Local Girl’s Success At World Championship In Germany

Highly talented nine year old Angela O’Connor of Kiniska Claregalway did us all proud recently by taking a 2nd and two 3rds in Tae Kwando Competitions in Germany. She beat off stiff opposition from Ireland, Australia, Poland, Belgium, America, Switzerland, Austria, Korea, China, Japan and Germany.

Angela represented IUTF (Irish United Tae Kwando Federation) Westside, Galway.

Well done Angela and continued success in the future.

What is Tae Kwon Do?

Tae (to kick or squash with the foot) Kwon (a hand or fist to: punch, strike, block or destroy) Do (art or a way) Therefore, “Tae Kwon Do,” The primary form of Korean unarmed combat has a strong emphasis on kicking techniques and is considered the most popular martial art in the world. It also enjoys full Olympic recognition.

Skin Care & Aromatherapy Clinic

KINISKA, CLAREGALWAY (091) 798485

MAIN STREET, CLARINBRIDGE (091)776824

Tea Tree Oil – The essential oil is extracted and distilled from the leaves of the Melaleuea Alternifolia (Tea Tree) whish is indigenous to the north-eastern part of New South Wales, Australia. The antibacterial qualities of tea tree oil have been known for centuries and it was the aborigine tribes who, over 200 years ago, first recognised the natural healing benefits of the oil. Since then, this amazing therapeutic oil has been used medicinally by many generations.

During the last few years we have seen considerable interest in tea tree oil due to its natural antiseptic, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal ability to treat a wide range of problem skins, nature’s medicine cabinet in a bottle!

For further information, contact Evelyn Kitt (091-798485 or 087-6783733)

Editorial

It’s amazing how quickly we adapt to change. For instance, the levy charge on plastic bags made us realise how useful shopping baskets are and it’s now commonplace to see bags and boxes of all shapes and designs in use and just the bare hands have sufficed on occasions (anything but pay levy charges).

With the recent introduction of the Penalty Points System in driving I can see the same change take place.

It sounds so simple – penalty points for not wearing safety belts, etc. etc. Why didn’t someone come up with this idea years ago? We are as a result now more conscious of our driving but it still does not relieve the traffic gridlock which is so totally unnecessary. We need more buses on the road on a regular basis. Who needs the stress of being stuck in traffic jams when an alternative could be there ?

Until next time, Josette

Over-The-Counter Treatment Of Coughs And Colds

Firstly well done to the Claregalway footballers on a great win and historic achievement.

Coughs are described as either productive (i.e. chesty, producing sputum) or non-productive (i.e. dry, with no sputum). A chesty cough should be encouraged because it enables the secretions from the lower respiratory tract that, if retained, could impair breathing and the ability of the lungs to resist infection. The appearance of the secretions may indicate the severity of the cough. Clear secretions are generally uninfected and of little significance. Thick yellow, green or rusty coloured secretions or malodorous sputum may indicate a chest infection, such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Blood in the sputum may give rise to a colour ranging from pink to deep red. This may be the result of a burst capillary on coughing (a minor problem) or may be a sign of a more serious condition, such as lung cancer, heart failure, pulmonary embolism or tuberculosis. A dry cough serves no physiological purpose and is irritating to both the sufferer and those with whom he or she lives or works. Dry coughs are generally the result of a viral infection, although asthma, medication (e.g. ACE inhibitors) and lung cancer are possible causes. Treatment is either with a cough suppressant for a dry cough or with an expectorant for a chesty cough.

The common cold is a self-limiting viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. In the case of a cold, a sore throat is usually the first symptom to appear followed by runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion and cough. Headache and sinusitis may also be experienced; earache is also a common complication of colds, particularly in children. Treating a cold should include taking aspirin or paracetamol, increase fluid intake and depending on the symptoms, decongestants, antihistamines, vitamin C and Zinc are useful in helping to reduce the severity and duration of cold symptoms.

John Duffy MPSI Claregalway Pharmacy.

Tel. 799754. Open 9 AM to 8 PM Monday to Friday and 9 AM to 6.30 PM on Saturday.

Gardening with Bosco

As we depart October and the brilliance of the kaleidoscopic autumnal leaves as they fall, the emphasis changes towards berries, stems, evergreens, conifers and heathers. In November in the garden, nothing can compare with the vast number of trees and shrubs that are laden with berries at this time of the year.

