Love? Or just a bunch On the Run for of chemicals messing Good:Women’s with your head? Mini Marathon
Hot Chocolate: the world’s most seductive sweet Spring 2010 Issue Three
Only Fools and Hoaxes You can fool LOTS of the people MOST of the time!
Reclaim Your Brain No Pain, Big Gain
Fit as a Fiddle
“She’s ugly. Why did you bring me this thing”
‘Frank’ talk from fiddler extraordinaire, Frankie Gavin
Dino De Laurentiis
e e frGAZINE
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The Waiting Room Magazine will not be responsible for, nor will it return, unsolicited manuscripts. Transparencies or prints submitted for publication are sent at the owner’s risk and, while every care is taken, The Waiting Room Magazine cannot accept any liability for loss or damage. The views expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Waiting Room Magazine. The entire contents of the magazine are the copyright of The Waiting Room Magazine and may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of the publishers.
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inside features
regulars
09 On the Run for Good the ever-growing phenomenon that is Dublin’s Flora Women’s Mini Marathon
03 Notebook short snippets of interest
13 Hot Chocolate chocoholic reporter, Maureen Corbett’s favourite assignment ever, and it shows!
welcome
Staffers here at The Waiting Room Magazine have suddenly found themselves writing for a much increased readership. Hospitals got wind of this unique magazine, written specifically for patients, that was available to GPs’ waiting areas, and we suddenly got calls requesting supplies from these large institutions. Some hospitals had banned magazines because, traditionally, they come, second-hand, from unknown sources, so it’s gratifying to know that by our second issue we have already had a significantly beneficial effect on the lot of our readers, you waiting patients. Mind you, we had always planned to supply hospitals, but later, and this sudden, rather unexpected upsurge in demand, has caused us to increase our print run to 80,000, making us, already, one of the largest circulation magazines in the state. But no one around here is lolling around on his or her laurels: we’re too busy preparing an online version! After the floods and freeze-up the country has been through, everyone is yearning for summer and, if not exactly long sunny weeks, then at least, long days. This of course brings to mind the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon in June, the ideal win-win opportunity to do yourself, and some favourite charity, a whole lot of good. Our female staffers are all promising to take part. You should join them. I trust that your wait is being made slightly less trying by having this magazine to read. If so, please contact us just to let us know. In the meantime, as is becoming customary now, may I, on behalf of the team at The Waiting Room Magazine, wish you a speedy recovery and continued good health.
Maurice O’Scanaill, Editor
14 Only Fools and Hoaxes what’ll they think of next? Practical jokes through the ages
06 Review film critic, Paul O’Doherty reviews two recent releases, and our editor talks about his star of stars, Meryl Streep 24 Travel walking the historic route to Santiago De Compostella 26 Short Story there’s a twist in this tale 28 Kidz Bitz for the young, the young at heart, or if you’ve been waiting a really long time!
health 12 Reclaim Your Brain A timely life-belt for those of us who need a calculator to do 6x7 = ? 15 Under the Weather acupuncturist Kathleen Dowd takes a look at how wind effects are viewed through the eyes of exponents of both western and Chinese medicine
16 Is This Love? science casts a merciless eye on the supposed magical emotion
21 Up in the Hair it’s been on our minds, almost literally, forever. How come?
30 Fit as a Fiddle personal opinions from a man with lots of opinions, Frankie Gavin
competitions 05 Glenlo Abbey Hotel four breaks away to be had 27 Fantastic Four back by popular demand! 29 Puzzlers’ Place test your wits and skills
25 Forewarned is Forearmed we’ve all had them, but how do vaccines work? Find out, in very plainspeak!
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parenting 19 Dinner for Two things you shouldn’t eat when you’re pregnant, and things that you certainly should!
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Editor Maurice O’Scanaill 087 120 2486 Contributors Paul O’Doherty, Maureen Corbett, Ciara Mohan, Kathleen O’Dowd and Breandan O’Scanaill Advertising Susan Maher 087 981 2503, Maurice Kennedy 087 965 5519, John Newberry 087 226 3232 Managing Director Helen Gunning
Northampton, Kinvara, Co Galway 091 638205 info@waitingroom.ie YOUR FREE COPY
14 SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 3
notebook Good things come to those who wait... and this is really good!
Queues News Avoid queues with HSE’s great timesaving service. If you’re looking for birth, adoption, marriage or death certificates, just go to certificates.ie and, hey presto, they will be delivered by post to you. A word of warning: you will have to pay a search fee so be sure the event has actually been registered!
The Sound of Silence and the 60/60 rule e first of February 2010 marked the beginning of Hearing Awareness Week. TV medic (and DJ) Mark Hamilton and singer Julie Feeney got together to warn people of the dangers of overuse of MP3 players. Volume and duration are the factors implicated in permanently damaging hearing: basically, the louder you like it above the safe threshold, the shorter the time you should listen at any one go. e 60/60 Rule is sacred: 60 percent of maximum volume for 60 minutes only. Hidden Hearing audiologist Keith Ross said: “As a result of
years of listening to personal music devices at very loud volumes, we are seeing a huge increase in the number of people sometimes as young as 30 suffering from hearing loss which you might expect a person aged over 70 to have.” To mark the week, Hidden Hearing offered free hearing tests in its mobile clinic or at any of its fifty-seven branches and clinics nationwide. For every hearing test conducted, Hidden Hearing made a donation to the Irish Deaf Society. For advice on hearing issues,
The Waiting Room Magazine is going online in March 2010 You will find all the great articles you enjoy to read again and share; more quality crosswords; expanded articles where some subjects have been kept short because of space constraints and exclusive Reader Promotions just for you.
No better place to enjoy a little retail therapy! Log on and register for FREE today and you will be notified when the first offers are up for grabs!
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visit hearingawarenessweek.ie or call 1800 882 884.
Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus World Congress 2010 On 11th June, 2010, Pres. Mary McAleese will open the International Federation World Congress of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus associations. International experts will address the two-day conference hosted by Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland (SBHI). e busy schedule will highlight the most up-todate developments in the area of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus and the international panel of experts is a distin-
guished line-up of keynote speakers such as: Dr Benjamin Warf (USA), Dr Timothy Brei (USA), Mr Muhammad TaufiqA-Sttar (IRL), Dr Trudi Edginton (UK) and Mr. Pierre Mertens (BEL). Also included in the programme will be personal accounts from Eli Skattebu (NOR) and John Fulham (IRE). Details from Thelma Cloake, Chairperson Organising Committee 087 288 3279 email: thelma.cloake@gmail.com YOUR FREE COPY
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Terms and conditions: 18+. â‚Ź0.60 per entry incl VAT. Calls from mobile cost more. Network charges vary on SMS. Lines close midnight 20 April 2010. Entries made after the close date do not count and you may be charged. SP Phonovation Ltd. PO Box 6, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Helpline 0818217100. By entering this competition you may be contacted in the future regarding other promotions.
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 5
A Prophet: There’s a lot to like about this film, from the very beginning where we are introduced to Malik El Djebena (played by virtual newcomer Tahar Rahim) arriving at a French prison to serve a six-year stretch. Initially, Malik is a loner, caught between the Corsican mafia who run the prison and the various other elements such as the Muslim and Black prison gangs. Over time, and having done the Corsicans a major favour, Malik climbs the ladder from criminal nobody to major player in how the prisoners rule themselves. Directed by Jacques Audiard, who previously directed The Beat That My Heart Skipped and Read My Lips, it also has the brilliant Niels Arestrup as a vicious Corsican Mafiosio, César Luciani, and a great array of character actors playing henchmen and fellow travellers. Overall, Rahim is astonishingly assured as the enigmatic rising star of the prison world, while Arestrup injects a bit of Lear to a once influential mob-boss now in decline, offering alliances within the ‘family’ to anyone who’ll look after his outside enterprises. If it’s similar to the other great prison films of the last year Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 and Mesrine: Killer Instinct starring Vincent Cassel, it’s because Abdel Raouf Dafri, who wrote these two, has a screen writing credit here, too. One of the films of the year already, and not to be missed.
movies Our film critic, Paul O'Doherty, reviews two recent releases, shortly to be available on DVD.
6 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
Up In The Air: In a film shameless for its product placement of rental cars, airports, hotels and airlines, George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate hatchet man for-hire, who when not firing poor unfortunates spends his time ‘up in the air’ flying from destinationto-destination obsessed by frequent flyer miles. Clooney smiles and coos reassuringly at all the right times and does his thing to perfection, and the script rattles along until half way through the film with the Bingham character coming to terms with the Internet age philosophy that allows companies to fire their employees from a webcam, a strategy espoused by Natalie Keener, one of the new suits, played by Anna Kendrick (previously Twilight and Elsewhere). It also has Clooney’s love interest, Alex Goran, another air-miles compulsive, played by Vera Farmiga (previously The Departed and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), contributing to a story that’s tries to be a satire on the norms and obsessiveness of air travel. However, by midway, the Clooney charm wears off and the script goes, well, up-in-the-air and to use the vernacular, encounters quite a bit of turbulence and doesn’t know when to land. Otherwise, Clooney, Kendrick and Farmiga are all watchable.
