TOP TIPS

Potato cleaner: Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.


COBS
When boiling corn on the cob, some people add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness. Do not feel that you have to do this but definitely don’t put salt in the water. This will dull the sweetness. If you accidentally over-salt any dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant “fix me up.”

Household.

SETTING YOUR FINGERPRINT

OIL PIPELINE

Ian
There is an issue burning at the moment about the oil pipelines off of the West coast. Protestors are bravely taking on the multinationals and are hopefully making people realise that there are alternatives. There is a theory about how large decisions can easily be made that are not in the best interests of the public such as the onshore pipeline. It is about how you can go in to a board of directors of a multinational company and get approval for building something immense such as a multi-million or even billion euro pipeline, or anything that is on a large scale, but if you want to build a shed in the garden you will be tangled up in endless discussions with people about what colour you can paint it. This is because an oil rig is so vast, so expensive and so complicated that people cannot grasp the complete concept, and rather than try, they fall back on the assumption that somebody else checked all the details before it gets made into a reality. A shed on the other hand can be built over a weekend. So no matter how well prepared, no matter how reasonable you are with your plans, somebody could seize the chance to show that he or she are doing their job by objecting to the colour. In Denmark this cause of action is called "setting your fingerprint". It is about personal pride and prestige. It is about being able to point somewhere and say “There, I did that!” It is a strong trait in politicians. So issues are left far too long before solutions are found and they escalate into the turmoil that is happening with the pipelines on the west coast. A couple of issues in Buncrana feel like this as well. The shore front development for one looks like an instance where assumptions have been made that the proposed development is worthwhile because of decisions made by apparent “professionals”. An old employer once told me to never assume anything and in cases such as this they are wise words.

Regards T.K. Buncrana.

Environmental.

MUSIC WHILE YOU WAIT

Photo Martin Tourish

Most of us have to wait for things at one time or another. We tend to be very patient in queues and welcome any distraction to take away the fact that our lives are ticking away. Banks have taken to putting adverts and sport on overhead televisions, which are all well and good, but they do give you a bit of a crick in the neck after a while. I have been in some waiting rooms that often put on an out of tune radio for our enjoyment. A doctors waiting room in Bristol England realised that waiting in a queue when you are not well surrounded by other unwell people isn’t much fun. It isn’t a barrel of laughs for the staff either. To counteract the problem live musicians have been employed to do turns throughout the day. The musicians play a variety of instruments ranging from the accordion to the violin. It goes down very well and the waiting public can even ask for special requests. Music therapy plays a very important part in the well-being of people who are not well, listening to soothing sounds releases vital chemicals in the body such as serotonin, which will aid recovery. The surgery has found that the patients are calmer when they go to see the doctor and one person said they even forgot why they went in, in the first place! The doctors are happier and so are the staff at the reception who whether they know it or not play a very important role in the attitudes of the patients by how they are greeted. If they are happy then everyone’s happy!

Environmental.