15th November, 2001
Notice Board

ALL THAT BLOOMS

If there is a prerequisite required for any business, it must be to like what you are doing. That means the people you deal with will are sure to get that extra care and attention that makes all the difference in the quality that inspires good customer confidence. Once you've achieved that you're on a winner. And Clare Caulfield of ‘All That Blooms’ is living proof of that.
Claire has always loved flowers and has always enjoyed working with them. When she was sixteen years old she went to work in a florist. For nine years she studied and learnt, practised and perfected everything there was to know about being a florist. From the very beginning it had been her intention to open her own flower shop and when she saw the opening for a Florist in the Ballintemple / Ballinlough / Blackrock / Douglas area she did not hesitate to provide one. So with the help and support of her family and friends and some neighbouring businesses, her dream came true.
Claire's florist shop, appropriately named " All That Blooms" opened seven months ago at Churchyard Lane in Ballintemple, if you are not familiar with the area it's next to the Silver Key Bar. Claire offers a full comprehensive range of floral services. Flowers for every occasion; Birthdays, First Communions, Confirmations, 21'sts, Engagement Parties, Weddings, Anniversaries, Funerals, no matter what the occasion Claire knows how to say it with flowers and floral arrangements. But what else would one expect from someone who loves her work. Give her a call . To enhance her business and to give an even greater service to her customers, Claire has now been appointed an Interflora agent.

DOUGLAS ROTARY CLUB

A Decade of Community Service

Douglas Rotary Club marks its tenth anniversary with a Celebration Dinner in the Rochestown Park Hotel on this Friday 16th November.

Minister for Health and Children, Micheal Martin T.D. will be the Guest of Honour, and RTE's No Frontiers' presenter and well known writer, Christy Kenneally, will be the “after-dinner” speaker.

The Club was chartered in 1991, and its first President was the late Brian Scannell.
Over £200,000 has been raised and disbursed by the Club in its ten years existence.
It has supported charitable and community projects both at home and abroad through its varied annual programme of activities and events.

The highlight of its first decade was its organisation, in conjunction with Glanmire Rotary Club, of the charity walk through the Jack Lynch tunnel prior to its opening in 1998. Net proceeds of the walk amounted to £50,000 which was distributed by both clubs in their respective areas.

Douglas Rotary raises £10,000 annually at its gala Fashion Show in March run in conjunction with the two Douglas Shopping Centres and the Rochestown Park Hotel. Proceeds have helped fund the provision of a minibus for St.Gabriel's Special School, Bishopstown, and a special therapy facility at Enable Ireland's Lavanagh Centre.

The Club, under its current President Brian Tobin, is planning a number of projects for 2002, including participation in a Rotary countrywide sponsored Bothar export of 70 in-calf cows to Africa in early February.

Meanwhile, Friday's social get-together promises to be a memorable night.

DOUGLAS LIBRARY

Gramophone Recital: Presented by Paddy McSweeney.Friday Nov. 16th. at 11.00 am.
Oscar Wilde's Stories. Meet one of the actors from the Opera House production of "The Star Child", in the library on Tue. Nov. 20th. at 4.00 pm. She will read form the stories and talk to children.
Adm. is free and all are welcome.

IGNORANTIA JURIS NON EXCUSAT

(Ignorance of the Law is no defence)
by Josephine O'Herlihy Solicitor

Are you aware that seemingly harmless, everyday oversights, may lead to long-term Litigation problems? Here are a few examples:

If you have hedges and brambles growing out over your garden wall onto the public road or footpath and a passer-by injures himself or herself, for example a bramble hitting his/her face or eye, you will be personally responsible as owner of the property for creating a nuisance.

If similar to the above, you have overgrowing hedges and trees overhanging your garden wall which is near a road junction and if those hedges or trees obstruct a motorists view of the roadway, for example at a T-junction, and a road traffic accident occurs, again you may be held personally responsible if it is shown that the condition of your property contributed to the accident.

Most houses have a stop-cock (for the water main) outside the gate on the public road. This stop-cock is the responsibility of the owner of the house and not of the Local Authority. If the cover of the stop-cock comes off and leaves a hole in the footpath and someone is injured, the house owner is personally responsible. The matter should be immediately reported to your Local Authority which will advise as to whom you should make contact, for the purpose of repairing.