Even though there are not as many flowering plants around, it’s easy to introduce colour and interest with some of the many beautiful berry bearing shrubs and trees. Berries or fruits contain seed and as nature intended these to be dispersed, it designed them to be attractive to birds, specifically for this purpose. So a lot of berries or fruits will be lost to the appetites of birds. Therefore, it’s important to plant enough varieties to make up for this and to plant varieties that birds like least. The “Malus” or ornamental crab apple is one such variety, in particular “Malus Golden Hornet”, which has masses of golden yellow fruits that are left on the bare branches, untouched, right through the winter. Two new varieties are “Malus Evrete” and “Malus Georgeous”, the latter bring aptly named as it has beautiful red fruits. Another tree that excels itself in berries is the “Mountain Ash Family Sorbus”. The most common Ash “Sorbus Aucuparca” is laden with red berries at the moment, but to me the best of these is “Sorbus Joseph Rock”. This has deep yellow fruits that first contrast with its autumnal foliage and then remain mostly untouched by birds through the winter, in big clusters on the bare branches. Another worthy variety is “Sorbus Commixtra” with orangey-red berries which has an additional benefit of being a tree of modest size for any garden. Lastly, a tree commonly planted and although the birds enjoy its bountiful harvest, it’s worthy of mentioning the “Cotoneaster”. Two varieties to watch for are “Cotoneaster Floccosus” and “Cotoneaster Cornubia”. They have a broad habit but have the advantage of being semi evergreen.

In the shrubs, there are a huge range of plants and we will mention but a few. “Skimmia Reevasiana” is an evergreen shrub with small white flowers in spring followed by red fruits in Autumn and Winter, great for tubs and window boxes. Another plant used for this purpose, particularly tubs as it is an acid loving/lime hating shrub “Gaultheira Proumbens” with white flowers in early Summer, followed by fleshy red fruit, some fruits vary in colour, according to variety. Two very well known varieties to use are the “Iles” or “Pyracantha” or “Firethorn”. “Pyracantha orange glow” is a good variety, untouched by birds. Pyracanthas are a dense upright evergreen shrub with glossy dark green leaves, clusters of small white flowers in summer are followed by round fruits, varying in colour in the autumn.

Garden checklist for November

Plant bulbs. Plant rhubarb. Dig over vegetable garden. Prune gooseberries and currants. Take hardwood cuttings. Plant winter bedding plants. Plant fruit trees. Plant barerooted trees and hedging. Gather leaf mould for your compost heap. Protect terracotta pots from frost (unless frost proof). Protect tender plants from frost. Check tree ties and stakes.

That’s it for now, until next month, happy gardening.

Bosco McDermott, Jnr., Glynn’s Garden Centre, Oranmore. (091-799135)

Special News

Congratulations to Michael Lenihan, Cloon and Nicola Collins, Waterview who were married in Malta recently.

Congratulations also to Madeline Roche, Knockdoemore, and Declan McCann, Clough, Monivea who were married on the 26th October.

Congratulations and well done to Angela O’Connor, Kiniska, on her recent victory at the World Championship Tae Kwanda Competions in Germany. She came home with two 2nd prizes and a 3rd.

Speedy recovery to Albert of Centra who had a knee operation recently. You are missed at the meat counter!

Congratulations to Brenda Fahy and Sean Muldoon, Kiniska, who got engaged recently. Best wishes to both of you for the future.

Claregalway Parish History 750 Years

Reprint is now available from the committee of the Claregalway Historical and Cultural Society: Tom Lenihan, Brendan Noonan, Seamus O’Connell, Sean Concannon, Michael O hEidhin, Michael Hession and Gearoid Hartigan.

The Committee of Claregalway Historical & Cultural Society would also like to let you know that a new book “A Pictorial History of Claregalway Parish” will soon be available. The launch is to be held in Terry Breannan’s Loughgeorge on Friday 13th Dec. The book contains approx 590 photographs from all aspects of parish activity. It will be a very interesting gift for anyone from the parish or nearby parishes.

Shaving The Bear(d)

On Saturday the 26th of September, Malachy Noone, had his beard shaved in the local hostelries to raise some money for Our Lady’s hospital for sick children in Crumlin. The barber was Roddy Grealish, tingling with nerves at the thought of the upcoming county final. However, Malachy and Roddy did a great double act, providing great entertainment and amusement, which spurred on the generosity of those socialising for the long weekend. Everybody enjoyed the critic, and on the night €500 was raised.

