17th August, 2000
Notice
Board
BACCHUS
Following on from
our previous article 7 tips to choosing wine in an off-license,
here are 7 tips for choosing a wine when eating out.
1. When choosing a restaurant take both the food menu and wine
list into consideration.
2. If you are unsure of the style of wine to choose, try a grape
variety you were happy with on a previous occasion, but maybe
from a different country. Do not be afraid to ask the advice of
the waiter/waitress.
3. Try to order your wine before your food, particularly in the
case of red wine, as this will allow the wine even more time to
breath before you consume, (Note, most red wines will taste much
better 30 minutes after opening.)
4. In the case of white wines make sure the wine is not over
chilled, as this will inhibit flavours and aromas.
5.If the wine you choose is available by the glass, ask to taste
before committing yourself to a bottle. When dining with a group
try white wine for the starter and move to red as the meal
progresses. This will keep everyone happy and will encourage
others to try a style which they otherwise would not have tried.
6. Wine should be presented to you unopened so you have the
opportunity to check if it is what you ordered and that the
vintage is correct. After it is opened you may taste and if the
wine chosen isn't to your satisfaction for whatever reason, send
it back. The restaurant will simply return it to their supplier
who will in turn return it to the producer. This is a basic fact
of the wine trade. Remember you're paying for it and your
satisfaction is the restaurants aim.
7. If you wish to finish your meal in style why not try a dessert
wine. They have a higher sugar content so they will be much
sweeter and in turn may also have a higher alcohol content.
Bacchus
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS - HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENTS
All workers whether full-time, part-time or contract workers are entitled to paid holidays. For further information regarding your holiday entitlement please call in to the Cobh Information Centre at The Parish Centre, Roches Row, phone us on 4814422 or email to cobh.cic@nssb.ie. Our reduced opening hours for August are 10.30 to 4.30 on Monday & Tuesday, 10.30 to 2.00 on Wednesday and 10.30 to 12.00 on Thursday.
THE DOUGLAS LINEN INDUSTRY
Taken from the History of Douglas by
Con Foley, part 2
The Carletons were no less prominent. Francis Carleton was Mayor
in 1780, and Lucas gives a Hue Carleton as Recorder of Cork
Corporation and Francis Carleton of Morrison's Island as Alderman.
In the order of time, Perry and Carleton are first mentioned as
proprietors of the Douglas factory. Under the date, June20, 1726,
Tuckey states "the Douglas factory was begun to be built"
but gives no further information. In his terse statement that the
Douglas sailcloth industry was founded by a colony of weavers
from Fermanagh, Lewis is both vague and suspect. But we are on
much firmer ground when we come to the petition of Samuel Perry,
sworn in Cork on March 27, 1750, in which he states that he has
been connected with the manufacture of sailcloth in Cork for
about twenty years. This is near enough to the year 1726. Mr.
Carleton, Samuel Perry's business partner, was a Cork merchant
who was known as "King" Carleton because of his wealth
and influence. About the time of the American War of Independence
(April 1775), he incurred severe losses through speculations and
this caused his downfall. "His name is written largely in
the early pages of the Ursuline annals. At the meeting of the
court of d'oyer, measures were proposed for the suppression of
the popish convent and schools in Cove Lane. Francis Carleton,
known locally as "King Carleton" called for common
sense. He pointed out that the children of the Catholic
mercantile families would once again be obliged to seek education
on the Continent." On the other hand it should not be
forgotten that Carleton was the judge that sentenced the Sheares
Brothers to death for their part in the United Irishmen
revolutionary organisation.
Robert Stephenson, a technical expert on the linen industry, who
visited every linen factory in Munster, Leinster and Connaught on
behalf of the Linen Board, in 1755, visited Cork on August 9th of
that year and reported: "Near this City and in it are
carried on the only Sail Cloth Manufacturers worth notice at
present in the Kingdom; Douglas Factory, the Property of Messrs.
