Lifestyle Loves: The places we've been, the books we read and the things we enjoyed in May
Lots of travelling and music feature in our highlights for May
I recently covered the Eurovision in Malmo, Sweden, and discovered that the city makes for an excellent day trip from Copenhagen, Denmark. Trains - priced at €28 return - depart from København H (Copenhagen Central Station) every 20 minutes and the travel time is only 35 minutes to the centre of Malmö. You wouldn't even have to spend the entire day, the trains are so frequent that even popping to Sweden for dinner is an option. There are 49 trains daily and the latest train leaves Malmö at 11.44pm. Having lunch in Denmark and dinner in Sweden has a lovely ring to it, don't you think?
Cork's Midsummer Festival is fast approaching (June 12 -23) and I've been hovering over the event guide picking and choosing what I'd like to go and see. Some of my favourite shows and experiences in Cork have been thanks to the arts festival and I'm excited to see what this year has to bring. So far, Good Sex in The Everyman, Night Dances in the Marina Market, and the Solstice Céilí are on my list. Check out the event guide here.
I love following micro-influencers (profiles with less than 12K followers on Instagram). They're just a breath of fresh air in a world of filtered, polished, and paid-for posts. Their real and relatable content is starkly more authentic and doesn't make me want to throw my phone out the window. A few accounts that make me smile are @aivfitz on Instagram / @aoibhinnfitz on TikTok, @sineadmccarthy5 on Instagram / @sinfluencer on TikTok, and @aoibhcarroll on both Instagram and TikTok.
My beaded initial chain from Blackbird Jewellery in Ennis. I live for summer jewellery and this chain screams summer. The mix of pearls and colourful beads makes it both playful, chic, and the perfect layering necklace - and as someone who still proudly wears her 'Sex and the City' name chain, the initial charm is a bonus. It was the first thing I grabbed when the sun made an appearance this month and in an act of manifestation, I won't be taking it off for the remainder of the summer months. Priced at €30.
I’ve been clocking up plenty of air miles for work this month. First, I joined Anna in Sweden, via Denmark, for Eurovision, which was just as bonkers as you would expect (and it's left Rim Tim Tagi Dim playing on a loop in my head since). Then two weeks later I was off to Bristol for an upcoming travel feature. Honestly, it’s an underrated city and direct flights from Cork mean I’ll be making plenty of return journeys (the love I have for travelling through Cork Airport instead of flying via Dublin is intense). The highlight for me was my visit to Wake The Tiger, an immersive art installation that has to be seen to be appreciated.
Bruce Springsteen! Like what seemed to be half of Munster, I was in Páirc Uí Chaoimh for Springsteen and the E Street Band’s return to the Rebel County. After over three hours of non-stop music, you’d barely notice the rain. Almost. Thank God for raincoats and ponchos. Read my review here.
This month I burned through the last three books in the Throne of Glass fantasy series. I’d finished the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas last year and this holds up nicely for the sheer escapism, a welcome distraction when life gets quite busy. Obviously Crescent City, yet another Maas fantasy series, is now also on the TBR. I'm definitely deep in the Maasverse.
Killarney! That new road from Cork is something else. We heard about an extensive refurbishment at Hotel Killarney which includes Cubbies. We had to find out more. Taking two curious nine-year-old guinea pigs with me, we discovered it's a large pod that guests (and the public) can use. Owner Lorraine tells us it's part of the Crimmins Hotels & Leisure commitment to making the hotel inclusive and welcoming for all. What's not to love? But we were curious as to how it works. Cubbie is an immersive sensory space that helps regulate sensory stress through professional, tailor made programs. So you can choose whether you want to feel more energised, or more calm, depending on your mood. The two sensory wellbeing hubs were a big hit with the boys, who gave them five stars. They really enjoyed the space, the swing chair, and choosing their mood with the emoji touch screens. While Cubbie was designed with autistic and neurodivergent people in mind, anyone can use and benefit from it when feeling stressed or anxious. I definitely felt relaxed after ten minutes in there watching turtles and listening to soothing music. The glass of wine I had in the Strawberry Tree restaurant had absolutely nothing to do with it. The cubbies are part of a massive refurb of the entire ground floor including the Sloe Berry bar, the restaurant and coffee dock and their two and three bedroom superior family suites and bedrooms. Every inch overlooked by Lorraine down to the tiniest detail - but what was the hardest part of it all for her? Not the colour palette, not managing suppliers or builders - but trying to choose the male and female symbols for the toilets! The little crossed leg beauties were worth the worry, so cute! Visit www.hotelkillarney.ie to book or for further details.