Malachy had grown the beard to enhance his portrayal of Grigori Stepanovitch Smirov, in Compántas Lir’s production of ‘The Bear’ by Anton Chekhov. Other members of Compántas Lir used sponsorship cards to raise another €500, and the group contributed €500 from the Supper Theatre to bring the total raised to €1,500. This has been passed on to Our Lady’s hospital, and Compántas would like to thank all those who gave so generously to this very worthy cause.

Patsy Cahalan

The Road To All Ireland Victory

CLAREGALWAY / LACKAGH u13 HURLING COMMUNITY GAMES

The Claregalway /Lackagh u13 hurling team comprises of ten players from the Carnmore hurling club living within the parish of Claregalway and ten players from the Turloughmore hurling club living within the parish of Lackagh. To be eligible the players must not be 13 years before the 1st August this year. A panel of players meeting those requirements was formed before the 10th May deadline under the management of John Carr, Pat Burke, John Fox, Paul Killgannon, Tony Badger and Gerry Fox.

On June 15th we traveled to Ballinadeereen to take on Athenry who had earlier beaten Clarenbridge by a point. With a strong wind against us in the first half we led at half time by 4 – 5 to 2 – 4. In the second half with the aid of the strong breeze and using all of our subs we added another 7goals and 4 points to our score line while Athenry failed to score in that half leaving us eventual winners by 11 – 9 to 2 – 4. Martin Fahy was rock solid in full back with Jonathan Morris on his right and Paddy Cullen on the left wing back position helping to create an almost impossible defense to crack. Paul fox’s strength and determination along with Danny Cummins’s skill at center field proved much to strong for Athenry. Ronan Burke played an excellent captain’s role in goal. Their puck outs in the second half against the wind rarely passed our half forward line and with Gary Burke lobbing them back in over the bar along with Donnie Fox who for one so young (not yet 12) had an unerring accuracy for reading the puckouts and positioning himself in the right positions to do most damage on the scoreboard, along with the youngest member of the panel on the right half forward Ronan Badger sending ball after ball up to the forwards where Mickey Caulfield’s strength and accuracy found the back of the net time after time and by the time Damian Carr hit the back of the net for the second time the game was well and truly over as a contest.

In the County final two hours later we played Kilimor who had previously beaten Moycullen. Aided by the very strong breeze we led at half time by 2 – 4 to 1 – 2 in a very toughly contested half. The ever-strong Matt Moran at center halfback with Noel Walsh catching and clearing accurately on his right proved very decisive in this opening half. Jonathan Morris in the number two jersey like his team mate at center field Paul Fox seemed to enjoy taking on the opposition and the bigger they were and harder they came the more these two lads relished the challenge. John O’Brien’s fast clearances up the field left Kilimor with very little on the scoreboard. At the resumption against the breeze Danny Cummins (mid field) and Gary Burke (center half-forward) put on a display which will long be remembered by those present. Gary’s long surges towards goal and picking off lovely scores or perfect passes to the forwards was only eclipsed by Danny’s extraordinary ability to escape from two, three and sometimes four of the opposition who were continuously been told to mark him tightly by the Kilimor management from the sideline. Ronan Badger’s sweeps up along the side caused immense havoc to the Kilimor backs and Stephen Nally, when not fighting for the sliotar was usually seen expertly clearing a path for the incoming play by leading three or four of their backs out of the way, such was the danger he threatened around the forward line. Jason Cosgrave added the final touches by sending plenty of ball across the square. Eventually a superb catch and clearance by Michael Brennan from wing back position brought the encounter to a close with the Kinvara referee Gerry Mannion blowing the full time whistle and the jubilant Claregalway / Lackagh team going through to the Connaught final for the first time in over twenty years.

