WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 25

The Paradox of Letting Go

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.

These are feminine paradoxes.

By yielding, I endure.
The empty space is filled.
When I give of myself, I become more.
When I feel most destroyed, I am about to grow.
When I desire nothing, a great deal comes to me.

Have you ever struggled to get work or love and finally given up and found both love and work were suddenly there?

When I give up trying to impress, I become impressive.
When I am trying to make myself look good, others notice and don’t like it.
My best work is done when I forget my own point of view.
The less I make of myself, the more I am.
When I yield to the wishes of the other, I encounter no resistance.

This is the wisdom of the feminine: let go in order to achieve.

From the Tao Te Ching

GARDENING EDITORIAL - JULY 08

QUOTES

“Your garden is home to an astonishing variety of creatures that spend 24 hours a day eating plants and each other, mostly without ever being noticed.”

“We supply up to 10 different types of finishes, including quartz, sandstone, granite, limestone and slate” John Ward- Dolmen Stone.

“We have a fantastic sale with big discounts on both shrubs and perennials. There has never been a better time to plant.” John McDermott – Macs Garden Centre.

“For all round practicality it has to be the Eco Quad Diesel 400 - in stock now.” Leonard from ATV sales.

“Hard landscaping gives you all year round access to the garden” Gary McCluskey



IN A NUTSHELL

Everything in your garden depends on everything else, through a web of interactions. The greenfly sucking the sap from the soft parts of your petunias are food for a hoverfly, which is in turn attacked by a wasp. When a spider eats this, it could become food for a fledgling blue tit, which is eventually eaten by a sparrow hawk.

All things are linked together in the garden in one form or another, and that goes for the plants and hard landscaping too.


HARD LANDSCAPING IN THE GARDEN

What is hard landscaping?

Hard landscaping is all of the features in the garden that do not grow or have roots. The patio, fencing, driveway, walls, raised beds and structures all fall into this category. For a good all year garden, a balance of hard landscaping and soft planting is needed.

Hard landscaping enables access to parts of the garden that would be a no go area for most of the year. Simple tasks like putting up the washing, emptying waste vegetables into the compost bin and putting out the food for the birds in winter are made much easier with a hard surface to walk on.

Build to last

If you are thinking of putting in a patio, or any type of hard landscaping from driveways to walls, call the fully registered contractors advertised on these pages. They can give you advice and detailed ideas for your own garden. All of the companies source the best materials, from around the world and locally to give you the best possible choice for your garden, and, very importantly, they will value your ideas.


SHRUB PLANTING IN SUMMER

Without the plants, hard landscaping could become too angular and stark. Shrubs are great for softening the edges of concrete or stone. A lot of shrubs have lavish displays of flowers and colourful foliage too. In the small garden they can even take the place of trees and not take up too much room, as they can be hard pruned back every year

Plant now
Pot grown shrubs can be planted all the year round. When you snap up a bargain from John McDermott’s Garden Centre sale, keep an eye on the plant and water every day if the weather is dry. In Inishowen we can grow a large range of quality shrubs and if you are in any doubt about how and where to plant, John and the staff will be only too pleased to give you the help and advice you need to make them flourish.

Why shrubs?
Shrubs are planted in the garden for a variety of reasons other that softening the edges. They give form and structure to a design and can beautify a garden because of their shape, scent, colourful flowers, fruits and attractive foliage.



DESIGN TIP

Take advantage of the sunny weather when you are sitting out in the garden. Have a pencil and a piece of paper handy to write down what you would most like to see in the garden. Draw in the new driveway, flowerbeds and borders or walls. If you have an idea in your mind what you want in the garden, then it will make the visit from the experts listed on these pages a more enjoyable experience. You can then talk over your plans and find the best possible solutions for your needs.



POWER UP

Of course it isn’t all sitting around in the sun and eating burnt burgers from the barbeque in the garden. Occasionally you will have to get out the machinery. ATV sales in Manorcunningham stock a wide range of top quality, motorised equipment, from hedge cutters to quad bikes, to make our lives that little bit easier.




DID YOU KNOW?

Some common plants have hidden messages…giving someone these plants could mean...
Crocus - cheerfulness, mirth, youthful gladness.
Daisies - innocence.
Red rose - love, desire, I love you.
White rose - regard, I am worthy of you.
Lemon verbena -You have bewitched me.


GARDEN FACT

Why do trees change colour?
The green colour of leaves comes from chlorophyll, the substance that helps trees to convert light, water and carbon dioxide into food. As trees prepare for winter dormancy, they stop producing chlorophyll, which lets other leaf colours come through. In other words, the bright golds, oranges and reds of autumn are there in the leaves all the time…

MUFF SUMMER FESTIVAL - EDITORIAL 2008

Three Muff Foyle Roses

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend this year Muff will be a mass of colour and bursting at the seams with holidaymakers and locals taking part in their annual festival. This will be the 27th Muff Festival and this year there will be even more events to take part in or attend. The festival is ideally situated to attract large numbers of people from both sides of the border. The annual extravaganza hosts a veritable galaxy of daft competitions, street partying and parades, guaranteed to leave you reeling and giggling for a long time after the strains of the final fiddle die away.

IN THE BEGINNING

Muff Festival all started over lively discussions in a bar back in 1981. Following a recent stretch of bright sunny weather at the time, a small group of entrepreneurs in a dark corner of a local hostelry came up with the idea to turn the weekend into an event. The festival was up and running three weeks later after the group in the pub sobered up.