Everyone knows that a seatbelt must be worn in the motor vehicle not everyone knows that seatbelts must also be worn in the back seat. This is the Law. Not only are you breaking the Law by not wearing a seatbelt and liable to a fine, but if you are involved in a road traffic accident and entitled to compensation as a result, your award will be reduced significantly due to the fact that a seatbelt was not worn.

You cannot hide behind ignorance in matters of Law.

BRAIN TEAZER

Sue Sugar had a toothache. So she went to the only dentist in town where she was greeted by Dr. Molar and Dr. Bicuspid the partners. She noticed that, where as Dr. Molar had a wonderful mouthful of teeth. His partner’s teeth seemed in urgent need of attention. With which partner should she book her appointment?
Who would you advise Sue to book with and why? Let us know your answer. It might be worth a prize, see this heading next week for the answer.

THE HISTORY OF DOUGLAS

By Con Foley

Part 64 - CARR'S HILL GRAVEYARD

In this secluded graveyard1 lie the remains of thousands of Cork dead, victims of the terrible potato famine of 184~7. A figure of five thousand is sometimes given. The outline of the mass burial pits can still be seen. The present Blind Asylum was used as an auxiliary to the Workhouse on the Douglas Road, (now St. Finbarr's Hospital) during the Famine years. Between them, they held six thousand patients. A common sight was the long line of cars bringing famine typhus victims to Carr's Hill for mass burials. "During the first six months of 1848, some ten thousand were interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery." The famine graves in St. Joseph's can still be seen as one walks up the path on the left, immediately inside the gate.
It was obvious then that new grounds were needed. The Carr family offered a burial site on their land at the top of the hill, which now bears their name. George Carr held a responsible position under the Poor Law Guardian System, first as accountant and later as Master of the Workhouse. The ground was duly consecrated under the title of "All Saints Cemetery," but due to the type of burial and the fact that many of the people buried there were impoverished, it was, and still is, known as "Carr's Hole" or "The Paupers' Graveyard."
Some years ago, Mr. Sorensen, a Cork taxi owner, was instrumental in having a fifty foot, iron latticework cross erected on the site. It is clearly visible from the crest of the hill and is illuminated at night. This commendable work was done by him at home and erected on the present site. Though no longer a young man, he saw to its maintenance until shortly before his death in 1979
"So night and day, the fugitives throng into Cork City, to see if there is any shelter in the big streets from this hunger and fever that cannot be turned away at all from cabins on the grey roads along the west. On the North side the charitable people give what help they can; along Douglas Street as the overflow sets that way from the Union Gates many a one shares a literal ....... But the arrangements are woeful, as you might see along the Douglas Road, with many a fine women's son stretched on the curb and a good priest anointing him, before he'll die on the cold stone."
D.L. Kelleher's "The Glamour of Cork”

Next week ‘The Finger Post’

THANK YOU

The Teenagers of Rathmore Lawn / Rhodaville Estate would like to thank everybody who supported their Coffee- Morning and helped to raise £800 (€1016) for the Trócáire-Afghan Appeal. And a special ‘Thank You” to all Parents who helped.

A CHURCH BEHIND BARS

Continued from last week

His parish in Penza is a major transit point between the world and Potma. Here humanitarian help, medicines, letters are gathered. His parishioners help him. The Catholic Church does not distinguish prisoners by their faith. Everywhere help is given to all those who are in need. Here all are equal, all are for the Church, people who are in need of help in returning to a normal Life, a life in God, help to recognise the sinfulness of their past lives.
Here the Church and the prison administration share a common goal. Maybe the administration now recognises better the fact that they cannot do without the Church, with out the Chapel and the spiritual help of the priest.
A Muslim prisoner form Iran best expresses the relation of the prisoners to the Church:
(Fifth prisoner, Said from Iran)
"It is not important for him who somebody is, a Catholic, a Muslim, a Buddhist and usually when he brings something or does something, he does it for everyone, Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist etc"

