The Gloss Magazine July 2011

Summer wine and food / creative ventureS / Shapely gardenS / beauty buffet / gloSSip

MaGaZINe july 2011 / t4.50

onth with m y r e v e w no Es risH Tim

THE i

Summer without

Men local beauty Ali Hewson

In At the Deep enD

Three Women Learn A Language

Fashion’s Colourful Character summer Living three houses three looks

Boodles Wonderland 71 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 | T: 01 679 0203 | www.boodles.ie

DATES

For Your Diary July 2011

ON THE COVER: Multi-colour crepe dress, VERSuS. THiS pagE: Navy velvet jacket and matching skirt, from the new TOm FORd ready-to-wear collection, at Brown Thomas, Dublin, from the end of July.

Photographed by daymiON maRdEl. Styled by luiS ROdRiguEz. See page 26 for fashion.

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observer 6 Gloss-ip The launch of a special liTerary supper club 8 Off The Record mary davis up close and personal shopping 11 Hunting jungle fever

12 Gathering naTural selecTion 14 Back To Black glamorous swimwear soluTions 16 Wardrobe Update ciTy shorTs: how To wear Them features 18 Summer Without Men women go on reTreaT 20 Look The Business day in The life of a business woman 21 July In A Different Colour polly devlin recalls The marching season 24 Repeat After Me new ways of learning a language fashion 26 Sea Of Colour make an impacT wiTh brighTs beauty 33 Local Beauty home-grown skincare 34 Beauty Buffet This monTh’s gorgeous new producTs home 37 Getting Away From It All summer house sTyle food & wine 40 Restaurant kaTy mc guinness visiTs mulberry garden plus A Summer Lunch clodagh mc kenna’s simple al fresco fare 41 This Glossy Lifestyle a moveable feasT: ouTdoor furniTure 42 Wine mary dowey’s perfecT maTches plus This Entertaining Life carina mc grail’s recipe for success travel 43 Man In A Suitcase Tim magee on london in The summer this glossy life 45 The Heart Of Business creaTive business venTures 48 A View From The Jeep connie reduces The counTry’s debT

plus She Does, She Doesn’t singer, acTor and muse jane birkin on pleasing The men in her life 4 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

Sarah mc d on n ell STy l E E diTOR

ai Sli n n coffey bE auT y E diTOR

Sarah halli wel l a R T diR E CTOR

l aura merri gan a dVE R TiSiN g Sa l E S diR E CTOR

Tracy ormi STon CON TR ibuT iN g E diTOR S

P olly dev l i n, lyn n en ri ghT, an Ton i a harT, caTheri n e hean ey, kaT y mc g ui n n eSS, mary mi l ler, aoi fe o’b ri en, P eTer o’b ri en, Sarah owen S, ThereS e Qui n n, roSe mary roche, lui S rodri guez, naTa Sha Sherli n g CON TR ibuT iN g pH OTOgR a pH E R S

juan algari n, Si ob han byrn e, Sarah doyle, n ei l gav i n, renaTo ghi azza, ol i v i a graham, n ei l hurley, l iSa l of Tu S, barry mc cal l, joan n e murP hy, l i am murP hy, ameli a ST ei n, Suki ST ua rT THE GlOSS welcomes letters from readers, emailed to letters@thegloss.ie.

THE GlOSS is published by Gloss Publications Ltd, The Courtyard, 40 Main Street, Blackrock, Co Dublin, 01 275 5130. Subscriptions Hotline: 01 275 5130. 12 issues delivered directly to your address: Ireland: t49.50. UK and EU: t80. Rest of world: t115. Printed by Polestar, Chantry, UK. Colour origination by Typeform. Copyright 2011 Gloss Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.

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july

A LiTerarY eveNiNg with good food and great conversation ... where irish TeeNs are going for the summer ... plus how re-iNveNTioN is the name of the game ...

W

ild about Wilde ...

hostels and three meals a day from McDonald’s as it

Glossy ladies (and

was in our day. We hear of one group of boys who have

men)

descended

planned their itinerary to take in the best golf courses

on Dublin’s best-

around Europe and have rented apartments (some with

kept

hot tubs) in each city they plan to visit. We say that’s the

secret

culinary –

Wilde

kind of stuff that got us into this mess in the first place.

restaurant at The







Westbury – for the inaugural Literary Supper, co-

Less than a year after their Café Mao chain went into

hosted by The Gloss and The Doyle Collection with

receivership, rosie and graham camPbell are

the writerly element presented by Telegraph columnist

back in the restaurant business. The newly-opened Hen

and author of Coco Chanel, The Legend and The Life

House on the Dun Laoghaire seafront – right next door

Justine Picardie. Fresh from her success at the Hay

to one of the Mao outlets they used to own – is all about

Festival, Justine’s warmly engaging account of her work

free-range that has had a re-vamp: the Irish chicken and

(interspersed with references to her own life, the tragic

pricing is in keeping with the mood of the moment.

death of her sister from breast cancer and the







recent break-up of her marriage) underlined the

The good people of Monkstown will have heard

intimate atmosphere. Champagne, a wonderful

that Avoca is taking over the premises currently

menu (the best prawn cocktail ever) and copies of

occupied by Seagreen. sarah gill’s operation

the new paperback edition with cover illustrated

is moving to a smaller space a few doors away and

by Karl lagerfeld inspired a deluge of calls to

will concentrate on chic fashion labels. Locals can

this office the next day ... As tickets sold out within

expect the eclectic retail offering and delicious,

a week, watch this space for news of the next one. 

hearty food with which Avoca is associated – and parking to be worse than ever.



If The Hamptons are anything to go by, the mood







in America is definitely lifting. The start of the

Talking of fashion and reinvention, we met lily allen

season has brought new places to eat, shop and

and her sister sarah owen, the duo behind new label Lucy in Disguise (see page 45) when they presented

party, but the mood has shifted from what the New York Times calls ‘the go-go 2000s’. “Instead of magnums of Cristal, it’s now about communal seaplanes, hipster charities and hippie festivals.” The lower key vibe of Montauk is very much in favour, with Ruschmeyers’ offering of local seafood served at long picnic tables set to make it the place to hang out this summer. Club-wise, Elm in Southampton is channelling a burlesque theme, while South Pointe in Easthampton brings the French Riviera to Long Island. There’s a Nobu pop-up too, as

Literary Ladies (Clockwise from top left): Justine picardie; Cara twohig and samantha Libreri; anne o’Connell, Louise Crivon and denise Meade; aisling and geraldine McQuillan; Louise rafferty and Louise stephenson.

their collection for the first time at Brown Thomas recently just prior to the singer’s wedding. Lucy in Disguise is a collection of vintage-inspired pieces with more than a little of Allen’s own style DNA – the 1970s jumpsuits, subtly flapper-ish beaded dresses and 1950s prom numbers are sure to be a hit, judging by the long line of pretty young women who lined up to meet Allen (who afterwards revealed she was pregnant). “Having a vintage shop in London, we felt there were limitations

it real. There, the Fifth Class end of term test included a

with original pieces – the fit wasn’t right, or there was

Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council is working on a project

problem which read: if there are five Arctic Monkeys and

only one of them,” said Owens. Allen, (stunning in

to re-brand the town and to make empty retail spaces

three Kings of Leon at a bus stop …

the flesh, by the way), once installed with coffee and a

well as pop-up shops and galleries. Closer to home, Dun

available as pop-ups. Do you suppose that there’s any chance that Nobu could be enticed to Ireland?







Pity the parents. Not only do they have to fork out for

strawberry smoothie, was sanguine about being charged 40 quid for not printing her Ryanair boarding pass before

the cost of post-Leaving Cert holidays to Shagaluf, Port

travelling to Dublin. (The fact that she travelled Ryanair

At least one south county Dublin school for young ladies

of Abuse and I’m a Knacker, but they subject themselves

at all was impressive although she did travel with her

doesn’t appear to have heard about the recession. The

to a week of sleepless nights as they fret about what their

monogrammed luggage – sweetly LRC – Lily Rose Cooper,

Second Year summer maths exam featured a question

beloved offspring are getting up to while they’re away.

her married name.) The two sisters say they are massively







which began: If eight girls have a villa in Portugal and

The alternative PLC holiday is, of course, inter-railing –

proud of their achievement. “We never wanted a celebrity

13 girls have a villa in France … Meanwhile, in the

favoured by those who did their utmost to avoid Wezz

fashion collection”, says Allen, “we wanted to design

Educate Together NS down the road, they were keeping

during their school years. Not that it’s all bed-bug ridden

clothes that were fun and fabulous and affordable.” n

6 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

photog raphs by anth ony woods

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off the record Describe your family?

How do you clear your mind and relax?

Johnathon 28, Rebecca, 26, Emma, 24, Patrick,

I go for a run at six o’clock every morning, and I love

22. Johnathon and Rebecca have started their own

playing golf, whenever I get the time. I also adore

businesses, Emma is doing an internship in New

rummaging in antique shops.

York, and Patrick has just returned from New York,

Do you describe yourself as a Mayo woman?

he took a year out there after college.

I am immensely proud of my Mayo roots, but I’ve been living in Dublin for the past 30 years. I’m from Mayo, but describe myself as Irish.

The formula for your working wardrobe?

Black and white. With a splash of Rebecca Davis

What incorrect assumptions do people make about you?

jewellery, of course!

What gets your goat?

I think because of the area I work in people assume I’m a thoroughly nice person, but I do have a steely disposition when necessary, and am very determined.

People not treating others with fairness or respect, particularly the very young, the elderly, or those with a disability. Everyone should be treated fairly.

Which previous President do you most admire?

What is the single biggest change you would like to see in Irish life over the next five years?

I think each of the eight Presidents has honoured Ireland, but I think the last two have made it a more modern and public role, and I welcome that.

Our young people going abroad because they choose to, not because they feel compelled to.

What could have knocked you down with a feather?

I was pretty bad at pulling pints when I was working in a bar, trying to make ends meet as a student.

What would you like for your next birthday?

Well, four nominations would be good or perhaps a visit to or from my daughter Emma in New York.

What television (other than current affairs) shows do you like to curl up in front of?

Sex and the City. And Masterchef.

Favourite meal cooked by you or by someone else?

It’s chorizo stew, cooked by my husband Julian.

Who is a role model for elegant ageing?

Helen Mirren.

Are you ever driven to mutter I told you so?

Frequently - in fact, every time Julian and I arrive at an event half an hour early. He never learns.

Is there any aspect of your appearance you don’t like?

My shoulders.

When your children were small, did you take time off work, or did you juggle everything?

I was a juggler! I can remember taking my children in carrycots to meetings!

What three characteristics do you look for in a friend?

Loyalty, honesty and a sense of humour.

Describe your home in 20 words?

It’s my sanctuary, I try to make it as welcoming, relaxing and comfortable as possible for my family and friends.

mary

Davis

This summer Mary Davis is seeking a nomination to run as an independent Presidential candidate.

President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, she was CEO of Special Olympics Ireland, running the games here in 2003. She serves on the Council of State, and chairs the North South Consultative Conference.

Preparing for the 2003 Special Olympics in Ireland, the fact that it was possible to get 30,000 volunteers signed up for an event two or three years away.

They often had no real idea of what was going to happen, but they knew it was going to be something important and they wanted to be part of it.

You ran the New York marathon, and climbed Kilimanjaro – you obviously relish these kinds of physical challenges?

Oh, I do. They bring out the strengths in your character, your focus and determination. And it’s a great mind-cleansing activity – that’s why Julian and I climbed Kilimanjaro after the World Games. I’ve climbed Mont Blanc, too, and found it much tougher.

What would you do if you had all the time in the world?

Apart from climbing Mount Everest, which I’m longing to do, I’d read a lot more, I never have enough time to read.

Do you think the time has come to dispense with the Seanad?

I’m not convinced we need to get rid of the upper house, but I do think the Seanad needs to earn its relevance today, and there certainly needs to be a conversation around the democracy of the way it’s elected at the moment. antonia hart

Samantha Browne, created for ThE GlOSS by Annie West

8 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

photog raph by siobhan byrne

What is the worst job you’ve ever done?

Hunting

end s p o tt i n g a t r

specimen dressing

jungle fever A fauna-finding mission to the rainforest may not be the natural starting point when it comes to making your wardrobe choices, nor might twinning a pair of box hedge-print bikini bottoms with a natty hat and a voluminous hemp bag (try finding your mobile phone in that) seem like a sensible way to keep yourself safe on the mean streets. But looking like the chic Borneo-bound coleopterists on the Michael Kors catwalk is a mere starting point for the expression of one of summer’s kookier trends. You can’t ignore the faux-wood prints at Rodarte, nor the palmy botanicals at House of Holland, nor the hordes of Panama hats in every high street store. By tweaking a little (subsitute a pair of khaki or tan capri pants, let a leather belt lend your organic cotton bus driver-blue blouse an air of casual authority and subsitute a neat tote in the same eco-fabric), you have a very do-able urban look.

Honestly.

P h otog ra Ph by jas o n lloyd - evans

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 11

gathering

channel the t

re n d

2

1

3

4

M i Ch a e l Ko r s

5

JaS On L LOYD - e Va n S

12 6

IN YOUR HANDBAG ‘all to eat and be eaten in their turn’ ... no, not the world of fashion ... Charles Darwin explains the laws of natural selection in The Origin of Species (Penguin Classics, d12)

7

8 11

Natural SelectioN green scene Main picture: Borneo bound, at Michael Kors. 1. Blue silk twill blouse, Carven, d259, www.mytheresa.com. 2. Handpainted porcelain spider, Kelly allsopp, from d180, at Vessel. 3. Vital moisturising cream sPF15, Trilogy, d30.95, at Arnotts. 4. calgary African bead print bikini, Missoni Mare, d261; www.matchesfashion.com. 5. Dream Touch blush, Maybelline, d10.79, at pharmacies nationwide. 6. elliot hat, bailey, d90, at Brown Thomas. 7. soho rattan and seagrass chair, The Conran shop, d495, at Arnotts. 8. Bansi jute bag, £35stg; www.asCension.Co.uK. 9. 100 per cent

10

recycled silver Hold Me close cuff, la Jewellery, £67stg; www.credjewellery.com.

10. Tan leather belt, lanvin, d475; www.matchesfashion.com. 11. Feather tassle earrings, d3, at penneys. 12. Madras ‘Made in” project woven goat leather handbag, prada, d1,620, at Brown Thomas. For stockists, www.thegloss.ie.

12 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

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Jane Fonda

Summer shopping Black cut out swimsuit, d32.99, at new look.

Bohemia moonstone and diamond earrings, d13,000, at booDles.

Mix and match bikini top, d12.95; bottoms, d9.95; both at h&m.

Lloyd leather sandals, d140, at reiss.

c ha n e l

Printed halter neck swimsuit, Gucci, d490; www.net-aporter.com.

Celine Tribe bikini, £160, at olga olsson.

Silver Treasure bangle, CK Jewellery, d120, at arnotts.

Black Dior VIII automatic with diamond set bezel, d6,400, at paul sheeran.

Spiceblush paper hat, d42, at French connection.

Back to Black

Mesh detail swimsuit, Jets, about d160, from a selection at brown thomas.

This year swimwear is all about cool, refined glamour – simple, well-cut two-pieces and elegant swimsuits that say chic holiday jet set rather than Eurocash. The slimming effect of a black one-piece is well known.

Plunging necklines can hide a thicker waist, highlighting other assets instead. And black, in any shape or style, whether it’s a halter-neck onepiece or an ultra high-waisted twopiece, never seems to try too hard.

