The August Monthly Meeting of DCC took place on Tuesday 3rd August at 8pm in OLH. The Chairperson welcomed three new members to the Council: Nicky Ryan who is the new Road Rep. for Castle Park Road, Kevin Jackson who is representing Gosworth Park and Emer Torpey who is representing Kilbegnet Close.

Matters Arising:

The Chairperson has managed to get a meeting with Mr. John Fitzgerald Director of Services for the Environment in DLRCC to discuss the problem of the bottle banks and other environmental issues.

Traffic:

The new parking control scheme comes into being next Monday 9th August. The closing off of Whites Villas is also becoming a priority, as there has been a significant increase in vehicles using this as a shortcut from Castle Street. The Chairperson confirmed that this had been mentioned to DLRCC.

AOB:

A proposal for a feeder bus to be allocated to Dalkey to link into the QBC along the Rock Road has been suggested by DLRCC. This matter will be followed up by DCC. As there was no further business the meeting concluded.

Tidy Towns:

The attendance for the litter patrols is poor and Tidy Towns urge more to come forward and help on the Tuesday mornings, Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings as there are only three weeks left for this clean up campaign. The recycling depot in George's Place is now closed and the Ballyogan facility is the nearest one for Dalkey. The Brita water has a free post address for the return of their bottles. The dumping at the rear of Eurospar is a continuing problem and if anyone sees an offender dumping the best route of action is get some form of id and ring the

FREE PHONE LITTER WARDEN 1800 403 503.

Dalkey Community Council Annual Collection - Thank you

DCC would like to thank all those who have contributed to our voluntary collection. We would also like to remind those who haven't yet made a contribution that they may give a donation to their Road Rep. or leave it in the DCC postbox in Our Lady's Hall.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council have informed DCC that they are actively looking for an alternative recycling site in the Dun Laoghaire area due to the closure of the one in St. George's Place. As soon as a suitable one has been located in the area it will be publicised by DLRCC.

Meanwhile householders can bring plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, glass, cans, textiles, fridges and scrap metal to the existing permanent facility at Ballyogan Landfill free of charge.

From this autumn the brand new Civic Recycling Facility at Ballyogan will be open to accept all recyclable material. Newspapers and magazines can be left at Moran House.

The Monthly Mobile Collection at Our Lady of Good Counsel School held every third Saturday from 10am to 12pm will accept plastics, newspapers and textiles.

Batteries can be left into the Town Hall in Dun Laoghaire.

As the "pay by weight" scheme will be fully introduced in January 2005 all remaining householders without green bins will receive one.

The council will also be distributing green bins to schools and apartments in order to maximise recycling.

Can you please give details on the new rates for hospital charges that were announced with the Estimates for 2004? From January 2004 the charge for attending Accident and Emergency has increased from €40 to €45.
If you are a Medical Card holder or have a letter of referral from your doctor you do not have to pay this charge.
The charge for in-patient services in a public ward has also increased from €40 to €45 a day (subject to a maximum of €450, i.e. 10 days, in any 12 month period).
If you stay in two or more hospitals in the course of the year and your stay exceeds 10 days in hospital you should bring this to the attention of the last hospital you attend.
Everyone is entitled to public in-patient services regardless of their income but subject to the statutory charge mentioned above.
There are a number of groups who do not have to pay the statutory charge such as medical card holders, women receiving maternity services, children up to the age of 6 weeks and children suffering from prescribed long-term illnesses.
In cases of undue hardship a Health Board may provide the service free of charge. The charges for private and semi-private accommodation in public hospitals have also increased by between 15% to 20%. The new daily rates are:

These charges are additional to the public hospital statutory in-patient charge given above. Further details available from the Citizens Information centre, 85-86 Patrick Street, Dun Laoghaire. Telephone 284 4544

I understand that if someone dies his/her spouse can continue to receive his/her social welfare payment for a number of weeks afterwards. How long will the payment continue for and what should the spouse do to continue to receive the payment?

If your spouse/partner dies while getting a social welfare payment, the same rate of payment will continue for six weeks provided your late spouse/partner was getting one of the following payments and it included a payment for you:

Retirement Pension, Old Age (Contributory/Non-Contributory) Pension or Pre-Retirement Allowance Unemployment Benefit/Assistance or Supplementary Welfare Allowance Disability Benefit/Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension, Injury Benefit or Unemployability Supplement. Alternatively, if you are getting Carer's Allowance/Benefit, Retirement Pension, Old Age (Contributory/Non-Contributory) Pension or Blind Pension and your spouse was getting one of the payments listed above, you will be paid six weeks of whatever payment he/she was receiving plus your own payment.

