Learn How To Create The Perfect Dessert With Help From Celebrity Chef Phil Vickery

Everyone has their favourite pudding but not everyone knows how to make them!  However, help is here in the form of Celebrity Chef Phil Vickery. Phil is here to give easy step-by-step instructions to create 12 fantastic puddings, one pudcast a month

Troublesome Trains or Teffible Traffic

Nightmare journeys. Let’s face it, we’ve all had them. Whether it’s being stuck in holiday traffic with the kids in tow, missing the train on the way to work or simply finding you have a puncture in your bicycle tyre before you even set out, getting from A to B is not always as simple as it should be.

Brits' sense of humour failure at age 52

It’s official – we really do get grumpier as we get older! That’s the verdict of a new study released today which pinpoints 52 as the age when Brits start to lose their sense of humour and the “Victor Meldrew Syndrome” kicks in. 

Scott Millar on how to deal with pet issues - VIDEO

We all want the best for our much loved pets and new research from Tesco Pet Insurance has revealed that a third of us would even give up our favourite vices and even forgo our annual holiday to help pay for their vet bills.

How taking your children on historical trips can benefit them enormously

When was the last time you visited a historical site? If the answer is when I was at school then maybe it’s time to find out what’s available near you.  

Is your car causing you stress?

Those of us who regularly drive to work or use our car to do the shopping know how stressful a journey can become, especially when it comes to negotiating heavy traffic or trying to find a place to park.

Why Brits should consider taking their work outdoors

From humble shrubberies to outdoor offices, how the modern garden is inspiring one in three of us to work, rest and play outdoors

UK ignorant about autism

New research has revealed the nation have a lack of understanding about autism with many just perceiving autistic children as “naughty” and ill-behaved.

How to overcome barriers to sports participation

Paralympic skier Tim Farr reveals how to overcome barriers to sports participation

Top Tips for a Glorious Garden in the City

Living in the city doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice being green. New research shows that half of the people living in towns and cities in the UK want to grow their own vegetable patches or herb gardens and live greener lives but they don’t believe they have enough time or money to do so.

Recycled Materials

We are getting better at recycling. Research shows the vast majority of us recycle items such as paper (89 per cent), glass bottles and jars (84 per cent).

Brits keen for a slice of the farm life

Stressful city life is taking its toll on the nation with as many as one in four Brits prepared to take a pay cut to escape the hustle and bustle of the city in favour of a life in the countryside.

Ciao! Allo! Bonjour!

Why it’s best to learn a language at a young age. At times, grasping the fundamentals of a foreign language can be enough for an adult to throw their hands up and shout “Je ne comprend pas!

Don't Judge a Woman by Her Cover

It seems that young women weren’t listening when their mothers told them, “it’s what’s on the inside that counts”.

Mapping out the Future

Have you ever stopped to think about how important geographical information is to our everyday lives? It effects just about everything, from the daily commute to how our food gets to our plates to knowing what clothes to wear with the unpredictable weather outside.

How to Hula

Who better to teach you how to hula than Marawa the Amazing, star of the sensational cabaret and circus act, La Clique.

Brits see video wills as a must-have

Writing a will, like going to the dentist or arranging your pension, is something most people in the UK put off. Indeed, almost 170,000 Britons die every year without a will, with tens of millions of pounds going straight to the government’s coffers in the form of property and savings.

How to spot a top tradesman

Every year, cowboy builders and rogue traders clock up around £1.5 billion worth of problems for homeowners across the country. From shoddy kitchens, to improperly installed whitegoods, to leaky roofs, there are plenty of horror tales around.

The benefits of dog agility for both you and your four-legged friend

Dogs have always been known as man’s best friend. With long walks in the park and nights cuddled up in front of the TV, the relationship we share with our canine companion is a special one.

Brits missing a trick by ordering expensive takeaways

Why is it we always feel that we have to go out to get a delicious, authentic-tasting curry? Whether it’s the neighbourhood Indian restaurant that knows your favourite dish by memory or the local curry house that you have on speed dial, there’s something that keeps you from trying to prepare the food yourself.

