As the last Newsletter was issued on 28 November 2003 the following is a condensed version of the Minutes of the two Community Council meetings held on Monday, I December and Monday, 5 January.

At the January meeting it was learned of the sudden and untimely passing of Mr. Ken Ward, representative for St. Patrick's Dramatic Society. The Council's condolences were extended to his family.

Ms Teresa McDonnel1 was welcomed as the new representative for White's Villas.

NEIGBOURHOOD WATCH:

Residents are reminded to keep both their cars and homes locked. While at home do not leave the front or back door open. It was reported by the Community Guard that he had come across a car which had been left running and unattended while the owner went to do a message. This rather unusual act is a 'gift' for any would be/opportunist criminal. In addition be aware of your surroundings when withdrawing money from the 'holes in the wall', the cash machines.

CORRESPONDENCE:

The Community Council was informed that following verification from the County Council & councillors the polling station will be returning to the former Town Hall, now the Heritage Centre, from Harold's Boys School, St. Patrick's Rd.

SPORT:

Colleen and Karen Hogan have both been re-elected to the Dublin Executive of the Dublin Community Games for 2004.

PLANNING:

Corner of Castle Street and Dalkey Avenue:
There is still concern about the width of the pavement, however, it has been confirmed by the Enforcement Office of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council that the development is going to plan. It has been suggested that Dalkey Avenue should be made one-way for traffic.
Coliemore Road:
Planning permission has been refused by the County Council in respect of the demolition of a bungalow and the development of six apartments.
Draft Development Plan:
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has issued a document with alterations to the Draft Development Plan in response to submissions made. The Community Council will make a submission to the County Council on the references made to Dalkey.
Old Dispensary, Castle Street:
There is an application for tea rooms, wine bar and a three-storey development. The community council has submitted its objections to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
Dillon's Park:
There have been two clean-ups of the Park during December.

Number 8 Bus:
The Community Council has received no response from the Minister for Transport to its campaign to have the Number 8 Bus reinstated or indeed any other parties it has contacted. It has been suggested that as the local elections will be occurring shortly that residents should raise this matter with the candidates.

There being no further business the meeting concluded.

The 'Lighting of the Christmas Tree' event was held in the car park on Castle street on 14th December thanks to the Church of the Assumption and was easier to manage than previously. The Blue Cedar tree planted by the Dalkey Community Council many years ago had its debut as the Christmas tree. On the cold but fine evening a floodlit Santa spectacularly appeared on the roof of the Heritage Centre.
M.C. Pat Kenny and King Finbar invited Santa down to switch on the Christmas Tree lights. Community singing followed and then Santa went to his grotto to meet the children. He was assisted by his elves who chatted and distributed sweets to those waiting.
Mary and Joseph went from the Heritage Centre to Archibold's Castle where the living Crib was impressively displayed and on view to the public.
The Special Effects Team and Jazz Band greatly added to the occasion. The success of this event was due to the effort and generosity of many, randomly listed here. Fr John McDonagh; Dalkey Community Council a substantial financial contributor; Garda Sergeant Joe Keane and his team; MC Pat Kenny assisted by King Finbar; the Cuala Club; a special contribution from Chris Tyrell of Dalkey Cabs; Santas Elves; Several Departments of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council; the Office of Public Works; Dalkey Business Association and in particular Supervalu for the outstanding success in funding the Christmas street lighting; The Ulster Bank; Dalkey Heritage Centre; several publicans especially the Queens, the Kings Inn and McDonagh's who supplied refreshments; Chestnuts donated by retailers and roasted by restaurants; Members from both Dalkey church choirs; DL Lions Club; and the Order of Malta. Apologies to anyone not mentioned. The committee were able to engage the Pat Elgard Jazz Band, actors and live animals for the Crib and a Special Effects team. The community of Dalkey should be proud that representatives from such a wide range of local organisations worked so well together. It proves that it can be done. Perhaps we could have a repeat performance for our enty to the Tidy Towns Cornpetition this year.

By the time this newsletter is published Sean O'Gorman who has taught in Harold Boys' School on St. Patrick's Road for the last 33 years will have retired. He'll be sorely missed by his colleagues and pupils alike. Wishing you well Sean.