On Saturday 20th of June the team and mentors set off from the Turloughmore Community centre car park at 9:30am in Madge Burkes bus arriving at McHale park in Castlebar at 11:00am. We were met by John Fox who had cut short his family’s holiday in Donegal and driven down that morning to have Donnie ready and to help in his role as on of our managers. The format was that A.P.C from Roscommon were to play the Leitrim qualifiers in the semi finals and the winners play us in the finals. However as the Leitrim team did not turn up Roscommon went straight into the finals with us at 1:00pm. It was a great honor for both of these teams of young players to get the opportunity to play in the main pitch in McHale park as its rare to get to play in a pitch of that size or standard. The match itself was really over as a contest after fifteen minutes where we eventually ran out winners by a scoreline of 8 – 11 to 1 – 1. Beautiful weather added to the enjoyment of the match and it makes us realize how small a country we live when we had Michael Brennan at wing back marking his first cousin that was playing wing forward for Roscommon. Great displays by Chris Donohue, Joseph Walsh, Jason Kyne and Gary Burke left this a very one-sided affair. Ronan Burke had his first opportunity to get a relaxing suntan between the posts, whilst bringing off a brilliant save in the last quarter of the first half. Again we got the opportunity to play all our subs and every player got at least a full half of play. A stop at the Sportsman Inn in Claremorris for dinner on the way home where the staff filled the large Connaught cup with coke rounded off the day for us.

If the lads thought the training sessions were tough up until then they were in for a bit of a shock. Paul Killgannon the coaching expert decided to up the tempo and set a grueling pace for the boys who it must be said never complained, no matter how hard it got, and it was hard. They were run until they could run no more and then they were asked to give it a bit more. Their skills at soloing, hitting long and short balls accurately, passing long and short distances, free taking, penalty saving and taking, bending to lift the sliotar whilst running fast were all improved on. In matches amongst themselves ground hurling was played at a tough and furious pace while in the air speed and accurate skill were asked for. When taking shots at goal from left and right with John fox, Pat Burke and Gerry Fox between the posts the lads were teased unmercifully to get them to try as hard as they could to score goals. All this training was conducted so expertly by Paul that rather than leaving the lads tired and drained it only gave them a greater appetite for hurling. He continuously emphasized their need to know each others strong and week points, especially as they came from two different clubs, and that were they to win an all Ireland title the need for all the panel to improve and give all in training was the only way this would come about. Three pitches were used in the training sessions to get the lads used to playing in different type venues, as we did not know what to expect in Mosney. Those were Cregmore, Carnmore and Coolarne pitches.

On Friday 23rd of August we set of from Athenry on a train specially booked for the Co Galway Community games participants at 10:45am to arrive in Dublin at 2:20pm.

John Carr and Paul Killgannon were given the job of travelling with the team and any misgivings they had about the lads misbehaving were unfounded. Even the team mascot who traveled with them 4 year old Enda Carr behaved exceptionally well, snuggling in between Danny and Matt or playing cards with Stephen and the two Jason’s and Mickey. When we got off the train we transferred to a waiting bus which took us on the final part of the journey. Arriving in Mosney at 4:30 nearly 6 hours after we left Galway we were greeted by our families whom had driven up to support us. Tony Badger had brought up our sleeping bags the previous day and the jerseys, Hurleys and other requirements needed by the team. After supper that evening we went for a training session on the pitch we were going to play our matches on and later after a walk around we settled down to an early nights rest.

Next morning our match was the second semi final on at 11:00am so we dispatched Paul Killgannon and John fox to observe the first semi final at 9:30am between Shinrone of Co Offaly and Eire Óg of Nenagh Co Tipperary. In the meantime we had a warm up in preparation for the match. On a warm dry day the lads signed their names in front of a Mosney official at 11:00am and we took to the field against Drumgooland, Co Down. Each manager had specific jobs during a match. Four worked on one side of the pitch where the subs were and two on the other side, all directing players on their side, encouraging them to hold their positions, mark tightly or move away from their marker, which ever each manager thought was needed. Replacing broken hurleys fast or speedily administering first aid was also some of the requirements of all the managers. All six managers worked as one to achieve ultimate victory for our team. After five minutes it was clear that the match was going to be a one sided affair in our favor. Indeed after ten minutes John Carr called Mickey Caulfield over and told him to start practicing taking points as goals at that stage were of no value to us. Even Michael Brennan who had a broken thumb, (an injury received from playing in a County final for Carnmore two weeks earlier) and was under doctors orders not to catch a hurley in his right hand, got to play in the second half much to his fathers delight and his mothers consternation. (Continued Next Month)

Chicken Pilaff

Ingredients

• 4 to 4 I/2 lbs of chicken
• 1 large sliced carrot
• 1 large sliced onion
• 5 pepper corns
• Bouquet Garni: Sprig of thyme, parsley, bay leaf, stick of celery tied together with string.
• 3/4 pint of chicken stock
• 2 fluid ozs of white wine
• 1 oz of roux to thicken the sauce
• 8 floz of cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 egg yolk

Method

Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Put the chicken into a heavy casserole with the carrot, onion, herbs and peppercorns .

