Maman Poulet

In the midst of the Manchester pocketing which is causing all the palaver in Leinster House this evening, Vincent Browne asks tonight about how Bertie Ahern managed to save 50k in the years when his marriage ended when his salary was low, taxes were higher and maintenance had to be paid.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin did not get paid very much back at this time – a reason that Bertie gave for his ability to save in his interview on Tuesday. Where was this money saved? Why did he did not have his own bank account?

Where did Bertie live during the period from 1989 to 1995? Bertie lived in St. Lukes in Drumcondra? Did he pay a rent at this time? Could the accommodation given to him by the trust who purchased St. Luke’s be considered a benefit in kind?

More questions rather than answers…

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• Where is Dermod? I miss him!
• Morgan is back in Ireland – we are going on the Viking Splash Tour together and him being Morgan there will be photos…on Flickr…eek…
• Scoble’s vlogging or whatever at Podtech has started. The Printing for Less crowd look like a great company to work for. The little bit of a work sociologist in me is interested in the reasons people move for work and the dog policy. And what great PR for them. And Scoble is vlogging about vlogging too.
• Oliver Davies is applying for 100 jobs he is not qualified for and blogging about it. Maybe I should write about the jobs I am qualified for and not getting or not applying for because they are not disability friendly…
• Bill Clinton was in Dublin tonight and is meeting Bertie for talks on Friday, I saw him on the 16th Green on Sunday at the K Club – made up for the Bush incident. If you have not seen Clinton taking on the Fox News guy at the weekend have a look at it here.
• What did Paul Scholes say to the ref exactly? Peter Tatchell is not happy.
• I’m off to Dundalk in the morning for a conference on lesbian and bisexual women’s health – I see the El Paso Times is back to it’s usual love fest with the MSM.
• Richard has a new job. I heard him moral philosophising on Newstalk the other day also! Sorry Richard but I miss Graham Finlay who has moved to Hollywood of all places.

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Reading the Disillusioned Lefties tonight I noted that I’m on their blogroll as ‘Madam Poulet’.  I have not and never been a Madam. Ok I don’t have a blogroll here at the moment  so I’m not one to talk but if enough people note that it might stick – lads here’s a m for you – will you do the dutiful and I’ll mind the d. (And the blog url has changed too – ok I know it’s cheeky! I promise to get my blogroll in order once I know how to play with the wordpress template!)

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Walk carefully lads, the women of Ireland are only putting away their tissues after that performance.  Not a dry eye in the house and sure wasn’t he only great not having his own bank account for years, and I bet the knives come out for Miriam putting poor Bertie  through the wringer. Ah C. Wright Mills strikes again.

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Blogging the Election Conference – Digital Hub, Dublin

October 7th 206 10.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m.

Less than two weeks to go and the registration for the Blogging the Election Conference is now open. Admission inclucing lunch will be €15 and will be payable on the day. Please register now to let us know you are coming. We will have a full house on the day so early registration is essential. Also please spread the word to non bloggers and wannabe political or politician bloggers.

We will be announcing more information on a session on politicians who blog shortly which we believe will interest candidates of all parties who are interested in engaging with the electorate through blogs. Sponsors are coming on board and a few more are needed to cover the costs of this event.

Yesterday’s Sunday Business Post had a piece on the conference which you can read here.

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I sat at the 16th Green today for most of the afternoon and especially for the important bits when Darren Clarke won his match and joined his team mates in their celebrations. It seemed that most of the crowd and his team cried with him.  This weekend’s events have been momentous, the atmosphere throughout the K club was electric and the golf superb.

As a disabled punter I was more than impressed with the thought that went into assisting spectators, maybe as so many golfers are older and have health and ageing difficulties the organisers actually get it about access and golf tournaments.
There is a great post about the post match press conference with the European Team on the BBC Ryder Cup blog – would love to see a tape of this if one exists.