Perry, Carleton and Co. contains about 100 Looms, with Boylers,
Cesterns, Kieves and every Apparatus for preparing the Yarn to
that Number which they kept employed till the Duty on Irish Sail
Cloth, that had drawn the Bounty was laid on in England; the Hemp
manufactured there now is entirely Foreign, they have been so
much discouraged by the London Market (to which they export
entirely) of late Years, and the Duty charged in England, with
other Occurrences, as to reduce their Number of Looms to about
fifty, and those are now employed."
Ten years later, Stephenson reported that the cloth manufacture
had extended and a Petition had been sent to Parliament to extend
the premises. Continued next week
IS ELVIS PRESLEY ALIVE?
We continue with our look at the somewhat controversal
evidence
In the weeks preceding his alleged death, Elvis's actions were
not those of a man who was about to embark on an extensive US
tour. He ordered no new suits despite having gained 50 pounds
since his last tour, and he bid "adios" at his last
show in Hawaii. He had never done this before. Adios, like the
French adieu, has the significance of being a final good-bye as
opposed to an "I'll be seeing you on my next tour" kind
of good-bye.
Others were intrigued by the King's decision to sign a lucrative
TV deal with NBC that would cover the tour. It was unprecedented
for a network to pay such a large amount up front, in cash, for
such a deal. Many wonder why Elvis even agreed to the deal since
his vanity discouraged him from making public appearances due to
his obesity.
RCA showed uncanny (and unbelievable) foresight by mass producing
millions of Elvis's current and previous recordings and
merchandise. This is standard practice for an act that is about
to go on tour, but the numbers in this case were beyond
reasonable expectations. The announcement of Elvis's death caused
record sales to skyrocket.
Elvis did other unusual things that created suspicion. First, he
fired several employees that he had relied upon for a long time.
Also, two days before his alleged death, Elvis telephoned a
friend of his named Miss Foster. He told her that he wasn't
planning on going on the upcoming tour. She asked him if he had
cancelled it, and he said that he had not. When she asked if he
was ill, he said that he was fine, and that she should not ask
any more questions or tell anyone anything, and that she should
not believe anything she read. He told her that his troubles
would all soon be over, and that he would call her in a few weeks.
The author of Elvis Where Are You? writes that Miss Foster took a
polygraph test regarding this story, and that she was not lying.
The day after Elvis's alleged death, a woman named Lucy De Barbon,
a former lover of Elvis, received a single rose in the mail. The
card indicated that the flower was from "El Lancelot."
This had been her pet name for Elvis, and it was a name that no
one else knew. Flowers can't be sent from beyond the grave. This
was Elvis's way of letting her know that he was not dead, even
though he didn't want to be found.
GODZILLA RIDES AGAIN
Unlike Elvis, Godzilla is alive and well. Created in 1954 for a Japanese film, the foam-and -rubber monster is busy making his 24th movie. Unlike the 1998 Hollywood version, this is the original man-in-the-monster-suit Godzilla smashing miniature buildings and cars and terrorising a frightened world. How this 46-year-old, low budget dinosaur will rate against the $130million two-year-old is something all movie fans will want to see. But don't write off the old guy just yet. In his day Godzilla has destroyed, astro monsters, sea monsters, smog monsters and the mighty Mortha, so beware you special-effects aficionados the die-hard Godzillamaniacs are Jurassic Parking their way towards you.
WALKWAYS AND TAKING-IN-CHARGE
Cllr. Deirdre Forde confirms that a Draft Report has been
prepared by the Committee who held oral hearing connected with
extinguishment of Public Right of Way in Ashford Court, Woodview
Pinecroft Grange. . The Committee are presently finalizing their
deliberations for the Report. "I understand that this Report
will be sent to Councillors in advance of the September Area
Roads Meeting and a decision should be forthcoming on the matter"
stated Cllr. Forde.
Taking-in-Charge of Estates.
Cllr. Deirdre Forde welcomes progress in the taking-in-charge of
a number of Estates in Douglas. "A £100,000 was allocated
in the Estimates this year to facilitate certain works which
needed to be done in advance of the taking-in-charge. While this
will lead to an improvement in the situation, we still have quite
a backlog" stated Cllr Forde. " I know that Officials
are working flat out to identify snag lists, works to be done and
to have all legalities finalised in relation to a number of
Estates."
