Ready for the weekend: bike-rides, Britney, and promises of sun

From news and easy recipes to TV and book recommendations, we have everything you need for the weekend ahead

Is there anything else to talk about this weekend? Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

News of the week

'I just want my life back', Spears told a judge this week. Picture: AP.

If you haven’t been online in a few days, things are going down in the Spears family. For the first time, the pop icon spoke openly to a California court about the “abuse” she’s been put through since her father became head of a strict and unusual conservatorship in 2008. If (like us) you’re still not sure what that means, click here. 

In other news, the sun is back and Met Éireann predicts temperatures in the mid-twenties next week. Here are five different outdoor activities to celebrate. You could also learn how to properly ride a bike, like Denise O'Donoghue, or nab one of Aldi’s budget bouncy castles. 

What to cook 

Michelle Darmody's tiramisu-style strawberries are calling.

We are so excited to try Michelle Darmody’s boozy cakes. Especially the espresso martini chocolate cake. 

Also on the menu: the perfect satay sauce and Colm O’ Gorman’s delicious tandoori chicken. 

Culture corner 

Denise Chaila will head a pilot music festival July 3. Picture: Mark Stedman

Jim Sheridan’s highly-anticipated Murder At The Cottage dropped on Sky Crime this week. Read Noel Baker’s review here.

A new documentary on Cork’s drag family, The Haus of Mockie Ah! also premieres on RTÉ Player tonight and while All Together Now might be cancelled, Denise Chaila and Gavin James will head up the country’s first post-pandemic festival on July 3.

Spotify is celebrating Black Music Month with a new episode of its podcast Spotify: For The Record. You can listen to the co-hosts explore the different genres of music created by Black artists in the US with special guest Mayor Muriel Bowser now. If you’re in the mood for an Irish story, tune into The Witness: In His Own Words. 

Picks of the week 

• Lidl have pool floaties for sale in the middle aisles. Go forth and prepare for hot Irish summer.
• We have Roisin Meaney’s new novel The Book Club, packed tightly into our beach bags.
• Apparently, a dishwaher tablet can clean out your washing machine. Learn something new right?
• In our shopping baskets this week: Everything from these new beauty launches.
• Treat of the week: Harry’s Coco Buzz nut butter. Gimme more. (Told you we weren’t done.) 
• Follow of the week: Cork’s @Tarmarz is making us want to move to New York, badly.

Laughter is the best medicine 

Everyone who was #FreeBritney years ago watching everyone finally say the same thing pic.twitter.com/1tDw2IhkkP

— Betches (@betchesluvthis) June 24, 2021

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