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Paul is an author and freelance journalist. His book, An Irishman's Diet, is adapted from his columns in The Irish Times. Something of a polymath, Paul also presents Bookbound, the books programme on Dublin City FM 103.2 - Mondays, 8.00pm
review
review
Meryl Streep “She’s ugly.Why did you bring me this thing”
Silkwood 1983
2008
Death Becomes Her
A musical comedy with a plot woven around ABBA songs. Donna’s (Streep) daughter invites three of her mother’s ex-lovers to her wedding, because no one knows which of them is her father. Streep is in fine voice and her version of ‘Mamma Mia!’ was a top ten hit in Portugal, another rare achievement.
Sophie’s Choice
1992
1982
With Goldie Hawn & Bruce Willis. A dark comedy with amazing special effects, it features two women locked in an eternal but inter-dependent rivalry over a mortal man. At his funeral, they have an accident and, literally, go to pieces.
Reckoned to be her best performance, Sophie, a Polish survivor of Auschwitz comes to America, meets a psychiatric man, with whom she lives and, eventually dies by double suicide. The choice? At Auschwitz, she had to nominate one of her two children to be killed – or both would be. Not fun, but memorable.
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Based on real events, Karen Silkwood has a mixed up private life that gets worse when she becomes worried about dangerous short-cuts at the nuclear plant where she works. Ignored by officialdom, she arranges to meet a reporter with proof but, en route to the meeting, headlights roar up behind her, there’s a crash and she dies.
©2009 Colum bia
Mamma Mia!
TriStar Marketin g
Group, Inc. All Rights
Ellis Parrinder/Camera Press
Reserved.
That’s what Dino De Laurentiis told his son (in Italian) when he presented the aspiring young actress as a possible lead in King Kong (1976). He was mortified when Streep answered him in fluent Italian, but obviously not enough to give her the role. I don’t think anyone would agree with De Laurentiis Snr though his son knew a winner when he met one. Never regarded as one of cinema’s great beauties, Meryl Streep is universally celebrated as one of its greatest actresses. She has appeared in some 50 movies. Here’s a sample that demonstrates her great versatility.
Julie & Julia 2009
The first film based on a blog. Julie Powell, fed up with a boring job, decides to cook all 524 French recipes in Mastering The Art Of French Cooking published almost 50 years ago by famous TV cook, Julia Child (Streep) and writes a daily blog of her progress. SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE
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feature
The biggest single day charity event in Ireland, and the biggest all-female event of its type in the world – the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon will be run on Monday 7 June 2010
On the Run ... for good! Similar events in the UK and US attract only half the Dublin numbers – 40,000 took part last year. In its 27 years, the flagship event has seen a steady year-on-year increase in popularity and participation. Racing, running, jogging, walking or going in wheelchairs, self-propelled or otherwise, the total number of women who have now completed the course has topped 600,000 and they come from all parts of the country and abroad, converging on the capital by car, bus, train and plane. That represents a lot of fit women and a whole lot of money raised for charities – €100m to date, and counting.
Success in the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon means just crossing the line, but still, participants need some level of personal fitness. This is achieved through a combination of good diet, sensible training, awareness of the importance of steady, long-term preparation and the use of proper equipment, especially footwear. Preparation, precautions, training protocols and how to progress over the weeks, are all dealt with very well on the website and now is the time to get started. If you intend to run seriously or tackle a whole marathon, you will need at least three months planned training. A significant number of participants couple their big day with sponsorship for a favourite
charity, so why don’t you? You’re doing the run anyway, so it’ll cost you nothing; but it will mean a lot to those less fortunate. Participants have cited the following reasons for taking part; personal fitness; camaraderie; self-fulfillment; accepting a challenge and sponsorship for a favourite charity.
The Runners You may not be a Sonia O’Sullivan (who, in 2000, clocked a record 31mins 28secs) or Caitriona McKiernan who has won it four times, but if Maureen Armstrong (85!) from Thurles could do it in 2009, then you can as well. Trust me. Trust yourself! Prepare properly and you, and your favourite charity, will be assured of a most enriching experience.
Maureen Armstrong’s age when she finished the Women’s Mini Marathon in 2009 as it’s eldest entrant!
The Marathon
is named after the Battle of Marathon (490BC) in which the Athenians defeated the invading Persian army. According to tradition, the Athenian hero, Pheippides, ran all the way from Marathon to Athens (40km), to tell of the great victory. Then, exhausted, he died on the spot. Small wonder! Poor Pheippides had run 250 km in two days just before that. And fought in the fierce battle!
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SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE
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feature With four months to go, make sure you’re prepared to run 10km
Why do some runners ‘hit the wall’? Carbohydrates are converted by the liver and muscles into glycogen for storage. Glycogen burns quickly to provide quick energy. Runners can store about 2,000 kcal worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough for about 30 km of running. When glycogen runs low, the body must then burn stored fat for energy, which does not burn as readily. When this happens, the runner will experience dramatic fatigue and is said to ‘hit the wall’.
MyStory In January 2009, I joined Weight Watchers and, at my first weigh-in, was horrified to see 14st10lbs register on the scale. I knew then that I had a long and challenging journey ahead of me so I set myself a few goals. Firstly, I signed on for the Woman’s Mini-Marathon, along with three friends. We decided to raise funds for a Galway charity as my friend's daughter avails of their services. Before we had even completed the Mini-Marathon, the charity asked us if we would be interested in doing the New York Marathon and, without really thinking of the consequences, I said why not! We trained in pairs, which I found really helpful especially on the days when I just did not want to train. Mini Marathon Day arrived and what a day it was! The sun beamed down on the forty thousand participants and the atmosphere was electric. We set off and finished in under an hour, which I was delighted with. Looking about me, as I swept along in the great torrent of runners, joggers and walkers, I realised that neither age
Mini Guide: Proper training, mindset and nutritional readiness is all needed to run that daunting distance!
Niamh Lawless, a serial marathon runner from County Galway on how she did it! nor ability really matter on marathon day. For me the real magic was in finishing, raising money for a worthwhile charity and having a memorable day out with friends Fundraising for the New York Marathon then began and that involved a lot of work. We organised coffee mornings, a celebrity chef night, a table quiz, bag-packing in our local supermarkets and various raffles. This work is not easy but, when you have a special affinity with a particular charity and the valuable work that it does, it makes the challenge so much easier. On Nov 1, some five months after Dublin, as I stood on the start line on Staten Island, with twenty six miles (and a bit) ahead of me, so many things were going through my head. Had I trained enough? Would I have the resolve to keep going when things got tough? The short answer is: yes I did. I did complete my first full
10 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
marathon and we raised over €17,000 for our chosen charity. It’s now Feb 2010 and I weigh 12st3lbs, most of it lean muscle. It’s nearly time to sign on for Dublin and New York again. Apart from more fundraising, my goal this year is to improve my times in the two races and also to lose more weight. Ten stone here I come! In case you’re moved by this article to rush out and start training at once, don't. Distance running, particularly if you are not very fit, requires very careful preparation. You should join a club or team up with an experienced runner but most of all you should check out a correct training schedule. Excellent general advice is available on florawomensminimarathon.ie
Run a Mile Training is vital. Begin preparation early by judging your running abilities – how long and often do you run? Training is about mile and time counting. Run short distances during the week, saving the weekends for longer runs, building up the distances gradually. Taper off your running amount so that your muscles have fully recovered in time for the race. Take your last long run two weeks before the race. A combination of work and rest produces an incredible array of changes, including greater muscle-glycogen stores, improved running economy and heightened mental freshness. Tuck In A proper diet is crucial for training. Eat carbohydrates – especially those rich in complex carbs and vitamins and protein. Fluids are essential, especially in the last days before a race. Up your carbohydrate and fluid intake the week before the race. The night before, eat a good meal, but don’t overstuff yourself. You want to be light on your feet when the gun goes off. Be sure to eat something on training runs and during the marathon. It might seem strange to eat while exercising, but foods like sports bars and potassium-rich bananas, are easily digested and are perfect to up your energy. All in the Mind Mental ability is needed to finish a long distance race. Especially when you hit a point in your run where you’re tired, your legs hurt or you’re hungry. Think about the finish line. Take things slowly. Think positively and that the pain is temporary. Unless of course you have a serious injury coming on – then take the proper care. If it’s just a question of whether or not you can finish, this is a race against yourself. Exercises that focus on the mind, like yoga, not only strengthens your powers to meditate and reduce stress, it also stretches your muscles and allows you to visualise your success.
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feature
the fund run
Give them a run for their money! Support voluntary groups across Ireland. As you run, help those who would love to but can’t. Do it for them, as a gift from you. Mental Health Matters One in four people in Ireland suffers from mental illness
Please help us to provide
mental health services at St. Patrick’s University Hospital
For a Women’s Mini Marathon Sponsorship Pack please contact the Friends of St. Patrick’s on 01 249 3632 or email womensmini@stpatsmail.com Thank you!
