Well done to our winners on 'The Word'!

Well, as of today The Word has been completed again today on RedFM. On Red At Work with Philip Bourke, Gorettie Heffernan from Greenmount guessed the first word 'Travels' and then on Red Drive with Stevie G, the second word was guessed by Danny Lane from Carrigaline.. it was 'airport' - making the full sentence "Somebody who travels a lot is obviously gonna use an airport a lot". The sentence had originally been said by Richard Seaman on 'Cork Talks Back' in a coversation about Cork Airport and how it should perhaps be re-named Rory Gallagher Airport. Fair play to both of those winners, seeing as we only started with that particular sentence yesterday! Goretti won €1,666 ( one third of the prize pot) while Danny scooped €3,334, the remainder of the original €5,000 prize offered.
Last week we had a big winner when Mildred Donovan from Little Island landed the ten grand prize on The Red Rooster. The full phrase, as uttered by Rooster guest Noel Edmonds not long ago was: "Some people love the jeopardy and the emotion of it".

I missed all the excitement of that particular win as I was in Madrid for a few days break at the end of last week. Had a really great time - and hopefully when I get a few photos organised I will put them up on the blog, as well as a little story of my travels. The only down-side was that I came back with a cold...sniff. So alas, Lempsip is my tipple of choice at the moment. Saturday was the worst... you know when you're in the shivering stage of a cold or flu... well, that was me. I went out for a few hours in the evening and even wore a polo-neck - but was still shivering! Spent most of Sunday tucked up by the fire (well, the weather was brutal all day so it was the perfect time to basically do nothing!) and happily, I think I am on the mend now!

This n' That.

It's been too long since I checked in with you all!

Well, The Word is running nicely on RedFM now since Monday, probably driving everyone mad. Tune in everyday to see if you can guess the missing words in the sentence... and then face the challenge of trying to get through on the phones... the lines are going absolutely crazy!

Yesterday evening I had the honour of presenting FETAC certificates to girls who had trained at Bruac Community Training Centre. Bruac is a centre for girls who are homeless or early school leavers. Mainstream education doesn't suit everyone and so it is great that there is such a centre that can cater for these girls' needs and offer them a second chance. Some of the girls have since moved on from the centre and are engaged in other courses or work.

How are you all getting on with the RedFM competition in the Holly Bough publication? All you have to do is identify the RedFM presenters whose faces are superimposed onto some rather fetching Santa suits... You could win €1,000 so grab a copy today!

Random thoughts....

My only gripe with the jazz festival and indeed with drinks sponsored festivals in general, is the refusal of bar staff to serve non-alcoholic beers. I understand that if it's a Guinness sponsored festival we shouldn't walk up to the bar and ask for a Murphys - that's fine. However, if like me, you're driving a lot and want to order a non-alcoholic beer, you should be able to... if Guinness don't want to provide a non-alcoholic beer from its brewery, then they should step aside and allow us to choose a so-called rival's non-alcoholic brand... otherwise what are they doing - encouraging me to drink and drive? Forcing me to drink and drive? Well, while they'll never succeed to that end, endless Coca-Colas and mineral waters don't really float my boat. Shame on the breweries for their selfishness, I say! And it's not just Guinness either... the same thing has happened to me at a Budweiser sponsored festival. Very bad form....

Speaking of drink, I've been stopped in my car at Garda checkpoints a whopping three times in the past week and a half... plus another time as well about five weeks ago. I've never actually been bagged though.... I think they can tell that I have an innocent (and sober!) face. The gardai this week issued drink driving arrest figures, which they maintain are way up on the same period last year. However, I don't know how they can pass this off as an accurate comparison as there is no way that they were as vigilant themselves in catching drink-drivers this time last year. In fact I don't think I've ever been stopped at such a checkpoint before in my whole life! They are definitely pursuing a major crackdown at the moment... so of course the figures will be higher. It's amazing though how many people are still taking the chance... silly billys... it's not like the message isn't loud and clear!

Was at a great party in SoHo during the week... it was the official opening of the bar (even though it's been open for quite a while at this stage) and also the launch of new Cork social magazine RSVP. With three floors open, it was great to just wander around and take in the atmosphere... a saxophonist played around one corner, a girl sat crooning at a piano on another level, while the lads from the Roaring 40s entertained on the ground floor. Finger food did the rounds as well as an abundance of Murphys/Champagne concoctions. Met so many people I knew that I was busy chatting the whole time and alas, never got to take any photos! Meanwhile, the magazine features Michael Flatley and new bride Niamh O'Brien on the cover... so check it out...
In the absence of a photo from the party, here's one taken at the opening of the Carlton Hotel in Kinsale in September. I'm the small one in pink next to statuesque models Corina Grant, Samina Zia and Stephanie Barry.