Am I the only one who was gobsmacked, not by Elin Wood’s failure to appear in support of Tiger at the US Open, but at the fact that anyone in their right mind would expect her to be there?  Now the news breaks that while Tiger was making his much-anticipated comeback, Elin was apparently with her lawyers, and the couple are definitely divorcing.

Good for her. I’d hate to have seen Elin reappear in time, draped around Tiger in stage-managed,”supportive spouse” mode. Remember Victoria Beckham posing for the cameras “en famille” in that hastily booked family ski holiday after the Rebecca Loos revelations?.  Smile frozen into place for the cameras (the “happy family” invited Hello Magazine along for the trip), Victoria looked more like a woman possessed than  a happy, trusting spouse.

God only knows what she’s going through privately, but Elin has behaved with dignity since all hell broke loose on the home front, refusing to comment to the media and staying out of the spotlight.  She’s said to be renovating a lovely old house she’s bought in her native Sweden, far away from the madness of the US celebrity scene or any key role in her soon-to-be ex-husband’s so-called “recovery” from his “sex addiction”. Whether or not she can ever forgive Tiger is something we’ll never know (and nor should we), but she’s obviously decided there’s no future for them as a couple, and what woman could blame her?

I spotted these two beautiful dogs snuggling up to one another outside my local supermarket yesterday, and couldn’t resist snapping them. It wasn’t even a cold day - they obviously just like a cuddle as much as the rest of us.  Adorable.

The fact that I love Bob Dylan’s music doesn’t blind me to the fact that he can behave like a grumpy old git at times.  I took the eldest, a big fan, to see him at the O2 this year. Bob refused to engage with the audience - not even a cheesy “Hello Dublin!” -  and played versions of his songs that were unrecognisable even to die-hard fans.  For a while I thought it must be Van Morrison up there.

Still, Bob has his soft side. It turns out he’s been working away on a Christmas album, due for release on October 13th.  As well as original material, the record, called “Christmas In The Heart” will include old favourites like “Here comes Santa Claus”, “Do you hear what I hear?” and “LIttle Drummer Boy”. All profits from the record will be donated to food charities across the world, with Bob’s stated goal being to give thousands, if not millions of people a Christmas meal.

Even if you’re not into Dylan’s music, this is a hugely charming record and destined to be a classic. It would make the perfect Christmas gift for a fan, obviously, but also for those you can’t think what to buy for. Have a listen here - and find it in shops from October 12th.

Liscannor, County Clare, Wednesday 12th August

Escaped back down to gorgeous Liscannor, in County Clare, this week for a few days’ surfing and R & R before the school term starts again.  The weather was extraordinary - we arrived down to grey, cold Irish drizzle on Monday, which lasted most of Tuesday too.  Just when I was thinking of calling it short and heading back up to Dublin on Wednesday, out of nowhere came a heaven-sent day. Blue skies, “where’s the factor 30?!” style sunshine.  West Clare is beautiful at any time of year, but when the sun comes out, you feel you’re in paradise. The next day things changed again, but it was still warm and dry, and the surf was up, which kept the teenagers happy.

Surfers brave the waves at Lahinch, Thursday, 13th August

Recently, an NME journalist asked Noel Gallagher of Oasis what he was buying as a gift for his brother and fellow band member Liam, whose birthday it was.

“Nothing.” said Noel, “We’re not girls.”

I know this because the 16 year old showed me the article – when he managed to stop laughing and hand over the magazine. Now, Noel’s a funny guy, and I’m happy that the boy likes his music (God knows, I could be raising a Metal Head or an EMO, in which case I’d have to put him up for adoption). But I’d rather he didn’t listen to anything he has to say about brotherly love.

With two boys a year and a half apart, my worst nightmare is that like the Gallagher brothers, they’d end up not getting along. So far, they’ve always been close, apart from a dodgy patch that lasted a summer or so, just before the eldest hit secondary school. Just as well, since they only have each other, as I tell them every time I catch one calling the other a loser (or worse).

Getting boys to understand the importance of giving presents – unprompted, thoughtful presents, especially - is a challenge, in my experience.  As Christmas or birthdays approach, I have to remind each boy that he needs to think of something to buy for his brother. “Oh yeah….”, he’ll say, “What do you think I should get him?”. “Well, I think you should think about what to get him, and not only that, but I think you should have already thought about that by now and not need me to remind you!”, is what I want to answer, but I try and tone it right down into language teenagers will actually listen to. I have their future partners in mind here, you understand. I want to raise them to be the kind of men who’ll thoughtfully plan the gifts they’re going to buy for them, instead of wandering aimlessly around the cosmetic counters at Brown Thomas on Christmas Eve.