Find out about: Gymnastics

Return to Work

How to age gracefully

Nanette Newman is one of Britain's most glamorous grannies, and her daughter Emma Forbes is following in her mother's pedicured footsteps - but how do they look so young at their respective ages? 

Everyone Active Swimming

For a healthy life the news is that kids should be doing 60 minutes activity 7 days a week and swimming is seen as the perfect solution. But what happens if “Your child is afraid of the water & can’t swim?” Don’t panic!

Mums, Family and Business

Is your work taking over, leaving you short of time for your family and yourself. Or would you love to work but can’t find an opportunity with the right hours to fit with the kids? Antonia Chitty has some ideas to help you find the right work life balance.

The Good Pet Food Guide

Millions of pet owners across the UK could be putting their pets at risk because they don’t know what to feed them, when to feed them or how much to feed them.

Brits Ignorant of Home History

Over half of us are planning to take short breaks here in the UK this year, with more than four in ten more likely to holiday in Britain this year than previously. While this is potentially great news for British tourism, new research has revealed some serious knowledge gaps about precisely what is on offer, right here on our doorstep

It's a Wild Life

It’s not hard to see why children love the wild, wondrous world of birds, bugs and mini beasties.  Within easy reach, an endless and fascinating voyage of discovery takes young nature sleuths into unknown territory as they explore back gardens and parks to find a whole collection of wildlife on their doorstep. 

Find Out About Tennis

It is the quintessential British summer sport that dominates the headlines during the last two weeks of June. Known for its social yet competitive affiliation, research has shown that tennis is one of the healthiest and least injurious sports children can partake in.

Life’s One Big Adventure

If, in this mass wave of financial uncertainty, predictions are correct, many British families will stay on home soil this year, as high transport costs and the weak pound persuade people to put their passports away.

History on your Doorstep

Fascinating lives, intriguing stories and life-changing events from bygone years fill our communities and have moulded our environment to what it is today. With so much local history surrounding them, children are sure to enjoy an influential journey of discovery as they explore in more depth the lives of people and places of past years.

New Online Business Support Network

The brainchild of successful entrepreneur Sháá Wasmund, the venture will offer practical advice on getting business ideas off the ground, free legal and financial advice, and allow people of all experiences and backgrounds to network with other business owners and entrepreneurs to share ideas, tips and knowledge.

Money Matters

THE FORMULA FOR HEALTHY, HAPPY PETS

The UK’s leading veterinary charity, PDSA, has devised a simple computer-based formula, ‘Your Right Pet’, to ensure the health and happiness of pets. The four-step ‘PETS’ formula, launched online today (Thursday, 15 January) is designed to help every prospective pet owner consider the main issues before taking on any companion animal, from rats to retrievers

BDF Newlife becomes Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children

Three quarters of a million disabled children could soon be about to benefit following the announcement that leading charity BDF Newlife has changed its name to Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and widened its scope so that all disabled and terminally ill children in the UK can take advantage of its services.

Brits ignore the secret of happiness

A third of Brits confess to being unhappy with their lives. Yet there seems to be little excuse - as a nation we have identified the top three things that are central to happiness: family, good health and a close group of friends.

Women, get confident!

With our magazines constantly displaying images of skinny celebs, quick diets and the latest technology to turn-back-the-clock, it’s easy for women to feel pressurised into looking good and as a result, having  low self confidence. But apparently it isn’t wrinkles or body shape issues that women are most worried about but hair loss.

Make a Splash....

Sitting poolside, it’s fascinating to see how different children approach the water. The fearless ones bomb into the pool and create a large ripple of waves, much to their parents’ disapproval. At the shallow end, other armband-clad youngsters pace the perimeter, gazing at the wet, wavy stuff, sniffing that alien chlorine, trying to look brave, and fearful of taking the plunge

Get Hooked

Encompassing the peacefulness of the countryside and its total harmony with nature it’s easy to see why so  many people get hooked on fishing. For many, including children, it provides the perfect escape route away from the daily grind towards a mini waterside haven of tranquillity. And, for a child, the excitement of the first bite from a fish can leave such a lasting impression the foundations of a lifelong passion begin to settle in.