Simply add a hat and a book and, most importantly, a cocktail.

Print Christiana silk cover-up, DVF, d436; at Brown Thomas.

JASON LLOYD-EVANS

Black bandeau metal bar bikini, biba, top, d65; bottoms, d50; both at House of Fraser.

Black Leigh Maillot strapless swimsuit, Lisa Marie Fernandez, d395.50; www.neta-porter.com.

Metallic beach bag, d19.95, at h&m.

For stockists, www.thegloss.ie.

14 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

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faShion wardrobe

the hot list

i Sab e l M a r a n t

St ella M c ca rt n ey

Shorts have virtually no place on the beach anymore, instead they are designed for the city.

To some, shorts represent too great a fashion challenge, to others they are the perfect mix of showing a little but not too much, and less overtly sexy than a mini skirt. But, whichever camp you fall into, after last summer’s debut, they are firmly established in the summer wardrobe. The Short List? Get in on the act with sassy prints in fluid silks (as seen at Paul & Joe, Colette Dinnegan and Vanessa Bruno). For those with long pins (in great condition) and in need of a little more drama, look to Isabel Marant who teams too-cool-for-school denim cut-offs with light summer knits and taupe suede slouchy boots. At Chanel teeny hotpant-style bouclé shorts suits are paired with chunky-heeled, sporty ankle boots. Suitable for all shapes, smart tailored shorts to the knee (we rate Stella McCartney, Emporio Armani and John Galliano for Christian Dior’s classic beauties most; wear with a tucked-in blouse and heels) are an easy introduction, but the most wearable are from American labels DVF and DKNY; well cut, loose fits in luxurious fabrics to midthigh. Up the ante at night by choosing a pair in an unexpected, luxe fabric like sequins or silk and team with a tailored jacket (as seen at Elie Saab) and killer shoes. Formal shorts can be slightly voluminous so play with different lengths; stand in front of a mirror, and inch up until you find the most flattering length.

va n eSSa b ru n o

eM p o ri o a rM a n i

dv f

I usually reserve shorts for the beach but can I wear them In the cIty?

British designer Giles Deacon has come a long way: since debuting in 2004, each collection has grown further from his original fantastical show pieces and closer to ready to wear, all the time keeping his vision of superior craftsmanship mixed with a good dose of wit. Focusing on wild prints and pop-culture references that range from Pac-Man to Peter Saville.

Deacon’s irreverence has become his trademark. Check out the ladylike hibiscus-print vanilla and navy florals unhinged by cartoon eyeballs.

Our favourite? The subtle but cheeky band-aid print dress with feather-light upper layers that playfully bounced up and down as the models walked. Who stocks Deacon? Clever Kate O’Dwyer and Louise Flanagan at Kalu in Naas, who, recession or no recession, have never compromised on their original mission. “We all need beauty in our lives,” they say. Prices start from D700 at Emporium Kalu, 16 South Main Street, Naas, Co Kildare, 045 896 222; www.emporiumkalu.ie.

T

ravel in style with Ligne de Soie’s great collection of luxury nightwear and travel accessories for girls on the go. Great charmeuse silk eye masks and aeroplane pillow covers as well as the luxury doublelayered silk kimono-style robes (as seen on Gossip Girl), from the labels designer Melissa Pelz, are cut from sumptuous silks (plain and patterned) and are flawlessly tailored. From D25; www.lignedesoie.com

“ This Month

I’ll wear ...”

and Susan Hunter Lingerie, www.susanhunterlingerie.ie

Shoe deSigner Kat Maconie loveS ...

16 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

You know retail bliSS is only temporary, yet you always become attached. Here to steal your heart for one weeK only is Nadine Kinsella, owner of Frock (Wexford’s leading fashion boutique), who’s opening a seven-day pop-up shop at the design emporium Lost Weekend, Dublin. Starting July 7, Nadine will peddle her cool faShion labelS (from painterly Cacharel dresses to Carin Rodebjer’s minimalist creations) as well as her welledited vintage collection; everything is up for grabs. Lost Weekend, 25 Rockhill, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, 01 275 5818; www.lostweekend.ie.

PhotoGraPh by Miki barlok

French label Sandro – when I go into one of their shops, I want to buy everything! I also love London-based label Felder Felder (by twin sisters Dani and Annette Felder). I am a big fan of Holly Fulton’s use of print, especially her art deco references: her collections have so much energy. I also just met my new favourite swimwear designer in Rio – Olga Olsson (see Shopping, page 14). If I wasn’t designing shoes I’d be living in a beach house in Rio – I am in love with the place! I think a woman, regardless of her age, should look for classic shoe shapes with contemporary detailing that can work with different looks. I love a chunkier heel as it’s both fashion forward and wearable. My design philosophy is based on fusing fashion with function. It’s so important to feel comfortable as well as confident. When I design a new style, I always imagine where it would be worn – if an occasion does not spring to mind then I do not run the design. I wear black ballet pumps for work and at the weekend and, generally, glamorous ankle boots in the evening; my current favourites are the Camilla blue velvets (left) from my autumn/winter collection – they look fabulous with a LBD. I love rummaging at car boot sales and flea markets (I can spend hours looking through old bits of jewellery, books and knicknacks) and, of course, running with my dog Delilah. The Kat Maconie collection is at Buffalo, 16 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, 01 671 2492.

JaS oN lloy D-EVa N S

fashion DiLEMMa

What do you love about

shopping for vintage? Finding a one-of-a-kind gem. What do you hate? Scouring through rails upon rails of clothing that no-one would ever dream of wearing, in order to find said gem. Irish online vintage boutique Elsa & Gogo (named after the 1920s fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and her daughter Gogo) has done all the hard work for you. Owner Olivia Murphy has just launched a vintage clothing section (she started by selling unusual jewellery, bags and quirky accessories) and has a “just one of each” motto. Expect maxi dresses in pretty prints and cocktail dresses with lots of embellishment like beading, bows and lace.

The best bit? Everything is under d100; www.elsaandgogoboutique.ie For stockists, www.thegloss.ie.

cach ar e l

dv f

by aislinn coffey

Enjoy CORK DRY GIN Sensibly. Visit

PROMOTION

Picking your way through the minefield of manners:

This month ... Festivals

W

e’re all campers now, aren’t we, now that yurts are so readily

I suppose, other than that, for once I don’t mind saying anything goes. The

collapsible and estate boots are so roomy, now that music unfortunate truth is that, glamping or not, you’re likely to end up sleeping in festivals have reading tents and foodie stalls where you can your clobber, so just be aware of the self-throttling possibilities of those ropes get tasters of organic spicy couscous and hand-strangled of beads you brought back from Thailand, the tie-dyed scarf you conjured sausage? Oh yes, we all madly rough it so long as into a halterneck top, and the utility belt serving it’s in no way actually rough. handbag duty. don’’T spurn your Arriving at the festival site, finding the ideal tentGig-wise, it’s really not ok to burrow your way to pitching point is vital. A hilltop spot will be better the front of the eager crowd which assembled half an neighbours: raise your cork from a drainage point of view when the rains come, hour ago. If you were that passionate about seeing dry gin and Tonic To Them but on the other hand you do have to schlep up when the band you ought to have formed an orderly queue once The sun’s you come back tired and emotional from your last when everyone else did. (Nor does sorry equate to gig, so do your weights and balances. Don’t spurn excuse me.) You have a programme, haven’t you? So over The yardarm

Temporary TenTing

IllustratIon by lynn nalty

cheerily

your temporary tenting neighbours: raise your Cork Dry Gin and tonic to them cheerily once the sun’s over the yardarm, but don’t corner them, don’t immediately ask for their spare pack of wet wipes, and don’t be overly hearty. If you irritate them they might not defend your zips later on, when someone steals through on the rummage.

Now, the cotton frock and floral wellies is a look of which, I confess, I’ve tired. I do prefer my wellies plain (yes, darlings, no matter what brand you’re advertising on your shinbone), but

organise your time, which, sadly for you, is not more precious than anyone else’s.

Tucked up in your Everest-ready sleeping pod, whatever stramash is going on near you, it’s going to feel as if it’s happening in your own tent. Ear plugs, a tranquil mind and a murmurable mantra are really all you can count on if it’s sleep you’re after, but then if it’s sleep you’re after you may have misunderstood the musical nature of the festival beast, and ought to have donated those precious tickets to someone without a cloth ear.

social life

summer without men

photog raph by g etty

Hundreds of families station themselves for the summer months in Portugal and Spain, Brittas Bay and Wexford. Women and children go first, with husbands and fathers usually joining them at weekends. It’s a scenario that’s played out here for years - women escape the city and spend their time with other women and their children, doing, well, not very much, men relish the freedom of a week in the city without wife and kids.

The question is, asks kaTy mc guInneSS, does anyone enjoy it?

18 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

A

social life t least a quarter of the seats on the 16.30 Aer Lingus flight to Faro on Thursday and Friday

summer. It’s a practice that has its roots in the US, where the women and children of a dispersed family reconvene at the beach or lake house in summer, often with grandparents

verboten under the rules of the park, as is renting. She loves the lifestyle – being by the sea, walking the dog, being able to throw the children out of the door and know

in the summer are occupied by men in their late 30s and early 40s wearing suits but with their ties stuffed into their pockets.

They have no luggage; they’re first off the plane, first onto the bus, first through passport control and first into a taxi.

You see them heading back again on Sunday night or

as well. In Ireland back then, foreign holidays were still regarded with suspicion but it was time to move on from the farmhouse B&B – and so the enclaves grew up, in places like Clogherhead, Brittas and Kilbegnet, within easy reach of the city, where canny farmers realised that there was easy money to be made by hiving off a tract of land and laying foundations for a few dozen caravans or chalets. Many of

that they will be safe – but has her reservations. “Blow-ins are not welcomed. I found it very unfriendly. The other children didn’t include mine. There’s an undercurrent of cliqueish-ness about the whole thing, like a network of the ‘best’ families that they don’t want to dilute.”

Stephanie, a mother of three boys, deliberately chose a mobile home in Kilmuckridge for its lack of snobbishness.

Monday morning.

Patricia’s husband Declan is one of those men. She spends at least six weeks of the summer at the family’s villa in Quinta do Lago with her children, while Declan commutes at the weekends and comes down for the last fortnight.

these original developments are still in existence and the best of them – the ones with direct access to the beach and a decent amount of space between mobiles – retain an amount of cachet, in spite of recent and well-documented spats between the farmers or their successors and the summer

“I was aware of the scene that exists in some of the fancier parks and wanted to give that kind of thing as wide a berth as possible. Ours is an old-fashioned park – that’s the beauty of it. I spend a month there each summer and find it incredibly relaxing. Jim comes down at the weekends and maybe one

“Frankly it works for both sides. I hang out with my girlfriends, who all have places in Quinta as well. And for Declan, well, he works so hard all year that I think it’s good for him to have a few weeks that he doesn’t have to come home from work exhausted and jump straight into bedtime stories with the kids.”

For women who run a well-oiled family machine all year long, this summer break is an opportunity to relax

residents over terms and conditions, ie money.

In Ballinacarrig, arguably the poshest caravan park in the country, where facilities include tennis courts, a golf course and a private beach and where, some years back, the residents organised themselves into a members-only club, mobile homes that used to change hands for 300 grand can now be picked up for considerably less. Except that nobody wants them. The service charges run to 10,000 a year and

night during the week. I read a book a day and play lots of card games with the boys. The children have to make their own entertainment, so there’s none of the ferrying around that goes on in Dublin. And they all end up playing together as one big group of all ages. It reminds me of the summers that I used to have as a child, and I suppose I like the nostalgia of that. There’s no pressure and that the biggest decision of the day is what time we’re going to the beach.”

the rules. “It’s very social down there, very social. People who wouldn’t have one glass of wine at lunchtime at home will happily down a bottle. The yummy mummies all

the Johnny-come-latelies who bought in the boom are in negative equity. As it is in Quinta, so it is in Brittas – except that at least in Quinta the sun shines and the wine is cheap.

Another couple have a more complicated schedule involving splitting the working week between them, and plugging the Wednesday evening gap with Granny or a

congregate at Izzy’s on the beach in their sarongs for early dinner with the kids and lay into the vinho verde. The kids play on the beach while the mummies gossip and drink.”

The partying continues when the menfolk arrive at the weekends. There’s a barbecue circuit, with couples taking it in turn to host. Some hire caterers, but food tends not to be that important. The real competition is about the houses, which are interior-decorated to the nth degree – although many are now, discreetly or otherwise, on the market. The Irish summer residents of Quinta do Lago don’t do relaxed

Those who saw their Irish mobiles and holiday houses as somewhere to spend the odd weekend and a few weeks of the summer as an adjunct to a sun holiday somewhere more exotic are faced with the dispiriting prospect that they’re now unlikely to be going anywhere else – for the next decade.    The families who originally bought into Ballinacarrig, Jack’s Hole and Staunton’s, the very first of the Wicklow caravan parks, are laughing though. As with everything else in this country, it is the arrivistes – particularly the ones who have

minder. “It’s how my parents did it when we were kids, and we’re continuing it. The kids are happy, it’s healthy, it’s cheap. And we get one night to ourselves in town. And the welcome each of us gets from the kids when we change over, is really lovely.”    Another Dublin high-flier who escapes to Brittas for three weeks with her children says she loves it for the simple fact that there is so little to do. She doesn’t even mind if it rains.

“I curl up under the duvet with a box set and couldn’t be

beach shack – it’s granite and marble at every turn.

“There is pressure to have the house looking fabulous,” says Patricia. “It’s the same with clothes. Everyone does studied casual: you wear a simple T-shirt and white linen

lost jobs or had businesses go sour – who are in trouble.

Brittas has long been the August rendezvous of choice for the great and the good – families such as the (Dermot) Desmonds, the (Noel) Smyths, and the (Maurice) Pratts.

happier.” So she’d trade culture, restaurants and sunshine for a week in a mobile? “Ok, I admit, we usually take a week in France or Italy too but Brittas gets a bad rap for being dull and homogenous, a sort of poor man’s Hamptons. I

trousers but the top will be Marc Jacobs and the trousers, Chloé.” When I suggest to one veteran of ten summers that it doesn’t sound like a holiday at all, she shrugs. “We replace one set of pressures with another, I suppose, but I never thought of it like that.”

The men head back to Dublin after the weekend for

These days, the mobiles are used by the original owners’ children, seeking to re-capture the idyllic summers of the 1970s for their own families. Even when the mobile homes have been replaced with chic wooden chalets, their owners refer to them in a post-modern, ironic way as ‘vans’. During the boom, vans were given serious make-overs, designers

don’t see it like that, it’s just a simple seaside holiday to us.

