The Mighty Queens of Freeville - Amy Dickinson

Amy Dickinson is an American agony aunt who writes the syndicated advice column 'Ask Amy'. 'The Mighty Queens of Freeville' is her story about life, love, her daughter, her tight connection with her family, her hometime of Freeville and her pets. It's a trip through a life that will resonate with many readers.

Amy doesn't claim to have all the answers, but she does know the value of family. Her immediate family is practically all female (hence the book's title) and she herself raised her daughter as a single parent following a divorce. Amy and her daughter, Emily, lived for a while in Washington D.C. and Chicago, but they always find themselves returning to her small hometown of Freeville and her family.

There is a quiet sense of humour and dry with throughout the book. One suspects it is one of Dickinson's key weapons in dealing with life. Speaking of her divorce and her father's abandonment of his family she says "One advantage to actual abandonment is that it cuts down on marital discord. In order to fight with my father, my mother would have had to locate him first."

This is a positive upbeat story about the affirming support of family and smalltown communities. It will make a lot of readers feel happier in their hears, and that is no mean feat.

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man!

I must admit that I wasn't delighted when Brian O'Driscoll was announced as the captain of the Irish Six Nations team. He's a great player and a talisman, but I really felt that it was time for Paul O'Connell to take the helm.

But, right now, I am in awe of the rugby machine that is Brian O'Driscoll. In the face of an extremely determined and physical English side, not the mention the 17 points missed by Ronan O'Gara, O'Driscoll led the Irish squad to a one-point victory today. His drop-goal gave Ireland the spirit that they needed and his great try was truly inspiring.

I honestly think that there was a time during the match when O'Driscoll didn't know where he was or who he was. He took a ferocious and targeted battering from the English, but he psuhed on, even though the whole crowd could see the pain etched on his face.

Well done Brian. You made it a fine day to be Irish.

El Bahia - Dublin

El Bahia claims to be the only authentic Moroccan restaurant in Ireland. It's tucked away upstairs behind Brown Thomas and features 4 different room decorated in different styles. Following a chilly day in Croke Park watching Ireland's great rugby win over France, we were definitely in the mood for something a little exotic and warming.

Well, warm was the word for the welcome we received from the host. Once our coats were taken from us (and hung on a series of coat hooks that line the stairs), we were shown to our reserved tables in one of the smaller rooms which is decorated like the inside of an arabian tent. The only problem was that the fabric which covered our bench seats. I just kept slipping right off it!

As there were 6 of us, we chose one of the shared menu options (mezza for parties). For E40 per person, we received a selection of 6 starters, our choice of main course and a half bottle of wine per person. Service was slow overall on the night, but we were quickly served with our wine and some spicy olives flavoured with preserved lemons. This kept us amply entertained until our starters arrived.

The host described each of the six starters to us and then left us to get started. We got delicious grilled sardines, spicy mergues sausages, a Moroccan tossed salad, gently spiced lentils, kobiza (spinach cooked with lemon and herbs) and, finally, zaaluk, a dish made from grilled pureed aubergines. Pitta bread was served on the side and all of us agreed that the flavours (in particular the lentils and zaaluk) were excellent. We just felt that the portions could have bigger as it was hard to divide the plates between six people.

Mains at El Bahia are very much traditional with plenty of tajine and couscous options. I chose the Elham Batata, which was described as succulent lamb cooked with ginger and saffron, served with potatoes and peas. To be honest, I couldn't tell the difference between the tajine and an Irish stew. It was pleasant with tender lamb but it wasn't in anyway different. Or at least I thought so until I found the preserved lemon lurking in one part of the tajine. Once I mixed that through, things improved dramatically.

My partner went for the Chicken Bastilla which is a mixture of sweet and savoury mix of chicken and almonds filling a filo pastry which is then dusted with icing sugar. It sounds a little odd, but tasted delicious and was by far and away the best dish at the table.

Overall, what did I think of El Bahia. There were certain food highlights and I think that it would be enough to convince me to go back there once more. The atmosphere can be very romantic and it's definitely a unique dining space in Dublin. I did feel that the E40 per head was not great value as you'd definitely have a cheaper meal by ordering a la carte. One definite fault was the terribly slow service. Overall, I like El Bahia, but neither am I raving about it.

El Bahia, 37 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2. 01 - 6670213

Dublin Bus

It's kind of hard to have sympathy for Dublin Bus drivers when you're a passenger on their (ahem) regular services.

To date:

• I've stood waiting in the sleet for 45 minutes, because a bus driver decided he wasn't finishing the route and threw all the passengers off the bus.
• I've been told by a driver that Dublin Bus couldn't run regular services because of the Ireland vs Georgia match in Croke Park and therefore services were terminating on Burgh Quay rather than continuing to the southside, despite the fact that there were no blockages on the southside.
• I've stood outside buses in the morning, watching the driver having a snooze instead of loading passengers and departing on time.
• Additionally I can't buy a weekly ticket or smart card that caters to my needs. No option currently available from Dublin Bus allows me to save money.