Take part in the Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon on the 7th of June 2010 For more information call 1850 33 43 53 or email marathon@ncbi.ie
Take part in the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon and raise money for St Vincent’s University Hospital Run, walk or jog in the 2010 Flora Women’s Mini Marathon
You can nominate the specific cause you want to support within St Vincent’s. For a sponsorship pack and details
please contact us on 01 2215065 or email stvincentsfoundation@svhg.ie
By taking part and raising funds for the Irish Society for Autism you will be helping us to continue to maintain and improve services for people with Autism.
For your sponsorship pack please email fundraising@autism.ie or contact Gemma on 01 874 4684 View all our information and events or donate online at
www.autism.ie
Serving children aged 2 to 6 with language delays and disorders Our pre school group offer a structured approach to language learning and offer ABA to children diagnosed with Autism. The ABA programme offers intensive 1:1 language development sessions. We would greatly appreciate any support through the Women’s Mini Marathon. Thank you! Charity No: 18513
091 877875 visit cldp.ie
Great feats with not so great feet... If you’re feeling a trifle unfit, a little below par, a doubtful starter for an event like a marathon, even a mini one, just reflect for a moment on South African, Oscar Pistorius, the so called Blade Runner or The Fastest Man on No Legs. Born with a deformity that required both legs to be amputated at an early age, Oscar has had an extraordinary sporting career – playing rugby, water-polo, tennis,
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wrestling, all played to a high level, college and interprovincial. But it was running that has brought him into world prominence. First banned from the Beijing Olympics – because his special J-shaped, carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, the Cheetah Flex-Foot, were reckoned to give him an advantage over able-bodied athletes – the decision was later overruled in May 2008. However, Oscar just failed
to make the qualifying times and therefore was not selected for the South African team. He has high hopes, though, for London 2012. In the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, he won gold at 100, 200 and 400 metres and has shattered many world records. His ambition is to hold world records in able-bodied competition. But you don’t have to travel to South Africa to find such obstinate
courage. Our own Ronan Tynan, also a double leg amputee, holds 14 gold medals and 18 world records in athletics. Not content with excelling in one field, Ronan is also a singer with an international reputation. A one-time member of the Irish Tenors, he has entertained US presidents as well as our own. In the middle of all this hectic life he also found time to study medicine at TCD, graduating in 1993.
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 11
feature We’re not the animal kingdom’s fastest, strongest, best swimmers, jumpers or climbers; in truth, we’re pretty puny, but we have one attribute that makes us undisputed rulers of the planet: we can outthink even the very cleverest of the other inhabitants.
Reclaim your Brain The less we exercise our bodies, the more unfit they get, and the same is true of our brains. People who hand over
ordinary minor physical jobs to machines like escalators, lifts, cars, tractor-lawnmowers (for a suburban square of grass smaller than a tennis court) miss out on healthy exercise during normal everyday tasks, and the same goes for people who spend ten minutes searching for a calculator when all they need is to add a list of five figures. Modern living seems to conspire to set us back both physically and mentally. Using our cleverness to help us in our work is clever. Using our cleverness to enable us to be lazy is stupid. But Lazy, it seems, Rules OK. And it’s getting worse.
When awake the brain generates 25 watts of power – enough energy to work a light bulb! Schools used to train the memory; pupils learned formulae, poems and tables by rote and could parrot them out when needed, like pushing the Play button. Then that became unfashionable –
it was not teaching children to think for themselves. I don’t know. I can still trot out stuff I learned half a century ago. And I can think for myself. So maybe the two facilities aren’t mutually exclusive? Even our capacity to amuse ourselves (another brain function) is being stripped away. Simple games like noughts and crosses, Chinese Chequers, draughts, Hangman, Jig-saws, all carried inbuilt mental challenges, but these are now very rare, steamrolled almost to extinction by a tsunami of video and electronic games. Some of these are indeed very demanding mentally while others are less so. However, games at least require some interaction of eye, hand, brain and reflexes, which is more than can be said for watching endless videos, when the only interaction required is pressing the appropriate button on the remote. After that energetic task has been completed, viewers, with their own human ingenuity firmly locked in sleep mode, can sit back to be passively entertained by the often dubious product of the fertile brains of others. Brain Training So, to brain exercises. Do they work? A recent study of almost 3,000 people of 65 years and over, found a long-lasting improvement in brain power after a course of just ten 6075 minute sessions spread over five weeks. Where there had already been some age-related diminution, this was also largely reversed. But start early, with your children or grand-children. Think. Instead of putting them in the back-seat with a mini-DVD player so that they are out of it for the whole journey, why not play a game of adding up the registration numbers of oncoming cars, or think of a country, an animal, a book or film that begins with the registration letter, or play City Breaks, breaking the name of a city or country into syllables which are then hidden within a sentence for the others to work out. (eg. ‘Jack’s noisy motorbike was driving him mad, so he got rid of it.’ = mad + rid = Madrid. Or ‘The barman told Tom he could have one more glass but then he’d have to go home.’ = Glasgow.) It’s your brain. Employ it or destroy it. It’s a trophy or it’s atrophy.
Try brain training online at GAMESFORTHEBRIAN.COM or improve your memory at LUMOSITY.COM ...we also liked SHARPBRAIN.COM
12 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
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feature
Hello... my name is Maureen and I am a chocoholic... While Forrest Gump thinks that ‘Life is like a box of chocolates’, I think ‘Chocolate is like a box of Life’ and I am forever grateful to that brilliant Mayan or Aztec, who, one fine Mesoamerican morning, was inspired to mix some ground cocoa beans with water, thus creating the first chocolate drink. Initially this was reserved as a treat for royal males and priests but, luckily, both the chocolate making process, and the ancient rules of consumption have changed greatly since then. Phew! According to Ireland’s first (and only) World Chocolate Ambassador, Dirk Schonkeren of Helena Chocolates in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, the modern chocolate making process is a delicate one. It requires great expertise, concentration, and a creative imagination that dares to go where no other chocolatier has gone before. Dirk’s chocolate ingredients are, of course, a trade secret, but include such exotic flavours as curry, mango and hot chilli. When I asked him if there was any truth in the scientific theories that eating dark chocolate with a cocoa level of 65% or higher, can have health benefits, such as reducing your blood pressure and lowering cholesterol, he smiled and replied that he was “a chocolatier and not a scientist” and passed me another little dark pillow of pleasure. YOUR FREE COPY
Chocolate is associated with happiness and romance, and is believed by some to be an aphrodisiac. The reason for this is a chemical one. When we eat chocolate our brain releases the ‘happy’ endorphins, phenylethylamine and serotonin, which produce feelings of happiness and pleasure that are similar to the feelings of being in love. Apparently, women are more susceptible to these chocolate effects than men– could this explain why men traditionally buy chocolates for women as ‘romantic’ gestures? Chocolate also contains over 300 different chemicals, some of which are thought to have the same effects as certain mood enhanc-
cure tummy ache, while us children of the 20th century were told it would cause a tummy ache! Did you know that chocolate contains antioxidants, which are beneficial to the skin, and is used in blissful sounding spa treatments such as chocolate milk baths, and chocolate fondue wraps? Neither did I, but it sounds divine, and before you ask, no, that is not me on the right!
Hot Chocolate Maureen Corbett takes a closer look at the World’s Most Seductive Sweet
ing drugs such as ecstasy or cannabis. Certain chocolate ingredients can cause an allergic reaction in some humans (not me!), and it is important for pet-owners to be aware that the ingredient, theobromine, is poisonous to dogs. From the past to the present, chocolate has had many different uses and has been produced in a myriad of different forms. For example, in the 18th century, chocolate was used as a medicine to
During his travels in the 15th century, Christopher Columbus could have discovered chocolate, as well as America. Having tasted the chocolate drink he dismissed its importance and set sail again without it (how could he?), but the Spanish explorers who followed later realised the significance of this wonderful discovery, and took both the recipe and ingredients back to the Royal Court of Spain. When a Spanish princess later married the King of France she took the secret chocolate recipe to France (clever girl) from where it spread to the rest of Europe.
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 13
feature It’s not just silly individuals who have nothing better to do with their time that get involved in dreaming up daft pranks.
S L O O F LYand ★ ★ ★ ON ★★
evolution, a physicist with a sense of humour wrote an article claiming that Alabama’s Legislature had voted to change the value of pi. Of course, being a mathematical constant, pi’s value can’t be changed, and the paper duly produced uproar. SEND UP
In 1976, Sir Patrick Moore, the famous astronomer, told a BBC radio audience that a unique alignment of Jupiter and Pluto would cause an upward gravitational pull, making people lighter for a very brief few seconds. He invited his audience to jump in the air at precisely 9:47am and experience the “strange floating sensation.” Dozens of grateful listeners phoned in to say that the experience had been exhilarating.