If people want to dress up in the evening and drink wine, that’s up to them. If my husband happens to be working and I’m here on my own with the kids, it’s nice to hook up with a pal and her children. I don’t have many of those opportunities when I’m at work, and far from finding them

a rest (having fitted in 36 holes of golf ), many of them no doubt fretting about just how far into negative equity the dream villa in Quinta has sunk. Patricia says it has never occurred to her to worry about the use to which her husband might put his summer freedom, although she did hear of one husband who rented a city centre apartment for

hired, their brief – to channel a laidback Nanutcket style, as far from the original linoleum/melamine interior as it was possible to be. Ironically, some of the original attractions of a breezy, simple, old-fashioned holiday by the sea diasappeared about the same time, and for some, at least, a new competitive social spirit was introduced.

boring, I relish them. But I’ll be sitting there with sea-salty hair and a bad tracksuit on.”    A few husbands do make the daily commute from the mobile to work in Dublin. Nick – whose wife Sally summers in Brittas with their three young daughters –

himself for three months to ‘cut down on commuting time’ from Rathmichael. If there is tension between couples, it’s bubbling under the surface, unseen. Separation is a doubleedged sword: with it comes freedom for both wife and husband but resentment can build. One woman laughs: “You know how couples argue at home over the division

As in Portugal, socialising involves a rotation of barbecues, whatever the weather. During the week, culinary efforts are, for the most part, non-existent – the mothers are happy to eat whatever the children are having, unless it’s Wednesday and Daddy is coming down for the evening. With the Friday night influx of husbands, though,

works in insurance. His perky, early-morning personality makes him ideally suited to the early starts.“It only takes about 40 minutes door to door. To be honest, once the novelty of unlimited online poker playing wore off, I found it lonely being on my own. Some of my friends are on a long mid-week leash which means that a few beers in the

of labour? Well, it just gets transferred: Who’s having the better time, the woman with the kids on holiday, or the unencumbered man having a grand old time in Dublin?”    It was back in the 1970s that prosperous Dublin families began the tradition of de-camping to the seaside for the

the bar is raised. Some women I spoke to mentioned they find the drinking, coupled with the break from the gym and Pilates, results in a summer stone that takes them until Christmas to shift.

Rachel doesn’t have a van of her own, but has been lent one in Jack’s Hole on a couple of occasions – a practice

pub turns into a big night in Residence. I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”

The camaraderie of women in the same boat, reduced circumstances making other holiday options more limited, and above all, happy children, keep these women hooked.

That, and a certain pleasure in a summer without men. n

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 19

irish businesswomen

Working Life

LOOK THE

BUSINESS

A partner at Matheson Ormsby Prentice, the country’s largest law firm, Sharon DaLy makes sure to carve out thinking time ...

“The economic climate has made the provision of legal services an ‘on demand’ business ...” navy Blanca print dress, d165; navy waterfall bow-front jacket, d165; both phase eight; navy Ailsa patent leather shoes, d495, Jimmy Choo; Apple ipad2, Vodafone.

20 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

WHAT IS ON YOUR DESK? Computer, iPhone and a photo of the family

YOUR FAVOURITE GADGET? iPad

WORKING WARDROBE? Business suits and dresses with a smart jacket. High heeled shoes are a must and a smart bag

Look the Business Competition Vodafone, home of the smartphone, is offering one lucky reader a chance to win a new HTC SenSaTion.

This new super-phone is exclusive to Vodafone, and packed with the latest technology! It features Android Gingerbread, running on a super-fast 1.3GHZ dual core processor and packs 4GB memory, as well as an 8-megapixel camera. You can download and watch films or stream them wirelessly to your enabled TV with HTC Watch, and see Facebook and Twitter updates all in one place with Friend Stream!

Vodafone is offering one lucky reader a chance to win a new HTC SenSaTion. To enter the competition, email register@thegloss.ie. Include your full name, role, company and contact telephone number and the answer to the following question: Q: On which

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fiLe aWay ...

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Congratulations to Geraldine Malone, International Credit Manager at Welch Allyn Inc, winner of the Vodafone competition in the June issue.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT A GOOD WORKING WARDROBE IS IMPORTANT IN A PROFESSIONAL SENSE AT WORK? It is essential. You have to look the part and it doesn’t need to cost the earth

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BUSINESS THOUGHT FOR THE DAY? Never leave to tomorrow what you can achieve today

pHOTOG rApH BY JOAnne MurpHY.

Describe your role? I am a partner in Matheson Ormsby Prentice, and head of the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. We advise international companies and financial institutions doing business in and through Ireland. Our clients include many Fortune 500, FT Global 500 and FT Euro 500 companies and we also represent some of Ireland’s largest private, public and State-owned companies and institutions. Our HQ is in Dublin, with offices in London, New York and Palo Alto, Silicon Valley employing more than 600 people. Over 100 work in the Litigation Department and currently we also have about 40 contract lawyers working for us on various cases. Career path? School in Holy Child in Killiney was followed by a BComm at UCD. I qualified as a solicitor in 1992 having trained at MOP from 1989-1992. My first job was in the debt collection department before moving to the litigation department. In 1995, I was promoted to associate solicitor, then specialised in Financial Services and Insurance Litigation. In 2000, I was promoted to partner and made head of the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department in 2007. The department has grown significantly since 2005 both in terms of headcount and revenues. The aspect of your work that gives you most satisfaction? I enjoy strategically finding a route through complex legal disputes and producing results for clients. I like to win and in order to do so, you need to understand what your client considers to be a win.

From a business perspective, it is extremely satisfying to see the development of the lawyers we train. Typical day? I am an early riser, and start the day at about 5.30am on my cross trainer.

Between 6.30 and 8.30 the office is quiet and I can work without interruption. This is key as a lot of litigation work is complex and you need time to think, plan and draft without interruption. The rest of the day involves client and internal meetings, plus calls and court hearings. I try to leave the office by 7pm to collect one of my kids from school but typically it is 8pm by the time I get home for dinner and family time or back on the BlackBerry depending on clients’ needs. How do you deal with stress? I try not to work weekends to give me time to recharge the batteries and catch up with family life. Downtime? I spend time cooking, walking and watching the kids at various sporting activities, catching up on what’s been happening to them on a daily basis. On holiday, we love to ski and sail. Role models? When I was considering law there were very few women at the top of the profession. I have huge admiration for the late Judge Mella Carroll, the first female High Court Judge. My father, a Senior Counsel, gave me a love of the law. My mother, for her approach to life and boundless energy – she trained as a ballet dancer and teaches exercise to this day.

polly devlin

The first, (see left) was taken in the 1970s by a photographer called Michael Ward, now alas dead. It really is two landscapes both joined by and divided by an invisible demon called trouble. Two women walk down a street. At first glance they might be leaving a street party. It’s a hot day – probably July – so their dresses are cotton, their shoes light, their bodies vulnerable.

They’re carrying their coats over their arms in case of rain and walk towards us engaged with each other radiating warmth, companionship and solidarity. A mutual exchange of emotional strength is apparent in the way they are holding hands. These are reliable women, women you could trust, marching to a different beat, counterpoint to the sounds that grind behind the scenes.

Yet the women seem oblivious to the terrible cold and menacing landscape in other half of the picture; it has

July in a Different Colour As a little girl in Northern Ireland, Polly Devlin remembers the hatred and violence of the marching season, and how impossible a process of healing seemed at the time ...

W

become so much part of their lives that they take it for granted. Imagine!

On the other side in an edgy place, tense soldiers booted and spurred, guns and cudgels at the ready are alert for another kind of engagement, their unreliable bodies cloaked in armour, their helmets emblems of a violence that can erupt at any moment. The women chat on. The street is littered with stones that have perhaps been just been thrown at them. Is it the 12th of July, the Orange marching day? Whatever, the whole photograph is a metaphorical image of Northern Ireland and we know without anyone telling us that this was Belfast and it well nigh breaks the heart to see so visibly what the place was like on a summer’s day not so long ago; a divided place; women who knew where not to look. There is no one who comes from Northern Ireland who has not, in some way, got double vision, what Louis MacNeice spoke of as “the split vision of the juggler”. Many Northern Irish people live in two places at once, in a continuous juggling act of the heart and mind. Derek Mahon, that fine poet also from Northern Ireland, wrote about the squinting heart, a telling description of what happens to an artist, to anyone, from that divided province who tries to bring things together. Which bring us to the second image (overleaf ) and to Rita Duffy and her mural in the Shankill Road.

In the years I was growing up in a republican area a

hen I went to school I travelled ten long miles on the bus to a convent school in

semblance of tranquillity pervaded in the Six Counties

Magherafelt. Blindingly unhappy days. We waited in rain and shine at Duff ’s

and no one in power felt inclined to poke a stick into the

Corner for the bus to pick us up and ten yards down the road another little group

mess bubbling underneath. Every year, though, the mess

of children of the same parish and the same ages huddled, waiting for the same

did bubble up, when it was stirred by the drumsticks of

bus to take them to the Rainey School in the same town. We never spoke to them

the men of the Orange Order on their offensive marches

nor them to us. In all those years, in a small Ulsterbus we never spoke together.

on the 12th of July. We hated with a visceral loathing these

Children are powerless in situations like this. I knew in my bones that the girls and

triumphalist and bullying celebrations. I don’t think any

boys going to the Rainey were getting the better education, that their future promised to be better and I still resent it.

of us cared about the historical significance – although

Pain can become so layered onto a life that suffering becomes a habit. To experience a thing is not to know it or even

the marching was held as much to rub our noses in our

to have the power to remember it coherently. Some people look at the sun and see a gold coin, some look and see a host

defeat 300 years before as to commemorate any event;

of angels, some see – if they are as great a poet as John Donne – “a busy old unruly fool”, (and I’ll digress here to say if

it was more because the bands and marchers would go

you don’t know this poem, The Sun Rising, it is the most vivid expression of being in love, of sensuality, of the joys of

through nationalist areas on purpose to stir up anger.

sex you could ever hope to read. As we see, so we are – that is a grade of human character. It is connected to the quality

I love a marching band but these men in their orange

of perception of the external world. So, also take a good look at the two remarkable images on this page and the next.

sashes – dark suits, bowler hats, symbols of respectability

As signifiers of change, as representations of society, they are astounding and, as historical documents, they might well bring tears to the eyes of anyone versed in the horrific history of Northern Ireland.

– their faces hard as the hobs of hell, strutted their stuff as though they owned the place. Which in a way they did.

polly devlin I still can reciprocate that hatred that those men, beating

depicting another kind of history, dressing up, radiating

Love and pity are the children of the imagination.” It fits

their drums in their black tattoo on those July mornings

warmth and humour, bringing the community together.

Rita’s philosophy exactly.

years seemed to be beating out against us. We saw how

Rita Duffy has always made opportunities – often

The image depicts a fellowship of imaginative

vengeful and unyielding they were under the skin and

against massive philistine opposition – to nudge a little

women, many of them local to the Shankill Road or

there seemed to me to be no way that there could be a

further forward her belief in art and inspiration as vital

with family connections. They researched the history of

process of healing. In any case, I didn’t want to be healed.

forces in any community but particularly in Belfast.

the Shankill’s women over the last hundred years, and

Now even for us who lived far away from Belfast

especially the women’s suffrage movement in Ulster

the Shankill Road was a byword for intolerance, a

at the beginning of the 20th century. The suffrage

place of lurid anti-popery sentiments, violent murals

movement was a hinge on which the identity of

and murderous graffiti such as KAT or ATAT – Kill all Taigs, All Taigs Are Targets. I don’t know how much things have changed but this mural is the first nonsectarian, non-military mural for a long while to go up in the Shankill Road and it’s done by Rita Duffy whose name we all understand is not a name found often on the Shankill Road, it being a Taig name. In fact her grandmother and her four children lived near the Shankill and were burnt out of their home as sectarianism tightened its grip in the “pogroms” of 1920 and getting this commission was, among others for her,

In this deeply symbolic image it’s the women in the forefront, again, taking matters in their own hands – depicting another kind of history.

women turned. As one participant in the mural, Kay O’Hara, expressed it: “While we do want to commemorate the suffrage movement, we also want to celebrate it as an ongoing process.” This image is Rita’s response, rich in stories and connections, suggestions and possibilities. Unlike many murals it is not a didactic picture. It can be read in many ways and there is humour in it, and fantasy and of course homage across the centuries to the most famous mural of all, by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Rita said, “I wanted to depict the wider ripples

a way of closing old wounds, a symbol of hope and a

that continue to move the water after the suffragettes

making of peace. The mural was commissioned by the

first lobbed their brick into Ulster’s smooth pond. It Robert Green Ingersoll, an American political leader,

felt good to return as an artist with something creative,

of Northern Ireland through the Re-Imaging Programme

Civil War veteran, and Presbyterian – he would have fitted

clever, something wholesome, a celebration of sisterhood

to celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day. And

in well in Belfast – once wrote: “Art cultivates and kindles

for International Women’s Day – in the long run it’s the

of course in this deeply symbolic image it’s the women in

the imagination, and quickens the conscience. It is by

only way forward here and elsewhere.” If all these women

the forefront, again, taking matters in their own hands –

imagination that we put ourselves in the place of another.

can move on then I can too. Or I can try. n

*Exclusions apply, see instore for details.

Shankill Women’s Centre and funded by the Arts council

22 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

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life skills

Repeat after me ...

Interesting new ways of learning languages are really catching on. Three women edge closer to native-like fluency thanks to tandem teaching, total immersion and learning like the spies do ...

Louise eAsT on Learning german the hard way

L

ast week, I realised it was time to enroll in a German class. This epiphany happened at a yoga studio in Berlin although I was not on the

mat at the time. I was out in reception wondering what in hell was the correct answer to the question: “Yadurda burda zeit?”

I tried a tentative, “Uh, nein?” but heart-sinkingly, the receptionist just looked confused, and repeated the question. No big deal, you might think. Attending a yoga class in a foreign country is a pretty adventurous move, so well done me for feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

The problem is, I’ve been living in Berlin for two and a half years, a period of time in which a person might reasonably be expected to understand the question, “Do you want the upstairs or downstairs class?”

A few days later, I am sitting in the Kreuzberg studio of language tutor Daniel Roob, who teaches barefoot and has the zen-like smile of a picture-book moon. He asks about my efforts to learn German and I explain that for the first year, I thought it would happen by osmosis.

After all, living in a country is known to be the best way to learn its language and I had a secret weapon strapped to my calf: Leaving Certificate German. Admittedly, I hadn’t spoken it in years but everyone assured me it would come flooding back.

This sounded good to me. I could just sit in my high-ceilinged apartment, writing pithy journal entries, and suddenly, whoosh, a flood of lovely German would come shooting out of the dodgy U-bend in which it had been stagnating for the past two decades.

It doesn’t work like that of course. Had I moved to a tiny village and taken a job in a gherkin factory, I would probably have had no option but to speak German, but in cosmopolitan Berlin, everyone was keen to practise their English.

I could have insisted on speaking German, of course, but sadly, the promised flood of

Does the apple look manly? Is it stationary or on the move? What mood is the apple in?

Aside from day-to-day transactions at the supermarket or bank, I stopped trying to speak German, and might have remained this way (a surprising number of long-term Berlin residents speak little or no German) had not a friend of a friend suggested a tandem.

This is where two people saddle up and take turns pedalling towards fluency in each other’s language. Birgit was much stronger at English than I was at German, so our progress was a little lopsided, but due to her delightful habit of exclaiming, “Ah, Louise, you speak so good!”, I began to overlook my endless mistakes and enjoy the ride.

Birgit also started me reading novels, which is how I discovered that bad literature is great for learning a language. Elegant sentences tie me up in knots but I can skip through clunky prose (“David ate a bowl of cereal. He always ate cereal in the mornings”) and feel as smart as Joan Didion.

But now I am back in class, and it isn’t just yoga-gate which brought me here. I miss being playful with language and I miss having opinions. When you’re weak in a language, you’re a kind of Rainman, conducting a conversation by volunteering one statement after another. Stephen Spielberg is a film director. Facebook is big.

“And how do you feel when you talk German?” Daniel Roob asks, in German. I search for a minute and come up with the word for “frustrated”, which, rather aptly, I pronounce something like “frustrooted”. “So let’s see if we can make it a bit more fun.”