• It's now you need to start planning your garden for the months ahead- .
• To get the most from the sun plant rows east to west.
• Plant taller shrubs etc. on the north side of your garden to avoid shading smaller plants.
• Wherever you planted your vegetables last year rotate them this year to get the most from the soil.
• The soil is usually too wet and cold for much digging.
• Keep cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
• Make sure cuttings in protected areas do not dry out.
• Apple and pear trees should be pruned-
• Some houseplants are poisonous so be careful no child or dog tries to eat them e.g. poinsetta (this is one of the most popular plants to be purchased at Christmas so be aware).

Are you aged between 7 to 18 years of age and want to take part in the Community Games ? If so we'd like to hear form you. Let us know if you are interested in, for example, swimming, athletics, art, model making, choir, variety, hockey, to name but a few. Please leave your name, address, telephone number and what you're interested in to the Dalkey Community Council post box in Our Lady's Hall in Castle Street. Also we'd love to hear from those over 18 who would like to help with the Games in Dalkey, please also leave your name, address and telephone number the Community Council's post box.

For more than 600 years people have been celebrating St. Valentine's Day. St. Valentine's Day is thought to stem from an ancient Roman festival called the Lupercalia celebrated on 15 February. During this pagan feast young Romans placed the names of young women in an urn. They then drew a name from the urn and that young lady would be their partner for the festival. The young men would also pin the name to their sleeve and that's where we tend to say a man wears his heart upon his sleeve when he shows his interest in a young lady! After the Romans became Christians it was decided to give the festival a Christian meaning. The date for the celebration was moved a day earlier to 14 February. This was the anniversary of the day a martyred Roman priest named Valentine was made a saint. However St. Valentine's Day -14 February will always be a special day for sweethearts, a day when a chubby little love god named Cupid aims his arrows at the hearts of both young and old alike.

Don't forget your sweetheart!!

WHO LIVES ON LOVE LIVES ON FOREVER - Emile Verhaeren
LOVE MAY BE THE OLDEST SENTIMENT BUT IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY A KISS - Anon.
LOVE ACCOMPLISHES ALL THINGS - Petrarch
KISS ME TIMES A THOUAND O'ER - Catullo
HE WHO DOES NOT SEE THE FAULTS OF HIS BELOVED AS VIRTUES DOES NOT LOVE - J Wolgang Goethe
UNTIL I LOVED, LIFE HAD NO BEAUTY, I DID NOT KNOW I LOVED UNTIL I HAD LOVED - Theodor Korner
TO LOVE IS TO PLACE OUR HAPPINESS IN THE HAPPINESS OF ANOTHER - Gottfied WIlhelm van Leibnitz
LOVE HAS NO AGE, IT IS FOREVER BEING BORN - Anon.

BreastCheck, the National Breast Screening Programme, is again inviting women aged 50 to 64 years living in the Dalkey, Dundrum, Sandyford and Ballaly areas for their free mammogram (breast x-ray). Women aged 50-64 years will receive an appointment by post to attend the Merrion Unit which is located on the grounds of St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin 4. Screening will take place from December through to February. BreastCheck aims to reduce the number of women dying from breast cancer by finding and treating the disease at an early stage. If you want to check if your name is on the BreastCheck list, or have other questions, you can Freephone 1800 454555.

The Hula Hoop launched itself upon an suspecting world during the 1950's and has continued to pop up at various other times since then. The name came about because it resembled the Hawaiian hula dance. The idea, as most of us know, was to gyrate this metre of plastic circle around our waist and keep it spinning without letting it fall to the ground around your ankles. It was first thought of as a toy for fun but as it has been relaunched every so often since the 1950's tends to be used by as well by adults (particularly ladies) as a form of exercise to keep fit! Where's that hula hoop, quick! !