The Church has been built, Mass is regularly celebrated. As you can see the praying congregation is mostly African, and if it were not for the white prison guard at the back one might think that the Church is located in an African village. And it is of no surprise to note that the instruments are all made by the faithful from various usable materials.
And only at the end of the Mass when prayers are made in the various languages, one understands that this is not just some church in a particular place, but it is a church for all, who seek forgiveness for their sins. And all, and yes even if a criminal, there is hope that in them a living thirst will be born for the grace of God which in its efficacy will lead them away from a sinful life, grace which should lead them to conversion and much deeper prayer.
(Fr Philip speaking)
"This small parish began 4 yrs ago. The first time I was here was in May 1997; there were about 15 Nigerians here among 150 people here. Permission to enter this prison is very strict The Russian Orthodox Bishop Savva, responsible for the Russian Orthodox prison pastoral care helped to receive permission form the Interior Ministry. The Administration of the prison camp reacted positively to the suggestion of building a Chapel in the foreigners' prison. With the permission of the Head of the prison System Zh-Kh 385 General Krasnokutskij we began in 1998 the building of the Church of the Holy Family. The Apostolic Administrator for southern Russia, Bishop Clemens in May 2000, consecrated the Church. In the first place, our task is to give spiritual help, to celebrate Mass, prayer and the Sacraments. Since the chaplaincy began we have celebrated many times the sacrament of Baptism.
Another task is to grant humanitarian assistance. We have brought food items, clothes, medicines, and medical instruments for the hospital where not only foreign prisoners are kept. We also help with educational needs: We have brought literature and organised courses in Russian as well as other languages. The prisoners often understand each other badly due to their ignorance of the Russian language. They are from many countries and need here a common language for communication with each other.
We also help in trying to contact and find the relatives of the prisoners in many and in particular African Countries. We help them in sending letters and parcels, as they do not have money for postal costs. My main obligation, as prison chaplain is the pastoral care to prisoners, but for us their non-pertinence to the Catholic Church or their denomination is not so important. We help
everyone who is here no matter what his or her faith is”
The experience has shown itself beneficial, and in other prison camps the Orthodox Church has begun to build chapels too. And when one
Celebrates the Eucharist, those who spent time or passed away in these places are remembered. For all the prisoners there is no longer a past nor a present, they only have a future, and the Church gives them this hope.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Question My local shop is displaying its prices in both pounds (IR£) and euro (€). Sometimes the price shown in euro is wrong. What should I do?

Answer If you feel a price displayed in your shop has not been converted to euro correctly you should first of all bring it to the attention of the shopkeeper.
A National Code on Euro Changeover was launched last December. Suppliers of goods and services to the public who subscribe to the code or to similar codes of practice, drawn up by business organisations and approved by the Director of Consumer Affairs, commit to carrying out the changeover to the euro fairly using the six digit conversion rate (€1 = IR£0.787564).
To convert a pound amount to euro you divide it by the conversion rate and Found the result to two decimal places i.e. to cent. Where the third figure after the decimal point is 4 or lower, the second figure after the decimal point remains unchanged (e.g. 3.174 rounds down to 3.17). Where the third figure is 5 or higher, the second figure after the decimal point is rounded up (e.g. 6.328 rounds up to 6.33).
Subscribers to the Code or similar approved code are entitled to display a logo devised by the Director of Consumer Affairs which indicates they are committed to carrying out the changeover fairly. If your local shop displays the logo and continues to display inaccurate euro prices after you have brought them to their attention, you should contact the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs. If the shop fails to take whatever remedial action it is directed to do, the Director can withdraw the shop's entitlement to display the logo and may also publicise the decision to do so.
If your local shop does not display the logo and continues to display inaccurate euro prices, you should take your business to a shop that does display the logo.
Further information is available from Cobh Citizens Information Centre, The Parish Centre. Roches Row, Cobh, Tel. 4814422.

Grange Karate and Self-Defence
Club! Colaiste Cholm.