" I understand that Frankfield will be taken in charge in
three to four weeks when the handing over of open spaces has been
agreed. The roads in this Estate have previously been taking in
charge by Cork County Council. Similarly, The Paddocks
Maryborough Hill is very close to being finalised also. Final
legalities are being teased out in relation to Broadale and
should be concluded within two months."
Consultants have also drawn up a scheme of works for Lissadell,
Marklands Wood and Maryborough Court and once these matters are
attended to Council will take these Estates in Charge. "At a
recent Area Roads Meeting, I requested a comprehensive list of
Estates to be Taken-in-Charge, the length of time awaiting to be
taken in charge and a progress report on each Estate. I will be
requesting that a written progress report in relation to these
matters, similar to Housing and Water & Sewerage Works
reports which are given to Councillors bi-monthly ."concluded
Cllr. Forde
CORK CAT CLUB
Entries have closed for the Cork Cat Club's annual Cat Show at St. Finbarr's Hurling & Football Club, Togher, on Sunday September 3rd. There will be a wide variety of exotic pedigree breeds on display as well as the more familiar "moggie" or household pet, with judging for the "Best in Show" and other big prizes. The Club are also hoping to run some sideshows of great interest to cat lovers. The show is open to the public from 1 to 5 PM and welcomes all visitors and families. But the organisers warn people against bringing their pets to the door hoping to put them in a competition class. The cats already entered have had to be vaccinated and have all their details recorded in an official catalogue. However, for all the other would -be show stars there's always next year!
PHONE BILLS
Local and national calls
For local calls, there is no significant difference in the per
minute rates of Eircom, Esat Clear, Ocean and IM. However, Eircom's
minimum call charge of 11.5p makes the cost of many local and
national calls significantly more expensive than with some of its
competitors. This is especially true for short calls - a one-minute
local call during the weekend costS 1l.5p with Eircom (minimum
charge) but only I.5p with Ocean.
Esat Clear charges the same rates for local and national calls,
and works out cheapest for national calls. Remember, a 3p call
set-up charge is added to the price of every Esat Clear call
within Ireland.
Calls to mobiles
There is no significant difference between operators; most charge
roughly the same rates as Eircom (22.99p per minute during
daytime hours). The best during daytime hours is Swiftcall (15p
per minute). One way to reduce your phone bill is to restrict the
number and duration of your calls to mobile phones. It is often
cheaper to call the USA than to call a mobile phone in Ireland.
International calls
You can make big savings on international calls by choosing the
cheapest operator.Eircom is the dearest for most international
calls. Spirit, Swiftcall and Switchcom are the best depending on
what country you call. Esat Clear and Ocean are competitive for
some international calls.
A SAMPLE BILL
The O'Neill family lives in Douglas, and is currently with Eircom.
Their last 2-monthly bill from Eircom had £119.06 in call
charges, consisting mostly of local and national calls, and calls
to mobile phones. They made a few calls to Britain and USA, but
international calls only accounted for £5.97 on their bill.
Based on the figures given by all seven operators we calculated
what the O'Neill's 2-monthly bill would be if they switched to
another operator.
Swiftcall and Switchcom are not included, as they target
consumers making international calls rather than local and
national calls.
We took minimum call charges, time of call (daytime, evening, and
weekend), and duration of call into account. The comparison was
complicated by operators using different definitions of 'evening'
and 'weekend'.
We found that the O'Neills could save money by switching to Esat
Clear, IM, Ocean, or by signing up for Eircom Options 30 or 50.
Their 2-month bill with Ocean would be £110.18, around the same
as with Esat Clear (£110.46), Eircom Options 30 (£110.83) and
slightly cheaper than Irish Multichannel (£113.24). The highest
bill was with Spirit (£123.42), but this could be reduced by
over £6 if weekend calls are made after 7pm on Saturday and
Sunday.
The cheapest bill was with Eircom Options 50 (£101.06). The O'Neills
would have to agree to a monthly call spend of at least £50.
However, Eircom say's that you can cancel the agreement if your
call-spend is not high enough, or switch between Options 30 and
50.
