5 MINUTES WITH - DAWN FLANAGAN

Dawn Flanagan is nineteen and is originally from Dublin. She now lives in Buncrana with her mum and has two sisters Sarah and Emma and a brother, Michael who is busy working in Dublin. Dawn has spent the last year and a half working in the Town Clock Café on the Main Street in the town, which was taken over by Amanda Gill (Doherty) in January.

Dawn recently took part in, and won, the iCare charity fundraiser to find the “Face of Inishowen.” Her prizes included a hamper from Loreal, a night away in the Slieve Russel Hotel in County Cavan and a years contract with Converse Modelling Agency based in Derry. Dawn is always on the go and loves travelling so the contract will help her get to new and exciting places.

What music are you listening to at the moment?
Bits of everything. Kings of Leon are really good and I am also enjoying Beyoncé. I also listen to a bit of R+B.

What book are you reading?
I used to do quite a lot of reading, especially when I was at school. I don’t really have much time now and just tend to look through the magazines like New Mag in the café at break times.

What was your favourite childhood game?
If I were outside it would be games where you ran around like 40-40. Indoors I was competitive and although I didn’t win very often, I enjoyed Monopoly. My favourite piece to be was the dog….

Have you rented a DVD recently and was it any good?
I watched Tropical Thunder directed by Ben Stiller and starring loads of well-known actors. It’s about a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie who are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying. I enjoyed it but it’s not the type of film you want to see again.

What section of the newspaper do you turn to first?
I go to the style and fashion sections, as I like to see what people are wearing.

What would you never throw away?
Photos of friends and nights out. I like to look back on them to see the changing fashions. My mum still has my first school photo…

Favourite TV programme?
I enjoy American comedy dramas. Desperate Housewives, Greys Anatomy and of course the old favourite sit com…Friends.

What job did you want to do when you were younger?
I had very high expectations for myself when I was younger. I realise now that it takes hard work and determination to get a professional job. I did always want to travel, and that is still high on the list.

Where was your best holiday and what made it special?
Two years ago I went to Santa Ponza, Mallorca in Spain. There were 20 of us go over when we finished 5th year. It was a real adventure with lots of activities like rafting and snorkelling.

What do you do for a special treat?
Well, one of my favourite treat is to go out shopping….for clothes of course. I also enjoy organising girly nights in with a bottle of wine and a DVD. We will go out for a meal sometimes too.

Favourite animal?
I have had loads of animals and they were all my favourites. My sister Sarah and I have had dogs, hamsters and budgies, not all at the same time of course…

Biggest thrill?
When I was eight we went to Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire. It’s a massive play park and had fantastic water rides and roller coasters. I still like fast rides.

Biggest Challenge?
I found the leaving cert hard. You have to be very disciplined and I was always just enjoying the craic.

What was the best present you ever got?
I have got a lot of use of an iPod touch that I got last Christmas. It’s definitely the most useful present I have had.

What was the last thing you bought just for yourself?
I went shopping in Dublin and bought clothes.

What charity would you support?
I was involved in the iCare fashion show recently and raised money for them. It’s a great project.

The world’s most irritating invention?
The phone can be really irritating, especially when you want to be left alone.

Best/ worst birthday present?
I always love to get money, clothes or handy things like a camera. I haven’t really had any bad presents although I don’t really care much for bath stuff.

Favourite past-time?
Going out and socialising is top of the list. I go out to Liberty’s nightclub and O’Flaherty’s bar in Buncrana.

What do you have for breakfast?
Cereal this morning, Special K, I also have a cup of tea or coffee most mornings to wake me up.

Do you have a favourite cartoon character?
Stewie from Family Guy. He has such a hilarious accent, I could listen to him moan on all day.

What was your first paid job?
Babysitting. I often did it for my cousins and friends of my mums. My aunties were very generous and would often give me up to €20-30 euro for the night.

Best/worst household chore?
I am pretty used to household chores working in the Town Clock and like things to be tidy in my own kitchen, I can’t relax otherwise. The two things in the house I could do without would be getting the coal in and vacuuming.

What are the best words of encouragement you have been given?
Follow your own instincts and do what you feel is the right thing.

Personal philosophy?
To keep positive, enjoy your freedom and travel.