From June 2003 this six-week payment after death will be extended to most of the remaining social welfare payments such as Unemployment Benefit/Assistance and Invalidity Pension. If you are getting a social welfare payment that included a payment for your late spouse/partner, you will continue to receive the same rate of payment for six weeks after his/her death. The six-week payment is normally paid in a lump sum by cheque.

To apply for it you should write to the section of the Department of Social and Family Affairs who issue the social welfare payment as soon as possible following the death. You should enclose the death certificate (if available) or a death notice from a newspaper and, if applicable, the payment book.

Further information on bereavement is available in the new booklet entitled 'Bereavement' published jointly by Comhairle and the Department of Social and Family Affairs which is available along with other information from the Citizens Information Centre Further details available from

The Citizens Information Centre
85/86 Patrick Street,
Dun Laoghaire,
telephone 284 4544

• A good time for taking cuttings from shrubs.
• Plant bulbs now for next year's display.
• Repair patches on the lawn, feed it also plus weed and moss killer if necessary.
• Lay new lawn - turf or seed.
• How about some winter hanging baskets and planters - they'll be very cheery in the winter ahead.
• Plant winter pansies, wallflowers.
• Clean away anything that may be shading the greenhouse, as the light will start to drop

The Czech Republic is situated in the geographic centre of Europe and consists of three historical areas - Bohemia, Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia. The Czech Republic is called the roof of Europe since all the rivers whose sources rise in the area flow into neighbouring countries.

The attractiveness of the Czech Republic and especially of its capital city, Prague, lies in its remarkable historical and architectural heritage stretching back over 1,000 years and brings over 100 million visitors a year to the Czech Republic.

Throughout the centuries Prague preserved its unrivalled richness of historical monuments of different styles, such as, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque. Goethe called this country 'a continent within a continent' because he said, 'it has everything a continent needs except a coastline'. With hills, highlands and mountains covering more than 95% of the territory, it is ideal for skiing, mountain biking and hill walking.

Sport is very popular in the Czech Republic, which is very famous for its ice hockey and tennis champions. Czech beverages such as beer or mineral water from more than 900 natural springs (a world record) are extremely popular.

Courtesy of European Commission

It hurts me so
To see him thus
My babe
Of tender years,
Clutching
At his little sack,
Choking back
His tears.
I long to shelter
In my arms
This little lad
Turned four,
But I will
Take him by the hand
And lead
Him out the door.
Into a world
Where he must have
The courage
To stand alone
Strengthened
By the love
That he has known
At home.
And I must learn
To let him go
Though helping when I can,
My little son
Now taking
His first steps
To being A man.

Courtesy of 'The only Book of Party Pieces' by Nuala Harnett

This is for all our young boys and girls starting school and of course their Mums and Dads too! - Ed

 

Angel Cheesecake:
Ingredients:

Base:
2oz soft butter or margarine, 2oz caster sugar, 2oz sifted self-raising flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, egg, pink cochineal.
Filling:
10oz full fat soft cheese, 1½oz plain flour, ¼ pint whipping cream, few drops of vanilla essence, 5 egg whites, 4oz caster sugar.
Topping: 8oz icing sugar, 1 egg white lightly whisked.

Method:

Base: Place the butter (or margarine), sugar, flour, baking powder and egg in a bowl and beat well until light and creamy. Add a few drops of the pink cochineal to tint the sponge mixture. Place mixture in a 7-8 inch round, loose-bottomed cake tin. Filling: Soften the cheese; beat in the flour, cream, vanilla essence, one of the egg whites and 2oz of the caster sugar. Separately whisk the remaining egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the remaining caster sugar. Fold lightly but thoroughly into the cheese mixture. Add to sponge base. Bake in a preheated over for 1½ - 1¾ hours (160ºc, 325ºf, gas mark 3) or until firm but spongy to the touch. Turn off oven and leave the door open for one hour.
Topping: Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and beat in the egg white, swirl on top of the cheesecake. Decorate as desire. Chill for 2-3 hours.

It's back to school time and that means the traffic on our roads changes, literally, overnight.

Please don't forget:
Walking - Choose a safe route to school and safe places to cross. Use the Safe Cross Code.

Bus - Take care getting on and off the bus. Wait until the bus moves off before trying to cross the road.

Cycling - A child under 12 should not cycle in traffic. Know the rules of the road. Be visible and also wear a helmet.

Driving - Children should sit in the back seat and be restrained. Collect children on the school side of the road - do not park opposite and do not park within twenty yards of the school.

Please also don't forget a red light means 'stop' for all traffic - walkers, cyclists, cars.

