Diary of a busyish woman

Hi, An ad in the Southern Star nudged my train of thought for this post. Who are our heroes? How do we identify them? What makes a hero?  Those questions, I'm sure, aren't in a logical order and having recently attended a food safety course led by Denis Kiely , SQT-Training , I should have  a better grasp of this word, logic, and it's step by step thought process. But bear with me, I'm long in the tooth; suffice to say that I left the training knowing a lot more and knowing that I need to know a lot more!!! A sign of a really good course. But back to my original topic:- Hero.  It's a word that packs a punch. You don't call everyone you meet a hero and yet if we look hard enough, there are heroes to be found everywhere and most of them don't actually wear the word emblazoned on their backs or have halo's glowing brightly over their heads.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary , a hero is ' A person who is admired for their courage, outstan...

I'm clueless when it comes to looking under the hood of any mechanical vehicle. As long as it drives, I'm good to go. Radio on in the background, an open road and I can drive, enjoy the countryside where possible and just think. It's therapy for me. Unfortunately yesterday was one of those days when a little knowledge and indeed awareness would have been useful. Halfway through my deliveries, I found I had no brakes! I didn't hit anyone, do any further damage to the van or to myself. Parking at the garage - Brian Powell Motors - & being given the bad news that I could go no further, I was thankful for two things - cold, cold weather helped keep our products cold in the van, and when a replacement refrigerated van arrived from home, my van was still reading -1°C; the second thing was our customers' sympathy and help in the circumstances, so my thanks to S.V. Midleton ; Ballymaloe ; Castlemartyr and Market Lane Restaurant . At this, my final port of call for ...

My post earlier this morning could be construed as depressing and no doubt it is for all caught up in this horrific spiral, and now for something entirely different, last Saturday morning was a busy one in Quish's S.V., Ballincollig with a number of different companies doing tastings. I ended up near the front door so lots of people told me they could smell the pudding, rashers and bacon as they arrived to do their shopping. Hopefully they found our products on the shelf over the weekend and took them home to see if they could achieve the same results. I expected two special visitors, Bill & Janet King ,  from Wales. Bill has to come over here regularly to stock up on things like buttermilk and flour for their Irish Soda Bread which Bill bakes and sells in Wales. I knew they had planned to visit Midleton Market , but their thoughtfulness in bringing me an Arbutus 'pain au chocolat' from the market courtesy of Deirdre meant so much and also gave me a good laugh. ...

I can't believe we're over halfway through November. Today has been an extra long day in the unit but I'm looking forward to a Harp Recital in Bank of Ireland, Clonakilty, tomorrow. Last week to launch the Bank of Ireland Enterprise Week, they presented cheques to local charities from funds raised through various coffee mornings etc. It was really enjoyable to be there & tomorrow will be very special I have no doubt. All going well, I will have a fully charged phone & will be able to tweet a photo or two. Meanwhile ham orders are starting to trickle in, but I'm trying to ask everyone to have a chat with me before 8th December. I'll come back to this at another time. Meanwhile I'll be in Quish's S.V., Ballincollig on Saturday from 10am-1.30pm; then I'm looking forward to joining members of the newly formed West Cork Coeliac Support Group for Afternoon Tea in the Celtic Ross Hotel . If you're interested, check out the link as soon as possibl...