Eircom Options allow one annual minimum spend 'holiday' This
means that on the first occasion within 12 months you fall below
the minimum monthly spend (£30 or £50) you can still avail of
the lower Options call charges. After that you are charged the
minimum monthly spend.
We believe that consumers with a lower average call-spend than
the
O'Neills, and who are ineligible for Options, can make savings
with Esat Clear and Ocean. However, to connect to Esat Clear you
need one
Eircom bill from the last 6 months, showing at least £30 per
month in call charges. Ocean does not require a minimum call-spend
to get connected. You can make big savings on international calls
with Spirit, Swiftcall, and Switchcom.
The prices in the report are accurate as at 15 May 2000. However,
due to increased price competition and continuing changes in
European telecommunications, we will have to wait and see how
prices are affected in the future.
Eircom's monopoly on residential phones ended over 2 years ago,
and since then consumers have had an increasing choice of
companies. But choosing the best deal is tricky; price structures
are complicated and, for many people, switching operators seems
too much hassle.
CPS allows consumers to switch to a different operator without
installing additional equipment in their home. We hope that as
competition increases and intensifies, prices will be further
reduced.
There are savings to be made by shopping around. Taking the time
to make some calculations and a price comparison based on
your own phone calls can help to reduce your bill.
Next week Mobile Phone Charges.
ANXIETY ATTACKS
by Declan Cronin of Apex Clinic.
My first experience with a panic attack was when I was twenty-three
years of age. I was having my hair done and I vividly remember
the shaking sensation all over my body and then going into a
state of panic. I was sure I was going to collapse and so I made
an excuse that I had forgotten an urgent appointment and I rushed
home. I stayed out of work for two weeks until things settled
down. I returned to work and things were going well for the last
four years until about three months ago when I had another panic
attack, which has knocked me for six. I find myself to be
preoccupied with the thoughts that the panic attacks will return.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work,
Fiona.
Comment: You should first seek advice from your doctor and get a
proper diagnosis. There are various therapies available and they
would include medical, complementary, psychological, group
therapy etc. Psychotherapy has been proven to be very successful
in alleviating the symptoms of anxiety attacks and so you should
go to a therapist that has been recommended by someone you trust.
More next week.
CORK ARTS THEATRE
New Dublin Company comes to Cork Arts Theatre. Halo Theatre Company presents "Knock-Off" by Alan Weadick. An evening of surreal farce, mind games, power -tools and the odd Hank Williams number casting a cold eye on today's Ireland. 8.00 pm - Tuesday the 22nd to Saturday the 26th of August. Further information from: The Booking Office - Cork Arts Theatre - 021 4508398
RISING OR FALLING?
According to the latest British researcher, 24 is the age at which men's fertility begins to decline. Women's fertility begins to decrease at around 30.Someone should have explained that to Charlie Chaplin before he became a father at eighty-three. On a more serious note, figures twenty years ago showed men's rate slowing down at 50 and women at 35. The question is has the research become more accurate or is there something they are not telling us.
COOL CLEAR WATER
A reader recently showed us a bottle of "Spring Water", which was purchased locally and according to the label contained chlorine and fluoride. Our reader asked how could it be labelled spring water if it contained additives. Well to the best of our knowledge water labelled 'Mineral Water' must be bottled at source and not interfered with in any way, whereas 'Spring Water' can be any water as long as it complies with the EU Drinking Water Directive which covers all water intended for human consumption. We will have a more comprehensive look at the water issue in the near future. Meanwhile a Californian firm called Solar Solutions is saying that most of the Earth's fresh water supply is contaminated and the only way to get absolutely pure water is to distil it. And by sheer coincidence they are marketing a distillation unit for drinking water. The unit is a clear cone shaped devise that can be placed over a water source, the sun evaporates the water, which then condenses on the inner walls of the cone, flows down the side and is collected in a receptacle at the bottom. This might work well in California but somehow we don't have that much sunshine. However for anybody that can get his or her hands on an old 'Poteen Still' here's a golden opportunity to put it to a good legitimate use. There must be a demand for water that's 100% pure.