It is an unfortunate fact in today's world that children often become the targets of people looking for a small, innocent child to torment and antagonise.
It is for this reason, that many parents turn to Karate as a way to teach their children life saving self defence techniques, and, as Shotokan Karate is one of the most popular Martial Arts in Ireland, it provides practical self defence along with its many other benefits.
Mr Bill lynch, Senior Instructor at Grange Karate Club, Community Centre has been teaching children's 1 Self Defence over the past 20 years. Bill says "teaching children is an art itself. Children are more flexible than adults, but have a shorter attention span, which has to be taken into account, when I prepare our young students for successful self-defence - both physically and mentally".
The physical part is as important as the mental side of Self-Defence. A shy beginner makes dramatic gains in assertiveness and self esteem. A child who finds focusing difficult develops his attention span and gradually finds himself better equipped to achieve goals, in School and at home as well as in the Karate Class.
Strong emphasis on good manners and respect for others result in behaviour improvements across the board not to mention an increased regard for every person's uniqueness and ability to contribute.
In my Club, we also teach the importance of self-control. The child learns that violence implies loss of self-control and in not to be used to solve problems.
Ask yourself, could Karate become one of the high points in your child's development, something he not only loves, but, that profoundly improves his self-confidence, very possibly so.
Karate is a fun thing to do, it is also a serious endeavour involving the acquisition of certain physical skills. We teach Shotokan Karate in a nice relaxed family atmosphere in a superb gym at Grange / Frankfield.
We have one of the top Japanese instructors, the world renowned Sensi M.Kawasoe 8th Dan Black Belt a regular visitor to our club. He holds classes and grading throughout the year.
Remember! The reward will be a healthy, happy child with self-confidence and discipline that will serve them well in many contexts throughout their life.
The Club trains on Monday nights only from 6.15 to 7.45 at Grange Frankfield Community Hall. We also have over 2 to 3 Black belts teaching at any time.

ACUPUNCTURE IN IRELAND & CHINA

Continuing last’s week’s article
by Kenneth O’Connor Lic.AC, AC, C. Ac. China, M.A.I.Ac.

Everyone I talk to thinks that getting acupuncture is second nature to the Chinese people. Well it's not; surprisingly they don't like needles anymore than the rest of us. They are however more accustomed to it as it has been around for the past 4700 years. During my work in China I treated children as young as 6 months old to the elderly. I was surprised at what they were able to treat successfully. Children with Cerebral Palsy, Hyperactivity, Deafness and so on to Stroke patients and those with Parkinson's Disease and everything in between. These were patients who were told by their doctors in the hospital that western medicine could do no more for them. The great thing was being able to talk to the patients themselves or their parents to get their opinion on acupuncture and how effective it was. I was speaking to one mother and she told me that her 4-year-old son was using headphones one day and couldn't hear anything on the right side. It turned out that he was deaf in one ear. She did all the things one would do, doctors, tests, etc., and was told that he would be permanently deaf As she and her son had nothing to loose, they tried acupuncture and after six months of treatment he now has 80% of his hearing back and continues to improve, this is just one of many amazing success cases I met.
( A Word of Caution! This article is about my experience in China and it is not my intention to raise false hopes for anyone with a similar condition. Although the vast majority of these people benefited greatly from acupuncture others did not. Just like orthodox medicine, acupuncture has its limitations so ask about the practitioner’s previous experience with conditions similar to your own and the signs and symptoms that indicate progress.)
The patients carry a small book, which details their medical history and treatment, Western or TCM. Any test results or x-rays are given directly to each patient. It was not unusual to be walking about the hospital with my assigned doctor and to be stopped by a person pulling out an x-ray of their fathers brain tumour and seeking advice on acupuncture treatment. They would continue around the other departments until they were happy that they received as much information as possible and then decided what course of treatment they should get.
When the patients are finished their daily treatment they must get this book signed by the doctor. The first patient I saw' doing this was standing about four feet from the doctor's table and just flung his book at him. I was a bit surprised by this, as he seemed quite pleasant. Anyway, the doctor picks up the book and fills it in and flings it back at the patient. It turned out that this is the way things are done in China, so if you are ever over there and something is just thrown at you, they are not being rude just polite, although they don't do this to foreigners.
Continued next week

BREAKFAST

Passing time while dawn is breaking,
Waiting for the morning train,
Looking at the hive of people
It would drive an ant insane.
At the snack-bar by the platform;
“ Just a glass of water please”
As the world runs wild around me
I sit down and take my ease.
Saw her madly eating breakfast,
Eggs and bacon in a bun,
She had ordered two together,
But she eat them one by one.
Ah happy days! Sweet memories!
Thoughts that linger with me still,
How simple breakfast has become,
A glass of water and a pill.

Ronnie McGinn

DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THE MOUSE TRAP

A lot of people complain about their mouse getting 'stuck' or in other words not responding to movement. This is such a common problem that it is surprising that many people get so frustrated when the answer is so simple.
If your mouse is getting stuck, the first thing to do is to check the trackball in the actual mouse itself. What happens is your mouse picks up miniscuel pieces of dust and dirt from your mouse mat or table and these acumalate inside your mouse.