“Spaß,” I say thoughtfully and hear a promising gurgle in that dodgy U-bend, so I say it again, and this time, I pronounce it perfectly.

KAThy GiLfiLLAn pLunges into a French course

I

’ve gone back to school to learn French by a full-immersion method in an Institut in Villefranche-sur-Mer that has been going since 1969. There is a part of me that

responds well to structure, routine and discipline so I am an ideal candidate, it seems.

We spend time in France every year and there comes a time when you really really need to

Leaving Cert German manifested as a damp trickle of statements about the kind of hobbies

understand what is being said. Subtitles would be very useful for real life. I will be first in

not pursued since the 1970s. Berlin hipsters are a retro lot, all granny specs and pixie boots,

line to buy the App that makes this happen. Or indeed the realisation of the “Babel fish”

but even they drew the line at discussing stamp-collecting and pen-friends.

which featured in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Just pop this little gadget in your ear

I enrolled in a month-long intensive course, placing myself in the intermediate group.

and you can automatically understand any language and respond in Mandarin, say. How

On the first morning, we discussed breakfast. Suzy from Korea liked bread. Juan from

useful would that be? The other App I frantically want is the one that tells me the name of

Argentina also liked bread. At break-time, I was transferred to the advanced class, feeling

the person approaching with a big smile of welcome whose name I have forgotten.

pretty good about myself. I totally knew how to say “I like muesli but sometimes a croissant also tastes good”. How difficult could this German thing be?

In the meantime, I sit an exam with the 60-odd other students who have enrolled for the month’s course. The school operates all year round except for part of December

In the room next-door, my new classmates were discussing health-care systems. Thiago

and January. Every month brings a fresh group to study. They are a very mixed bunch,

felt Brazil needed to up public insurance provision, while Anna feared that corruption in

ranging in age from early twenties to late sixties. There are seven nationalities in the class

Italy had exhausted the body politic. What these people were doing in a language class, I

of ten to which I am assigned and there are two other Irish people in the school, one of

have no idea; maybe they didn’t get invited to enough dinner parties.

whom works for the Department of Foreign Affairs and may be sent to Brussels after

I stuck it out for the month but suddenly, the amount I didn’t know had been revealed

her course. The other Irish person studied French at college: he can write and read the

to me, and like Wily Coyote when the cliff runs out, I found myself paddling air, speechless.

language with impressive skill but can’t speak it with the same fluency. We hear of past,

Every sentence in German requires negotiation. Complex mental maps must be drawn up.

more famous, pupils like Charlene Wittstock, the South African swimmer who is the wife

24 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

life skills of Prince Albert of Monaco. The course costs between d2,500 and d3,000 euro a month

English. After twelve years as the Daily Telegraph dance critic, I decided I must learn Russian

depending on the time of year you choose. Quite a few of the élèves have been sponsored

in order to do research for my own book. I needed to be able to read official documents

by international companies like the major banks to buff up their language skills. And there

and old Russian handwriting, and I had to be able to conduct research interviews. In other

is a diplomat working on her negotiating tactics in French whose guilty pleasure is the

words, my need was a thorough and rapid progress to written and spoken fluency. But how?

board game Diplomacy which I find touching but not exactly up to Wikileaks speed. The

Evening college sessions would be too slow. Individual tutoring I couldn’t afford.

retirees among the students often have a romantic notion about Learning French sur la

Language labs were in London, and I didn’t live in London. I was 50 and I felt I could get

Côte d’Azur after many years hard slog running companies or being BSDs (Big Swinging

on faster by myself, somehow – obviously a computer course. But part of my calculation

Dicks) in a corporate clime and some of them are not having an easy time.

had to be the time/money one. For the price of ten or 20 hours’ personal tutoring I could

For adults, often more used to bossing than being bossed, the classroom experience of learning to Toddle Talk in a foreign language can be very frustrating. Especially when

buy a complete course of CDs with listen-and-speak facilities, working at my own speed potentially to advanced level. But which one?

they lack the benefit of an articulate riposte. They say that’s it’s hardest for people who

The Rosetta Stone system immediately attracted me: it was apparently used for speed-

work with words or literature to learn a new language after a certain age because they have

teaching diplomats (ie spies), NASA astronauts, oil business execs. Good – this would

higher personal academic expectations. The 20-year-olds with the quick-fire attention

not be tourist Russian. But I could also see that its methods, despite aiming at advanced

span of the Facebook Generation are more relaxed about grammar and spelling and cruise

knowledge, were far from the drills and rotes that I’d had at school for Latin. Russian is a

through on sharper aural skills and better cognitive brain power. The study concentration

complicated language, with its alien-looking script, but also with loads of case endings, verb

is intense and the hours are nine to five with homework every evening. The only language

and gender differences and apparently endless adjectival variants. Get those wrong and you

permitted is French, even during breaks and lunchtime. There is a jokey euro fine if anyone

won’t be understood. So ... an intuitive method based on pictures and word associations,

is overheard speaking English/Japanese/German etc.

I end up in Intermediate 3 which is a stretch for me for whom the Subjunctive is a foreign country next to Slovenia but with nine other victims in the class there is somewhere to hide and frantically compose an answer to a roving question. But I love my teacher and marvel that she can repeat the same simple structure over and

I end up in Intermediate 3 which is a stretch for me for whom the Subjunctive is a foreign country next to Slovenia ...

over again until it sinks in to our confused and resisting

with grammar unexplained, a method directed at absorbing language’s textures rather than learning its rules – would this just be horribly frustrating? I reflected that I speak and read reasonable French without ever having properly studied it, and that my school classical studies should give me a handle on Russian’s structural formalities.

I took the plunge, bought the Rosetta spiel, and

brains. I only saw one instance of exasperation from a teacher who told an American pupil

plugged in the earphones. I was immediately hooked. Each slightly Lewis Carrollian chapter

that her pronounciation of French hurt his ears. He was reprimanded for the remark.

dragged me on to the next. It was moreish. I did three or four hours a day, trying out every

Accents don’t seem to matter as long as you are understood. It seems the French like the

variant of every chapter. The Rosetta Stone is a universal method marketed for a huge array

Irish/English way of speaking French. They love Jane Birkin and Kirsten Scott Thomas

of languages, western and eastern, predicated on the idea that when you see something

speaking French with English lilts. I try to channel these two when I’m faced with the

you want to know what it is – and that the ways in which your questions are answered can

torment of the laboratoire or the abattoir as it is nicknamed. I start practising French at

subliminally deliver you a whole bunch of linguistic rules. You look at flash cards of, say, an

every opportunity, watching French TV, reading Le Figaro because although I would prefer

elephant or a dog, with its Russian word, and the voice speaks the word. You say the word,

to read Le Monde, it’s beyond me. What depresses me is being in a shop or restaurant

read it, type it, write it, and you test yourself constantly while your eye, ear, hand and brain

and ordering in what I think is French to be answered in English. How do they know?

build up an association between picture, word and sound. As more pictures come by, the

How do they not know! The teacher, a true diplomat, suggests it’s because they want to

descriptions lengthen by a few words – through a juxtaposition of photos of a child in a

practise English on me. At the end of every day I am exhausted and just want to eat and

playground, you deduce when she’s about to jump and when she HAS jumped, and – worse

sleep – after having done my homework, of course. I have a breakthrough in the third week

– fallen over. You start to see how the family photo (“parents with their children”) softens

and actually have a dream in French. In between, the grammar lessons are daily bouts of

you up for the romantic anything-goes of the instrumental case.

what they call Science Pratique. These are sessions in how to handle everyday situations

There’s an addictive option if you have a mic on your computer or headset: a gizmo rates

in France. How to answer the phone; buy something in a shop; behave in a restaurant;

your pronunciation red, yellow or green. Sceptically, I tested this feature on male and female

pay a visit to a French person’s home for dinner; use a bus or Metro etc. These I find very

friends to check its response to different voices – it passed.

useful and am able to tell someone who calls me on the landline that they have the wrong number. Stupid but I felt really brilliant afterwards.

This isn’t about adult logic, or about learning conversational gambits. You don’t start with “Where’s the bus station?” or “Can I have caviar with that?” This is about opening up

It’s the end of the month and we have another exam, which turns out to be exactly the

intuitive pathways for grammar rules to lodge in your brain and therefore give you the ease

same exam we sat on Day 1. The genius of this is that they and we can measure just how

to generate all sorts of conversations, from ordering lunch to musing about ‘Swan Lake’

much progress there has been in comprehension and oral ability. They especially look for

or football over a vodka. The latter wins you a ton of friends in Russia, and besides, you

connectors, the phrases that lead to joined-up talking and real sentences instead of simple

oughtn’t to ask the way to the bus station if you don’t know about left, right, straight on,

‘la plume de ma tante’ statements. On Day 1 my oral ability was pathetic but four weeks on

corners and so on.

I can simulate a conversation of sorts. The wise old owl who runs the school tells me that

I can’t tell whether Rosetta Stone intend the surreal visual comedy in some of the pictures,

what happens after the month is that usually for two weeks each pupil has a commitment

but it sure helps. One of my favourites is the Russian road sign: “Beware kangaroo!” As you

to practice and read. Then normal life intervenes and the study falls off. He gently insists

scoff, you’ve unwittingly absorbed the important word “Beware/watch out”.

it needs constant attention. To that end I am having weekly conversation through the Alliance Française.

On y va!

Any good language course whets your desire to learn more. To please my logical mind, I was grateful to find in a charity shop an old Soviet grammar, groaning with declensions, conjugations and vocab about worker factories which solidified the rules for me. After finishing Rosetta I sped through Ruslan Ltd’s superb advanced conversation CDs, which

Ismene BROWn learns the russian of spies

I

t’s a short leap from being steeped in

proved that the Rosetta Stone’s associative method had given me a much more ingrained listening familiarity with Russian than I could have gained from conversation classes with other British learners.

I went from zero to advanced Russian in two years – job done.

classical music and ballet to becoming

The Rosetta Stone Russian course, levels 1-3, currently costs £289 together, or £179 per level;

curious about Russia, a nation that

www.rosettastone.co.uk/learn-russian. Ruslan Ltd’s Russian books and courses;

pours out books that never make it into

www.ruslan.co.uk

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 25

Strap This Page: Lurex guipure Monogram top; blue Fluid lamé trousers; both Louis Vuitton.

Beauty note: Protect and smooth hair – and banish frizz – with the MoroccanoiL travel Kit, D41.65, containing five mini products, including Moisture Repair Shampoo and Conditioner and the cult oil treatment. Invest in FeKKai’s Marine Summer Hair Beachcomber Leave-in Conditioner, which moisturises and protects hair with a UV shield, D24.

Opposite: Multi-colour crepe dress, Versus.

For stockists, www.thegloss.ie.

14 | September 2009 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

Strap

Sea of Colour For summer, designers revisited glamour, favouring bold ColourS like vivid red, shocking pink, warm tangerine and intense blue, worn in boldly ClaShing bloCkS. Colours this loud make an impaCt without much accessorising; strong colour is no longer the domain of the fashion forward; it's for everyone photographed by daymion mardel Styled by luiS rodriguez

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | September 2009 | 15

Strap Red silk trousers and matching jacket, HeRmès.

Gold metal chain belt, CHanel. Gold cuff, DinosauR DesiGns. Beauty note: Take holiday blue skies home with you in a bottle: estĂŠe lauDeR Sensuous Nude is a sweet, summery mix of bergamot and mandarin, jasmine, coconut and honey. Eau de parfum from D46. At Brown Thomas now, and nationwide from August 1.

14 | September 2009 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

Strap Tangerine cotton shift dress, VicToria Beckham.

Beauty Note: Dust skin with LaNc么me Star Bronzer Intense Magic Bronzing Brush, D39, to add a touch of shimmer. Press the button to release the lightly iridescent powder, and highlight face contours, shoulders and d茅colletage.

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | September 2009 | 15

Colour block silk jumpsuit, GuCCi. Gold Butterfly ring, Dinosaur DesiGns. Beauty note: Go perfectly nude on lips with new MaC Lush amber, a light beige tone, D17.50. Use a primer or light concealer first to neutralise lip colour for a perfect nude shade.

stripe cotton dress, praDa. Ivory satin dress,DInosaur ChloÉ.

Blue crepe Cicada ring, DesIGns. Cream leather sandals, GuIseppe zanottI.

Beauty note: Protect skin with moisturising pIz BuIn Fashion Note: Guiseppe zanotti is at Brown thomas, In Sun Ultra Light Sun Spray, available in SPF15, Dublin, 01 605 6666; www.brownthomas.ie.

30 and 50+, with advanced UVA and UVB filters, from D17.98.Ivory st tropez’s newChloÉ.

High Protection for Face opposite: crepe satin dress, with Tan Enhancer SPF30 (also available for body) Cream leather sandals, GuIseppe zanottI. offers high-level sun protection as well as boosting natural melanin production, from D19.95.

photographed by DaymIon marDel styled by luIs roDrIGuez retouched by anGel hernanDez hair and make up by steffen zoll for utopia nyC

“I think the instant results impress me the most. I have already recommended it to my sisters.”

“Within minutes, you see a difference.

And within hours, you see a big difference.

A few hours after applying Sublime Energy, my skin looked more radiant and the fine lines around my eyes were smoother.”

Susan O’Roarke, Cork.

The featured customers received a gratuity from J&J for their time in making this advertorial. Their testimonials relate to their experience after one day of testing RoC Sublime Energy Eye. *From RoC. **Consumer in Use study, 146 women, 81% saw visible improvements in the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes.

Beauty Strap

Star Buys, Luxury Lipsticks

Local Beauty

As a ‘face’ for a natural skincare company, you’d struggle to find someone more ideal than Ali

Hewson,

all glowing skin and barely-there make-up. Hewson co-founded natural skincare range, Nude, with

Bryan Meehan of the Fresh&Wild organic stores in London, in 2007, but Nude facials have up to now only been available in New York (where they’re the choice of Anna Wintour and Helena Christensen).

Now, you can experience one yourself, and pick up the creams and oils, at Dublin’s state-of-the-art

Vedas spa. “Now just seemed like the right

time to bring the facials to Ireland,” Hewson told me.

“At Nude, we are trailblazing: providing probiotic active natural skincare which both repairs skin and promotes cellular renewal. I have sensitive skin, I have to use something natural – but I want something that works.” Hewson’s beauty secret? She wears Miracle Mask (d49) under her (Clarins) make-up. Nude’s

cult product, though, is the Replenishing Night

Oil (d57): “If you’re exhausted, it’s just great, full of

omega oils and antioxidants.” So are the facials worth investing in? The Recontouring Facial (d125) features deep-tissue intensive facial massage; I found it both

stimulating and relaxing, as if therapist

Guoda was literally changing my face with her fingers, focusing especially on age-revealing areas such as the eye area and the jawline. My face felt (and looked) different afterwards – plumped and exercised, as if it had had a workout.

Nude is not the only Irish

range

skincare

proving that natural products can be effective.

We’re big fans of Voya’s new Me Time anti-ageing

moisturiser (d55), a creamy skin-boosting formulation, and Galway-based Seavite’s re-formulated Exfoliating and Toning Gel (d16). Green

Angel

may not have the most glamorous packaging, but the

hand-crafted products are luxurious: try Sunrise Body Smoother (d24.95), a delicious blend of salt, lemon, grapefruit and seaweed extract (harvested off the west coast) to exfoliate and smooth skin – it’s heavenly,

photog raph by getty

not to mention fairly priced. And all three brands are

family-run and made using local seaweed.