Stand at any main bus stop in town and try to figure out the frequency of a bus - you know what you'll learn? That Dublin Bus is probably more random than the lotto. At least in the lotto there are a maximum of 45 numbers, so something is bound to start repeating eventually. Not so with Dublin Bus.

In fairness, drivers aren't fully to blame for the financial mess that Dublin Bus is in, but they are the public face of the bus company, and unfortunately you are more likely to remember the bad ones than the good ones.

I don't care whether Dublin Bus runs at a profit or a loss, it is a public service after all. But I would like it to be run in an efficient manner with proper timetabling and a service that actively caters to the needs of the public. Bus shelters that give the departure time from the shelter rather than the departure time from the depot would be nice too.

We had many years of surplus cash that we could have used to improve public transport, make it more efficient and suited to the needs of a modern Ireland. But of course, we didn't.

The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable has been a recent bestseller recently. Given the current economic turmoil, the lessons that Taleb imparts in this book are even more relevant. However, much of what is interesting and relevant is undermined by the author's attitude and dare I say, arrogance.

Let's start with the definition of a black swan. It is a rare (or outlying) event, which has a maximum impact and that with hindsight could have been predictable. What Taleb reiterates throughout the book is that we should not confine ourselves to the realm of the usual and predictable. Fair enough.

Taleb then goes on to disparage Gaussian statistics and the reliance that is placed on such statistics, particularly in financial or economic matters. Given that Taleb is an ex-trader himself, I found it highly interesting that he doesn't detail any of the modelling methods that he employed. He refers to himself as a skeptical empirist, someone who is not easily convinced.

However, as a physicist (though not working as such anymore) I found his bashing of the bell-curve to be tedious. Most good scientists are well familiar with the limitations of such statistics and do not place any real credence in them. However, judging from the author, you would gain the impression that all of the world is founded upon these methods, and it's just waiting to come crashing down.

In short, I did enjoy his concept. Black swan events should happen and we should not ignore them when they do. Life is a blend of random and predictable and to ignore the former in favour of the latter is hardly a clever thing to do.

I did not enjoy the book because of the Taleb's attitude. His sense of superiority is astounding, especially when you consider that he rails so often against the arrogance of those who think they know it all.

Creme Patissiere

I love french patisserie and I never cease to be amazed at the level of sophistication that the French bring to the world of desserts. A few weeks ago I had strawberries in the fridge and the desire grew strong within me for a Tarte aux Fraises (most probably inspired by my recent visit to the excellent Chez Max).

The tarte didn't turn out too great as I put too much liquid into my pate sucree (sweet pastry), but the creme patissiere turned out amazing. I used Gordon Ramsay's recipe from his book Just Desserts. People tend to forget that Gordon Ramsay is a very classically trained French chef and this book of dessert recipes is quite inspiring (and technical too).


Here's the recipe (makes about 650 ml). It makes a great filling for eclairs and pastries and is the base for classic hot sweet souffles.

350ml whole milk
150ml double cream
75g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds extracted
1 large free-range egg
3 large free-range egg yolks
40g cornflour

Put the milk and cream in a heavy-based saucepan along with 1 tblsp of the sugar, the vanilla seeds (you can also use natural vanilla extract) and the empty pod. Slowly bring to the boil.

In the meantime, beat the egg, egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. Sift a third of the cornflour into the egg mixture and beat until smooth. Repeat two more times with the rest of the cornflour.

When the milk is on the point of boiling, slowly pour a third onto the egg mixture while beating continuously. Gradually pour in the rest of the milk, whisking all the time. Take out the vanilla pod.

Return the milk and egg mixture to the heat. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, whisking all the time, until thick and smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover and cool until needed.

Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris

What do a bunch of workers in a post-dotcom boom advertising agency talk about or think about? With the threat of redundancy constantly looming, this book describes the creative escapades and personalities of bored workers in the modern office.

I must say that I didn't particularly like a lot of this book. It reminded me painfully of Douglas Coupland's Microserfs and jPod. Maybe the slow descriptions of mundane events is meant to evoke the triteness and banality of the office life. It certainly nearly made me give up on the book.

However, as the book turns towards the story of Lynn, a partner in the advertising agency, who is struggling to come to terms with breast cancer, we find some merit and humanity in this story. Her employees are both fascinated and sympathetic towards her and it becomes important to the reader to find out what happens.

Overall, I ended up somewhat liking the novel instead of hating it. If you want to experience a commentary on the stupidity of modern cubicle culture, you'd be better off buying a Dilbert book.