Month: September 2019

The owner of the Hair Friendly salon in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter has raised almost £4,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support by opening her garden to clients, family and friends.

Christine Boyles explained that after her mum passed away from cancer several years ago, she invested much of the money she left her into her beloved garden – and had an ‘open day’ in aid of the Northern Ireland Hospice.

After doing more work to the garden in recent years she thought she’d organise a similar venture.

“The Macmillan Cancer Support nurses really helped my mum so much so this time I thought I would do it for them.

“It was forecast to rain and I was praying like mad – but in the end it was a lovely sunny day.

“I was just so pleased for everyone who had helped that their hard work paid off – people who washed the dishes, did the baking, sold the ballots, etc. They were all amazing,” said Christine.

Maria Small, Fundraising Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support – who called at Hair Friendly to collect the cheque for almost £3,700 – said: “Without people like Christine and the support she received from local people and businesses, Macmillan wouldn’t be able to fund our personal services.

“We don’t get any government funding so we rely on members of the general public holding events to help us provide things like our Macmillan nurses, patient grants and vital information services right across Northern Ireland.”

Brunch may appear to be a millennial phenomenon, but it actually goes back much, much further.

Originally, brunch was the 19th Century hangover cure. The term, which are the words breakfast and lunch sandwiched together, was allegedly coined by an Englishman called Guy Beringer in 1895. The meal was reputedly designed for “Saturday-night carousers” who were too hungover to get out of bed on Sunday morning.

Other sources credit early 1900s New York reporter Frank Ward O’Malley with coming up with the term as a way of describing the odd eating habits of newspaper journalists.

Popularised and (supersized) by Americans, this stylish Sunday hangover cure was quickly exported throughout the world. Comic books in the 1960s, cooking books and even smash-hit 90s TV shows such as Sex in the City has helped make brunch mainstream. Today, everywhere from the UK and Dubai to South Africa and China enjoy their own version of brunch.

With that said, brunch has taken millennials by storm. So, what is behind the explosion of this generation’s late elevenses? Emma Bricknell, Owner of Made in Belfast, has the answer after launching her new brunch menu: “Maybe it really is the best hangover cure on a Sunday. Perhaps it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends and recap the previous night’s shenanigans.”

Or maybe it’s just a sign of the times. Income is meagre and prices are steep, then after squandering all of Fridays paycheck in the bar, getting up and eating later saves money on a couple of meals. If brunch is timed right, it could be the only meal of the day. So it’s possible it ticks a box that says ‘all of the above’. Or simply, it’s an excellent excuse to make drinking before noon socially acceptable.

Alternatively, it could be a case of a lifestyle change among 20-somethings. Over the previous decade, brunch has quickly overtaken breakfast, lunch and dinner as the most popular meal of the day. Restaurants everywhere are reporting longer lines than ever before, proving that the love affair with brunch is far from over. A study by Fahrha Ternikar, who wrote the academic; Brunch: A History, claims that brunch’s popularity has been steadily on the rise since 2004.

The two most popular days for brunch were Mother’s Day and Easter Sunday. Ternikar also noted that there is a correlation between those with disposable income and those who eat brunch. After all, brunch has its roots firmly planted in high society, who possessed both the time and the money to drag breakfast into lunch as a social affair. While modern-day vape-toting hipsters may not have the income – they do have the time.

What’s clear though, is that brunch represents a culinary pillar of our society. So, sleep in a little longer, skip breakfast, then let’s have brunch.

Book now for brunch at Made In Belfast, Talbot Street, Belfast at www.madeinbelfastni.com or just call in.

Excitement is building as this weekend sees Donaghadee ‘Light Up’ with a fantastic programme of events from 5-8 September.

The festivities commence with a scrumptious Taste of Donaghadee food tour on Thursday 5 September at 6pm. The tour will include visits to the new Copeland Distillery as well as Bull & Claw, Harbour and Company, Lighthouse Bar and Grill, plus Pier 36.

A ‘deelicious’ menu has been constructed by the town’s top chefs with a tantalising course at each venue satisfying even the most discerning of food connoisseurs. Limited tickets are still available at £62pp.

If you fancy setting sail on the ocean and listening to ‘stories of old’ told through popular sea shanties, you can climb aboard at 7pm on Friday (6 Sept) or at 2pm on Saturday (7 Sept) and Sunday (8 Sept). Tickets cost £12 per adult and £6 per child.

Or if you prefer to keep your feet firmly on dry land, the Historic Walking Tour of Donaghadee will entertain and inform by giving you a glimpse into the town’s fascinating past. Hear tales of Vikings, the 12th century Norman outpost and the slave ship that sailed into the harbour during the 18th century.

These one-hour tours leave from Donaghadee Community Centre on Friday (6pm), Saturday (4pm) and Sunday (3.30pm). Tickets costs £3 per person.

Saturday evening in Donaghadee will be buzzing when the Red Hot Chilli Pipers take to the stage in The Commons with a free show that’s so hot, it reportedly carries its own health warning!

From 7.30pm to 9.30pm, the Scottish bagpipes and drums will raise the cooling September temperatures a notch higher as they entertain the crowds before a fantastic fireworks finale provides the perfect send-off for festival-goers.

FREE buses will operate from The Commons to Ards and Bangor Bus stations following the event at 10pm and 10.30pm. This is an outdoor event so please dress accordingly.

Please note that The Commons car park will be closed from midday on Friday (6 Sept) until 10am on Sunday (8 Sept), with no exception.

The concert and fireworks display are free to attend but booking for food, boat and walking tours is essential. Tickets are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/ardsandnorthdown.