Bad Sandwich Experience

Normally when I'm at a food place, I like to order the biggest size of a food available. It's because I'm an important person. So when I was at a sandwich shop last week, I ordered two of the large sub sandwiches. One was a hot meatball sub, and the other was a cold sub. The plan was that I would eat the hot one there and take the cold one with me. I didn't get any drink with it because drinks are for suckers. I sat down to eat my sandwiches and listen to other people make their orders, because I like to eavesdrop on business transactions. About half a dozen people made orders, and I noticed that they were all ordering medium size sandwiches, not large. This was making me really nervous. Maybe everybody knows something about sandwich sizes that I don't. I'm relatively new at eating sandwiches here. I've only done it maybe five or six times in all. I don't quite feel part of the sandwich shop subculture. I started thinking that maybe the large and medium size are the same size but the price is a lot higher. Afraid that everyone but me was in on one big joke, I wrapped up the other half of my second sandwich and got out of there. (Oh, my plan had changed at one point: at first I was going to not eat the second sandwich at all, but then I decided I'm a big guy, I should eat both of them right then and there.)

So now today, I was back at the sandwich shop again. I knew the secret code this time. Nobody would laugh at me. I looked at the guy taking orders and told him I wanted two medium subs (one was bacon, the other was bits of steak or something). I felt pretty good about myself, like we had just become best buddies. I could rely on him and tell him all my secrets. We shared a deep telekinetic link. But then, I looked forward for a bit and saw the line of people at the drinking fountain. They had these huge clear plastic cups. You can't get a cup like this if you order a small or medium drink. I turned back to the cash register and saw a stack of them, then quickly added onto my order one large drink. He gave me the big cup and I took it right over to the drink fountain. Now, I know the secret about drinking fountains; I'm not stupid. Ice takes up a lot of space and ends up watering down the drink, so if you put ice in your cup, you lose at drinking fountains. I knew the plan, but then as I was about to fill the cup with tea, I started to get nervous. What if they catch me not using ice? I'm supposed to be on the sandwich shop's side now. My new best friend certainly wouldn't think highly of my actions. So I compromised and put in a small amount of ice cubes, against what I knew was right. Still being nervous, I messed up big time on selecting a top for the cup, taking the one for the medium cup instead. I quickly took it off and tried to shove it under the drink stand. I don't think anyone saw. I took the largest size one next and it fit. But now I had another problem: there were two selections of straws for me to choose from. Being nervous still, I took the ones in the opaque paper covers since I'm more comfortable with straws coming that way, but at the last second I suspected that the ones in the clear covers were longer and meant for my large cup. It was too late though, I couldn't go back. I had already made too many mistakes here. My next move was to sit down so that I would appear as a customer who was planning on eating in the shop, not taking the food somewhere else. It's important to know how to correctly broadcast social signals. As my sandwich is called out by the employee that made it, I made sure to ignore the first call. I didn't want to seem too eager to have the sandwich. I'm a pretty cool dude. I don't need the sandwich. After the second call of my order, I got up, took my sandwiches and returned to my seat. When I unwrapped them, I was totally shocked. They looked so tiny and not bursting with meat! I was so embarrassed! Here I was with these wimpy sandwiches not befitting of a great sandwich eater like myself, and a ridiculously large drink to go with them. I managed to enjoy the sandwiches as best I could under the circumstances, and ran out of the store, ashamed of myself.

TRANSITION

Transition Inishowen

Transition Inishowen have been raising awareness of what life will be like for us here in Inishowen when the demand for oil exceeds the supply. The group have been showing films in Carndonagh, Moville and Buncrana, which have been introducing the concept of peak oil. This shows that the supply of oil is running out and will be much more expensive to extract in the future. The twin issues of peak oil and climate change are now being realised as a reality and the transition town movement aims to explore how we might reduce our energy needs yet still maintain a rewarding life style. Climate change makes reducing our carbon footprint essential, peak oil makes it inevitable and Transition initiatives gives us practical ways to go about it.

Sustainability
So how will Inishowen feed itself beyond peak oil? Transition Inishowen member Claire Gilmour says, “Inishowen needs to be able to meet its own needs. This movement is about people working together, re-localising everything, supporting local cottage industries and growing our own food.”

