Knock Knock

The Door Knockers of France & Spain

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From The Holy Mountain

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Title: From the Holy Mountain Author: William Dalrymple Genre(s): Travel, History Earlier this year a new name appeared on my twitter feed,William Dalrymple. Usually retweeted by my favourite Kerryman (yes I have one).  After reading a number of his tweets over the space of a few weeks I decided to follow him myself, which by the way William you have not reciprocated, however we'll let that slide. His tweets were usually about India be it history or society and drew me in from a travel and history point of view.  A google search revealed his books and newspaper articles.  A chance meeting with my favourite Kerryman lead to a discussion about Mr.Dalrymple's books.  "Any good?" I asked.  "Outstanding, says the Kerryman, probably my favourite book ever".  And Kerrymen don't lie.  So off I took myself to O'Mahonys Bookshop in Limerick and purchased a copy of From The Holy Mountain. Eased into my favourite armchair I started to re...
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Riot Rye - Bread Making Course

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I attended the level 1 bread making course at Riotrye recently.  Riotrye is based in the Eco Village, Cloughjordan, Co.Tipperary and is run by Joe Fitzmaurice and Julie Lockett.  They specialise in baking sourdough and the emphasis is on natural products, organic flour and sustainability.  To involve you in the whole process and to get you thinking about sourdough you're encouraged to make your own starter about a week before you attend. The course ran from the civilised hours of 11am to 6pm, not a drill instructor in sight, and is aimed at the home baker. So jar of starter tucked under the arm I entered the bakehouse.  My fellow enthusiasts trickled in and soon the eight of us were sat at our baking stations.  People were from a variety of backgrounds and attended for a plethora of reasons.  The first hour or so Joe introduced us to the differences between grains such as wheat and rye, he explained the importance of soil management and the link bet...
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Rum: The Kraken

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Name: The Kraken Type: Rum, Spiced Rum ABV: 40% Rum is inextricably linked in myth, legend and marketing with the Caribbean.  With Pirate captains like Long John Silver and the British Navy.  The origins of the name are unclear and one strain of thought according to etymologist Samuel Morewood is that it may have been derived from slang for the best, as in "having a rum time".   In days of yore the navy used to issued a daily ration of rum to its sailors and indeed only stopped in 1970.  A double ration was issued at special times following the order to "splice the mainbrace", an order which could only be issued by the Queen, a member of the royal family or by the Admiralty.  In order to reduce the effects of the alcohol the rum was diluted with water and was known as grog, a term for booze that is still in use. The Kraken is a legendary giant sea creature which reputedly lives off the costas of Norway and Greenland.  It's also a blac...
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