Fire Roasted Buffalo Wings flavour crisps. O’Donnells have a brand new flavour and it's yum. Using home-grown spuds from the family farm in Seskin, Co. Tipperary, owned by the O’Donnell family for over seven generations, the potatoes are batch cooked and then fried, and then devoured as soon as they land into the house, cough. A lovely summer flavour - plus they're gluten free. Available nationwide in 47.5g single serve packs for €1.30 and 125g share bags for €2.99.
Tiny works of art on earrings?! Yes please. Talented Waterford artist Cora Cummings uses coloured underglaze, with a glossy transparent glaze and finished with 23 carat gold lustre detail, and hand paints each design so if you're wearing her earrings, you're wearing a one-of-a-kind piece of art. Truly beautiful. coracumminsceramics.com.
I recently had the privilege of visiting Cora Cora Maldives, a resort in The Maldives for an upcoming travel review. It was my first time travelling to the islands and I completely fell in love with the culture, the landscape and of course, the beaches. The crystal-clear water and white sand are even more breathtaking in person.
Melbourne-based Shameless Media have launched a new podcast as part of their Scandal series titled ‘Daytime TV that raised us’. So far, the hosts Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald have covered Jerry Springer and Judge Judy and I listened to both back-to-back. If you're a TV fan, you’ll love these deep dives into the creation of the shows and behind-the-scenes moments.
While away on my Indian Ocean adventure, I could not stop raving about the La Roche Posay Anthelios Oil Correct face SPF. As someone with oily skin, I’m used to the constant breakouts that come with the combination of sun, sweat, makeup and SPF – but not with this one. I used this every day and even in high humidity, I didn’t get a single spot. I will be using this all summer long.
The Lost Language of the Ballyhouras (€20; siopaleabhar.ie, O'Mahony's Booksellers). With a revival in the Irish language continuing at full pelt, this beautiful, self-published piece finds its way into the world at just the right time for a generation of Corkonians: words and phrases native to the Ballyhoura Mountains and surrounding areas that may well have been lost to time without the effort of the late Paddy Fennessy (1941-2017), who, over the course of 50 years, drew the connection between language and the land, preserving lessons and stories about farming practices, folklore, plants, crafts, rituals and sports in the process.
Toby Kaar - Conceiving Two (streaming online). Cork-based electronic composer Toby Kaar is one of those musicians who's been quietly but consistently active over the years, but after a bit of a break, most recent single 'Conceiving Two' is a cool and confident work, drawing on jazz and ambient influences. It helps of course, that it's paired with one of the best skateboarding videos your writer has ever seen, edited by graphic designer/memelord Zootghost, bringing a touch of finesse to a document of a Leeside skate scene that's had to deal with dramatic changes in its city centre habitat post-pandemic.
Animal Well (around €22; Steam/PS5/Switch). A much-anticipated indie platforming game, published by a new games company run by one of the internet's most beloved gaming journalists? Didn't have to ask me twice. Animal Well, published by Bigmode, an outfit fronted by YouTube gaming funnyman Dunkey, is self-effacingly referred to as "the first-ever open well-type game". But its immediate gameplay, intuitive and innovative puzzles, and slowly unfurling sense of freedom move this past the horde of retro-inspired excursions, making this game one to get stuck into wholesale. One for a quiet night, and a dimly-lit room with pals, snacks and warm bevvies.
The bi-weekly podcast Miss Me? from life-long friends popstar Lily Allen and TV and radio presenter Miquita Oliver kept me company throughout the month of May. Frank, honest and full of juicy tidbits, expect conversations on everything from what actually happens at the Met Gala, to kissing your friend's boyfriend (gulp) and getting on the property ladder.
Summer, for me, has always been about live music. This month, I got my first outdoor gig in via Guinness's Lovely Day campaign which hosted Disclosure at St James' Gate for the brewery's first open-air concert. The atmosphere was amazing, there were plenty of food trucks, and the weather played ball. What more could you ask for? I can't wait for more of these golden hour gigs this summer...
After a weekend at Wellfest ( read about that here), I've been trying to keep the holistic vibe going. My new favourite thing to wind down in the evening is to burn some incense and read my book, maybe with a cup of cacao and some Tibetan singing bowls.... namaste. I picked up two packs of incense from Wicklow company BeKind at the festival, and the Hill of Tara - Sandalwood scent is my favourite.
I’m Grand Mam Presents: That’s Showbiz. I also headed to see I'm Grand Mam's sold-out That's Showbiz show at the 3Olympia this month. It was a night full of pure giddiness and laughter, and just the right amount of chaotic energy. If you're heading to see Cork pals PJ Kirby and Kevin Twomey at Cork Opera House this weekend, you're in for a treat. Expect lots of opportunities for audience members to get involved, a whole new way to use a hurley, a straight male-free zone.
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