★
S E X A HO There are many theories on how this widespread tradition came into being, but my
favourite is the one that attributes it to one of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c1400AD) The tale of two vain fools, the rooster, Chanticleer, and the Fox, takes place on March 32nd! In some countries, fooling people all day long is permissible but in others, you’ve only got until noon to do your hoaxing. After that, the would-be fooler becomes the fool. Some of the best ‘April Fools’ are perpetrated on their mass audiences by highly respectable and normally staid bodies like multinational corporations, newspapers, radio and TV channels. Even the stolid BBC has been known to indulge, being responsible for a famous 1957 hoax when sober TV programme, Panorama, showed relieved Italian farmers harvesting a healthy crop of spaghetti from their spaghetti trees.
The ‘newsworthy’ story accompanying the footage was the eradication of the ruinous Spaghetti Weevil. The ‘harvest’ was filmed in UK, and the hoax worked brilliantly: many viewers called in for information on where to get spaghetti trees and how to grow them. WHOPPER
Some years ago, Burger King offered the Left Handed Whopper, a Whopper for left-handers, cleverly designed, they claimed, so that the sauces would drip out of the right side. Many customers ordered the new burgers, but some traditionalist purists said they would accept only the old, right-handed ones.
The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other
364 days of the year.
FABRICATION
In 1962, when colour TV was in its infancy, the Swedish national television broadcaster did an in-depth show on how one could get colour TV by placing a nylon stocking in front of a black and white set, explaining in great detail the complex physics that gave the effect. People spent hours and went through many pairs of nylons trying to get it to work.
Mark Twain
PIBLE BELT
As the southern states of the US have a reputation for questioning science, like
HOT HEADS
In 1995, the magazine, Discover, reported that a noted biologist had discovered a previously unknown penguin-eating mammal in Antarctica. The Hotheaded Naked Ice-Borer had a bony protuberance on its forehead that was so richly supplied with blood-vessels that
FALSE HOAXES
In spite of its widespread notoriety, there seems to be an endless supply of gullible punters who will swallow the most outlandish stories. But the problem with real news events happening on April 1 is that many people, afraid of being caught out, refuse to believe them.
In 1946, over 150 people died in Hawaii and Alaska when a Tsunami warning was thought by many to be a hoax. The deadly wave became known in Hawaii as The April Fools’ Day Tsunami. In 1984, legendary Motown singer, Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father. For days afterwards, people assumed it was a fake report, the belief being reinforced by the bizarre twist of the father being the killer.
14 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
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under the weather
FAMOUS HOAXES In the early 1900s, ancient skull fragments found near Piltdown in UK were put together and declared to be the Missing Link in the evolution of apes to man. For over 40 years, Piltdown Man was accepted as scientific fact, until 1953 when it was shown that some of the bones were almost certainly from an orangutan. There were several suspects for the perpetrator of the fraud, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.
A portrait of several specialists examining the remains of ‘Piltdown man’, a palenotological hoax.
In 1938, the great Orson Welles was unintentionally responsible for mass hysteria in the US when he adapted HG Wells’ novel, The War of the Worlds, to make it sound like live news coverage of an actual invasion of earth from space. The radio programme began with a warning that it was only a drama, and this was repeated after 40 minutes, but thousands missed these warnings and were taken in in Wok‘The Martian’ by the exnd gla En g, in treme realism of the acting and the sound effects. Widespread panic ensued.
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Wind. Source of power and propulsion. But sometimes a source of strange and unexplained sickness.
It’s an ill wind Whether it’s called the Santa Ana in California, the Khamsin in the Middle East, The Foehn in Switzerland or the Chinnok on the prairies of North America, the warm wind that sweeps down the leeward side of mountain ranges has long been known to play havoc with the health and minds of those living in its path. Personalities change; migraines are more common; suicides, homicides, violent crime and even accidents increase by some 10 per cent. In some countries, judges hand down more lenient sentences for crimes committed while the Foehn winds were blowing. The reasons for all this wind-associated mayhem are not really understood in our must-know-the-cause-ofeverything western society but Chinese physicians have, for millennia, classified illnesses according to the element of nature they most closely resemble, in either their method of spread or the character of their symptoms. To convey information to a largely illiterate population, they equated disharmonies within the body with natural elements, the wind, dampness, cold, heat. Even today these descriptions are still used, because they are accurate as well as being descriptive. Wind will carry cold, damp heat or any exterior pathogen into the body. How the body reacts depends on its constitution and the environment: a strong, healthy individual might catch a mild, transient head cold, which, in a weak person, under stress, might prove very
persistent or even develop into rheumatism or arthritis. Like the wind itself, which can vary from the gentlest of breezes to tempestuous cyclones ‘wind’ illnesses enter locally but then the pain, stiffness and swelling shift around the body almost, it seems, capriciously, at will. Chinese medicine dates back thousands of years, though the earliest manuscripts uncovered to date go back only two millennia, discovered in the early 1970s in the tomb of Li Cang, Lord of Dai (d. 186BCE). The manuscripts describe practices not dissimilar to those currently used. Modern western medicine has links to Galen, a Greek physician (b.129AD), whose theory concerning the ‘four humors’ lasted until the renaissance period, when methodical dissection of the body began and western physicians started to develop a deeper understanding of its workings. The principal difference between Chinese and western medicine is that western medicine is invasive and Chinese is not. Chinese medicine tends towards prevention, largely because surgery is not often used. The diagnostic procedure also differs. Chinese physicians place great emphasis on the ‘Four Examinations’: inquiry, looking or inspecting, listening or smelling and palpation; these are also used by western physicians, but rou-
tinely augmented by blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI, etc. Pulse-taking is common to both systems, but approached differently. In Chinese medicine, each organ has a corresponding pulse position on the radial artery and there are also different pulse positions around the body, again, each related to an organ. The pulse is also taken at three depths and on both wrists. In western medicine, pulse is also taken on the radial artery but is used merely to indicate rate and strength, and possibly blood pressure, and no conclusions are drawn about the condition of individual organs from the pulse. Western medicine has antibiotics, surgery and drugs that Chinese medicine does not, but Chinese medicine has acupuncture, herbal medicine, Qi Gong and moxibustion, to name just a few modalities, and these have proven to be very effective over the centuries. Both systems of medicine work to support and cure patients. Each is effective in its own way and they can be used side by side for prevention, cure and continued good health. We need both.
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 15
Kathleen Dowd, Acupuncturist kdowd1@eircom.net
it could become hot enough to rapidly melt the ice beneath its target penguin so that the poor slow-moving bird would become bogged in the ensuing slush. It would then be scoffed by the voracious Hothead. It was even suggested that a Hotheaded Naked Ice-Borer had been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of a 19th century Antarctic explorer, mistaking him for a very large penguin! Much heated debate followed, possibly heated enough to melt the ice beneath a juicy penguin.
him&her
Who said that...
“How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?” Albert Einstein
lexander Nestor Haddaway’s 1993 hit-song plaintively asked What Is Love? but, unfortunately, didn’t provide any answers. Still, I hope Haddaway doesn’t feel too bad about it because better brains than his have been defeated by this age-old question ever since Homo became sapiens, and none of them ever had a No1 hit record or made a small fortune in royalties out of it.