It’s good to know that the best in skincare is

right here on our doorstep. SH.

Vedas Beauty, 19 Lower George’s Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, 01 214 0451, www.vedasbeauty.ie. Nude is also at SpaceNK Dublin. Voya, www.voya.ie; Seavite, www.seavite.ie; Green Angel, www.greenangel.com.

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 33

Summer beauty

lf ...

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Travel and beauty don’t go well together. How are you

ChaNel N°19 pouDrÉ is a

BaTaille De Fleurs is the

fresh new version of Chanel’s rather overshadowed gem N°19, created by legendary nose Jacques Polge.

The quirky, daring little sister of the Chanel family, N°19 has a key note of ultra-precious iris. “If a bottle of N°19 Poudré could release all the flowers it contains, several tons of blossoms would burst from it,” says Polge. Its lingering smoky mystery is intensely beguiling. From July 15, from d78.

first eau de parfum from Galwaybased Cloon Keen Atelier, created

by Paris-born perfumer Stéphanie Bakouche, who has also created scents for Hermès and Guerlain.

With top notes of fig, lemon and bergamot over mimosa and jasmine, it’s an original scent for summer.

Stunning packaging, too. Cloon Keen Atelier, Galway and Arnotts; www.cloonkeenatelier.com. d70.

(uNTiTleD) l'eau Turning its purist approach to scent last year, fashion house Maison Martin Margiela blasted fresh air through cosmetics halls with (untitled). (untitled) l’eau is just as surprising, with an emphasis on citrus rather than the more complex galbanum (an aromatic resin derived from Persian plants) that dominates the original. It haunts and intrigues. Exclusively at Brown Thomas, d64.50.

meant to fit suncream, let alone anything more glamorous, into that paltry little plastic bag? A black bin liner would

how to do: A Natural Tan

be more appropriate. So we’re looking for great things

Deluxe Travel seT (d10), with mini plastic bottles in a transparent zip-up bag, for decanting all your favourites.

BurT’s Bees and reN both do mini versions of their bestsellers (and you can now pick up your REN at Dublin airport). Multi-tasking elizaBeTh arDeN eighT hour CreaM (d21) is an essential, as ever. We’ll be chucking in some viChy eau TherMale (d10), plus a mini l’oCCiTaNe verBeNa eau De ToileTTe (d19.95) to block out the smell of Cup-a-Soup on the plane.

If we were business-class types, we’d splash out on the deluxe limited-edition TeMperley/eleMis safari cases containing eight essentials (men’s d69, women’s d108), from Harvey Nichols. Meanwhile, it’s back to squeezing 48 products into that plastic bag ...

V e n e ta

Kiehl’s are good for giving out trial sizes. M&s do a neat

The only good tan is a fake one. But getting a golden, sunkissed look via a bottle

b ot t e g a

in small packages. Hoarding samples is one solution;

has its own pitfalls. Slap or spray on self-tan in a hurry and you’re guaranteed orangey smears. The key is to exfoliate regularly; the best (and cheapest) way is with exfoliating gloves, just a couple of euro from pharmacies. Take advice from the tanning experts at St Tropez: "Pour the tanner in your hands and rub them together to evenly coat each palm; then smooth on rather than rub, for an even finish." Try St Tropez Natural Radiance Self-Tan for Face (d27.95), with an Ecocert-certified tanning ingredient creating a subtle colour; ideal for sensitive skin. We also rate Karora Gradual Self-Tanning Moisturiser SPF15 (d19.99), from the Irish brand launched

last year – it has a pleasant smell and gives a gradual tan – and Clarins Instant Smooth Self-Tanning (d25), for natural colour. Our tester raved about Tantastic Instant Tan Bronzer (d17.50), launched this spring: it’s moisturising, paraben-free and washes off easily – ideal if you’ve gone a bit overboard.

Other top-scorers with our testers include citrus-scented L’Oréal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Dry Mist (d21.99) for fair skin – just spray and go – and quick-drying ModelCo One Night Tan wash-off bronze mousse (from d12.50). For pasty leg emergencies, grab MAC Skinsheen Leg Spray (d28), or Lancôme Flash Bronzer SelfTanning Leg Gel (d27). www.karoracosmetics.com; www.tantastic.co.uk; ModelCo from Arnotts and Clerys.

1. Prevage Clarity Targeted Skin Tone Corrector The

“ This Month I’ll Use ...”

newest addition to the trustworthy Prevage range,

martha lynn, milliner, on her beauty essentials

this high-performance serum works on dark spots and

“I love lIquId eyelIner: i feel naked without it. i have tried everything,

Skin boosters The beST new FAce-SAverS, From luxe orgAnicS To bioAcTive line-buSTerS

Clockwise from left: Daisy by marc Jacobs; l'oréal Superliner; nivea Soft; benefit brow-zings.

pigmentation, and improves skin’s general appearance.

but i come back every time to l’oréal Superliner – it’s like a marker, but

it’s concentrated, so use just a drop on key areas; and

really soft. i only really wear mascara (lancôme l’extrême) if going

it’s vital to follow it with an SPF of at least 30 before

out in the evening, as i find it hard to take off (i use baby wipes

sun exposure. Testers saw improvements in two weeks.

and lancôme eye make-up remover, being extra-careful around

especially good for dark skin. d131.

the eyes). i like brow-zings by beneFit, with wax to shape brows and powder to fill them in. rather

2. Pai Chamomile & Rosehip Sensitive Skin Cream

than foundation i wear bareminerals powder – i have quite dry skin but this is light, and you don’t

This ultra-soothing organic (certified by the Soil Association) lotion gives skin a little Tlc for summer. Designed for reactive, ultra-sensitive skin, it’s made from the purest plant extracts and is rich in antioxidants. great range, well priced. d29.95, from pharmacies and www.paiskincare.com.

get that line along your jaw with powder. Plus it gives good coverage. i’ve tried every kind of concealer, but i find l’oréal’s Touche magique gives the best coverage, under the eyes and round the nose. i’m a really big fan of red lipstick – it dresses you up, even if you’re in flat shoes or a hoodie: a bit of red lipstick transforms your look. mAc do a really good vibrant cherry one called mAc red, and i often use a red pencil, too. At the moment i’m wearing Daisy perfume by marc Jacobs, but i change – i also like chanel’s chance

ty bill

martha’s beau l’oréal Superliner

t9.25 ique t10.94

l’oréal Touche mag

e mascara t26

lancôme l’extrêm

3. Mama Mio Love Your Life Lines The simple packaging

and Allure. making hats is really hard on your hands and nails: i apply

belies the science behind this light-diffusing cream:

vaseline hand cream regularly as i wash my hands a million times

its eleven active ingredients include bioactive

a day. i use nivea Soft moisturiser and, when the skin on my body

eFit brow-zings by ben

tetrapeptide (encourages production of the skin’s own

gets dry in winter, e45 cream. i’ve recently started using Kiehl’s hair

Kiehl’s heat Protec

hyaluronic acid). Pressing the cream into deeper lines

products, including heat Protective Silk Straightening cream, which i

vaseline hand crea

does seem to make them look less pronounced. And

discovered when i was living in canada. i walk a lot, and i try and drink

t55 marc Jacobs Daisy

the lavender scent makes it a pleasure to use. Follow

lots of water. And i’m careful in the sun as i’m very fair: i wear factor 50

rise nivea Soft moistu

with an SPF. d39. At Arnotts; stockists 01 461 0645.

on my face every day in the summer.” www.marthalynnmillinery.com

t17.50 mAc red lipstick

inal bareminerals orig

t33 g cream t17

tive Silk Straightenin m t2.33

r t5.35

Total: t201.37

34 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

SPF15 powder t25

Summer beauty

The LipsTick Effect The term “lipstick effect” was coined during the 1930s depression: the idea that when times are tight, people buy themselves small luxuries. That concept’s certainly back – while general retail sales dropped last year, cosmetic sales were up. When times are tough, it seems, we buy lipstick.

There’s a mountain of new colours, formulations and formats on offer for summer, but we reckon Estée lauder’s new Pure Colour Sensuous Rouge LipColour collection is the best place to start. The collection, created by Tom Pecheux, lauder’s Creative Make-up Director, features 12 shades (d25). The focus is on wearability – these shades are truly easy to wear, from year-round classic Sensuous Nude to coral pinks like Pink Seduction and plum tones like orchid Surrender. So what sets them apart? The lipsticks are surprising – they go on as smoothly and easily, yet superconcentrated pigment and key technology means the colour lasts longer than a regular lipstick. The collection is about classic, modern beauty, with a focus on glamour rather than fashion. Pecheux is adamant about ditching glitzier shades, even when brighter days might draw us towards something sparkly: “Shimmer lipsticks make me want to puke – so disgusting!” he says. We have been told.

Many of us are conservative about lipstick, and confine ourselves to the same safe colours day in, day out. for my money, it’s hard to beat a classic Chanel red (like Gabrielle). But inventive new formats are deeply alluring. lipstick houses are reinventing the humble bullet case all the time, from Guerlain’s retro-style popup Rouge Automatique to soft crayons and markers (easier to apply in the rear-view mirror and on the bus, for one thing). We’ve raved about Clinique’s Chubby Stick lip crayons before – pure genius. Multi-tasking is an increasing feature, too: Maybelline Superstay 24hr Lip Colour (d13.89) is a colour and gloss combo; Smashbox Limitless Lip Stain and Colour Seal Balm (d26), in fruity colours from Guava to Berry, has a felt tip-like colour stain on one end and a balm on the other: wear together or separately. it stays put – and makes achieving a strong red lip child’s play.

Glosses now are all about staying power. Try fresh Grenadine from the l’oréal Glam Shine Fresh 6 Hours range (d12.99). and velvety Gloss d’Armani comes in 18 high-definition colours (d32). To get true colour from a lipstick, use the make-up artists’ trick and neutralise lips with YSl Touche Éclat before applying.

Pure Colour Sensuous Rouge LipColour at Estée Lauder counters nationwide from July 4.

From left: Estée lauder sensuous Rouge lipcolour, d25; gloss d’armani, d32; l’oréal glam shine fresh grenadine, d12.99; smashbox limitless lip stain and colour seal Balm, d26; Maybelline superstay 24hr lip colour, d13.89.

The Great Big Beauty Summer Test

We’ve tried out all the latest summer products, from exfoliators to body creams, scents to hair-rescuers, and here’s our top 10 best essentials for summer – with budget options too.

1.The ExfoliaTor REN MoRoccaN RosE otto sugaR Body Polish. We’ve tried the rest, but keep coming back to this luscious rose-scented scrub as the most effective and luxurious exfoliator. d50.

Cheap thrills: BotaNics of austRalia sMoothiNg salt scRuB contains river salt for a gentle skin-slough, plus gallons of macadamia nut oil to hydrate the skin, d14.99. at pharmacies, www.auscareireland.ie

2.The faCE-SaVEr cRèME dE la MER is the ultra-luxe choice for rescuing skin that’s seen too much sun. it’s currently available in a unique 100ml World oceans Day jar, for a limited time only, d290.

Cheap thrills: Not the cheapest sun cream, but utterly essential for your face this summer is Phyt’s high PRotEctioN suN lotioN sPf50. Natural mineral oxides form a barrier from both UVa and UVB rays, and the lack of any chemical substances means it’s ideal for fair and sensitive skin. Vitamin E and organic oils nourish and protect skin. Smells good, works hard. d36.

3. The BoDY CrEaM We’ve tried many body moisturisers, but find cult classic KiEhl’s cRèME dE coRPs (right) hard to beat. all profits from this limited-edition version go to the Teenage Cancer Trust. from d31.

Cheap thrills: We have a soft spot for BuRt’s BEEs 24 houR Body lotioN, with its natural shea butter and oils: there’s also a sensitive skin, and a fragrance-free, version. Great value, too. d12.95.

4. The BoDY oil Jo MaloNE dRy Body oils capture the freshness of two top colognes – lime Basil & Mandarin,

and English Pear & freesia – in the lightest oil formulation. apply to wet skin for a maximum moisturising boost. d50 each. Cheap thrills: NatuREllE d’aRgaN suBliME RadiaNcE glittERiNg dRy oil. a pretty, shimmering argan oil to give skin a healthy sheen. at Nelson’s Homeopathic Dispensary (01 679 0451), d19.95.

5. The BoDY SHiMMEr chaNEl chaNcE Eau fRaîchE shiMMERiNg touch is a lightly scented body gel that gives skin a ravishing summer shimmer. d45. Cheap thrills: st tRoPEz sKiN illuMiNatoR in rose gave

models’ skin an iridescent gleam on Erdem’s catwalk at london fashion Week. Use on face, arms and decollétage for radiance and glow. also in Gold and Violet. d19.99, at Brown Thomas.

6. The Hair-CarE Protect hair from the sun with WElla sP suN coNcENtRatE, which has UVa and UVB filters. add a few drops to your conditioner and leave in for the day. d15.99. Cheap thrills: l’oRéal ElvivE full REstoRE 5 60 sEcoNd saviouR. This intensive conditioning masque restores and strengthens damaged hair in record time. d7.79. also less than a tenner is Vo5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir with argan oil, an intensive new leave-in treatment to solve damage and dryness.

7. THE SCENT The best scents don’t come cheap. The latest summer scent from ysl, sahaRiENNE, is a fresh blast of lemon, italian bergamot and mandarin, with white floral and the slightest hint of ginger. like walking through a pine forest in the white heat of the day. from d60. Cheap thrills: l'occitaNE's new PRotEctivE Body lotioN sPf15 both protects and perfumes the skin with a light, fresh citrus scent. d24.50 at l'occitane stores nationwide from July 10.

8. The TraVEl KiT NEoM uttER RElaxatioN collEctioN makes an elegant travel companion, containing the

divine Tranquillity bath oil, a travel candle, luxurious body lotion and pillow mist to make any room more fragrant. d40, from Brown Thomas and Seagreen. Cheap thrills: schWaRzKoPf Bc BoNacuRE suN PRotEct tRavEl Kit contains three 100ml bottles to sort distressed summer hair, with shampoo, conditioner and a foam after-sun treatment. d15.95.

9. The Nail VarNiSH sally haNsEN’s coMPlEtE saloN MaNicuRE varnishes combine base, top coat and nailcare treatments along with colour (36 shades). and at d8.95 each, they’re way cheaper than a manicure.

Standout shades are Commander in Chic and Gray as Gray, while purple and plum shades are really hot going into next season, their nail expert Dana Caruso tells us. from selected pharmacies.

Cheap thrills: Yellow nails aren’t for everyone, but if you want to give this trend a whirl, experiment with EssENcE Nail vaRNish in Sun Dancer for a bargainous d1.29. at pharmacies and Dunnes Stores.

10. The MaSCara last year, laNcôME dominated the mascara market, with one Hypnôse Precious Cells selling worldwide every four seconds. New version hyPNôsE doll EyEs helps create a “shiny fringe” of lashes. d25.50. Cheap thrills: thE Body shoP Big & cuRvy WatERPRoof MascaRa is one of the better-priced around but has staying power, making it a fine holiday choice. d16.50.

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 35

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L’Amour Fou

THE GLOSS and Moët & Chandon continue the hugely successful Cinema Club this summer with a screening of the widely acclaimed fashion film, L’Amour Fou. This film documents the relationship between one of the greatest names in fashion history,Yves Saint Laurent, and his lover, Pierre Bergé. The public life of Yves Saint Laurent was as extravagant as it was decadent but few are familiar with the private life of the legend. In Pierre Thoretton’s L’Amour Fou, Pierre Bergé, the man with whom Saint Laurent shared four decades of life and love, reflects on the extraordinary history of their personal relationship. L’Amour Fou is an unmissable film event for fans of documentary film and fashion lovers.