Pour n the chicken stock and wine. Cover the casserole, bring to the boil and leave to simmer on the stove for 1 1/2 to hours depending on the size of the chicken. When the chicken is cooked remove from the casserole. Strain and degrease the cookng liquid and return to the casserole. Discard the vegetables as they have already given their flavourt to the cooking liquid. Reduce the liquid in an uncovered casserole for a few minutes. Add 6 floz of cream and reduce again for 1 to 2 minutes. Thicken the sauce lightly with roux. Taste and correct the seasoning. Skin the chicken and carve the flesh in small pieces. Add the meat to the sauce. Allow to heat through (the dish may be prepared ahead to this point). Finally, just before serving, mix the egg yolk and the remaining 2 floz of cream and stir quickly into the sauce making sure not to boil or the sauce will curdle.

Note: This delicious chicken dish can be served with rice or tomato fondue.

Courtesy of Susie’s Home Entertainment Course

Claregalway Football Champions

“Now we’re up where we belong – in Senior Football” – bold words from a delighted Patrick Stephens, as he held the John Cotter Intermediate Cup aloft. Monday the 28th of October will go down in history and will be long remembered as the day Claregalway won the Interemediate County Final to earn them Senior status for the first time. The final, played in Pearse Stadium against Clonbur finished on a scoreline of 0-8 to 0-7, Claregalway fully deserved their win despite the small winning margin. A full match report will follow in due course, after we have finished celebrating this magnificant win. Everything has been put on hold in the parish. Congratulations to the team and the management. Thanks to our sponsors and supporters, who travelled in their thousands to the game. Sincere thanks to allwho had the bonfires blazing on Monday evening despite the rain that fell, to all who flew the flags and gave their support over the last fifty years. Finally, hard luck to Clonbur who fought right to the end, and made us dig deep to win. (Courtesy of www.claregalway.net)

Interior Design – Hints And Tips

Rugs

Rugs come in a variety of designs and colours, which allows them to be matched with different styles of decor. They can add comfort, luxury, and interest to a plain room ,without completely covering the floor. Prices vary from a few euros for small manufactured ones to thousands of euros for hand-woven ethnic types. Rugs can be used to relate the floor to other patterns and colours in the room decor and also make the surface a little softer underfoot. If you don’t want to replace a carpet or dislike the pattern, you can cover it up with a rug. Another advantage it that you can roll it up and take it with you, if you move house.

Rug Types

There are a large variety of styles available and this can depend on a number of factors e.g. fibre content; the intricacy of the design; the rug’s age; etc. But your final choice should depend on your personal taste or the style of the room where it is going to be used. Chenille rugs are made from cotton with a nubbly pile and usually washable, so are suitable for bathrooms, but light wear only. Kelims are a flat-woven rug from the Middle East and were originally used as a floor bed and wall covering by farmers and nomads. Colours range from bold, and bright to rich, earthy tones. Patterns are based on ancient markings, religious symbols, animals, plants etc. Reproductions are available at reasonable prices. A Dhurrie is a flat-woven cotton rug from India – often hand-woven in ethnic or geometric designs. Nowadays they are produced in a wide range of sizes, colours and patterns to suit contemporary decor styles.

If you have some money to spare, you could invest in an original an Oriental rug. These rugs come from Persia (Iran), Pakistan or Turkey. The villagers of these countries have been weaving rugs for their own use for generations. These are hand-woven in rich colours and expressive patterns. Some of the antique designs are museum pieces, but the traditional patterns are still produced today, mainly by co-operative workshops. These enable local weavers to make rugs that are equal in quality to the best antiques. Cheap copies are manufactured in Europe, they may not be equal in quality or colour tone but they are far cheaper and may need some wear to give it that look of aging. If you are worried about whether you are getting value for money, buy a rug because you like it and because it goes well in your home and you can’t go wrong.

