I read in The Observer on Sunday that the average toilet in the home is cleaner than the fridge due to the fact that the fridge is rarely cleaned. Add to this that the toilet seat is cleaner than the chopping board(TV Ad)  why do we need fridges and chopping boards at all?

You should from now on prepare and store all food in the toilet and to save time and effort when entertaining friends you should hold the dinner parties in the loo. Wine can be chilled in the cistern and fresh water is only a pull away.

Bon appetite..........

As we all know the Irish Economic Miracle has been with us for over a decade now and during that time there has always being those economists that do nothing but predict the end, and I suppose if you say something often enough you will right at some stage. Anyhow David Mc Williams is one of these economists that has been saying that we have an over reliance on the property element in the economy and an additional reliance on the number of U.S. Multinationals that operate here. Some of his points are valid and others I feel are open to analysis which I am not going to do here, yes I can hear the sigh of relief over the internet.

Mc Williams wrote a book entitled" The Popes Children" where he analyses the lives of those of us who can remember the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979. From that book RTE allowed him make and air a programme "In Search of the Popes Children" this is what I was watching last night.

He talks about the cost of houses, the debt burden we all have, the fact that we commute vast distances to work etc. He does concede that we are wealthier and we do have a better standard of life that we did in the 1980's and start of the 1990's.As part of any social documentary there must be interviews with the new Irish and there was, there was a young lady who thought nothing of spending €1000 on a handbag so that when she was out dancing at the weekend her friends and herself will not only have something to dance around but will it will look good on the floor in a sea of stale beer. There was people who bought expensive watches and drove BMWs X5's to school everyday so everyone is happy.

There was a piece in the show where there was a group of thirtysomethings sitting on a deck in surburban Ireland sipping wine, dressed in the latest designer clothes chatting, meanwhile "DIY Derek" was manning the BBQ while his guests exchanged price tags on the newest item they were wearing. The wine looked at the drinkable level and the patio furniture was decked out with plates with the obligatory patio heater, very nice. I got the impression that "DIY Derek" was cooking something special as the ambience was perfect. What was "DIY Derek" cooking? that right, HAMBURGERS and SAUSAGES feckin HAMBURGERS and SAUSAGES. So all this new wealth has allowed us to invite all our friends to call over and rather than go to the local chipper we buy a €5000 BBQ and cook HAMBURGERS and SAUSAGES to be eaten with designer clothes and expensive wine. They call it the "Celtic Tiger" I feel the "Irish Pussy" may be more apt.