Get On Your Bike

Remember those first moments. After hours tirelessly
wobbling on two wheels with your feet firmly planted on
the ground, you took that first tentative move, balancing on two thin tyres, desperately hoping not to fall sideways in a scrambled heap. Then, all of a sudden, surprisingly, you realised that you were pedalling, moving without the aid of a parent or stabilisers holding you up, releasing a great sense of freedom.

Take a Bow

The performing arts, be they singing, dancing, acting or playing a musical instrument, generally attract two different types of character. One type includes the natural performers who were simply born to entertain. We all know who they are! The other type of child wants to follow a voyage of discovery that leads them to develop imagination, gain expressive qualities and grow in confidence.

Let’s hear it for the trees

Sometimes it’s the things that are everywhere that we take for granted. Take trees for example. You can find them in the city and the country, in parks and even at the bottom of your garden. We all have our favourite -  the Oak tops the nation’s list-- a tree long revered and so common on our shores that at one time it could be found on both a six pence piece and a shilling coin

Simply Fostering

Across the UK there is an urgent need for around 10,000 more foster carers. This shortage means that children are being moved around from home to home, they have to be split up from their brothers and sisters, and have to live a long way from their family and friends.

Dodgy downloads is child's play

Looking at adult websites, gambling and shopping fraudulently are just some of the things kids have been caught doing online. The potential for children to misuse the internet, and risk their own safety in the process, is huge as new research shows that a third of parents are leaving their children online unsupervised for at least 4 hours a week.

Disposing of your rubbish thoughtfully can save lives

Household waste can be deadly when it ends-up on a rubbish tip where wild animals search for food and hundreds of creatures die miserable deaths or suffer because of thoughtless disposal of rubbish. You can help by disposing of your rubbish safely and securely. Rubbish that you put in a litter bin or secure dustbin will probably end up on an open rubbish tip where it can be deadly to animals.

Road Safety

Whatever the season, every week we read about tragic stories of children who are killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads. As the stories unfold, even as we force ourselves to watch those gruesomely graphic adverts on the TV, the stark reality settles in: our children remain awfully vulnerable when they are on a pavement or on a road

Children & Climate Change

British weather has always been erratic, but what a wet summer! We’ve been given the firmest of nudges from Mother Nature about the impact our collective carbon footprint has on the environment. Worryingly, no-one will be more affected by its effects than will our children.  Yet, should they wish, youngsters can storm ahead and learn more about climate change by getting actively involved in events and activities that support the preservation of nature.

The changing face of the family - One parent can do just as good a job as two

The traditional image of the family as mum, dad and 2.4 kids no longer reflects reality. Ground-breaking new research shows that in modern Britain it's time to accept that successful families come in all shapes
and sizes.

Fun Outdoors

Cast your mind back to when you were a child. Can you recall those long lazy, summer days outside, basking in the garden and playing in the park?

It may be responsible for countless sleepless nights, but personal debt has been a waking nightmare for many families who now find themselves struggling to keep their finances afloat.

Depending on your outlook, this small area of land can been seen as a mini haven – an oasis of calm, filled with flourishing plants - or a place simply to  stick the goalposts or dump the trampoline.

Delicious Desserts For All … including those with special diet needs

Ireland has the highest allergy rating in Europe and the highest coeliac rating in the world. Cardiovascular Disease (for which high cholesterol is a major risk factor) is responsible for over a third of all deaths in Ireland every year. Combined, that makes a large portion of the population who need restricted diets.