We took our calendar from the Romans. The Romans based their calendar on the idea that twelve lunar months make a year. Each lunar month (from new moon to new moon) is about 29 1/2 days so the Roman year came to 354 days. But the true solar year (the time it takes the earth to circle the sun) is just under 365 1/4 days. The Romans made up for the difference by adding an extra month every few years. When Julius Caesar ruled Rome he found that the calendar was wrong by 80 days. The calendar said it was spring but the season was mid-winter. It was Sosigenes. a mathematician. who told him the real year was almost 365 1/4 days long. So Caesar ordered that each year should be 365 days with an extra day added in February every fourth year -a leap year , to make the calendar come out right. Leap years would always, also, be divisible by four. This then became known as the Julian calendar and it started in 46 BC. After the first year which was called the year of confusion his 365day calendar ran so smoothly that it kept time with the seasons for many centuries. However the calendar we use today is the Gregorian one as there was just one small error in the Julian calendar. The sun's year is really 11 minutes and 14 seconds shorter than the 365 1/4 day year recommended by Sosigenes. In the 1600 years since Julius Caesar introduced his calendar this added up to a difference of ten days so Pope Gregory XIII took the advice of the astronomer Christopher Clavius and corrected the mistake by dropping 10 days. So the day after October 4th 1582 became October 15th. To keep the error from reoccurring it was decreed that century years (the first year in each century) even though divisible by four should not be a leap year (extra day in February from 28 to 29) unless they could be divided by 400 thus 1900 AD was not a leap year but we all know that 2000 AD was. However there is a very old custom that in leap years a woman may ask a man to marry her instead of waiting to be asked. In fact it was a law in some countries including Scotland and France and if he refused he had to pay a penalty!

Groundhog Day is 2nd February. While all the hibernating animals are still asleep, the groundhog is said to act as a weather forecaster. It is told if he sees his shadow on the 2nd there will be six more weeks of winter weather!

On 28 March 2004 Gary Cooney who presently is a student at University in the US with the family home on Dalkey Avenue is taking part in the 'Connemarathon' to raise funds for The China Care Foundation Charity. He says "Last summer I travelled to the Chinese city of Tianjin where I worked as a volunteer in an orphanage for special needs children. Most of these children were abandoned at birth due to their disabilities. China's one child per family policy often leaves parents of disabled children in a truly desperate situation. They must rely on their only child to support them as they grow older -if it appears that the child will not be able to provide for them in years to come, they face a very uncertain future. Many make the heartbreaking decision to abandon their infant on the side of the street. Since my return from China, I have become very involved in a charity organisation called The China Care Foundation (www.chinacare.org). It has already done tremendous work advocating for these forgotten children, funding surgeries for many of them so that they can be more readily adopted both in China and abroad. The foundation also provides financial assistance to some of China's poorest orphanages, so that the children can grow up with improved care and in more sanitary conditions. For example, for less than $300 a child born with a cleft palate can undergo corrective surgery, giving him or her a much greater chance of finding an adoptive family. Money goes a great deal further in China, which means that any amount of sponsorship, no matter how small, can have a really enormous impact." Should you wish to pledge any support for Gary or make contact with him you can do so by contacting him at his Dalkey home. 'Windward', Dalkey Avenue.

The Recycling Facility at George's Place (opposite the Old Fire Station) takes glass, drink cans, paper (newspaper; junk mail, magazines, telephone books, cards), cardboard packaging and plastic containers (drink, milk and shampoo bottles). Open Monday to Thursday 8am to 4.3Opm, Friday 8am to 3.30pm and Saturday, 8am to 4pm (closed Sundays and public holidays).

Postage stamps can be brought to Our Lady's Hall.

Valentine Caramel Brownie Cake:

Ingredients:
6oz chocolate, 2 tablespoons boiling water, 4oz butter, I teaspoon vanilla essence, 2oz chopped walnuts, 4oz caster sugar,
2 eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4oz self raising flour or plain flour and some baking powder.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°c, 375°f, gas mark 5.
Prepare an 8in round cake tin.
Melt the chocolate, water and butter over a saucepan of hot water.
Add the sugar and essence to the chocolate mixture and mix well, let this cool slightly.
Beat the eggs.
In another bowl sift the flour and salt add the chocolate mixture along with the beaten egg and walnuts.
Beat the mixture until smooth.
Pour into the tin and back in the centre of the oven for about an hour.
Leave to cool in the tin for about five minutes then turn out and leave to cool completely.
To make the caramel topping place 4oz granulated sugar and 4 tablespoons of water in a heavy saucepan, heat slowly, stirring every now and then until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil without stirring until syrup has turned a deep golden brown.
Remove from heat and allow bubbles to subside and quickly pour over cake.