If you and a guest would like to join us at 6pm on Thursday, July 21, at Denzille Lane Cinema, for a Moët & Chandon reception before the film, email register@thegloss.ie. Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Over -18s only.

Samsung Smartphones.

WHERE THE POSSIBLE BEGINS.

Home Getting Away From It All

If you are lucky enough to have a summer house, you’ll know it’s often the finishing touches to the interior that make the scheme work. Whatever style you choose, the use of a predominantly light colour palette and details that draw inspiration from the surroundings are key ...

1. Beach-cottage Style

P H oTog r AP H s by bA r ry M u r PH y

The use of natural materials and hardwearing but pretty soft furnishings gives interior designer Helen Turkington’s summer home, on the coast of Co Down, a breezy seaside attitude. “Beach-cottage style is all about creating a simple, clutter-free look and a relaxed atmosphere,” according to Turkington. “I took my cue from nature, pulling in elements inspired by the sea. Using plenty of white gave an airy, fresh feel.” Accented with a sea-inspired palette – soft shades of blues, navy and neutral shades like sand – helped create a look that is really easy to live with. Turkington’s tips: add interest to interior walls and ceilings with traditional clapboard or extra-wide tongue-and-groove panelling (used horizontally or vertically). Keep window treatments simple – white wide-slatted wood blinds or lightweight roman blinds look great. Sometimes it is the seemingly insignificant space or feature that provides the opportunity to reinforce the look and feel of the house. Turkington is a master at making thoroughfares functional and smart with attractive storage in hallways, book-lined corridors, and using quirky nooks to store neatly stacked logs for open fires in the evenings. clockwise from above: Helen Turkington at home in Antrim. h Quirky accessories like this fun beach sign add a personal touch. h In the living room, upholstered sofas and chairs in easy-care, hardwearing fabrics are pretty and practical. The ottoman is multi-functional, providing extra seating, somewhere to rest tired feet, or a place for the morning coffee tray. h Making the most of the vista: the sea view is framed by a pair of dramatic console lamps. h A functional hall makes sense: somewhere to store coats, boots and beach paraphernalia. Top Tip: Invest in cashmere throws and electric blankets for cosy winter breaks.

Source Book: Walls are painted in a selection of off-white matte emulsion from Colortrend by Helen Turkington, www.colortrend.ie. White console lamps, d175 each; floral upholstered Frederick armchair, d1,594 (excluding fabric); demi-lune console table, d1,200; chrome hurricane lanterns; d210 each; hall bench and matching coat rack, The White Company, to order; all at Helen turkington, 01 412 5138.

T h e G l o s s m a G a Z i N e | July 2011 | 37

Summer HOME

Nestled in the outskirts of a village on the east coast, this classic weatherboard-exterior seaside home has been charmingly decorated in a range of neutrals with a hint of blue, cleverly reflecting its rustic yet seaside surroundings. Many traditional country interiors, whether a substantial house like this one or a more modest cottage, make a special feature of the original structure of the building, like leaving rough-hewn beams exposed. Decorating with maritime touches, like sisal rugs, pieces of white coral and sea-scene artwork, all add to the charm. By focusing on texture and a soft colour palette, the interior is simple but elegant and the emphasis was on creating a dining and living area that could accomodate family gatherings of guests and visitors. The owners did not limit themselves to just one shade. Experimenting with different hues from soft white to dark grey using test pots of paint, graduating the tones from light to dark, the effect is much more interesting. They also introduced cushions and throws in tonal, mismatched patterned fabrics to add texture. Simple updates like refreshing wicker furniture with a fresh coat of paint each year will keep your summer home fresh. clockwIse froM Top lefT: An enormous pine kitchen table is great for casual entertaining. The owner prefers using good-quality, rattan mats to a formal tablecloth in the summer. The exposed beams throughout the house are treated with a water-based whitewash stain. h In the living room, a blue and white palette brings a certain freshness. The 1950s armchairs are covered in a mid-blue wool check (for similar, try the Sutherland wool collection from Colefax and Fowler). This summer house is a television-free zone, instead the owners use an overhead projector on a white wall to screen family movies. h A glimpse into the grey-painted library from the un-fussy hallway.

Source Book: Coir, seagrass and sisal flooring, at The NaTural INTerIor, www.naturalinterior. com. Vintage pine dresser, for similar try Buckley aucTIoNeers, 01 280 5408 and Moy aNTIques, www.moyantiques.com.

38 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

P h oTo g r A P h S by S I m o n U PTon , ST yl ed by Tom S C h e e r e r

2. Casual Country Living

Summer home

3. Rustic Charm

Dream of escaping to a shed at the bottom of the garden, or even better, a simple cabin on a stretch of shore? From the rudimentary corrugated iron-clad house we spotted on the shores of Lough Hyne in West Cork to this simple wooden shack, decorated with driftwood and seaside memorabilia, almost anywhere can transformed into your own peaceful getaway. The spare, wood-clad open plan interior – including the bedroom – is filled with the owners’ collection of marine bric-a-brac and antiques collected over the years. Bleached timber floors, netted fisherman’s glass floats, American-style cotton bed comforters all add to the simple rustic style. Auction house and salvage yard finds are key to maintaining a tight budget; a countertop rescued from an old shop makes an great island for eating while a vintage set of drawers serving as a room divider, cleverly hides the bedroom from view.

FroM Top leFT: The simple shed-like exterior. h This uncomplicated wooden structure serves as a working boathouse as well as a simple summer house. Boats are neatly stored in the rafters and hoisted up and down by a practical pulley system. h The bedroom is cleverly hidden behind a room divider. Painted bedside tables complement the bleached timber floor. The overlapping wooden wall slats are left exposed and untreated adding to the utilitarian feel. Top TIp: Try framed out-of-date nautical charts as an inexpensive alternative to original artwork.

P h oTo g r A Ph S By NI coL AS ToSI , STy Le d By M o NI q u e d u v e Au

Source Book: American style cotton bed comforters, Lexington, from d120, at House of fraser and arnotts. Imray nautical charts (coastal), www. imray.com or for historic maps (land-based), www.osi. ie. Specialist vintage one-off pieces of furniture, Peter JoHnson InterIors, www.peterjohnsoninteriors. ie and the pub/hotel furniture auctions at Herman WIlkInson, www.hermanwilkinson.ie.

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 39 37

reStaurant Strap

a summer Lunch

For clodagh McKenna lunch in the garden means simple starters and a great salad

Garden View A simple, innovative approach that really works is cause for celebration ... Katy Mc Guinness is impressed with a new Dublin restaurant

R

emember Ernie’s? During the 1980s, it was one of the few high-end restaurants that saw out the recession. I have reason to remember it with fondness, as it was there that I first met my about-to-bein-laws, just before Christmas in 1987. They had taken the news – delivered by phone a month beforehand – that their precious son was engaged to a woman whom they had never met with admirable equanimity. We arrived straight from the airport in a flurry of taxis and luggage and the first thing I did was knock a glass of champagne over my future mother-in-law. (She took it in good spirit and we’ve been getting along famously ever since.)

Ernie’s endured for almost another 20 years after that lunch. Then the space was home to Poulot’s, a shorter incarnation. And now it is Mulberry Garden, which sounds as if it should be a Chinese restaurant – but isn’t.

Instead, Mulberry Garden, run by Brian Lennon and Laura Peat of Ranelagh’s Eatery 120, is something rather wonderful. A purposebuilt restaurant, the dining room wraps around a lovely planted courtyard with water features.

There’s a Zen feel to the décor, which is restrained, the simple minimalism a backdrop that will never overpower the food. We thought it would make a great venue for a small wedding.

By restricting choice on the menu to just a couple of dishes for each course, the kitchen is able to reinvent that menu on a weekly basis, according to what is best and most seasonal. The menu is posted on the website each week. Waste is reduced and so prices can be kept down: the set dinner is d40 for three courses. In the wrong hands, this could be a recipe for dull eating. In chef John Wyer’s – he’s a veteran of L’Ecrivain – it is anything but.

Three of us opted for Terry Butterly’s Natural Smoked Haddock served with chargrilled new potato, confit free-range egg yolk and wild Howth Head leeks. This was a sublime dish, in which the elements were in perfect harmony, the runniness of the egg spilling over the other ingredients to create an incredibly delicious sauce. The only problem was the length of time

it took to get our waiter – an annoying, overconfident chap who promised more than he could deliver (literally) – to bring more of the wonderful hot fennel bread to wipe it all up. The other starter was Five Mile Town Goat’s Cheese: a pretty plateful of McNally’s Land Cress, Organic Beetroot, Pistachio Crumb and very fine Toasted Brown Bread. It was also excellent.

For mains, it was either Slow Braised Beef Cheek with Pickled and Puréed Cauliflower, Wild Garlic and Homemade Macaroni or Roast Atlantic Cod served with Wilted Romaine Lettuce, Truffled Potato Purée, Langoustine Broth, Smoked Bacon and Garden Peas. Both were fabulous dishes, the beef meltingly tender, but the cod had the edge. The intensely flavoured broth is served from a jug at the table by the chef.

It was one of the best dishes any of us had ever eaten.

The only pudding was Strawberries and Basil – strawberry and hibiscus jelly, vanilla pannacotta, lemon and basil sorbet, black pepper meringue. This is not really my kind of thing – too many slimy textures – but the two pudding eaters liked it well enough. Cheeses, however, were superb. Glebe Brethan, Ardrahan, Milleen’s and Crozier Blue, served with homemade rosemary crackers and a red onion, Granny Smith apple and Lannleire Irish honey purée.

Along with Wyer, the stars of Mulberry Garden are the producers who supply the restaurant. From Jenny McNally of Rush (familiar to market-goers in Dun Laoghaire, Leopardstown and elsewhere) who supplies the organic leaves, to Mr William Peat who foraged the wild leeks on Howth Head, to the Tiernan family of Dunleer who make the wondrous Glebe Brethan cheese, they are all Irish food heroes whose efforts are celebrated here.

I can’t advise you what to order at Mulberry Garden because, by the time you read this review, the menu will have moved on with the season. I would be surprised, though, if what you get isn’t very, very good. A meal for two, with cocktails to start and a bottle of Trimbach Riesling (which I can recommend) will come to around d130 before service. n Mulberry Garden, Mulberry Lane, Donnybrook, 01 269 3300, www.mulberrygarden.ie.

40 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

A few weeks ago, I was walking down Moore Street and I discovered a little treasure, The Paris Bakery, bakery on one side, café on the other.

It caught my attention with the wonderful smell of freshly-baked breads wafting out on to the street ... I had planned to have a few people around for a garden lunch so in I went to buy some good bread. On the left as you walk in is a counter of French pastries and baskets of freshly-baked breads – I picked up some focaccia and a few ficelles. I couldn’t resist taking a seat and ordering one of their café eclairs – perfect pastry, creamy coffee filling, supremely restorative ... (I went back just a few days ago and ordered a half-lobster from the specials menu for d15! It was the best lobster dish I’ve had in Dublin. Chef Alan Shepherd is ex-Fallon & Byrne). I headed home to prepare my garden lunch. Cumin Chicken Salad with Avocado and a Baked Lemon Ricotta were going to take centre stage so I decided to whip up a Sicilian hummus and a smoked mackerel and lemon pâté to go with the fresh breads. For the Sicilian hummuS, put 400g drained, cooked chickpeas into a food processor with the juice of 1 lemon, 20 basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic, 50g pine nuts, 50g almonds and 200ml olive oil – whizz until you get a smooth consistency. The mackerel and lemon pÂtÉ uses the same method: put 2 smoked mackerel fillets (Woodcock Smokery is my favourite), 150g cream cheese, 50g creme fraîche, juice of 1 lemon and lots of black pepper in a blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Serve these before the main event ...

Spiced cumin chicken and avocado Salad ingredientS: (serves 4) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp mild chilli powder 4 organic chicken breasts 12 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 red onion, finely chopped 4 gem lettuces, separated into leaves 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 3 Hass avocados, peeled and thickly sliced For tHe dressing: 250ml natural yogurt Juice and zest of 1 lime 2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped salt and pepper

Baked lemon ricotta cake

method: 1. Mix the oil and spices in a large bowl, then use the mixture to coat the chicken. Pan-fry the chicken (without extra oil) in a large nonstick frying pan for a few minutes each side. toss the tomatoes into any spiced oil left in the bowl, then add them to the pan. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more until the chicken is cooked and the tomatoes are warm and starting to soften. 2. Make the dressing by mixing the yogurt, lime and mint in a bowl and mixing well. toss the red onion, lettuce, coriander and avocados in the dressing and pile onto a large platter. 3. slice the warm chicken and tomatoes on top of the salad and dress.

method: 1. Place the ricotta in a bowl and mix in the 4 egg yolks, followed by the flour, lemon zest and juice and caster sugar – mix well. 2. in a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the ricotta mixture. 3. Place a saucepan over a low heat and melt the 70g butter. once melted take off the heat and stir in the crushed digestive biscuits. spoon the biscuit mixture into a 10-inch springform tin and press down the mixture using the back of a spoon to create a biscuit base. 4. Pour in the lemon ricotta cake mixture over the biscuit base.

5. Place in a pre-heated oven at 180˚C for 55 minutes. n

ingredientS: (serves 10) 400g ricotta zest and juice of 2 lemons 2 tbsps flour 4 eggs, separated 200g caster sugar 12 digestive biscuits, crushed 70g butter

sally Bendelow, MarKs & spencer’s head of hoMe design, says: “the hottest Buy for the suMMer is the autograph osLo Two-sEaTEr ouTdoor sofa (d779). it’s so versatile, coMe autuMn it can douBle indoors as a conservatory piece.”

INTELLIGENT DESIGN Karl Barnes, landscape designer, on creating great outdoor spaces

From his ever-so-stylish shop-cum-office in Dublin’s pretty suburb of Glasthule, Karl Barnes conceives some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces you’ll ever see, designing everything from townhouse gardens to rolling parkland estates. “my most challenging design at the moment is creating a new eleven-acre garden from a green field in Co Carlow,” he says. “rarely do you get the opportunity to design and oversee the construction of a garden with a one-acre lake complete with boathouse, new woodland walks, a formal French-style stableyard and mass planting schemes (see above middle). It’s nice for once not to have to worry about having enough space.” The large planting schemes are influenced by the work of world-renowned landscape architects James van Sweden (www.ovsla.com) and Piet oudolf (www.oudolf.com). “Huge drifts of ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials that sway in the breeze are a beautiful sight in full bloom. I was inspired by the architecture of the house: in this case, distinctively American with detailed stonework, pristine timberwork and a cedar shingle roof.” By contrast, he also loves working alongside a client (it’s been ten years so far), developing an Italianate terraced garden (see top) in Dublin, drawing inspiration from the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens (www.lutyenstrust.org.uk). mostly, Barnes’ clients come to him overloaded with ideas and simply need them fine-tuned and developed into an appropriate design, specific to their site. “My designs tend to have a strong backbone. I focus on clean lines which I then soften with a planting scheme: I always use a muted colour palette with great emphasis on movement and I avoid funky design detail and gimmicks.” recently, Barnes has noticed that clients are beginning to accept that everything does not need to be new or pristine, that a healthy mix of new and old works. A few distressed lanterns or table and chairs (he avoids the term rusty) or silvered teak gives a garden a lived-in feel. Even simple ideas like collecting rainwater from the gutters to water the garden are coming back: “People are back to viewing their house and garden as a home, not a commodity,” he says. “I live on the edge of Lough Furnace in Newport, Co Mayo and spend any time I can developing a small section of a bog, a very large and wet site.