The Language School business has once again been a great boon to numbers at the Centre for July and August.Blooming lit. the Literary Exhibition from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Co, transferred to the Gallery in the Centre for August. It vividly illustrates the number of writers who have used the area as inspiration or setting in their writing. We should have a Writers Festival!

Art Exhibitions:As a result of the Interreg project with Welsh and Irish artists, we are having an Exhibition entitled Dalkey: Sharing our Views which will be open to the public from 16th -19th Sept. Stimulated by interaction with Eleri Jones during her artist residency in Dalkey, Black Sheep Arts group (under the guidance of Valerie Coombes), Una Balfe (Black Sheep Co-Organiser) and John Higgins Art Group are busy working towards the exhibition. From Dalkey, its environs and people each artist has chosen personally interesting subject matter to study. Valerie describes the experience - "We were delighted to have Eleri with us in Dalkey. Being such a warm, genuine person, she integrated easily and soon found her way into our hearts. We were bowled over by the quality and integrity of her work, when she showed us slides at our reception evening. Eleri has a very intuitive approach. She paints from the heart and draws as naturally as she breathes. When she connected with our group she always had something positive and subtly encouraging to say to everyone. Consequently a great buzz of excitement was generated. She left us with an interest in looking more closely at our surroundings. The project continues with enthusiasm at Black Sheep. We look forward to seeing Eleri in September when she comes back to exhibit her work alongside ours." The following Exhibition will feature the work of Kay Long. Her Exhibition will run from 23rd to 26th Sept. She has watercolors, oils and embroidery work. There are still two slots available for this year for any artist wishing to book the Gallery for an Exhibition.

Historical tours to Anglesey:Numbers are growing! 42 went on the August tour. As we go to print it's looking like the final tour for 2004 in Sept is booked out. Contact us, if interested, to go on the cancellation list. We will be promoting Welsh-Irish language Exchanges as part of the same Interreg project in October.

St. Begne'ts Church and Graveyard:We are continuing to add to our list of volunteer helpers on the preservation of the graveyard.

Yoga Pilates: Yoga Pilates continues on Mondays at 6.45pm Contact Cathy Soraghan 086 8758744

Delicious Fresh Food Market continues on Fridays 9.00am-3.00pm in Town Hall. This is run in conjunction with the highly successful County Council markets initiative. Admission is free.

The Dalkey Remembered Club:–
The Dalkey Remembered Club will have its inaugural meeting in the Heritage Centre on Weds. 29th Sept at 8.00pm. The first subject to be 'remembered' will be the Dalkey Tram. If you have any memories that you would like to share or just to listen to others' stories then come and join us. We will have a headline speaker for part of the evening to kick-start the reminiscences.

For more details on any of the above Contact the Heritage Centre at 285 8366

On a sunny day in August 2003
Late for an appointment I stop
Make my way over the bridge
It feels the same
Down the steps
It sounds the same
Suddenly I see us
Out there in the water
I stand
To watch us run past
Laughing
Race you back
Oh the bliss
Of the sun warmed wall
Against a shivering back
Luke warm milk
In bottles of every shape
With labels that are not designer
Swop a tomato doorstep
For a jam
White crisscross on brown sandy feet
Mary, Fran our Mag and me
With nothing
And everything too
Playing chicken on the railway track
One-two-three-four
Fearless
Where did we go
To learn how to be afraid
Was it us
Or was someone else to blame
And when did we stop
Laughing.

Yvonne Townson

The techniques of weaving have changed little since earliest times. Thread was woven into cloth on a handloom. The larger looms had two beams: 'garmain' the larger beam and 'lu-garmain' the smaller beam. The larger beam was likened to a warrior's spear. The weaving rods were called 'claidim' (swords); these were long laths used during the process of weaving and were almost as long as the beam itself. The warp was called dluth and the weft was called innech. The earliest looms had only one beam, propped up above the ground, with the warp threads strung independently and weighed down with stones. Later a loom with a horizontal frame and a reed to separate the threads was developed. This led in time to the hand thrown shuttle, passed across the web between two sets of warp threads, alternatively raised and lowered. In Celtic society different castes or professional ranks were only entitled to wear a certain number of colours. For example farmers could wear two colours; kings could wear six! In general the Celts loved to dress and adorn themselves in bright, well-made clothes, which they took great pride in.

Firelight will not let you read fine stories
but it's warm and you won't see the dust on the floor.

You'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind.

Fold up the box, the wind is chill,

The hills are turning grey,

To-morrow I must pay my bill,

And speed me far away, -

Back to the world again - but still

Thank God for such a day!

PERCY FRENCH

Grandparent's Day