A
Historically the heart has been the site of love, followed closely by the soul and – at least according to The Troggs and, later, Wet
Wet Wet – the fingers and the toes, but science has scotched that one for once and for all and it is now official: the site of love is in two areas of the brain called the ventral tegmental area and the caudate nucleus. With names like that, I can’t see lyricists and poets ever giving up on the heart and soul, at least not
research shows hat it is what happens when a brain chemical called dopamine becomes activated, triggered by a person with specific looks, smells, character, feels, sounds, proportions and possibly memories that are specific to each individual. SWEATY T-SHIRTS
We all react differently to different parameters which is why so many people say: ‘I just can’t imagine what she sees in him.’ Obviously a case of contrasting dopamine triggers. A fascinating research project involved 49 young women smelling sweaty T-shirts that had been worn by young men and saying which smelled the best and which the worst. The result showed that each woman was attracted to T-shirts of men whose DNA makeup (genotype) was most different to her own – nature making as sure as possible, perhaps, that any deficiencies in the woman’s genotype would be compensated for by searching as far away as possible from it for a breeding partner? Another brain chemical, serotonin, has been blamed by Italian researchers who found that serotonin levels were down by 40 per cent in people who are passionately in love. They found that the same thing was true of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) sufferers. You can draw your own conclusions,
Is this love? Why we should be demanding oxytocin tests from our prospective life-partners before tying the knot without a huge struggle. Imagine Elton John and Kiki Dee trying to make ‘Don’t go breakin’ my ventral tegmental area...’ sound sexy, or Sinatra crooning sadly because ‘I left my caudate nucleus in San Francisco, high on a hill, it calls to me.’ And anyway, love isn’t a ‘feeling’ at all, nor a state, no matter how wondrous or how many-splendoured it may be felt to be: 16 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
but phrases about being ‘madly in love’ or being ‘mad about’ someone begin to take on a ring of truth. This dopamine/serotonin mixture seems to provide the basis for ‘mad’ passionate love only, and is reckoned to wane after about four years. In purely biological terms, this is about the length of time invested in courtship, mating, producing an YOUR FREE COPY
him&her
ALL IN THE BRAIN
The chemicals that control love, in either its sprint or marathon manifestations, are very powerful indeed and the old saying that Love Conquers All is supported by endless evidence. And the All that love conquers includes common sense. Ask Romeo and Juliet what happens when a Montague falls for one of the loathed Capulets and vice versa. Ask members of different castes in India what happens when love blossoms across rigid caste-barriers. Or ask young people in certain religious groups who have the temerity to try to choose their own partner. And yet, despite millennia of instilled tradition, and foreknowledge of the awful penalties that await them, they can’t help falling in love. Once the dopamine / serotonin take hold, commonsense goes out the window. And, unfortunately, being loaded to the gills with oxytocin isn’t always a protection against the two passionate brain chemicals. So now you know it – love potions do exist. They exist within you, within everyone. Naturally. YOUR FREE COPY
191 kisses is a record for the movie, Don Juan (1927)
20,160
offspring and getting it to the stage where it can be handed over to a non-breeding member of the tribe or clan for continued rearing, thus completing a DNA-offspring cycle. With their duty now done and their common offspring safely out of the helpless stage, the parents are free of it, and can look around to mate again, not necessarily with the same partner. Even long-term monogamous relationships have a chemical basis, a hormone called oxytocin. This is produced by both sexes, though it is usually associated with females, being vital for uterine contractions during delivery and for milk let-down during nursing. Mammals that exhibit monogamy are found to have high levels of oxytocin, but when these levels are artificially reduced over long periods, promiscuity increases. Maybe we should all demand oxytocin tests from our prospective life-partners before tying the knot.
estimated minutes the average person will spend kissing in their lifetime
23
the number of times American grandmother Linda Wolfe has walked down the aisle
growing family Some of the potentially harmful things you should watch for: Alcohol is a big no-no. None at all in the first three months, and then, if you feel you really must (but why?) in very small and infrequent amounts Smoking is also a major no-no. Try to avoid even passive smoking ‘Recreational’ drugs – another huge and absolute no-no. Even drugs taken for medicinal purposes ought to be avoided if possible. Consult your health professional before taking them Blue cheese, soft cheese, brie, camembert – sometimes harbour bacteria that are relatively harmless to adults Rare meat and processed meats, for the same reasons. Some fish such as shark, tuna and swordfish, have high levels of mercury, a heavy metal poison Raw or soft-boiled eggs – salmonellosis risk Liver and liver products, like paté. High Vitamin A levels are not good Any products to which your baby’s father might be allergic. So might the baby! Unpasteurised milk and dairy products Caffeine – coffee or caffeinebased soft drinks are best avoided If you are very, very fond of some or even all of the above, relax: it’ll all be over in a few months. Unless, of course, you intend to... breastfeed?
Food
Eating well doesn’t mean pickles and ice cream
p m u b for
As a youngster growing up on a farm with poorish soil, I soon got to know that, unless the ewes were given copper supplements when they were ‘carrying’, many of the spring lambs would never gambol about as lambs are supposed to. Born with spinal defects, swayback lambs would either be extremely wobbly on their little hind legs or else fully paralysed. And there was no cure. Giving them copper at that stage would be, as my father would say, ‘Like Ma sprinkling baking powder on a flat little loaf, after it comes out of the oven.’ The nearest analogy in human terms would be Spina Bifida, the deficiency in this case being, not
copper, but folic acid, essential in the first month post-conception, when the embryonic spinal cord (the neural tube) is closing off. The subject of what to eat is covered so widely that it is pointless trying to give a detailed list here. Basically, a diet that keeps you healthy, should also be largely acceptable for your baby. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, it might be wiser to consider supplements. Ask your GP. Comprehensive lists of the dos and don’ts of eating and drinking during pregnancy are available on numerous websites and from your health professional. You would be wise to consult – and heed – them!
Ireland has a very high incidence of Spina Bifida. If you are a woman of child-bearing age, don’t trust your diet to supply your folic acid. To make even your surprise baby safe, follow the one on one practice: take One 40mg tablet, Once a day. YOUR FREE COPY
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 19
rescue remedies Enjoy a good read... There's nothing quite as a relaxing as a good read. In bed, on the train, on the beach, getting stuck into your favourite author's latest, or trying something new, it's one of life's great joys. Book clubs are becoming more popular so why not join one and give the brain a social night now and then?
give your body, mind and soul a lift
‘Sweet’ Dreams – well, ‘chocolate’, actually
Canadian sleep expert, Dr Craig Hudson, author of Feel Great Day and Night, has come up with a very innovative product, a chocolate that contains tryptophan, one of nature’s relaxing agents. RestBites not only taste great but the Zenbev they contain helps you to nod off peacefully. Check out perfectnightssleep.com
La Roche-Posay launch NEW 24Hr Physiological Deodorants for sensitive skin which are gentle and effective. They neutralise odours providing soothing and antiirritating protection with 24hr long efficacy, while respecting the skin’s physiological balance. A GOOD HOME REMEDY FOR TIRED, ACHY FEET IS TO SOAK THEM. POUR ONE CUP OF EPSOM SALTS INTO A BUCKET OF HOT WATER. SOAK FOR TEN MINUTES. THEN DRY THEM COMPLETELY AND WEAR THICK SOCKS TO PROVIDE GREATER SUPPORT. SOAKING THE FEET IN EPSOM SALTS CAN IMPROVE BLOOD FLOW, MAKING FEET LESS PRONE TO STRESS RELATED WITH PHYSICAL EXERTION Developed especially for infants from three months to five years, Wellkid® Baby & Infant liquid formula provides a balanced range of essential vitamins to help safeguard your growing infant’s nutritional intake and help maintain energy release and a healthy immune system. It also contains Swiss Alpine malt as a natural energy source; making it a great taste your little ones will love.
Wellkid® Baby & Infant liquid formula is available nationwide
20 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
In the Groove
Vichy Research and Development conducted a study on 20 women over 20 years monitoring their facial signs of ageing. The women were measured at 4 different intervals over the 20 years.
The results? 1 Embryonic wrinkles: These wrinkles are programmed to appear over time; to begin with they look like an area of small dots but with time they become connected. 2 Reversible wrinkles: These wrinkles deepen as the day progresses; can be caused through stress, fatigue or dehydration. 3 Permanent wrinkles: Wrinkles that appear as deep grooves and proceed to get deeper over time. LiftActiv Retinol Night is Vichy’s first total wrinkle plumping care with Retinol +A, and acts on all three types of wrinkles. Vichy has a trained team of skin specialists based in independent pharmacies throughout Ireland. Visit www.vichyconsult.ie YOUR FREE COPY
beauty
Hair colour, length, style and decoration have reflected the social and cultural trends of different civilisations.
An ancient Roman law decreed that the ‘ladies of the night’ had to dye their hair blonde, while in ancient Egypt, indigo was considered to be the most erotic colour. A woman’s hairstyle was often indicative of her marital status. Married Aztec women wore their hair in two horn-like tufts while unmarried girls wore their hair straight, and waist length. Religion Men also had hair issues. A bearded ancient Greek boasted his virility, while Peter the Great of Russia imposed a ‘beard’ tax. In today’s world, hair and religion remain closely intertwined, with Sikhs believing that cutting their Godgiven hair is a non-acceptance of His will, and Rastafarians regarding their long uncombed dreadlocks as ‘God’s antenna’ and, therefore, a mystical link to Him. Science In Western society, hair has become largely a fashion accessory to most of us, but scientists in the fields of forensic criminology, medicine and anthropology have a more detailed interest. The science of hair (trichol-
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Up
a H ir
in the
Since our cave living days, hair has played an integral role in all aspects of human life. Maureen Corbett investigates. Marge Simpson of Springfield and Dusty Springfield had one thing in common, big hair!
ogy) is now widely used in modern criminology: DNA testing and ‘sample matching’ of even a single strand can prove a link to a crime scene or victim, while chemical analysis can reveal an individual’s level of alcohol and drug consumption over the previous year, and indicate the body’s intake of certain minerals or toxins. When Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821 his valet kept a lock of his hair, which was recently tested using neutron activation analysis. This test proved that his death was caused by arsenic poisoning over a period of about four months, and not stomach cancer as originally claimed. In 1994, a lock of Beethoven’s hair, cut from his head in 1827,
was sold at Sotheby’s for $7,300. Analysis showed the hair to contain over 100 times the average lead content revealing that he suffered from lead poisoning.