While I’m very keen to put my mark on it I am also very careful to ensure my input blends seamlessly with the surrounding wilderness.”

Paris is a great source of inspiration for Barnes. “I love its beautiful courtyards and squares all hidden from sight behind huge wooden doors. You can’t beat sitting in Place des Vosges on a summer’s day, people-watching. Visit again when the snow is thick on the ground and you can really see the magnificent architecture through the bare branches of the pleached lime trees. Turn a corner and you’re met with a beautiful stone water font, hundreds of years old and no graffiti!” One simple tip? “Don’t over design, know when to stop.” Formality at The Cowshed, Glasthule, Co Dublin, 01 280 8071; www.formalityonline.com.

This Glossy

lifestyle A moveAble FeAsT eating outside always feels special whether your outdoor area is a postage stamp or a rambling garden. Just add a table, pull up a chair and you’re all set for alfresco dining. and, what better way to welcome summer than with some spanking new dining chairs that look as good inside as they do out? these Plastic Fantastic chairs (there are also tables, sofas and footstools) from cool dutch label JsPR are based on classic shapes but with a twist; each piece is coated in special, ultra hardwearing rubber and can be customised to any colour. large chairs suit bigger, open-air spaces with smaller, more compact pieces best for city terraces and balconies (prices from d550). and the heavier the better in terms of weathering our blustery summer winds as well as avoiding having to find your furniture in your neighbours garden. www.jspr.eu.

ummEr Is upoN us, and suddenly interior decoration has moved its focus to the great outdoors. Designed by Marine Peyre, the fun and flexible OutBed was definitely created with the summer party season in mind. A set of cushions is woven seamlessly end to end and surrounded by a peripheral rope, allowing you to manipulate it into a comfortable seat, couch or even bed when unfolded. Comfy. But, it doesn’t stop there.

The OutBed is also waterproof, UV and chlorine resistant and can even float, making it the perfect accessory for a pool party or simply somewhere to crash out with a good book. Available in a great selection of colours, from d500 for six pillows; www.marinepeyre.com.

Fit For a Partya good tray saves on legwork and is essential for stress-free summer entertaining in the garden. as well as being waterproof and heat resistant, we love that these trays come with a wall-mounting hook, moving it from serving tray to wall art in a split second. they work hard and look great. What’s not to love? available at Milo Fitzgerald’s new Kilkenny-based gift store, Gorgeous. Le Boudoir Collection trays, from d49; www.gorgeousgiftsandinteriors.com.

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 41

wINE

Great Deli matches MARy DoWey FINDS WINeS To TuRN DelI FooD INTo A SuMMeR FeAST

I

f you want to make your food taste good at any time of year, it’s worth trying to choose a wine with flavours to enhance it – that’s pretty much accepted, even if it’s Wednesday evening with nothing on the horizon except pizza hurriedly matched with a bottle from the corner shop. In summer the same rule applies … only more so. The less you feel like complicated cooking and the stronger the lure of the deli counter, the greater the

need for a cleverly chosen wine to transform simple food into a stellar treat.

It’s exactly ten years since I sweated a whole summer away writing Food and Wine: Matching

Made Simple – a small book aimed at taking both the mystery and the fear out of the sometimes complicated flavour marriage business. It has since been translated for eight foreign editions (including, quite bizarrely, a Russian one, and most rewardingly, a French one – a big surprise in a land were everybody claims to understand both food and wine instinctively).

Now it’s out of print. If it weren’t, I bet I would have rewritten bits of it by this stage, having fact underscores one of the most crucial points about the whole pairing process: it’s more about haphazard discoveries than hard-and-fast rules.

As with many a fun pursuit, the longer you do it the better you become. It’s a matter of tasting a dish and the wine which you think may suit it individually first, then together. Are they really made for each other? If the answer is yes, each should seem even nicer in the other’s company than alone. A bit like people in a perfect relationship – neither shouting the other down.

No need to be too precious about it, mind you – particularly when summer eating and drinking are supposed to be hassle-free. It’s handy, all the same, to have a few cracking

S

ince her on

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arrival

daughter, the

McGrail’s

scene,

of

Molly, Carina

entertaining

has taken a distinct turn

for the casual. The producer of the SuMMERTIME FESTIVAl which runs this month at

combinations up your sleeve. Without costing a cent more than less successful duos, they’ll

Kildare Village, and her husband, Joe, still manage to

brighten up even the gloomiest July evening in a flash.

have friends over for lunch or supper every second or third weekend,

k

10 Splendiferous Summer Matches 1. SAuVIgNoN bLANc with tomato, basil and feta salad 2. LugANA with fresh pea and summer herb risotto 3. AuSTRALIAN RIeSLINg with prawns or crab 4. uNoAkeD WHITe buRguNDy with salmon terrine 5. SouTHeRN FReNcH RoSé with salade niçoise 6. SPANISH RoSé with paella 7. bARbeRA with bresaola or beef carpaccio and rocket 8. PINoT NoIR with cold roast chicken and ham 9. TeMPRANILLo with lamb shish kebabs 10. MoScATo D’ASTI with raspberry or strawberry pavlova

k TRANSFORMATIVE TREATS FOR d10 WITH THAI PRAWN SALAD: McWILLIAMS MouNT PLeASANT eLIzAbeTH SeMILLoN, HuNTeR VALLey 2005/6. An astonishing bargain, this Hunter Semillon ranked as a great Australian classic is smooth and citrussy with enough richness to cushion chilli burn. It will keep for a few more years, turning richer and smokier. From selected Tesco outlets, usually d19.99, on special offer at d10.

WITH TAPAS: PRADo Rey RoSADo, RIbeRA DeL DueRo 2009/10. Swish Ribera del Duero isn’t noted for giveaway prices… but here comes a superaffordable rosé – juicy, full-flavoured and perfect for all sorts of summer dishes.

From KRC Wine Warehouse, Dublin 6; Bin No 9, Dublin 14; Ardkeen, Waterford; Barrys, Midleton, Co Cork; Adare Beverages, Galway, usually d10.99.

which is not bad going for two working parents of an 18-month old, but the complex dishes that were a feature of the couple’s entertaining pre-Molly are a thing of the past. “GETTING TOGEThER with friends over a plate of decent food and a few good bottles of wine is the best way I know to relax and catch up on all the news,” says Carina.

Carina and Joe do most of their shopping in the REd STAblES MARkET in St Anne’s Park near their home in Raheny on Saturday mornings.“We buy our vegetables from dENIS hEAly and like to support Irish artisan producers [some of whom will be featured in the Good Food Ireland section of the Summertime Festival].” The couple supplement their market purchases with mid-week forays into the city to FAllON & byRNE for meat, ShERIdAN’S for cheese, olives, prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes, and the flower ladies on Grafton Street for seasonal blooms, this month, pink peonies. Wines come from either MOlOuGhNEy’S in Clontarf or O’bRIEN’S.

“I usually do the starter and pudding and Joe looks after the main course,” says Carina. SuMMER FAVOuRITES – cooked on the barbecue and eaten in the garden if the weather permits – include big platters of Mediterranean antipasti or prawns on skewers followed by Joe’s overnight-marinated Greek leg of lamb and an Italian sponge cake with mascarpone and summer berries, followed by a plate of Irish farmhouse cheeses.

Neven Maguire (“amazing roast potato salad with balsamic, incredible pear, ginger and whiskey cake”) and the Gloss maGazine’s own Clodagh McKenna are the food writers to whom Carina turns for inspiration, while Joe’s sister Sinead Wilde, who lives in Normandy and organises foodie holidays in the region, provides advice and recipes via email. For details of the Summertime Festival, see www.kildarevillage.com

WITH bARbecueD SPARe RIbS: beLLINgHAM SHIRAz-VIogNIeR, coASTAL RegIoN 2008. The fad for adding a splash of Viognier to Syrah/Shiraz isn’t always convincing – but the opulence of the blend works well in this satisfying South African red, especially when teamed with spicy, chargrilled meat. Great value.

From Dunnes Stores, d9.95.

42 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

Above: Cheese knives, Sagaform, about £14.99stg for set, at Still For life, Belfast.

Left: linen napkins, from a selection, at Bottom Drawer at Brown Thomas.

pH oToGRApH By SIoBH AN ByRNe

discovered some more dazzling wine matches for certain dishes in the meantime. That very

TrAvel

MAN in A SUITCASe Tim magee is frustrated at the lack of dining options at Dublin Airport’s T2 but a London trip makes up for it …

“Sorry, we’re closed,” she proudly said from behind what was starting to feel like the aptly named Flutes Bar in the almost-new T2. Well, it was 7pm, and who would possibly be looking for champagne after 7pm on the way to their holidays on Friday night of the June bank holiday weekend?

The Chocolate Lounge was the next stop – a sushistyle conveyor concept with desserts that taste of fridge on the belt, instead of sushi, and platters from the kitchen.We ordered an antipasti platter, after a warmer welcome here, but the friendly young waiter was already apologising as they’d stopped serving food at 7:30pm, he’d ask the chef and see what he could do. Antipasti doesn’t need a chef – it just needs some Fisher Price instructions and basic motor skills.

Cop-on would prevail, I hoped. It was 7.37 pm but it wasn’t happening regardless – the welcome was turned on its head when the response came from the chef, audible to all at the Chocolate Lounge, who roared “No! No! No!” Lovely. The sheepish waiter crept back to us but didn’t need to say anything beyond mouthing “Help me”.

If all else failed, a burger in Burger King would have to do. I haven’t eaten a BK in years, but that wasn’t going to change any time soon as it too closed at 7.30pm. The open kitchen of nearby Harvest looked marginally more promising: farmers’ market marketing with cold cuts, fresh fish’n’chips, lasagne, burgers and pizza – basically what amounts to our national menu and still the default setting for most hotels, bars and country cafés. We went for frittata and lasagna. Both were awful, inedible. We had to leave quickly too, as it was closing at 8pm.

T1 isn’t much better. A few weeks before, en route to Pisa with a gaggle of hungry ladies, all primed for spending their money in The Loop, we were told that the Garden Terrace, which probably does the best food in the airport, only does it till 7.40. It was 7.40.

Most of us are vulnerable when we travel – as it is often late or very early – and often tired or stressed.

These restrictions and lack of real connection with food or the travelling public, at the airport, but also at our train stations and petrol stations, conspire to get us and our much needed visitors to capitulate and eat the scary sandwich, or, if you’re really unlucky, fried brown things: reheated poultry, pastry, potatoes and processed meats.

Those small boxes of fat and stodge signify failure for the traveller, where each bite says, I’m badly organised, I’m a bad parent, a bad person.

There are many good things about T2 but needing to fly between 9-5 to enjoy all of it seems like we’re going backwards. It’s a real pity the people who decide when you can eat at Dublin Airport have managed to recreate the sense of organised confusion which used to prevail.

Yohji Yamamoto, at the Tapestry Gallery at the v&A Museum, london.

Below: The pool at The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge.

DesTinaTion: London Before I launch into London, just a note: Around this time of year the last flights to Heathrow and Gatwick are full of us heading to our airport hotel before an early long haul departure. Why do we do it? Gatwick is only 25 minutes from Brighton. Brighton in the summer is like Graziaon-sea and it’s a much better idea to fly early the day beforehand to stay and play around the beach there than add another night of air-con and engine noise in an airport hotel. Or what about this? Heathrow is 30 quid in a cab from Bray. This pristine sleepy village has more Michelin stars than Ireland or Manchester but the real stars are the bars. Supper in the Hinds Head or Parky’s pub, The Royal Oak, and a night in the movie set that’s Red Roofs trump any airport hotel experience.

July is the best time to do a one- or two-nighter in London, as by August it’s too hot, too grumpy and empty.

Pick and stick to an area and don’t spend your time on tubes, trains and cabs nor on a formal lunch and dinner.

Summer dining should be sociable, irreverent fun, which London, now, does so well. Staying in Soho means you can visit good shops and still get to the sublime V&A, in a day. It’s also grazing heaven. You can pick and mix your way through the day at Hix on Brewer Street or Selfridges, Bocca di Lupo, Polpo, or if you are many, the talented

a VieW

Tommi Myers’ Wahaca, before crowning the day at the king – and queen – of all pubs, The French House.

Leicester Square wouldn’t usually be my first choice as a base, as I normally opt for the knicker drawer hotel rooms of The Gore or The Rookery, but that’s too much taxi time in July. Two unlikely bedfellows have opened their doors in the last few months, which couldn’t be any closer geographically or further away from each other in style. I stayed in both on consecutive nights and they were near perfect. Fergus Henderson has opened the yacht-like St John hotel, which is as minimalist and as exceptional as his food. The VIP room-cum-hotel next door, the rock’n’roll W, still smells deliciously like a new car. With its trickedout rooms and Jean-Georges’ food, it’s better than any of the other nearby internationals.

Soho isn’t for everyone but The Berkeley and her posh sisters probably are, and they are a little more affordable in the summer. The heavenly rooftop pool at The Berkeley hotel is an oasis that would be at home in any great European metropolis. n

from a TaBLe

The sTaff are dressed like Dexy’s Midnight Runners, the room is East Village. It’s not precious though. Spuntino is like Bocca di Lupo’s friendlier younger brother, who’s in a band. Most of the room is made up of the three sides of one communal dining bar with the backing track of happy, transient diners. The crew are fast and efficient, the room is cool and a nice escape from the West End heat and hordes. You can spend the day milling through bijou pork and apple, spicy mackerel or beef and marrow sliders, softshell crabs with spicy aioli, or just drop in for 20 minutes for crispy egg and soldiers and a coffee. Along with The Wolseley, it’s the perfect departure lounge for your journey home. Spuntino, 61 Rupert Street, London, W1. No reservations. Open 11am-midnight, Monday-Saturday; noon-11pm, Sundays.

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 43

travel

the gloss Hotel Spy

a foodIe weekend ...

When it comes to weekend breaks, there are some things Ireland does really well: spectacular scenery, romantic castles, wonderful seafood and a sense of warmth and welcome. bringing all these elements together is something that ashford Castle in Cong, Co Mayo has perfected over 70 years, and its owners’ experience at creating an atmosphere of old-world relaxed luxury is apparent from the moment you drive through its imposing gates and through the rolling green parkland. on the banks of lough Corrib, ashford’s stunnIng loCatIon is part of its magic, and guests can wander around the immaculate gardens, take in a round of golf, fish on the lake or even partake in a bit of falconry. Inside, the grandeur continues, with dark wood panelling, mullioned windows, chandeliers and deep sofas, beautifully furnished bedrooms and well-appointed bathrooms. the food, on which ashford prides itself, is showcased to full effect on the seafood appreciation weekends which combine visits to local producers with the full ashford experience. a trip to the family-run Connemara smokehouse on bunowen Pier in ballyconneely and a boat ride to the mussel beds of killary are punctuated by scenic drives through Connemara. we were delighted to find a table laid in white linen waiting on a windswept beach, complete with chilled rosé, and Chef serving up steaming pots of mussels in white wine and garlic. the seafood dinner that night, where head chef stefan Matz pulled out all the stops with a menu that included raviolo of lobster and smoked organic salmon bisque sauce, followed by seared fillet of wild turbot and smoked oysters, was pretty damn memorable. decadence at its best, and a reminder that a weekend in Ireland can still feel a world away. For information on Ashford Castle’s Seafood Appreciation Weekends call 094 954 6003; www.ashford.ie.