Turn your mouse upside down and twist the circular cap around the trackball to release it.
Remove the trackball and give it a rub with a damp cloth and then dry it properly.
If you look into the area where the trackball was, you will see three roller pads which would form a triangle around the trackball. It is mostly on these roller pads that the dirt accumalates. Take a sharp, non-serrated small knife and scrape off any dirt that has gathered on the rollers taking care not to let the dirt fall into the mouse. Make sure you scrape right around the surface of the rollers by rotating them.
Finally replace the trackball and cover and your mouse should be much better now.

If you are still having problems, you can try the utilities that come with windows for changing the settings of your mouse. For example, you can change the speed at which your mouse moves around the screen, and even make accelerate.

Click 'Start' 'Settings' 'Control Panel' and open the control panel window.
Double click the 'Mouse' icon in the list. This will open the 'Mouse Properties' window in which you should see a list of tabs across the top saying, Quick setup, Pointers, Buttons, Motion, Orientation and Devices.

Try playing around with these options to make your mouse respond the way you wish it to.

Article by Darren Forde of 'DEEP BLUE DESIGN' Graphic Design, Douglas.
For enquiries call 021-4367744.
If you are having computer blues with your PC or MAC, send an e-mail to deepbluedesign@eircom.net and we will do our best to solve your problem.

Are the media responsible
for eating disorders?

By Yvonne Gabriel

Every time I pick up one of my magazines I notice that the models in them are getting unrealistically thinner. I myself am a teenage girl and feel happy with my own body, but what if I was someone who suffered from low self-esteem. What if I one day picked up one of these teenage magazines and saw one of these models looking utterly perfect and flawless in every way just smiling out at me. I don’t quit think id go off and eat a bar of chocolate. Id start thinking should I be dressing like that, should I go around smiling like that and most importantly id start thinking what should and shouldn’t I be eating and doing to look like that.
The average body fat for a healthy woman is about 22% to 26% but yet it has been estimated that models and actresses have about 10% to 15% body, that’s almost half of that of a “healthy” women. These are the women who are meant to be our role models, our idols. These are the women everyone wants to look like. What sort of message are these people sending out to us teenage girls? In a recent survey Jennifer Lopez was voted as the worlds sexiest body. This woman has a fuller figure and is not unbearably skinny. Does this not mean that the public prefers women with normal bodies and not the Kate Mosses of this world? Well if this is the case why is it that when ever the publishers of these magazines with unbearably thin models in them, are questioned about why their models are getting thinner and thinner there response is that they are simply responding to what their readers want. As a reader of these magazines I myself would rather see models that look like the average woman and not a pretty head on a stick and I’m sure other young girls my age would agree with me.
In every magazine I pick up I see at least one article about dieting to look like these women. If you want to look like these women its not a case of dieting it’s a case of not eating at all. What’s worse is in one magazine I read an article about the perfect diet for young women and when I turned over the page I found two pages of questions to the agony aunt for help solving teenage girls problems. Most of these questions were just normal teenage problems about stress and school but there was one there where a fourteen year old girl wrote about how she was a size 12 the average size of a healthy woman complaining about how she was being called fat in school and should she diet and the agony aunt who should be consoling her by telling her to be happy in her body, told her to refer to the diet over the page and try exercising as she will feel better about her body afterwards. In all these magazines they recommend people of my age to exercise by going out jogging everyday and go out swimming when it would be a better idea to tell them to go out and join a club or there school team. These magazines should be influencing young women to go out and interact with other people there age and get involved with team sports not go out on there own and run to lose weight.
Is it just me or is the media’s message over the past 30 to 40 years been that beauty is a women’s main principle project in life. It’s a bit of an out dated view isn’t it? This view goes on to summarise that being slim is critical for any success in life. This message concludes that women should actually be self-conscious, anxious and ashamed of their body’s because a “winner” can control and transform themselves by dieting, doing plenty of exercise and with fashion sense. Is it just me or is this perspective awfully like the one underlying eating disorders. The number of people suffering from eating disorders is on the increase and suicide goes along with it. Unfortunately women everywhere are judging themselves inadequate compared with the media image of the ideal female shape.

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