Evolution Anthropologists have suggested reasons to explain why humans shed their thick coating of body hair during their evolution. One possibility is that it was to rid us of disease-carrying, blood sucking ticks, fleas and lice that hide in hair – but then why didn’t other mammals also shed their hair? Another suggestion is that we got rid of our hair to cool us when our ancestors left the forest shade and ventured out into the hot African sun – but then why haven’t people like the Amazon tribes or African pygmies, who have never left the jungle, kept their body hair, or why haven’t Eskimos evolved a thick warm coat of hair back again? An even more intriguing question might be why, when we began to lose our body hair, didn’t we shed it all? Why have isolated and seemingly useless patches remained in our groins and armpits? The answer, according to scientists is just evolution playing Cupid! Special (apocrine) sweat glands located in the armpit and pubic areas produce a scent which is unique to each individual and is attractive to prospective mates. The hair follicles trap this signature scent that is communicated from human to human through their sense of smell.
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 21
health matters Albert Einstein
Broccoli is high in vitamins C, K,
(March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955)
was one of the great geniuses of his time. Earnest claims that he was dyslexic and/or autistic are refuted with equal fervour by those who would claim that he was merely vague and forgetful, entirely understandable in view of the complex nature of the arcane matters that preoccupied him. He was famously eccentric and disorganised, and his lectures were said to be a jumble of thoughts, almost random. He was also reputed, when no students turned up, to deliver his lecture to a totally empty classroom! Odd or what? The great man may never have learned to tie his shoelaces properly but his brilliantly incisive theories have had a major effect on advancing modern science.
and A, as well as dietary fibre. You could get 68 per cent of your daily requirement of vitamin C from half a cup of raw broccoli. It also has as much calcium as milk, important for those with osteoporosis or calcium deficiencies
My two cents Old time radio shows from the 1930s-40s had an innocence that was chicken soup for the sleepless. Simple story lines didn’t challenge a preoccupied mind. Just thirty minutes long, it was easy to pick up where you left off, if you did nod off briefly! From thrillers to romances, there was so much to choose from. If they didn’t actually cure insomnia, at least they entertained the sleepless all night long!
29
is the percentage of Irish adults that have trouble sleeping at night
Make No Bones
Healthy bones are like banks: the more deposits you make, the more withdrawals you can count on. Diet plays a major role in ensuring healthy bones. In particular, Calcium and Vitamin D need to be taken in the right amounts through life to build bone and slow down bone loss. Eating a healthy balanced diet, containing adequate calories, can help to improve your overall bone health not to mention your overall health.
Q
What is Osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a silent disease that lessens the strength/ thickness of bones. This makes bones more fragile. Osteoporosis is often not diagnosed until a fracture occurs.
Passive Sentence 7,000 people die from smoking related disease in Ireland every year Ireland became the first country in Europe to impose a smoking ban. Five years on and 27 per cent of the population are daily smokers. There are certain exceptions to the smoking ban, including building-sites, prisons and mental hospitals. Standing in the path of a smoker, or being in a room in which there are smokers, exposes one to at least 50 agents known to cause cancer, and other chemicals that increase blood pressure, damage the lungs and cause abnormal kidney function. Bellows-driven instruments, like the accordion, concertina, melodeon and Uilleann pipes, reportedly need less frequent cleaning and maintenance as a result of the Irish smoking ban.
Q
Is it true that only old women get Osteoporosis? No. More women are affected because their bones are smaller and they also go through the menopause; however 20 per cent of men over 50 get osteoporosis and even children can be affected.
Q
My mum is 84 and has been diagnosed with Osteoporosis but the nursing home she is in say that it is old age and not treatable. Is Osteoporosis treatable? It is treatable and we have had people your mum’s age improve and reduce their risk of fractures after being on an Osteoporosis treatment plan. A person is never too young or too old to be diagnosed and treated.
It is not normal as an adult to break a bone, from a trip and fall from a standing position or less.
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SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 23
travel he story goes that St James the Elder left the Holy Land to preach in Spain. On returning to Jerusalem, he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I. Two of his companions took his body back to Spain and, years later, a local hermit discovered the remains buried in a field; he’d been guided there by an arrangement of stars – hence the name, Compostella. In about 950, Gotescalc, bishop of La Puy en Veley in France, made a pilgrimage to Santiago, thus beginning one of the most important Christian pilgrimages in Medieval Europe. Even-tually, routes to the far west of Spain developed throughout Europe, and most cities had churches or other religious houses with a connection with Saint James, from which pilgrims set out – St James’s Gate in Dublin, St James’s Palace in London, Tour St Jacques in Paris. As pilgrims from all over Europe, apart from Portugal, had to first pass through France, different staging points in that country became popular – Paris in the north; Vezelay in the north-east; La Puy in the south-east; Arles in the south, routes still walked today. There are also a number of routes through North Spain, e.g., the ‘English’ route, between the mountains and the sea, and the ‘French’ route, south of the mountains. With its marvellous scenery, old towns and friendly people, the ‘French’ route is very popular, and during the height of the summer can be overcrowded. I have walked it on a number of occasions and enjoyed every moment, every mile. But if you’re don’t like crowds, go in April/May or September/ October. You can start anywhere, but I prefer to follow in Bishop Gotescalc’s original
T The Way of Saint James Most people will have heard of El Camino, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. Many will have walked all, or some of it. But what is the background? by Breandan O’Scanaill
Fly to SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (SCQ) from DUBLIN (DUB)
24 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
footsteps from La Puy, along the GR (Grande Randonne) 65. It’s an easy flight into Lyon and then it’s well sign–posted; the history and scenery are spectacular and walkers are better catered for on GR65 than on some of the other routes I have experienced, though standards are improving. Good preparation is vital. Break in your walking boots, shoes or sandals, and get comfortable with a back pack. Physically, working out in a gym, cycling or swimming are poor substitutes for roadwork with the backpack. Do at least two long days back to back – one long day is hard enough but when you have to start again the next day. For various reasons, fitness levels or time constraints, many tackle the pilgrimage in sections, over the course of several years, resuming, in succeeding years, where you left off. But if you can at all, it’s great to walk the whole lot in one go. Either way, the thrill of entering Cathedral Square in Santiago de Compostella is indescribable, even for the most paganistic ‘pilgrim’. Although most people walk, some cycle or even go on horseback. Many favour the ‘Spanish’ section which traditionally begins in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, in the mountains above Bayonne. Fly into Biarritz or Paris and take the train to your starting point. You will need to join a group that specialises in the walk (see addresses below) for your ‘Pilgrim’s Passport’. This booklet gives you access to the traditional pilgrim hostels, the refugios, my personal choice. More salubrious accommodation is available but, if you chose refugios, be warned – for their fairly basic, communal sleeping quarters, you’ll need a sleeping bag – and ear plugs! YOUR FREE COPY
in the know In 1796, Edward Jenner, observing that people exposed to Cowpox (a mild disease of cows) often remained healthy during Smallpox outbreaks, infected a young boy with cowpox and, later, exposed him to full Smallpox. The lad stayed healthy, having been ‘vaccinated’ with a related but harmless virus.
Forewarned is Forearmed Vaccination, common practice for over a century now, has saved countless lives. But how do vaccines work? Imagine your body as one huge lifelong party in
Not all diseases have harmless relatives. In the 19th Century, Frenchman, Louis Pasteur, developed ‘modern’ vaccines for Rabies and Anthrax, by severely weakening the actual organisms
Booster vaccinations are just periodic reminders to your bouncers, lest they forget
Transplanted organs are
which every single individual (cell) has a part to play. Each type of cell has a different shape and structure but all carry an ID ‘badge’ showing that they’re part of you and therefore have a right to be at your party. Your White Blood Cells are the bouncers at your party, permanently circulating, checking badges, watching for non-you gatecrashers like viruses or bacteria. When the bouncers come across an unknown badge, it takes time to process it but once it has been established that the badge belongs to a gatecrasher, the alarm is raised and the search begins for other gatecrashers with that non-you ID badge. With internal infections, the heat of the ensuing battle causes your temperature to rise but, if the battle is confined to just a local
area, e.g., a few invaders trying to sneak in through a skin-pore (pimples and boils), then the temperature rises only in that area; the swelling and redness are because there’s a local increase in blood supply, to rush reinforcements of bouncers to the scene. Pus, the corpses of invaders and your late, brave bouncers killed in the line of duty, is creamy/white because your bouncers are the White Blood Cells. Some gatecrashers are really dangerous – they hide themselves away, or arrive in large numbers, or multiply very quickly – and, by the time your bouncers have checked their badges, it may be too late; your party could be spoiled or even over! Vaccines eliminate this perilous time-lag between invasion and response. In the laboratory, a dangerous germ is either killed or rendered harmless, but its ID badge is left intact. When you’re given this ‘vaccine’, your bouncers can process at leisure. Then, if the real germ turns up, it is recognised at once; the alarm is raised and all-out battle commences before the virulent invader can even get a toehold.