The Transition Town movement started in Kinsale, Co Cork in 2005 (where the Town Council took the historic step of adopting the plan to work toward energy independence), and has since spread like wildfire across the world with participating towns in many countries including the UK, Australia, Chile, Japan and the USA. It plans to be a positive and hopeful movement where people use the same creativity, ingenuity and adaptability that was used when oil became more plentiful now that energy resources are depleting.

Local Community
Here in Inishowen, with the recession biting, we are already seeing local people and businesses becoming more aware of keeping as much of their spending power in the community as possible and Claire sees this as a positive step.

“Every-one can make a difference,” she explains with passion. “We need to work together. If we wait for the government, it will be too little, too late. If we act as individuals, it will be too little, but if we act as communities, it might be just enough, just in time.”

Transition Inishowen sees connecting with local groups as a vital step in the process. “There are some great community groups out there, ” she explains but Transition Inishowen is not just another group. “It is not something you join, but will involve every-one. It is about increasing resilience in the community, strengthening existing groups and working together.”
The new group are following the transition town process of raising awareness (through the film screenings), creating forums for discussion on all relevant topics such as economics, energy uses and food production. Transition Towns also put on all sorts of events such as tree planting, how to forage for food, growing vegetables etc in order to increase skills and networks within the community.

Optimistic
Claire feels very optimistic about the Transition in Inishowen. “We are in a good spot for alternative energies such as wind and waves,” she begins “ and we have people within the community who can still remember the old ways so that their memories and skills are still with us.” She pauses for a moment, thinking. “We have cottage industries such as tweed-making, basket weaving and carpentry and there is a wealth of art and music here, so we will never be short of craic,” she smiles.

Films
The next two events run by Transition Inishowen will be The End of Suburbia, which will be screened on Sat 21st March in the IDP offices in Pound Street from 2pm –4pm. Then on Saturday 4th April (2pm –4pm), there will be a showing of the film Peak Oil –Imposed by Nature, followed by a talk by charismatic speaker Dr John Barry who is a Professor of Environmental Politics and Sustainability at Queens University, Belfast as well as a member of the Transition Town in Holywood Co. Down.

If you are interested in the Transition Town movement you can check out the website http://www.transitiontowns.org/ or phone Claire 074 9378577 or Bev and Mike Doherty on 074 9374581.

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 47

The Lion and the Sheep

A Zen Story

A herd of sheep lived by the side of a mountain. One day, the herd came across a small copper-coloured lump of fur. A ewe bent down sniffing carefully watching its small chest rise with each breath. She lay down beside it to give it warmth and see if it would wake up. At last the small furry bundle began to stir and the ewe licked its face as it nuzzled closer finding warm milk to drink.

Time went on and the ewe continued to take care of the foundling as part of the herd. She looked different but went along with the herd up the mountain paths, drank out of the streams and nibbled the grasses like all good sheep.

She was a lion, but lived among sheep. She became very good at spotting dangerous animals, so she guarded the herd at night and moved in front of the herd during the day.

One day, on the meadow, a roar rang out and the herd ran together for safety, except the lion. She stopped and turned toward the noise. Around the tree, came another lion. “Come with me” the stranger said. The lion saw her reflection in the drinking water and could see her true self, reflected there and in the eyes of the lion. For the first time in her life, she was not different but part of another family, one that she had yet to discover. She knew what she had to do. Saying goodbye to her adopted family she left the safety of the herd and headed into the mountains with her new friend to honour and discover her true self.

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Pulls

Taking care of your health and well being makes you feel good about yourself in many ways

We are living in a fantastic place to keep ourselves healthy in body and mind with all sorts of resources available locally -many of them free.

Youth and community centres are great local resources for all sorts of activities that can keep you physically and mentally active and healthy


In today’s current economic climate, people are quickly realizing that they have to be part of the solution, to take action, and gain more control of their lives. Keeping healthy in body, mind and spirit is a personal decision and can be less work than you think. Here are some top tips.

· Feel good about your decisions. Bin the guilt.

· Choose exercises you will enjoy and start off in small steps. If you are sociable, try a dance class, if you are spiritual what about yoga and tai chi. If you like a bit of peace and quiet try running (you only have to go around the block at a very slow jog the first day).

