Bank, Douglas Road, Cork.

More pics from the set of 'Strength and Honour'.

Above is the production crew looking back at footage just shot. Vinnie Jones is in the centre with director Mark Mahon whispering in his ear.

That's me and my fellow extra Andrew Murphy, who also played a journalist.

So do we really pass for journalists and crew??

Both of these are of Vinnie Jones, who plays Smasher O'Driscoll and Irish actor Michael John Galvin, who plays Fixer Ward.

My day as a movie star!

OK, slight exaggeration with that headline... it should read 'My Day as a movie extra' but that doesn't pack quite as much punch, does it?

'Strength and Honour' has been filming in Cork for the past number of weeks, starring Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Richard Chamberlain and Patrick Bergin - and directed by Cork native Mark Mahon. Now yours truly has also got involved! As an extra, I play one of four journalists outside a courthouse waiting for a major verdict to be announced. Vinnie Jones plays the bad guy emerging from the court, where he has been charged with murder. As you can see from this photo, he really dressed up for the occasion! Yeah, playing a journalist was a real stretch (ahem!) but I rose to the challenge.....

The first few hours were spent waiting around for something to happen... not in my own trailer with white lillies, evian mineral water and dark chocolate... but rather in an old bus, converted to accomodate tea and coffee-making facilities. We got fed a decent lunch later before being ferried up to St. Mary's Church which was the location for our scene. Viewers of RTE's Saturday morning TV show 'Sattitude' might recognise these two below posing as camera crew... it's presenters, Liam and Sinead. Very convincing in their roles, I thought, despite the fact that they are usually seen in front of the camera.

Several takes later, it was in the can...When the film is eventually released it will probably be a case of 'blink and you miss me', but so what... I met some great people on that day. We all agreed that it was an interesting experience, not your normal run of the mill day by any means. It was a long day (even if the film bosses called it a half day and paid us accordingly). I can't afford that Hollywood mansion just yet... but hey, baby steps, right? Now, when are they going to have a Best Extra gong at the Oscars.....

Still reminiscing about my recent time off... Update on the Ladies Mini Marathon which took place on Sunday, September 24th.... It was a great day... the weather even held off nicely, having been absolutely lashing the day before. I took part for the Irish Heart Foundation and while I am still collecting the money, it looks like I will eventually have a few hundred to hand over, thanks in no small part to my generous RedFM colleagues who had not only me to support, but also Dave Mac. Apparently there were 10,000 of us running and walking but despite that, I didn't meet a single soul I knew as I weaved my way through the crowd! I saw an endless sea of charity t-shirts though, all worthy causes. Here I am in mine:

Sisters are well and truly doing it for themselves... not only in the mini-marathon but also in the world of Art. I recently popped down to Clonakilty to see an exhibition called Mother Art, featuring 13 female artists. The venue was Buckley and Associates in Spillers Lane. I was especially delighted to meet exhibiting artist Geraldine O'Sullivan as I had purchased one of her prints at the Art Fair in City Hall this year and it was nice to put a face to the brush-strokes, so to speak! She is pictured below with her gorgeous daughter, Kate O'Brien, with her art-work in the background. Learn more on www.geraldineosullivan.com

I'm Back!!!!

Back at work at RedFM as of yesterday... 10 million e-mails to read and loads of catching up to do!

I wasn't away anywhere exotic, just hung out here in Cork and had a good time... bonded with my new niece Laura, went to the movies ('The Devil Wears Prada' - ok, 'Little Miss Sunshine' - excellent), went to Earth nightclub on the opening night, went salsa dancing a few times which was great fun, went to a reception in Kinsale to launch this weekend's Tio Pepe Gourmet Festival... and lots of other things which I'm sure I will remember later. Of course I had a " to do list" a mile long and most of the things on that remain undone... which causes a little bit of stress, I must admit.

Have a few photos to put up on the blog so will get to that in the next few days but for the moment, here's one of me and my friend Lisa at our friend Caitriona's recent wedding... this is after I had hot soup poured down my back at the meal... I survived! Lisa and I will be reunited later this month for her brother Jeremy's wedding which I'm really looking forward to. No doubt we will be burning up the dance-floor again... but let's hope I will be accident free where soup is concerned next time around!