Watching Children Mature in the Information Age

Rits Security Group launches an Internet Safety & Security information site for concerned Parents and Teachers

Heartsafety Solutions are proud to launch fones4life.ie

Heartsafety Solutions, in association with The Cormac Trust bring you an exciting new initiative, turning unwanted mobile phones into life-saving defibrillator equipment and training for your school, community, workplace or clubs nationwide.

90% of Children have learnt new Vocabulary in harsh Economic Climate

A recent survey by iReach Market Research has shown that children’s vocabulary has been expanded to include recession related terminology. 90% of the Irish offspring’s vocabulary has been affected by the prolonged gloom and doom of the Irish economy.

Time to take a Fresh Look at your own Health

“Most of us understand that exercise and a balanced diet are important and we may be broadly familiar with the concept of the food pyramid – but many of us are actually ‘passively over-consuming’ food, or eating the wrong kinds of foods, without realising it or because we’re not really honest with ourselves,”

Orienteering for Children

In an era where chilling out is regarded as ‘crucial’ and
comfort is the key, where food is plentiful and where more and more people are following sedentary lifestyles, how can we help ourselves?

Puppy Love

Emer Halpenny offers some tips on welcoming a new addition to the family.

Ireland's future e-Economy needs all citizens to prepare

Earlier today the EU's E-skills week was brought to a close with the message that citizens need to prepare for the future jobs market and engagement in society through enhanced web-skills.

Protecting your Family's Future

The correct life cover does more than just insure your family against the loss of your income; it is also there to protect your children against any debts you might have incurred during the economic downturn.

Memorial Committee for survivors of abuse

As part of the Government’s implementation of the recommendations of the Ryan Report, the first meeting of the Committee to oversee the design and commissioning of a memorial for victims of institutional abuse recently took place.

Kit Kat to go Fairtrade

Fairtrade Mark Ireland welcomes the announcement on that Kit Kat is going Fairtrade as a breakthrough for cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

Bereavement

For many children their first real experience with loss happens when a pet dies. There are many ways you can tell your child that a pet has died from using a soothing voice or finding a comfortable and familiar place to tell them, but the most important thing is to be honest.

Cyberbullying

Bullying is not a new phenomenon. However the ways in which it happens is changing. The ease of access to powerful communication tools such as social networking websites, video and photograph sharing sites, and internet enabled camera-phones means that, all over the world, people are saying new things in new ways to new audiences

Sean Haughey T.D.Minister for Lifelong Learning

Dublin Northside Central T.D., Minister for Lifelong Learning, Seán Haughey has expressed his relief on the release of Irish Aid Worker Sharon Cummins and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kuwuki.

Irish Red Cross

A new report which calls for free and compulsory First Aid training across Europe, shows that Ireland is among the lowest European countries for First Aid knowledge

Practical Demonstrations

For parents, the website contains practical demonstrations on how to use the web applications that our children are using. The idea is that you can use these demos to get the skills to talk authoritatively with your children about their use of the Internet. Further Internet Safety information is available at: http://www.webwise.ie

Baked Stuffed Mushrooms topped with Eggs on the menu for Tasty Great Value

Regina Murphy from Cork has won a national search to find Ireland’s Best ‘Cracking Great Value Egg Recipe’.  The competition was organised by Bord Bia as part of the campaign to promote eggs as a great value, versatile and nutritious option at meal times. Entrants submitted their recipe using eggs as the main ingredient to feed a family of four for €10 or less.

Top Tips for Young Writers

Writer, Sarah Webb shares some of her writing tips. Sarah worked as a children’s bookseller for many years and now writes full time. Her books for children include Kids Can Cook and the Amy Green series.

Pass the Presents

Mother-of-three, Rosemary Lafferty had this conversation with other parents many times but it was only when the eldest of her three children was inundated with  presents on her first big school party (some of which were never  played with), that she felt she could no longer sit back and do nothing.

Ten Top Tips for Parents of Primary School Children

by Patience Thomson, author of 101 Ways to get your Child to Read .  This article has some great ideas on how to do it and make it fun, so get reading this yourself.