QUOTES

“This is a tremendous exercise in our district relations and has undoubtedly helped promote the feeling of a closely knit community which should always be a characteristic of a small village like Muff.” An organiser from the first festival.


“This festival is too bizarre, too fun, too ridiculous to miss out on. If you need a spot of cheering up, then it really is a must!” Newspaper journalist, overwhelmed at the event.

“The idea to hold the first Muff Festival was hatched, flourished and was successfully carried out within four weeks, a very short space of time,” said Ian McIvor, organiser of the first Festival, adding: “We were very pleased with the way things turned out.”



CHANGING TIMES

When the event began, Muff was a relatively small local village and people mostly earned their living by farming. Travel was a luxury and holidays had to be enjoyed at home. In fact the annual Muff Summer Festival provided a rare opportunity for time-off from daily chores and for a bit of fun for all the family. In the present economic climate with oil prices soaring and the cost of travel getting very expensive, local festivals such as this are getting to be a more and more important as we find fun and games in our own communities


WHAT’S ON

The list for things to do at the festival is long and there will be plenty to entertain all ages. Treasure hunts are planned for the youngsters and as usual there are lots of sports events to burn off those calories, unless you are just watching, then you could add a few pounds with the local cafes and restaurants promising to cater for everyone’s tastebuds. This year we will also see Fancy Dress and Bonny Baby competitions and of course the beautiful young women of Muff will be entering the Muff Rose. Keep an eye out for the Mayoral Campaign results and gardeners might be interested in who has won this year’s best Festival Garden.

Pet show
The Annual Pet Show will get into full swing on Saturday August 2nd at 2:00pm sharp in the Village Green. All pets are welcome with owners - cats, dogs, snakes, hamsters, elephants etc - this is promising to be a really fun event and if anyone has a camcorder I would recommend taking it along, just in case one of the rodents escape. There are also prizes for look-alikes (animals, I think but owners might qualify)! Another prize is for the prettiest pet in the show.

Soapbox Derby
Soapbox Derby’s are always good for a laugh and this year the organisers have decided to add this to the list of events. It will take place in Wheatfield Development in Muff on Saturday August 2nd at 6:00pm. So, what is a soapbox?. Well imagine getting hold of a lot of a lot of scrap, then hammering it together onto a set of wheels and careering down a steep hill as fast as possible. That’s a soapbox Derby. Of course there are some that will take things very seriously and will get the welding torches out and put air in the tyres. There will be strict safety measures in place though and only one cart will be allowed down the hill at any one time. This will make it easier to pick up the bits off of the road as they disintegrate in an effort to win the race. Get the Camcorder out… To enter in advance for this wacky event, or if you need any additional information please contact Emma at 086-2106201

It’s a Knockout
At the first festival back in 1982 the organiser set up an “Its a Knockout” event and it has run every year since. The teams that will have to endure challenging physical tests will consist of 6 people, both male and female. There will be two categories of under 12's and over 12. The knockout starts on Saturday August 2nd at 12:00pm so get your team ready. You can get practicing by throwing cold water over yourselves and rolling around on sheets of plastic then smearing yourselves with mud…

Home made goodies
One attraction that will get the taste buds tingling will be the Country Fayre on Saturday August 2nd. There will be locally produced veggies along with home baked goodies for you to either eat there or take home with you.

Get those photo’s in
The Photo Competition is sure to be a huge success this year and all photos will be on display in the field on Saturday. Judging will take place on Sunday August 3rd. The categories are under 16's and Open. You can submit an entry in person to Euro Style hair salon in Muff Village, or, alternatively you can email a copy of your photo to mailto:tommydoherty@mufffestival.com?subject=Photo%20Competition.


In the bars
The evenings will be warm and cosy in the bars. The Carmen’s Inn, The Squealin’ Pig, The Rock Lounge and the Ture Inn will all be hosting live music. Check out the Events list for more details.


DID YOU KNOW?


Well-known Muff resident Phyllis McKenna organised the out-door ceili for the first-ever Muff Festival and many years later she is still running the popular event, held in the car park.

1982, saw the first competition for Muff Festival Queen that was held in the Ture Inn and aroused a lot of interest. Open to “any female wishing to take part” the Festival Queen entrants were always accompanied by a young man well-turned out in white shirt, bow-tie and cummerbund and the winning Queen reigned for the year. Her first duty was to start the Muff mini-marathon on Saturday. Winning prizes and a bunch of fresh roses, the winning Queen of 1982 was crowned at the presentation dance at which the group ‘Caviar’ provided the music. Admission was £2.50 including supper!


THOSE WERE THE DAYS

The first Festival opened with a marching band procession. This was followed by a waltzing and jive competition. Things got even more heated when the Glamorous Granny contest started later in the day.

One festival event that hasn’t stood the test of time of the past is “Catching the greased piglet” We are not sure about the complexities of the event but we think it has something to do with getting a pig and covering it with grease. I am sure there was much laughter and diving in the mud as the local men tried to catch it (I can’t imagine a woman choosing to enter this competition, but if you know better…) For some unknown reason this is no longer considered an acceptable form of entertainment…or maybe you just can’t get the pigs anymore.

On one occasion, the then Parish Priest quietly queried whether young ladies entering the Lovely Legs Competition should be showing off their legs below the knee

The men’s Knobbly Knees Competition provided a good laugh for all on-lookers.

Another past event was the Mr and Mrs competition with the winning couple winning the grand prize of a meal for two.