THE DAVY CROCKETT STORY
Antonine de Crocketagne was a French Huguenot who fled from
Normandy to England, and then to Cork around 1690. Very little is
know about him, other than he was a tough illustrious man and was
known to wear armour. Somewhere along the line he married and
sailed to America and settled in a log cabin in the Tennessee
wilderness. Language was a major problem amongst the emigrants of
the emerging nation, especially as most of the new arrivals were
of different nationalities, but English seemed to predominate so
in order to be more acceptable to his companions he abbreviated
his name to Crockett. Indians later murdered Antonine and his
wife in their log cabin. Their surviving son John, like his
father before him was a man of impatience and discontent, married
and tired of a miserable existence moved to a little settlement
called Cove Creek, where he went into partnership with a Mr.
Galbreath and erected a water mill to grind corn. The mill was
washed away in a storm and John, his wife Rebecca (nee Hawkins)
and, by this time, their four children moved again. Their fifth
child, a son, David was born in Greene County, Last Tennessee, on
August 17, 1786. In 1798, two years after the Crocketts opened a
tavern on the road from Knoxville to Abingdon, Virginia; John
Crockett hired his son out to Jacob Siler to help drive a herd of
cattle to Rockbridge County, Virginia. Siler tried to detain
David by force after the job was completed, but the boy escaped
at night by walking seven miles in two hours through knee-deep
snow. He eventually made his way home in late 1798 or early 1799.
Soon afterward he started school, but preferred playing
hooky and ran away to escape his father's punishment. This "strategic
withdrawal," as Crockett called it, lasted two and a half
years while he worked as a wagoner and day-labourer and at odd
jobs to support him self. When he returned home in 1802 he had
grown so much that his family did not recognise him at first.
When they did, he found that all was forgiven. Crockett
reciprocated their generosity by working for about a year to
discharge his father's debts, which totalled seventy-six dollars,
and subsequently returned to school for six months.
On October 21, 1805, Crockett took out a license to marry
Margaret Elder of Dandridge, Tennessee, but was jilted by her,
perhaps justly, since local legend intimated that he was a less
than constant suitor. He recovered quickly from the experience,
courted Mary (Polly) Finley, and married her on August 14, 1806,
in Jefferson County; they remained in the mountains of East
Tennessee for just over five years. Sometime after September 11,
1811, David, Polly, and their two sons,
John Wesley and William, settled on the Mulberry Fork of Elk
River in Lincoln County, Tennessee; they moved again in 1813, to
the Rattlesnake Spring branch of Bean's Creek in Franklin County,
Tennessee, near what is now the Alabama border. Crockett named
his homestead Kentuck.
He began his military career in September of that year, when he
enlisted in the militia as a scout under Major Gibson in
Winchester, Tennessee, to avenge an Indian attack on Fort Mimms,
Alabama. On November 3,under Andrew Jackson, Crockett
participated in the retributive massacre of the Indian town of
Tallussahatchee. He returned home when his ninety-day enlistment
for the Creek Indian War
expired on the day before Christmas, and re-enlisted on September
28, 1814, as a third sergeant in Capt. John Cowan1 5 company. He
arrived on November 7; the day after Jackson took Pensacola, and
spent his time trying to ferret out the British-trained Indians
from the Florida swamps. After his discharge in 1815 as a fourth
sergeant Crockett arrived home and found himself again a father.
Polly died the summer after Margaret's birth, although she had
been in good health when David returned. On May 21, 1815,
Crockett was elected a lieutenant in the Thirty-second Militia
regiment of Franklin County.
Before summer's end he married Elizabeth Patton, a widow with two
children (George and Margaret Ann), and he explored Alabama in
the fall with an eye towards settlement. He nearly died from
malaria-was
reported dead-and astonished his family with his "resurrection."
By about September of the next year the Crocketts had moved to
the territory soon to become Lawrence County, Tennessee, rather
than Alabama. They settled at the head of Shoal Creek, and David
continued his political and military career. He became a justice
of the peace on November 17, 1817, a post he resigned in 1819. He
became the town
commissioner of Lawrenceburg before April 1, 1818,and was elected
colonel of the Fifty-seventh Militia regiment in the county that
same year.
To be continued next week