W

e are soon going to be hearing a lot more about the Victorian seaside town of bangor in Co down.

It’s home to a cute little boutique hotel called the salty dog. It’s also home to the finest cooking on this island. we didn’t think that derek Creagh had the restraint in him. during his years at the pass in the then-starred deanes, this big gentle man created some of the PrettIest and tastIest food anywhere. It never felt that it was created for you and me though – it was created to maintain the love of a tyre company’s guidebook, and it certainly wasn’t simple. we didn’t think that he could do simple, and neither did the judges of the great british Menu when they kept slapping his talented hands for straying from the brief. he seemed like a one trick pony, albeit with a sensational trick of creating delicious but complicated food. now that the best restaurateur in northern Ireland has parted company with his best chef his goals are probably the same: he needs the warmth from the star. but Creagh’s route is different now, constrained by recession, footfall and a kitchen the size of a car he has been forced to ratchet back the science and the tech and replace it with something you can’t buy, nor emulate – a dIVIne Palate. derek was always worth the detour, but the mind-blowing tastes and sIMPlICIty that is on show at the salty dog means he’s now worth the trip alone. drop everything and book before this dog has his day.

The Salty Dog Bistro and Cafe, 10-12 Seacliff Road, Bangor, Co Down, 048 9127 0696; www.thesaltydog.com

Chefland can feel like a male dominion most of the time, but the truth is that restaurant food on either side of the Atlantic has been much more influenced by the grandes dames of cooking like Alice Waters and Eugénie Brazier. Even the blight of TV chefs can be traced back to superwomen like Julia and Fanny.

Things aren’t any different in Ireland. Our own Darina Allen, Theodora FitzGibbon and, most importantly, Myrtle Allen have done more good for Irish food than all of the boys put together. That’s why I stayed and dined in Ballymaloe House last month.

The house and grounds were perfect as always – essentially a Versailles for foodies – and the weather and the welcome from Róisín were warm and sunny too.

The bedroom was old school, classy, bright, exactly as we’d hoped, and even the peacock outside the bedroom door was bigging up what was to come.

There was something amiss during dinner though. The young man looking after our table seemed in over his head when we went into detail about dishes like the casseroled pork. It’s standard practice for good kitchens like Ballymaloe to let beginners cut their teeth, but that’s behind closed doors where mistakes and an obvious lack of knowledge aren’t going to unsettle the diner. The excellently enthusiastic wine waiter fared better. When my pig came out it was completely different to what had been described to me – the dark porkish colours showed it once had been a free-range pedigree but it tasted dry and was only manageable with the accompanying sauce. Aside from the desserts – which, like the bread, were exceptional – the other courses combined world-class ingredients with perfunctory cooking. Ballymaloe House is supposed to be about the best ingredients presented simply, but taste is the most important thing on a plate and this was as if no-one was tasting the final result. The dining room had the same vibe. It was flat, little atmosphere, no music, just too reverent, barely audible diners spread across two rooms. No-one doubts the skill or passion of the people behind this institution. Darina’s books, along with Larousse, would be the only things we’d grab if the kitchen was on fire. They still grow the fairest food in the land and Myrtle Allen will forever be the mother of good food in Ireland, but we hope they start tasting things at the pass, and maybe put some music on for the pilgrims to this global institution. Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co Cork, 021 465 2531.

®

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Surprisingly tasty Nature Valley and associated words and designs are trademarks of General Mills © 2011.

Strap

This Glossy Life Play to your strengths, follow your heart and seek and lend help: friendship, shared passions and karma are key to three new creative ventures ...

Femmes Fatales

F

ilm Fatale, a bi-monthly film event is really a fabulous party centred around the sceening of a classic film, chosen for its fun, fashion, glamour and Hollywoodnostalgia quotient, according to Anna Taylor and Fernande Parente, whose brainchild it is. Cinema lovers dress up and flock to The Sugar Club for an experience akin to those in the golden era of Hollywood – all fabulous soundtrack, live performances, costumes and cocktails. This style of vintage re-creation is a trend that’s popular all over the world and, with Taylor’s job as programme manager for the Screen Cinema (and her MA in film from Queen’s) and Parente’s one-woman company This Way Up Productions running special events for the Screen Directors Guild, these women are well-placed to make it work here. They really get how atmosphere plays a part in the enjoyment of seeing a movie. “It’s about more than going to the cinema, it’s about turning a movie into a night-long experience,” says Taylor. “The film sets the theme but it’s just one element.”

Guests are inspired to dress up in the style of the decade. “It was like stepping back in time,” says Rio de Janeiro-born Parente of their recent Casablanca event. “Everything mirrored the 1940s style of the movie – the war-time fashion, the DJ playing the tunes of the time, the piano player and singer’s performances true to the style of the period.” As movie downloads and laptops seem ubiquitous, both women are passionately determined to celebrate cinema-going in general. Film Fatale presents Roman Holiday on August 6 at The Sugar Club, Dublin – get on your Vespa and book tickets now, D15; www.tickets.ie

Anna wears the Jitterbug dress; Fernanda wears the Capone dress; both LuCy in disguise (by Lily Allen and Sarah Owen) at Brown Thomas Dublin.

PoRTRAITS by Conor Horgan ASSISTED by Brid ní LuasaigH MAkE-UP by searon MCgrattan www.searonMCgrattan.CoM

T h e TGhleo G s sl o MsAsGM AA ZG I NAeZ I| NSeptember e | July 2009 2011 || 45 15

this glossy life

This year (Turkish-born but Wicklow-based) Umit Kutluk, ace student of The Grafton Academy stole, literally, all the shows. Kutluk is the 2011 winner of three intercollege competitions; DCU Young Designer of the Year, DIT Designer of the Year, UCD Designer of the Year, as well as the Gillette Venus Dress of your Dreams competition. Kutluk is renowned for his attention to detail and use of luxurious, good quality fabrics. “Having this space at Atelier 27 is such a great opportunity,” says Kutluk. “I’m displaying sample sizes, one offs, but the collection is available to order to size and specification.”

Amy Woulfe Flanagan, 26, a graduate of NCAD, is installed on the third floor: “I love the location, that the rent is affordable, and I love Ruth’s enthusiasm.”

KarmicPrinciples

S

tumbling over a bag of cash in the street is one way to get your business started. That’s what happened to Ruth Ní Loinsigh, owner of Om Diva, a treasure trove of vintage on Drury Street in Dublin. “There was a thousand euro in it, in coins. I reported it, of course, but when it wasn’t claimed, I was allowed keep it.” The money meant Ní Loinsigh could make her first buying trip for her vintage stall in the George’s Street Arcade. As the vintage trend gathered momentum, business grew and she moved into a shop on Drury Sreet; now she has the lease for the whole building. On the ground floor and in the basement of number 27 is Om Diva: vintage dresses, coats, shoes and accessories as well as pieces sourced by Ní Loinsigh on her buying trips to India and the Far East. Up the stairs to her newest venture, Atelier 27, two floors of small individual studios, rentable for just d80 a week, above which sits yet another studio, dedicated to Ní Loinsigh’s legendary, laidback Sip ‘n’ Stitch evening sewing classes, a bright, beautiful space overlooking the rooftops of Castle Market. “Do I believe in karma? Yes I do,” says Ní Loinsigh, “that money started me off, now I feel compelled to help young fashion designers get a start.” So this impulse became a business venture, but one steeped in Ní Loinsigh’s sunny attitude to getting on with things. Anyone who meets Ní Loinsigh talks about how she sort of radiates kindness. She even installed a kitchen (bright turquoise walls, black and white tiled floors, and proper cutlery, china and cafetiéres) so the young tenant designers could give clients a coffee and save on buying lunch in town. “It’s so hard getting a foothold – I hope that being in a communal space, but with a quiet space to design, is useful to them.” The clothes (and jewellery) of the designers will be displayed in a room dedicated to them and they will benefit from the footfall generated by Om Diva below. We photograph Ní Loinsigh the day after her launch. Her two small daughters, Willow and Rosie, potter up and down the stairs. The sun is streaming through the studio windows. She is happy. “The place was heaving, we ran out of sangria, it was wonderful.” Atelier 27, 27 Drury Street, Dublin 2, 01 679 1211.

46 | July 2011 | T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e

this glossy life

Acting Up

I

magine an acting class where your classmates are a company director, a stand-up comedian, an accountant and a lawyer. Given a script to study, the process of character development begins. One student, a woman, is asked by tutor Hope Brown, to shout. She can’t. “She literally has never been able to show anger, kept it all inside.

So we begin a process ... by the end of the course, she can shout.” Actor, director and founder of the Agni Acting Studio on Dublin’s Pearse Street, Hope Brown teaches acting to non-professionals, in three-hour weekly sessions, over eight weeks. “People come for all sorts of reasons and at all ages: because they’ve always wanted to act but were too shy; because they have to perform in their role at work; to overcome a fear.” San Diego-born Brown knows stagefright firsthand. “I had finished acting school in Chicago. I was signed to a big agency. I had been cast in some Hollywood movies. But increasingly I was freezing at auditions.” Brown moved to Ireland 13 years ago and, with Deirdre O’Connell at The Focus Theatre, he went back to basics, stripping away all that he had learned, and started over. “ I learned to act again. I stopped trying so hard I suppose, got in touch with my own emotions. It was about honesty, really.” The experience made him a better actor, and he decided to use his experience to make a business of helping others to act.

“Acting in front of others is a terrifying experience. I’m not a therapist but we dig deep for each role, and in that process we uncover all sorts of things, with a positive outcome.”

Being in Ireland and more recently, starting a business, has required a very different attitude. “I canned my agressive American approach,” he smiles, “I became more gounded, and I listened more.” Brown believes in giving and asking for help. “My business has grown organically: I’ve traded services – acting classes for website design, for instance. I network, I’m open. As I say to clients who are in roles where they need to think on their feet, accept the curveball that’s thrown at you, don’t reject it – if you do, the energy hits the floor and dissipates.” www.agniactingstudio.com

T h e G l o s s M A G A Z I N e | July 2011 | 47

over and out over it and are desperately casting around for the next

and it looks as if she must once

awesome holiday experience. Connie has the answer

again answer Dame Enda’s call and

and is cleverly packaging gritty get-down-and-dirty,

therefore postpone her Wexford

live-the-real-Ireland, economic horror vacations.

posturisings until August. She is

She is already working on the holiday website,

just back from Quinta, where she

which shows gloomy pictures of truly awful abandoned

had a very successful holiday even if her usual watering

housing estates in depressing bogs clinging to the

holes were somewhat devoid of the omnipresent wall-

outskirts of dead towns, putting particular emphasis

to-wall SoCoDu native. Naturally, she and her little

on the lack of running water, sinking structures and

darlings managed to outshine all the competition and

bleak landscapes plagued with feral wildlife. She knows

even Ruairi the Ruinator wasn’t too embarrassing in

this will have an immediate appeal to the adventurous

his absolute element simply drowning in golf and

German types who are always looking for ways to get

Sagres lager. Molly and Fionn are beginning to show

closer to nature. She will draw up a list of all the local

promise at the dismal game and about time too,

town attractions to further entice them, emphasising

after several years of intensive coaching. They will now

customary dining in the chippers and the Chinese and

A VIEW FROM THE JEEP

absolutely sail into their Dublin club of choice, and while these institutions are hardly the epicentre of glamour and certainly Connie herself would never be caught dead among the Lemon Pringles, golf club membership cards

Indian takeaways, and of course, visits to the forsaken pubs. She should throw in some sporting activities like ‘spot the native working’ or the even more elusive ‘spot the native spending’! It will be like the Wild West pioneering

new and fabulous staff in loco parentis. Yes staff, plural!

While others stand by and wring their hands, enterprising Connie has found a use for the zombie estate. Honora Quinn is impressed

Connie has hired a Greek couple to assist her in managing

work for Connie, who is quite ecstatic that her whimsical

beseeching their governments to charge no bloody interest

the family homes and taking care of all the domestic details,

tourism idea has gained official approval and she is to head

on our loans. They will clamour to their stern leaders to

including the children and Ruairi. The woman is a highly

the quango set up to oversee the implementation of this

write off our debt and just give us the damn money. They

experienced paediatrician and he is a brilliant engineer, and

project. Her idea is to lure European tourists, particularly

will have such an overwhelming fear that the Irish condition

they are so delighted to work for Connie’s tax-free pittance

German and French ones, to lesser known areas of Ireland.

might spread to their shores that they will do everything in

as they can support a whole village of former Athens

Connie has noticed that ‘glamping’ has become almost as

their powers to avoid this happening. Deceptively simple

civil servants back home. Domestics sorted, its back to

mainstream as Marbella. Real trend-seekers are already so

Connie solution to the current emergency!

are just another one of those many Goldcoast tribal badges that one’s offspring must have in their Prada wallets, alongside the pre-loaded credit cards.

Connie will now pack them all off to Wexford with her

days of long ago, they will LOVE it!

She is confident they can charge a fortune for these holidays. The benefits will be fabulous, the cash will roll in, but more importantly, Connie is certain these tourist trailblazers will run screaming back to their own countries

I l lu st r at Io n by n atal Ie C ass Idy

C

onnie has a very busy month ahead

English-born actress and singer, Jane Birkin, is most famously known as Serge Gainsbourg’s muse. She has contributed time to humanitarian projects and has been awarded the the British OBE and the French Ordre national du Mérite. She has been living in France since the 1960s and this month she stars in a new French comedy, Si Tu Meurs, Je Te Tue

She Does

Have three daughters, one from each of her marriages,

She Doesn’t

to John Barry, singer Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques

Gainsbourg. “I don’t know what all the fuss was about.

Understand all the controversy about that famous duet with The English just didn’t understand it. I’m still not sure they

Doillon l Acknowledge the impact of her career on her children now. "We didn't realise at the time it might

know what it means” l Like to look like anyone else.

be difficult for the children with their parents being

“I always hang things on my bags because I don’t

on the radio” [singing 'Je t'aime moi non plus’, their

like them looking like anyone else’s.” Birkin was the inspiration for the most desired and sought-after bag,

famously breathy love song] l Believe it’s people

the Hermès Birkin l Ignore the news. She is known

who make any country welcoming. She moved to Paris in the 1960s with her daughter, after separating from

as an activist, taking part in protests to try to make a

her first husband, John Barry l Love to read Dickens.

difference. "I think it's revolting that we care more about

“It makes me chuckle to myself. He has taken me to

money than about the suffering of those who make us

another world” l Realise that others are less fortunate.

rich” l Feel comfortable being described as a style icon.

crossing the road trying to find water, I stopped thinking

and not really caring what other people think” l Mind

about my problems” l Feel at home every time she hears the

working. "I realised I was working because it was very lonely not to." She has been living alone for the past 19 years l Mind the

bells of Big Ben l Admit that the shocking things she did were to please the men in her life. “I always did what they wanted – I was scared of losing them” l Like to smile.“It takes ten years off”

48 | July 2011 | T H E G l o S S M A G A Z I N E

This month: Jane Birkin

crowd being close when performing. “I remember sitting on the edge of the stage – these Japanese girls kept touching me”

ph oto g r ap h by get t y

“I think it’s really about wearing exactly what you like

“When I met women in Sarajevo who’d lost their children

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