If you like something more contemporary, maybe you could go for a Designer rug. Some contemporary rug makers will make a rug of your own design to order. Unlike the traditional patterned one the contemporary rug tend to have abstract patterns and strong blocks of colour. If you are the creative type why not make your own rug, which will cost a lot less and can be created to suit your colour scheme. You can make a rag rug from a mix of plain and patterned fabrics, the result is an original design, which is both decorative and practical. There are also natural fibre rugs, which include Coir, Sisal, Seagrass, etc. For example coir is made from coconut fibre, so is fairly coarse and has a rustic look to it.

Where and How to use

Rugs can cover up a dull or cheap floor cover, enhance a beautiful hardwood floor, warm a cold stone one or break the monotony of a vinyl one. When choosing the colour, consider all the other items in the room – rugs can even help to pull them all together to some degree. Use plain rugs on patterned carpet or in rooms with boldly patterned wallpaper. Rugs with distinctive patterns and lovely colours deserve to be a focal point of the room. Ones with intricate designs can work with patterned furnishing fabrics, as long as the tones are right and the basic colours are co-ordinated. But if they don’t mix well with your existing furnishings they should be used as a starting point of a new scheme instead. Strong geometric designs work better in simple modern situations, while floral type styles suit more traditional décor. In heavy wear areas choose colours and patterns that don’t show dirt and a texture that takes to vacuuming.

Rugs can help define an area of a room – e.g. a living room suite is visually unified and strengthened if the various pieces are grouped round a central rug. A rug beneath a dining table will bring the area sharply into focus. Use a rug that is large enough for effect and go for one large rug rather than a clutter of smaller ones. Smaller rugs can seem like islands surrounded by a sea of floorboards, tiles or carpet, while large ones appear as fitted carpets with a sliver of floor visible around the edge. If you have a beautiful wooden floor you may not want to cover it with a very large rug, just confine one to the centre. If you are not sure what size rug to buy, you could cut up pieces of newspaper to gauge how it would fit between furniture. A rug that is too small can make a room look fragmented.

Rugs often come in fun colours and prints suitable for a child’s room or you can go for fake fur or shag-pile types, which can be used to sit on. They can also be used as a seasonal toy, that can be put away during the Summer as it maybe hard to live with all year round. Combat cold feet during the cooler months by putting a rug on a tiled bathroom. It may rot eventually so don’t spend a fortune on it.

Rugs need not be confined to the floor, many types such as oriental, kelims and dhurries can be used as wall hangings. A rug hung on a wall can act as a decorative feature and add interest to a room. A precious one can be hung out of harm’s way on a wall or it could make a lovely and unusual backdrop for the bed. Certain rugs can be used as throws for sofas and chairs or as unusual tablecloths. An old table could be given a new lease of life.

Points to note

For safety never place rugs on polished floors or near doorways where people may trip. Attach a piece of non-slip underlay to the back of the rug. Turn rugs regularly to minimise wear. Make sure dyes are fast if the rug sits on top of a pale carpet. To spot a hand-woven rug – check that the fringing is a continuation of the weave. Hand-made rugs will also have imperfections, this is part of their beauty. Rugs benefit from regular vacuuming. Lift occasionally and vacuum the back.

Rugs come in such a rich variety, there should be one to fit your particular style and budget. The quality of the weave and colour in the traditional rug, especially the oriental ones, are hard to beat but there are plenty of less expensive copies available. The contemporary rug also can add fresh interest and a focal point to a room.

Mary D. Kelly

Decorating Options

(091) 798224.

Claregalway Leisure Centre

Fundraising towards the upkeep of the Centre continues. The committee wish to announce the recent launch of their calendar for 2003. Thanks are due to the local businesses and individuals who have again generously contributed to the costs of producing this calendar, which features photographs of the locality, taken by local photographers Gerry Mooney and Michael Corbett. It is on sale through committee members, and also at the following local outlets: Claregalway Pharmacy, Raftery’s Centra, Video Paradiso, Nico’s Takeaway, Dunleavey’s, F. & D. Dry Cleaners, Grealish’s, Glynn’s Garden Centre, Glynn’s Centre Carnmore and Walsh’s Baunmore. Thanks to these shops for stocking the calendar and supporting this local venture. All proceeds from the calendar go directly towards the maintenance and running of the local community centre.