· Remember when you felt when you were at you fittest. Get out a photo from that time and pin it up. It will help you keep your goal in mind.


· Get active. Put dance music on when doing housework, play football with the kids. Get the bikes out again for the spring.

Diet

“You are what you eat”

Eating a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg and less fatty and junk food will increase your energy levels and your immune system. Make small changes such as cutting out snacking on biscuits and have some raw carrots instead. Cut down on tea and coffee and try herbal tea or even hot water.

If you have the occasional treat or binge, don’t feel bad, enjoy it and start again the next day.

Inishowen
We are living in a fantastic place to keep ourselves healthy in body and mind with all sorts of resources available locally -many of them free. Our landscape and natural environment is a real asset to our local community. There are fantastic walks, beaches and hills that tourists from all over the world pay a fortune to come over and enjoy. Spending time outside, walking, cycling, gardening is such a great way to keep healthy, physically and mentally. Get wrapped up and get out there. You will get fitter and feel better.

Golf
Golf is a great way to keep fit and healthy on so many levels. Meeting up with others to play, network and have a bit of craic gets you out of the house for a wee break (that’s bound to be good for you). It can help with mental performance as when you are playing well and are in ‘the zone’ your mind is perfectly quiet and of course you are moving your body walking and taking your shot.

(Don’t forget your warming up exercises if you haven’t played for a while).

North West Golf Club Suspends Entry Fee
North West Golf Club has suspended their First Time Members’ Levy for a limited time so first time members just pay the annual subscription for the season. They have also held their green fees at last season’s prices so if you are playing Monday to Friday it is €30 (or €20 if you are playing with a member) and €35 on Saturday and Sunday (€25 if playing with a member).

They also have special Green Fee rates for players who prefer their golf in the late afternoon. These ‘Twilight’ Green fees will begin in June and cost €15 after 7pm (Mondays to Fridays), €18 after 6pm at the weekend).

Crazy Fit Massage
This power vibration machine is hitting Inishowen by storm. You can hire a machine to use in the comfort of your own home for only €25 per month. It is a great machine for toning and losing weight without having to put any effort in yourself. You simply plug it in, stand on the plate, switch it on and away you go. A ten-minute workout is the same as an hour in the gym. Contact John McLaughlin on 087 2074527

Youth and Community Centres
Youth and community centres are great local resources for all sorts of activities that can keep you physically and mentally active and healthy.

Clonmany Youth and Community Centre
In Clonmany they have a special offer for March with gym membership only €250. There are all sorts of activities on for children and young people (from under 9’s to under 18’s) including indoor football, badminton, uni-hoc, martial arts, disco dancing and boxing. Linda Brady teaches gymnastics on Wednesdays.

Volunteer
Helping out in your local community is also a great way of keeping your body and mind active especially if you have more time on your hands then you are used to. Clonmany Youth and Community Centre are always looking for volunteers for basketball, art, drama, indoor athletics, table tennis or for their games room. If you have an hour or two to spare during the week, or are interested in any of the classes and offers, please contact the centre on 074 9376772

Buncrana Youth Club
Buncrana Youth Club also has great activities on that can help you get fit for summer. Kathy’s Irish dancing for adults is a fun and popular way to get fit and have a bit of craic. Classes are held on Mondays and Thursdays at 8pm.

If you prefer your dancing less traditional the check out the dimensions dance club on Saturday at 6.30pm All ages are welcome and the qualified dance instructors are Linda Brady and Danielle Duddy. Boxing is always popular locally for men and women. Training is on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays between 6.30 and 8pm.

KERNANS IN NEWTOWNCUNNINGHAM

Kernans in Newtowncunnigham is celebrating this Friday with an open day. The day is to publicly introduce its move to Eurospar, giving greater value to you the customer, as well as to show off the new diner.

The fun kicks off about 11am with give-aways, spot prizes, free coffee and food and of course tremendous value in store. Highland Radio’s Lee Gouch and Steven Lynch will be joining in the festivities broadcasting live throughout the afternoon.