challenged because, though a close match, they are non-you. Suppressing this response with drugs helps prevent rejection, but also provides an opportunity for harmful germs to flourish 2,000 years ago people in China and India would infect themselves with fluid from ‘mild’ cases of Smallpox. Sometimes the gamble worked; sometimes it backfired and they died
Not all ‘germs’ are amenable to having vaccines made. The AIDS virus is a notable exception. So far
Disastrous accidents occur when virulent germs are not properly weakened. In Lubeck, in the early 20th Century, 251 babies (out of 412) vaccinated against TB, actually developed TB. Of the 251, only one survived beyond a year YOUR FREE COPY
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 25
short story aureen locked the door of her small sub-post-office for the last time ever and went through the connecting door into the warmth of the kitchen. ‘Are you sad?’ asked Joan, looking up from the evening paper. ‘A bit,’ replied Maureen. ‘Almost forty years. Why wouldn’t I be?’ ‘I know,’ replied her sister. ‘Long time.’ Getting no response, she re-peated: ‘A long, long time.’ Maureen’s two sisters always felt a little guilty; they’d been able to bolt, but that was the way it was: as the youngest girl, Maureen automatically inherited their parents. Their two brothers, one at either end of the family, never even gave it a
M
thought – it had nothing to do with them, not unless there was a good business or a big farm involved, and a small subpost office in the back of a tiny shop was certainly not reason enough for boy-children to take anything but a superficially distant interest in the long term welfare of their begetters. The shop part had long ago been strangled out of existence by the arrival of a supermarket twenty-five miles away, and all but universal car-ownership and, for the second half of her tenure as postmistress, Maureen’s working day had involved little more than serving the sporadic customer. Having missed out on the excitement of escape by emigration and the adventure of anonymity in a distant place, Maureen had had to rely
solely on her imagination to feed her hungry soul. As a schoolgirl, even as her retaining anchor was already digging its flukes into the submerged fabric of her village and her chain of post office was
What kind of business could her quiet sister have in London? Or indeed anywhere else for that matter, outside of the village? tightening around her developing shapely waist, she’d read avidly and critically, and had quickly reached the conviction that, at least in the case of some of the books, she could do far better herself. By her nineteenth year, she was being published regularly in the
on the
Stamps
26 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING @)!)
local parish magazine and had even been paid a small sum by the regional provincial press for a series of 400-word articles. She had crafted each one in exactly 400 words, including title; no one had
noticed, but it had given her intense, if private, satisfaction. Her storylines were based on the small personal dramas that occurred all the time in and around the village; without even prying, everyone knew everyone else’s business, and what was not known for sure was surmised, usually correctly. Her aunt, teacher of English and Religious Knowledge in the Comprehensive School in the nearest town, encouraged Maureen. She proof-read, suggested stylistic improvements and warned if the veil of disguise drawn across the latest local scandal was too diaphanous. The test was: if Aunt Chris, omniscient and infallible on local stories, could identify the characters or the situations, then a further overlay of obfuscation was needed. On her regular weekend visits, Chris and Maureen would sit up late into the night and talk plots, sub-plots, characterization, dialogue, background and all the other technical aspects of creating even a very short story. But Aunt Chris had gone to her grave wondering about the plot that Maureen had excitedly phoned her about one Wednesday evening, but then steadfastly refused to discuss ever afterwards.
She had assumed that the young girl had come up with a raunchy plot and had been embarrassed to talk to her, put off, perhaps, by the fact that she was a Religious Knowledge teacher. Maureen had been paid a pittance by her father, the registered postmaster: it was all going to be hers one day, right? Therefore... Also, of course, it didn’t suit to pay her too well, make her independent. So she’d had just enough to clothe herself sensibly and to take a short holiday every other year. She’d made no pension provisions, even though it was an open secret, and had been from the outset, that the place was to be left to the eldest boy, Seamus, beyond in Boston for years without coming home or writing more than a few lines at Christmas. When her sisters asked her how she was going to live after she retired – worried, Maureen reckoned, in case she might try to move in with them – she would tell them not to worry, that she’d live like a queen ‘on the stamps’. Settling opposite Joan, above a plate with two clammy furls of pink ham and a tomato cut in half, Maureen began her modest evening meal. Joan tried to make small talk about her sister’s four decades of service to An Post but the only thing that had ever happened that had been even vaguely out of the ordinary was The Break In. The back kitchen window had been smashed; the key to the connecting post office door had been taken from its usual hook beside the door – it had a big label saying ‘Post Office’ on it – and the thief, or thieves, had made off with the small safe containing a modest amount in cash and bits of Post Office paraphernalia. The investigation that followed, which was making no YOUR FREE COPY
competition headway anyway, was wound down altogether after a few days when the money was returned anonymously – every penny of it – and the safe was recovered from a nearby drain, open, with only Maureen’s fingerprints on it. Two items had never been recovered - the ink pad and the metal stamp with which Maureen cancelled the postage stamps on outgoing letters at 3.40 every afternoon. Each morning she would unscrew the round top of the stamp, place the little metal blocks for the appropriate date (in Roman numerals) in the slots provided, screw the top back on again and then bang it on a piece of scrap paper to see that it was correct. She would then go and open the door for the day’s business. Following The Break In, the authorities had replaced the stamp, but only temporarily, because the Post Office was going over to automatic franking in a matter of weeks. ‘I’m going away for a few days on Monday.’ Maureen said. ‘Oh? Where?’ ‘London. I’ll be back by Wednesday evening.’ ‘On your own?’ ‘It’s only a few days. It’s great to be free. No post office.’ ‘Any particular reason?’ ‘Business.’ ‘Business!’ Now what kind of business could her quiet sister have in London? Or indeed anywhere else for that matter, outside of the village? ‘What sort of business?’ ‘Just business.’ ‘Is there anything wrong?’ ‘Not a thing. Far from it. Here. Have another cup. Then I’ve a few things to do.’ Before she caught the eleven o’clock bus on Monday morning, Maureen visited Aunt Chris’ grave. She pulled a few impertinent weeds, then straightened. ‘Do you remember that great story, YOUR FREE COPY
Chris, that I was going to write? Well, I decided to do it for real rather than just write about it.’ At 10.30 on Tuesday morning, dressed in a smart business suit, her steel-grey hair freshly coiffed, Margaret pushed through the glass door of Jason Purvis, Dealer in Stamps and Coins. She had rung ahead and was expected. In Mr Purvis’ opulent office, she placed two matching alligator-skin briefcases on the walnut desk and, expertly spinning their combination wheels, popped them open and turned them towards the tall, suave dealer. ‘Fabulous,’ he breathed, reverently removing handful after handful of protective clear plastic envelopes, each displaying four white envelopes, devoid of name or address, but with stamps affixed carefully and precisely in its top right hand corner. ‘First day issues of every Irish stamp issued in the past forty years... And... each one?’ He raised an urbane eyebrow. ‘Yes. Each and every one. I realise you’ll have to have them checked, of course, but I guarantee it – each one is clearly postmarked with a date which is one day before its date of issue. Which, of course, makes them an absolutely unique set. A one-off, never to be repeated set. The later ones are doubly unique, of course, inasmuch as, by the time those particular stamps were issued, Ireland had already gone over to franking machines. So they are the only Irish stamps of that era that have been cancelled using the old, round, black-inked, metal stamp.’ That afternoon, Maureen moved to a five star hotel near Marble Arch, and, later, over a leisurely dinner in her suite, began to Google desirable bijou properties on the Mediterranean coast of France.
Fantastic Four Four fantastic luxury hotels got together to offer you one of four breaks-away worth €500 Four lucky winners can choose from four fabulous destinations across Ireland
A luxury Spa Break in Johnstown House, Enfield
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An Away From It All Break in The Station House Hotel, Clifden, Co Galway
Southern Break at The Holiday Inn, Killarney For your chance to win, just tell us:
The Station House Hotel, Clifden, was once: a) A Radio Station? b) A Police Station? c) A RailwayStation? To enter, call our hotline on 1513 415 049 or text TWR2 followed by your answer, name, address to 53307
PRIZESH WORT 0 €200
Terms and conditions: 18+. €0.60 per entry incl VAT. Calls from mobile cost more. Network charges vary on SMS. Lines close midnight 20 April 2010. Entries made after the close date do not count and you may be charged. SP Phonovation Ltd. PO Box 6, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Helpline 0818217100. By entering this competition you may be contacted in the future regarding other promotions.
(1,400 words by Rory McCormac)
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 27
kidz-bitz., The earliest recorded formula for soap was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC.
SPRING N CLEA Homemade soaps make great gifts. They can be different colours, scents, shapes, and fun to decorate, too.
1 Use the grater to shred the soap and put the pieces in the jug. Ask an adult to heat in a microwave for about 1 min. 2 Carefully, remove the jug and stir in a few drops of food colouring into the melted soap. 3 Add a few drops of essential oil. Try lavender or orange. 4 Stir the misture together, then pour into moulds. Remove from the moulds when it is set in about 1 hour.