Learn to grow your own Produce

Learn to grow your own produce with founder of the Waterford Food Producer’s Network, and author Michael Kelly. A new drive to help people grow their own food and eat their way to at healthier and more low-cost lifestyle is planned for the south-east.

Give Us a Smile!

The main cause of tooth decay is not the amount of sugar in the diet, but how often it is eaten or drunk. Every time children eat or drink anything sugary, their teeth are under attack from the plaque acids for up to one hour.

Planning a Party

Children’s parties can seem like a scary prospect! Trying to go one better than the last or keeping up to date with the latest must-go places may seem like a daunting prospect.  But it’s not necessarily how grand the party is, but how much the children enjoy themselves...a thought quite often overlooked!

Alcohol advertising code introduced

New restrictions aimed at reducing the exposure of children to alcohol advertising come into effect from today. The Codes on Alcohol Advertising, Placement and Sponsorship have been agreed between the drinks industry and the Department of Health

Fotocube

If you have any photos that you would like to present in a different way, then why not think about getting them printed directly onto acrylic freestanding blocks or wall-hanging panels?  These could look great for displaying in your schools, either on the wall or for presentations or open days.  More>> http://www.fotocube.co.uk/(website presently being updated but you can still email

info@fotocube.co.uk)

NCTE: BROADBAND - CONTENT FILTERING

NCTE have an Adult Content Filtering Level which can be switched on for a couple of hours to facilitate Adult classes especially those educating parents on social networking sites such as Bebo. The following content categories will of course still be blocked during these periods: ‘Pornography’, ‘Adult Materials’ and ‘Malware’. NCTE reserves the right to block other content as required. The www.ncte.ie/Broadband/TheServiceDesk will provide a form, which must be filled in and returned a week in advance of the class.

How Do I ....?

This part of the webwise website contains practical demonstrations on how to use the web applications that our children our using. The idea is that you can use these demos to get the skills to talk authoritatively with your children about their use of the Internet. By watching the demos you will also pick up tips on how to configure their favourite web tools so that they can use them more safely. More: www.webwise.ie/article.aspx?id=7902

File Sharing

A popular use of the Internet is called “peer-to-peer” file swapping, sometimes called filesharing. These programmes allow you to swap or share files from your own computer to another over the Internet.  Parents should be aware that if their children are misusing these peer-to-peer programmes and downloading copyrighted works like music or films, that they are in fact breaking the law. For more information click here

Make a Splash!

Sitting poolside, it’s fascinating to see how different children approach the water. The fearless ones bomb into the pool and create a large ripple of waves, much to their parents’ disapproval.  At the shallow end, other armband-clad youngsters pace the perimeter, gazing at the wet, wavy stuff, sniffing that alien chlorine, trying to look brave, and fearful of taking the plunge.

Get Hooked

Encompassing the peacefulness of the countryside and its total harmony with nature it’s easy to see why so many people get hooked on fishing.  For many, including children, it provides the perfect escape route away from the daily grind towards a mini waterside haven of tranquillity.

Choosing Childcare

Choosing suitable childcare is a very important decision for all parents. As parents, you know more about your child than any other person, and when choosing a child care service, you will want a service which will meet your child's individual needs.

Cherish the Children: Who will look after them when I am at work?

It is now estimated that around one fifth of all Irish children under the age of nine are in some form of paid childcare. Interestingly enough approximately 73,000 families, or 42.5% of all families in Ireland with pre-school children, regularly rely on non-parental childcare arrangements for minding their children during normal working hours

Responsible Pet Ownership

Petmania have recently started to visit various primary schools with a selection of animals and educate the children on how important it is to research all about pet’s if they are planning to own one. Our Team will then get all the children to do a work sheet on a day in the life of my pet. In this work sheet the children must put in how to feed, exercise and clean a pet.

Free Resources for Childminders

Beautifully presented in a folder, this simple and easy to use resource is ideal for all Childminders who care for children in their own home