The Annual Craft Fair will take place this year on Sunday 1st December in the Centre. There will be a cake sale and raffle run in conjunction with the craft fair, as well as novelty items for children – hair braiding, lucky dip and face painting, among others. This year the committee have decided to have a supervised children’s corner where there will be tables available for children to hire at €5. There are a limited number of places available, and children must be accompaned by a parent. Further details and booking form available from Carol Steven, 091-798860. All proceeds from the Craft Fair will go towards the upcoming refurbishments of the Centre. The committee are awaiting the outcome of a recent grant application, and hope to be successful in securing funds towards the much needed work. Further updates in upcoming Nuacht Chláirs.

Claregalway Leisure Centre Committee: Carol Steven (Chairperson), Tony Clarke (Vice-Chairperson), Siobhán Lynskey (Secretary), Helen O’Connell (Treasurer), Paddy Barry, Ger Brett, Patricia Carton, Mary Forde, Maura Harte, Hugh Farrell, Gabriel Kearney, Ann King, Gerry Mooney.

Contact: Carol Steven (Chairperson) – 798660 or Siobhán Lynskey (Secretary) – 798201.

Claregalway Karate Club

The Kearney Family who graded in Claregalway Karate Club. Matthew and Kevin Kearney both received full grades and Margaret, who showed outstanding natural ability, received a double grade.

Congratulations to New members of Claregalway Karate Club who recently all pass the Grading exam with the Irish Traditional Karate Association.

Training times are Monday’s 7.30 to 8.30pm (Adults Only ),

Thursday’s 7.30 to 8.30 pm for kids 8.30 to 9.30 pm for Adults.

For more information see our web site www.geocities.com/itkakarate

Claregalway Scouts

The Beavers and Cubs section of the Claregalway association are very busy at present with their programme and it is hoped to reopen the Scout section in the near future.

The Beavers together with the Cubs have 50 children attending at present and there is a long waiting list in operation.

The aim of Scouting is to encourage the physical, mental, social and spiritual development of young people so that they can take a construcive role in society.

As stated earlier it is hoped to reactivate the Scout Section which caters for children between the ages of 11-16 years. The association is currently looking for volunteers to help out with this group. If you feel that you would be able to help we would love to hear from you at 798765.

Unislim

Are you happy with your body? When you look in a mirror do you like what you see? In a recent survey, carried out by ‘Psychology Today in America’, one quarter of the 4000 people surveyed would happily take three years off their lives for a slimmer body! The survey also found that two thirds of women and more than half the men surveyed said that they wanted to lose weight. While the survey is American we are quite sure that if a similar one was carried out here in Ireland the results would be much the same.

We are not happy with our bodies and apparently it doesn’t matter what size or shape we are, as a person who is one stone overweight can be just as dissatisfied as a person with three stones to lose. You would think that our dissatisfaction with our bodies coupled with health concerns about being overweight, would motivate us into an absolute frenzy of exercise and healthy eating. This is not the case, however, with most of us moaning and complaining about our weight and getting more depressed and de-energised.

Unislim offers a unique healthy programme that will change your life from the inside out. It will help you to lose weight by gently changing your eating and thinking, which will result in a more positive feeling, in mind body and soul. We encourage our members to focus on the mind, body and all aspects of their lives. Unislim has identified demanding aspects of life today and have focused on these key areas, giving members tips and techniques on how to deal with them.

Healthy eating is the core of the Unislim programme. We encourage members to change their eating habits, while eating food that is suitable for all the family. Feeding children can be a great challenge, especially when they have their own likes and dislikes. Did you know that a healthy breakfast can be the best brain food for children? Children who miss out on breakfast have trouble concentrating during the day. Give your children a breakfast shake, blend semi-skimmed milk with fruit or a cereal with a modest amount of sugar and use fruit to sweeten instead. You could also give a toasted muffin with peanut butter or try pouring low fat yogurt into a lolly mould. Each food has a job to do so make sure that children get a balance of food from each group every day. A child need 6 servings of cereals and starches such as potato, 5 of fruit and vegetable, 3 milk/cheese and 2 servings of protein each day for a healthy growth.

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat but you need not! Come along to your local Unislim class in the Leisure Centre on Tuesday at 7.30pm and lose some pounds before the festive season.

Anne Moloney – Unislim Class Leader