The 16 year old got back from his World Challenge trip to Borneo last Monday. He’d been gone almost 5 weeks. He’s gained another inch and lost a stone (which he seems determined to put back on by living in the kitchen since he got back). I picked him up from the airport on my own because the 14 year old had rugby training. On the way back in the car, he babbled excitedly about the whole trip, naturally, but especially about the tribal blowpipe he’d packed away in his rucksack, and couldn’t wait to surprise his brother with. While I tried not to show how shocked I was that he’d bought his brother a present in the first place, he went on about how “deadly!” it was; how it had been hand-made in the remote village where they’d spent 10 days during their trip and “where, if, like, they need food, the men have to go into the jungle and like, hunt animals!!”.

It was obviously a wild experience for himself and the 10 friends who went with him. Certainly beats the crap out of a trip to Kilmainham jail or Padraig Pearse’s cottage, as I’ve been known to mutter bitterly when I’m feeling especially resentful.  I know he learnt loads about the joys of travel, about survival, about teamwork, and about how lucky he is to have food on the table every day.

The biggest surprise, though, is that he seems to have learnt how important it is to a) remember the people you care about, and b), put a bit of thought into the gifts you buy for them.  I don’t know what made me more happy - watching his pride at the 14 year old’s reaction to the blowpipe, or watching the 14 year old’s shock and glee as he opened the parcel and realised what was inside.  When the boy talked about a “blowpipe”, I’d imagined something fairly basic.  But this thing is an intricate piece of craftsmanship about 3 feet long, painted and decorated with feathers, and designed to fire the thin, wooden “spears” that come with it. It dismantles into 3 separate pieces, otherwise he’d never have fitted it into his rucksack. Most importantly, it’s the real thing. In the wrong hands, it could take someone’s eye out, as their Grandparents would say.  Which, from a teenage boy’s perspective, is all that really matters.

The eldest has raised the bar high, no question about it.  Let’s hope it lasts, and see what Christmas brings.

A Ms Beatty Jewels piece in blue-themed stone & Swarovski crystal

The great thing about having your own blog is that you can give a free shout-out to the people and things you like.  A very fashion-savvy friend of mine owns Maven Boutique, at 64 Aungier Street, where the Ms Beatty Jewels collection, a word-of-mouth success story, is exclusively sold.  As the happy owner of two gorgeous necklaces from the range,  I think its success is down to the fact that the pieces are so adaptable - mine seem to go with everything, whether I’m slumming it in jeans or glammed up for a night out.  The pieces (which also include bracelets and earrings) make great, one-of-a-kind gifts, because each Ms Beatty piece is hand-made, using coloured stones and Swarovski crystal. They look lovely worn long and dangling or short and choker-style. If you want a piece made up to work with a specific outfit, you can drop a fabric swatch or a photograph into Maven and the necklace will be ready in just a few days.

Cashmere & Silk dress by Sian Jacobs, reduced by 40% at Maven.

While you’re there, check out the eclectic collection at Maven.  The store stocks a great mix of designers like New York’s Ambriel Floyd and Pepper and Pistol (recently nominated as best new designers in the International Fashion Awards, and favourites with style-maven Roisin Murphy, as well as Bat for Lashes and Tyra Banks).  There’s also great cashmere by Dublin born Sian Jacobs – a lady who knows how to put the edge into cashmere, if ever there was one.

Yes, I know we’re all broke, and scared shitless about the next budget.  But a girl’s got to dress, right? There’s 40% off everything at Maven right now, and browsing costs nothing…

Meanwhile, have a look at www.mavenboutique.com

Maven, 64 Aungier Street, Dublin 2

“”Organic Food Not Healthier”, says FSA”, screamed yesterday’s paper.  Anyone scanning the headline, and reading no further, might have been left with the wrong idea - much to the delight, no doubt, of the big guns in agribusiness, who make a point of dissing the organic food industry whenever they can. Dr Alan Dangour, who led this review by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said:  ”Looking at all of the studies published in the last 50 years, we have concluded that there’s no good evidence that consumption of organic food is beneficial to health based on the nutrient content.”

And it’s that last bit you need read again. The researchers looked at the Nutrient Content Of Foods Only. They chose to overlook effects that chemicals and processes used in the production of non-organic foods might have on your body. Now, the main reason I try to eat a mostly organic diet is to minimise the potential risk to my health from those chemicals and processes. The fact that organic food tastes infinitely better is a bonus - as is the fact that by buying organic, I’m doing my bit for animal welfare and the environment. Unlike conventional farming, the farming of organic food is governed by strict regulations that mean crops are not treated with artificial chemical fertilisers or pesticides, and antibiotics and drugs are not used routinely on livestock. Intense agriculture and other modern food production is introducing food and chemicals into the human food chain that were not present for 99% of mankind’s existence.  We have absolutely no history to draw on to understand their effects. What we know for certain though, is that cancer rates are on the increase.