The pink jackets were in tribute to Breast Cancer Awareness so I am not moaning about Louis Copeland’s taste ever again. And these lads did not get paid to wear them or to play this weekend – they did it for honour. The Americans couldn’t/wouldn’t smile or get into the thing at all.

I’m glad to have been there and I know I was very lucky to get the tickets through the application process, we won’t get the chance to stage it again for a very long time and who knows if it will still be the same event then as it was this weekend.

Off to catch up on the sleep and enjoy the memories!

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So some dispute whether this is the third biggest professional sporting event in the world and many despise the hype and the glamour. But today the play at the Ryder Cup finally got underway and it was a great day to be at the K Club. The atmosphere was electric and the crowds well behaved, friendly and knowledgeable. It is a massive operation and surprisingly enough it’s really well organised and I didn’t see any problems beyond queues for the bar. With all the bad weather the course is standing up to the elements and the crowds really well. Access for disabled fans is excellent with the provision of special seating areas and scooters for fans with mobility difficulties.

One thing that many may not realise is that there are thousands of volunteers present marshalling, providing assistance to spectators, and running the merchandising and other services. It’s not all about making a quick buck and for those who are giving up their time to make the place safe for others they get a chance to see some golf during their time off.

Lots of moving and exciting moments observed throughout the day and many a celeb in attendance and many genuine golf fans too. And then there was POTUS 41 aka George H Bush, who I avoided bumping with my scooter and with whom I exchanged greetings before I realised who it was. Excellent live blogging over at Ryder Cup Diary and RTE Radio 1’s commentary was excellent company today as we made our way around the course trying to keep up with what was happening. Although I did wonder where the women in Irish Golf were apart from running the Official Merchandising Outlets! Tomorrow I take to the sofa to watch at home and get to shout at the telly before returning to the sun and rain on Sunday for the final 12 matches.

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Via Slugger - Wendy Austin on Good Morning Ulster on BBC Radio Ulster this morning -

“…blogs … I think the people who write these have little to doâ€?.

People who listen to Good Morning Ulster and text in comments must have little else to do also. So in a round about way she was telling her listeners to feck off. Charming.

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Trevor White and the Dubliner Magazine are eejits for their publication of photos that have been discounted for the past 3 years but the analysis by Tiger Woods of his marriage is deserving of some consideration.

‘My wife is an extension of me’ says Tiger. Now I would have thought that Elin is a woman, a person, an individual. Are we to think that she is one of his ribs ala the Garden of Eden? I am sure that Tiger and Elin were upset about the article but who was more upset Tiger or Elin? And are we seeing yet another facet of the American Golfing wife syndrome here as someone who is an extension of their husband and standing quietly beside the green on the 18th to welcome the great man home?

Tiger seemed embarrassed to admit that his wife had been a model – there is an inference that since they married that this is something that one should forget about. The whole thing is one brouhaha amongst many in the next few days no doubt

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Ah this week my mind is only on one thing. The happenings in Straffan.

Sam Torrance has started a blog – now there was a captain who knew how to handle the media and manage a team! Woosnam seems awkward before arriving in Dublin – we’ll see how he gets on as the week progresses.

For information on the GWAGS no doubt Blogorrah will be keeping up to speed (not!)

And there are other Irish and Irish based bloggers blogging about the cup. Irish KC is miffed, Daragh went to the first practice day and was impressed and has photos too!. Twenty Major prefers a game with a challenge. (and wins the prize for his golf pun ridden post) Sarah likes the Ryder Cup and did not rent out her house. Captain Purplehead is heading to Straffan too it seems – is the pirate stuff something to do with this? Keep an eye too on John’s blog – the Ryder Cup Diary – which has been the sole source of blogging information on the event in the past few months!

I’m heading off on Thursday with my season ticket around my neck so there might be a few mitherings from me over the weekend but primarily I’ll be trying to keep up with some of the play and recover for the next day’s attendance.

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