This month Jez Simms, Chair of the Birdwatch Ireland West Cork Branch, talks about his love of birding. To answer the question of this article’s title, as to why you should take up this joyful and fulfilling pastime, I shall relate my life as a bird watcher and hope this […]
Environment
The world’s first transatlantic cable, which sent its first telegram 166 years ago, started in Valentia Island off the coast of Co Kerry. Now subsea cables carry 99 per cent of the world’s internet traffic. Today’s cables enable the transmission of light along fibreoptic strands within the cable, enabling an ever-increasing […]
This month we’d like you to join us on a mission. Winter has always been what we humans have pickled and preserved for. We freeze, we dry and we can. These are all great ways to save food but, as our lives have modernised, so have our shopping options. We […]
Most people associate hares with March; think of the expression “mad as a March hare” and the hare in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. So this is a bit early, but because of what I have seen and heard recently, I couldn’t wait another month. The madness, by the way, refers […]
In 2024, I collected 51.74 kilograms of litter from the cove at the end of our lane. That is more than in 2022 and 2023, but a little less than in 2021. Fishing gear such as ropes and hard plastic floats were the heaviest items, but plastic bottle pieces were, […]
Following on from the last two instalments on insulation, this month I’m going to talk about ventilation. Ventilation is an important part of any retrofit but I find it is often overlooked and misunderstood. Hopefully, I can help dispel it here! A key part of any retrofit is reducing drafts, […]