YOU WILL NEED: Glycerine soap; cheese grater; plastic jug; food colouring; a spoon; essential oils and soap moulds or ice-cube tray
TIPS: Try adding glitter to your soap mixture or pour a little of one colour into a mould, leave it to dry before adding a different coloured layer, then another colour on top of that!
Thank you Ciara Mohan, Co Galway for sending us your soap recipe!
ds little wor How manymake out of can you
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Includes a farm house with five animals, a figure, fencing, bales, a tractor, and a trailer and features sounds.
V.Smile TV Learning System (3yrs+)
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LeapFrog Tag Reading System (4-8yrs) Fun stories and activities introduce reading and word building, phonic skills and more. Needs internet.
What weighs 5,000lbs and wears glass slippers?
Knock, Knock Who’s There ! ? Sasha! SashaWho? Sasha fuss just because I knocked on your door!
draw y ou food on tr favourite his plat e
Vtech Touch Tablet Black (7yrs+) This sleek, ultra slim, all-in-one notebook computer has a detachable touch-sensitive screen that engages older learners with more than 125 educational activities in English, maths, French, science and geography.
Cinder-elepahnt
Why did t tomato bl he ush? Because he saw the salad dressing
28 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
YOUR FREE COPY
Quick Quiz How brainy are you? Question 1
Which is the odd one out? a. Cow b. Sheep c. Pig
The Waiting Room
Crossword NO TIME TO FINISH? NO WORRIES! THIS MAGAZINE IS YOURS TO TAKE HOME! 1
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Question 2
South Pacific star, Mary Martin, was mother of: a. Peter Lorre b. Dean Martin c. Larry Hagman
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Who is Warren Beatty’s sister? a. Faye Dunaway b. Shirley McLaine c. Katherine Hepburn
Question 4
Which is not a capital city? a. Lagos b. Pretoria c. Canberra
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Bill Clinton was governor of which state? a. Georgia b. Arkansas c. Missouri
Question 6
Which is the odd one out? a. Condor b. Kiwi c. Penguin
Question 7 What was Mark Twain’s real name? a. Thomas H. Finn b. Samuel Clemens c. Mark Twain
Question 8
What is measured by an anenometer? a. Movements of the earth’s crust b. Wind speed c. Cloud density
Question 9
What organ is your pancreas closely attached? a. Stomach b. Liver c. Spleen
Question 10
Which country’s national airline is called Varig? a. Venezuela b. Columbia c. Brazil You are: 1-2: A pea brain 3-5: Suffering brain drain 6-7: A bulging brain box
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ACROSS 1 Taking slim size in a shoe in Holland, it’s worn by all, except, of course, naturists. (8) 5 Get one’s balance as one climbs. (6) 9 When one keeps an eye on developments, it can make a comeback in the bogs. (8) 10 Wager that the stupid beast in it is just a lowdown hound-dog! (6) 12 Do the guards get involved in such girly issues? (9) 13 Detecting a bad feeling amongst Bavarian Germans? (5) 14 Using modelling clay to produce fancy trim for 1 Across. (4) 16 States that that’s just the way it is at exams. (7) 19 Is this crazy mad icon a character of homeless society? (7) 21 It’s only right when secret agent is about to look lively and fit. (4) 24 It’s odd – object to boxer with only half a score. (5) 25 On track for 1,000 in street talk, Public Relations in small talk, and nine in Rome. (5,4) 27 And so, it’s back to the quarry for the flighty sort. (6) 28 Involved epic found in explosive article on festive fare? (5,3) 29 Damaged war axe buried deep in the skull naturally causes no harm (3-3) 30 Mattress cut up by group of socialites? (5,3)
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DOWN 1 Funny how it will arrive before the beginning and end of the day. (6) 2 Snwo comes clean. (4,2) 3 Get the chicks out through a small opening. (5) 4 Tend to get on short line for the little ones. (7) 6 One in dramatic circumstances playing rare catch artfully. (9) 7 How apt! Glass shattering provides the ultimate expression of surprise and excitement at the end. (4,4) 8 Having taken the seat, I get to my feet - just to mock in a literary manner. (8) 11 Is moving up in the motoring organisation in the east? (4) 15 Confuse dead Roman with heavenly body of Greek princess of mythology. (9) 17 Played crooked ace to end story. (7) 18 Make an unseemly claim to be correct. (8) 20 Claret begins to mature in bars. (4) 21 Would it suit mad, crazy players to perform in one? (7) 22 If the doctor copies this, well, then it’s curtains. (6) 23 But is it the correct answer? (6) 26 In the style of last month or some such? (5)
THE FIRST NAME DRAWN TO CORRECTLY COMPLETE THE CROSSWORD WILL WIN €100! Send your entry to THE WAITING ROOM CROSSWORD, Northampton, Kinvara, Co Galway by 20 April 2010.
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Question 5
Answers: 1c - the other two are ruminants. 2c. 3b. 4a. 5b. 6a – the other two are flightless. 7b. 8b. 9a. 10c.
Crossword is open to readers aged 18 or over, are resident in the Republic of Ireland, except employees and their families of The Waiting Room Magazine, its printers, or anyone connected with the competition. The magazine is not responsible for entries lost, delayed or damaged in the post. Proof of postage is not accepted as proof of delivery. Any number of entries will be accepted. Winner will be the sender of the first correct entry to be drawn at random after the closing date. Winner will be notified by post, and only their name and the county in which they live may be published in the magazine. All personal information obtained through entry into this competition will be destroyed following its completion. Entry implies acceptance of these rules.
brain train
Number: Email:
Solution S S S S S 12 12 S S S S W E Congratulations E Brian McNamara, Labasheeda, P Co Clare winner of the TWR E R Winter Crossword 12
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A U N T I E S A S O S T S Y S
P S S S M S S L A U G H T E R
P E N C I L S L S N S I S I S
H S O S A S M E N D I C A N T
I G U A N A S G S S S S S G S
to the Winter Crossword R S G S S G R E E K S S F S S
E L A P S E S S S I N D I A N
S S T S S D I S K S S S E S A
S V S T S S S Q S S O N N T T
D I S H O N O U R S I S D S U
S O S R S E S A S C L O S E R
C L E O P A T R A S C S S S I
S E S N S R S E S H A G G I S
A T H E I S T S S S N S S S T
Abbeyglen Hotel Winners are Margo Fox, Inchicore, Dublin 8; Trish Lavelle, Cork; Mairead Rafter, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford and Ann Harrington, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare Dyson DC23 Pink Winners are Patricia Mac Laughlin, Sligo; Michelle Hogan, Birr, Co Offaly and Michael Carroll, Waterford
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SUDOKU 9 7
Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 square contain all the digits from 1 to 9
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3 2 4 2 5 5 8 9 1 3 7 7 6
5 8 3 4 7 4
SPRING 2010 | THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE 29
interview
Fit as a Fiddle:
FrankieGavin Musician and founder of DeDannan, 53 Ever spent a night in hospital? Years ago, after a shooting accident. The hunger got to me more than anything, or 'fasting' as they call it, and then no operation after all. Not to mention being woken up to give me a sleeping tablet. Try that for logic! Do you worry about your health? Only when I get a bill in the post! What exercise do you take? Digging, briar-cutting, and the odd long walk with the dogs. How much sleep do you need? At least 8 hours or I am not much company for myself! How do you relax? Cooking nice meals, then pop the drop of wine and have dinner with the one that I love. It can’t get better than that in my view. What's your attitude to smoking? The odd one is grand, but all day every day? I don't think so. And when I did smoke or come from a smoky environment, I was always tempted to burn all my clothes the next morning! What's your attitude to drugs? Grass should be legalised. It is in certain parts of the world, and can be particularly medicinal. What can be wrong with something that just makes people get a fit of the giggles, and do no harm to anyone? Alcohol is legal, and look at the damage that does!
How do you feel about cosmetic surgery? I am all for it; I wouldn’t mind a bit of a going-over myself, only it’s too expensive and I am not that vain in the first place. Am I contradicting myself now? How do you feel about organ donation? Total agreement. Having said that, I need to get a donor card and carry it, just like everyone else should. When, if ever, do you think it's okay to use a lie? To protect my children from hurt or pain of any kind. Apart from trad, what other styles do you like? I'm partial to classical, Chopin particularly – and Rock and Roll. Meeting The Rolling Stones changed my life completely and now, Ronnie Wood is my special guest on the new De Dannan album. Personal ambition? To bring my band, De Dannan, to great heights like never before, as the line up now is a phenomenal combination. Excluding myself, they have great talents and they are all fierce goodlooking!!!
How much do you drink? I like my drop of wine with the dinner. I'll put it that way, not to mention the odd Vase of stout in the Abbeyglen! What would you like to give up? My mild hunger for wanting more. Best advice from your mother? Keep practising
DeDannan’s 2010 Tour dates are available on www.dedannan.com 30 THE WAITING ROOM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2010
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