Situated in the heart of the community, the new, recently revamped, store is many things to many people. Having moved from a convenience store, the supermarket is now bigger, brighter and better value. Having global buying power, Eurospar, means that prices in the store are 20% less this year – just what customers need these days.

Natural Meeting Place
The 100-seater diner has been expanded (from 60) which means that there is plenty of room to eat and meet. Because of the location on the main Derry to Letterkenny route (or the Belfast to Galway road as one commuter noted), it has become a natural meeting place for business folk and locals alike. People can relax with a coffee or catch up with some work using the wireless broadband connection.

Speaking of coffee, Kernans is the only shop outside Dublin with a Barista Insomnia Coffee Dispenser. This coffee has become extremely popular with locals as well as the ‘dashboard diners’. The specially imported, roasted beans are very fresh and could certainly spoil you for other coffees.

Buying locally
Although Kernans now have global buying power, they still like to source as much produce as possible locally. Most of their fresh goods come from local suppliers and they used local builders for the new revamp.

Fresh Meat
The new butchery department has two local butchers who previously worked at McGees butchers in Letterkenny. The meat is all sourced locally, bought on the bone and butchered properly. It is not bought in ready prepared so you can be sure of quality meat at Kernans.

Biggest Local Employer
Anthony Kernan who runs the shop originally played football in England for Wolverhamton Wanderers. After he hurt his knee he came back home and went to Jordanstown to study business and finance. He decided to help his family set up Kernans for six months back in 1990 and has been there ever since. Anthony is proud to be one of the largest employers in the area with the shop employing 80 people locally. He also has a shop in Ramelton and is opening another in Stranorlar soon.

“Others may be downsizing, but I feel that spending the money on the expansion will help to safeguard future employment in these uncertain times,” Anthony explains.

New Appointment
Anthony has seen the shop reinvent itself four times over the years and there are always changes happening. “We are lucky to have just appointed a new manager, Liam Igoe who is coming to us from Buncrana Supervalu” Anthony, says “He has loads of skills and experience.”

Value Value Value
Anthony understands that it is all about value for money these days and Kernans is happy to provide this. Special offers at the moment include three easter eggs for €3.50. Now that is eggciting!

MARY D'S IN QUIGLEYS POINT

Mary Doherty will be busy today keeping her St Patrick’s Day customers satisfied with top quality food from Mary D’s take-away in Quigleys Point. Mary has recently taken over the business (formerly McCreadies) and has been busy expanding the menu, sourcing first class ingredients as well as starting an outside catering service offering great grub for birthday parties, confirmations and special events.

“I love what I do,” Mary explains. “I really enjoy working with the food and having the craic with the customers.” It is not just about fun for Mary though. She aims to set very high standards in the food she offers.

Quality
“I buy the best quality ingredients available. The potatoes are chipped fresh every day and I buy the highest graded spud you can get. The burgers are made from minced steak. It is 100% Irish beef and all the meat is supplied by local butchers,” she says with pride.

Buying locally to support the community is important to Mary. “I think in the times that’s in it we need to shop locally and give every-one a wee bit of a chance,” she explains.

Low Prices
Mary has the same supportive attitude toward her customers. “Although I have been improving the quality of food, I am keeping the prices the same as I want to suit the customers pockets in these days,” she says.

She has also been expanding her menu and offering the customers a wider range of options adding chicken breasts and spicy beef amongst others to her usual fare of take away, pizzas and kebabs.

Qualifications
Mary, originally from Burnfoot, now lives in Ture. She had been working in the take-away before she took it over and had previously been in hotels for about twelve years. She started off washing dishes in the Inishowen Gateway and then moved on to working with the chef in the kitchen and managing the accommodation. In her spare time Mary went to the North West Regional College in Derry where she got her qualifications in catering. As if she wasn’t busy enough with her new business, Mary is planning to return to college. “I am planning to go back and complete my higher levels,” she says.

Support
So how was it for Mary taking over the business? “I felt very nervous at the beginning,” she confides. “You know, taking on a new project and all. But I have to say it is really working out well.” She pauses for a moment, thinking.

“I have to say that I have had great support from my family and I am really lucky with Emer, who works with me –she is not just an employee, she is a friend too and is always there. The customers have been great too.”

If you would like to contact Mary for her outside catering service you can call her on 0874187530