Organic food campaigners are understandably outraged by this latest attack, calling the research “limited”. and “selective in the extreme”.

Peter Melchett, policy director at the Soil Association, said: “We are disappointed in the conclusions the researchers have reached. It doesn’t say organic food is not healthier, just that, according to the criteria they have adopted, there’s no proof that it is.”

Carlo Leifert, a professor of ecological agriculture at Newcastle University and the co-ordinator of a major EU-funded study which recently found nutrient levels WERE higher in organic foods, also criticised the researchers’ selective style: “I’m worried about the conclusions”, he said “The ballpark figures they have come up with are similar to ours. I don’t understand why the FSA are not going away and saying, ‘Right, there’s something you can do on a farm to improve food.’ But they are so blocked by not wanting to say positive things about organic farming.”

The small print of the FSA report shows that some nutrients, such as beta-carotene, are as much as 53% higher in organic food, but such differences are not reflected in its conclusions.  Why not?  Surely a 53% difference in nutrient level is significant?

The EU study, which completed in May of this year,  involved 31 research and university institutes. It found that levels of nutritionally desirable compounds, such as antioxidants and vitamins, were higher in organic crops, while levels of nutritionally undesirable compounds such as toxic chemicals, mycotoxins and metals such as cadmium and nickel, were lower in organic crops.

That’s good enough for me.  I’ll be sticking with organics for as long as I can afford them (and if more of us chose organic, the price would come down).

The truth is, no amount of scientific research, dodgy or otherwise, will ever over-rule what my instinct already tells me:   I’d rather eat an apple that has not been sprayed with artificial chemical pesticide than one that has.

Sunset at Croke Park last night

It’s a bit of a shock to the system, going from Leonard to Bono within the space of a week. Last Wednesday I was at The O2 to see the wonderful Mr Cohen.  Great seats, great sound and a great performance from a man who, in his 75th year, held the audience in the palm of his hand with a show that took in just about every song I hoped to hear and lasted 3 hours. Elegance and serenity were the order of the evening, with Mr Cohen oozing charisma in his trademark Armani and the largely middle-aged crowd remaining seated throughout -  except when they rose for the many and well-deserved standing ovations.

Cut to last night, and I’m standing in the thick of it all at Croke Park, at the base of one leg of the now-famous U2 claw, not far from the front of the stage at Croke Park.  The great thing about going to a gig like this with teenagers is that you’re not allowed to act middle-aged and sit in your comfortable seat away from the mill. With Teenager Number One still off in the wilds of Borneo, I took his younger brother and his best buddy to the gig. Their priority, as you’d expect at 14, was to get as close to the stage as possible, and I was dragged up there with them.

Like a lot of people who grew up with the band, I’ve seen U2 plenty of times, and hadn’t really considered going to see them on this tour - especially having lashed out such a hefty sum to see Leonard Cohen. But a friend surprised me last week with the offer of free tickets, and I braced myself for what I thought would be something I’d have to endure rather than particularly enjoy. Instead, I had a ball.  And a much better time of it for being right up there at the front, where the option was to die or dance. You’ll hear U2 being slagged off for being all about the show, but they are a stadium band, and putting on a show is what they do best. I’ll never forget the one they put on last night, and I’m sure as hell glad I said “yes” to those tickets.

Whitney in London last week

Everybody loves a good Comeback Story, especially in a summer where we finally lost all hope that Michael Jackson would ever return from the strange world he escaped to, and Amy Winehouse still fails to show any convincing signs of recovery.  No surprise then that Whitney Houston was treated to a standing ovation at the launch of her new album at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London last week, when she emerged into the spotlight, aged 45,  looking like her years of crack-addiction had never happened.  Whatever you think of her music - and I for one would die happy without ever having to endure “I Will Always Love You” again - no-one could deny that Whitney’s is a formidable talent.  That talent seemed to be going tragically down the tubes in recent years, culminating in her being pictured gaunt and aged beyond her years, having turned her own home into a crack-den.  

Whitney in her crack-friendly days, 2004

It seems Whitney’s mother came to the rescue, and obtained a compulsory order to force her into rehab. That’s not supposed to be the way to do it (”No-one Can Help The Addict Unless They Want To Help Themselves”, goes the theory), but in Whitney’s case, it seems to have done the trick. Good luck to her. She’s living proof that there’s hope for Amy yet.  I certainly hope so, because whatever about Whitney’s oeuvre,  I definitely want to hear the future output of anyone who can write a song like “Back To Black” at the tender age of 23.

A friend sent this through to me the other day, and gave me a good laugh over my morning coffee. Ever threatened to write a letter of complaint about bad service, then forgotten all about it, as you do? Read this and be inspired to really put fingers to keyboard next time. I’ll bet the author is flying first class return to wherever he wants in the world by now, courtesy of RIchard Branson:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blog/editors_corner/article/11975/