Polly Tartan

Funnily enough I spent the other day querying my stats and was delighted to see that Donal of The Good Mood Food Blog had kindly put my name up amongst other Irish Food Blogs for all to see.

Being a polite sort of person; I left a comment on his blog thanking him for his kind attention and went on to spend a considerable part of my day hogging his blog! You see, I discovered a thing or two about our host and am now looking forward to seeing Donal in all his glory 'flying' around the stage at the Tivoli Theatre on New Year's Day!

In fact, I was so excited about the whole thing that I dedicated a whole post about it! Let's say no more about that particular subject, shall we; especially as my reward was being tagged by Donal! Being tagged is something I don't really mind and the more often it happens the better you get at remembering what people don't know about you and the stranger the better!

The difficult thing about being tagged is not tagging the same people each time; or indeed the same people who tagged the people who tagged the people who tagged you! Phew; that's a mouthful if ever there was one. One of my tagee's is Lorna who owns Garrendenny Lane Interior's contacted me yesterday; exclaiming that she was unable to find the afore mentioned post on either of my blogs! Whoops!!!

The truth is that I completely forgot; what with the excitement of the weekend and the various other commitments, to press the publish button - how embarrassing! So, thankfully, I'd only contacted Lorna in advance and I must say many, many thanks for informing me of my gaffe; anyone who's interested in reading it can do so here...

Just this morning I received a comment from George which in turn led me to check out the links on the published post; after all I'd already made one gaffe and I didn't fancy discovering that I'd made another. The first link I tried was Lorna which took me through to her lovely blog and yesterday's post about tartan, which included this lovely picture of a tartan corset...
While I'm sure you'll all agree it is quite out of the ordinary; no doubt most of us have visions of whalebone's and a maids foot in the small of the back or indeed pictures of lace and ribbons. This peice may not be for every day wear; but it certainly is different and worn with the right choice of accessories could be absolutely stunning for a formal occasion. If only I had the figure...

This reminds me; the other day I came across a fine example of MacKenzie tartan, which of course Lorna's post reminded me of. This is one of only two items over the past forty odd years and sadly I didn't have my wallet on me at the time and now I can't remember where I saw it! It was a lovely angora scarf which of course would have gone beautifully with pretty much any coat in my wardrobe; drat!

Lorna'a post got me wondering about the lovely highland clan tartan hanging in my wardrobe. Originally made for my grandmother; it was passed down to me some twenty-five years or so ago, and has been worn only occasionally. Unlike most 'Kilts' this is the real McCoy, constructed in the traditional way for a gentleman rather than the longer skirts usually sold as kilts to the unsuspecting female.

As a result of my researching the internet I have found a few examples of this lovely tartan, many of which were not shown in a complimentary light due to printing discrepancies. I did however find a traditional Kilt manufacturer who has many fine examples of this unusual colour scheme. I also discovered that my brooch, the lesser of three, being rather plain and dowdy by comparison is the pewter coloured one with a stags head in the centre which is apparently the MacKenzie Seaforth Highlanders regimental crest.

Of course all of this now has me wondering about my right; as the descendent of a MacKenzie, to wear the afore said tartan. Already this morning I have trawled through the Clan Website looking for fine examples of this tartan. What I discovered is that the tartan I have is the modern version; as worn by the Seaforth Regiment, and that there are a number of different variations on the theme.

I suspect that if any, I should be sporting the muted colours of the hunting tartan as opposed the Seaforth; after all it was my great-grandmother who bore the name. That is until she married a gentleman called Smith from Yorkshire, much to her parents disgust...

Polly Pierce
Vinca Cards - Offering You The Gift Of Time

Is Polly Hooked On Panto?

Just this morning I decided to check my stats and was pleasantly surprised to notice a number of visits from Donal Skehan's 'The Good Mood Food Blog.' In my infinite wisdom to check Donal out out; probably, well almost certainly because he's playing Peter Pan in this years Cheerio's Panto at the Tivoli.

The following video was posted on his blog and it's well worth watching; by the way his steak pie looks good too!

Anyone who has been following this blog from the beginning will know that Vinca and family are big fans of the panto; especially those starring Alan Hughes as Sammy Sausages! In the beginning; well, since the beginning of LB's young life, Sammy's panto was performed down at
the quays in St Anthony's church hall.

Sadly; some of the older members of the cast departed to higher planes, while younger fitter actors followed in their stead. One of these is the ever faithful Joe Conlon; appearing as the demur Miss Buffy Minogue he/she has become a family favourite.

Initially the change was hard to swallow; Buffy's youth allowing an altogether more provocative side of the ugly sister to prevail. Compared with the octogenarian panto stars of the past his/her behaviour was shocking; however he/she carries this off with such aplomb that the audience has come to love this essential member of the cast.

A while back we saw the venue change to the more modern Liberty Hall Theatre above the head offices of SIPTU. Not only did the venue change; so did the sponsor's. This lead to all new costumes and an altogether brighter image for Anthem Productions. Despite the increased professional back up; the show must go on showcasing Karl Broderick and Alan Hughes dream's of old fashioned nostalgia combined with modern wit and up to the minute music. Remarkably the show gets better each year...


2008 sees another change of scenery. This time the audience must find their way to The Tivoli Theatre in Frances Street, The Liberties; early booking is advised as this is a small venue with limited seating capacity. This fact was announced from the stage by Sammy himself and thankfully we were lucky enough to secure our usual front of house seats; whereby we shall heckle the cast and soak up the infectious spirit of post New Year's merry making spectacular on the stage.

Purely by chance young Donal, whose scrumptious food blog will leave all but the die-hard's salivating led me to discover that Peter Pan has many talents. Not only is he an accomplished cook and food photographer, he has produced radio shows, presented TV shows, appeared as a prospective Euro-vision representative earlier this year and has even worked as surprise, surprise; a chef in a Scandinavian fortress...

So, who else is appearing in this year's epic production at the Tivoli? Aside from the regulars ie Sammy & Buffy we will be watching Brian Dowling starring as Captain Hook and Jenny Lee Masterson in the role of Tinkerbell; doesn't she look cute?

The only mystery left now is who exactly will play Wendy...

Personally; I can't think of a better way to start the New Year than to sit and shout at some of my favourite stars in the hope that they will loose their lines and crack up laughing! It's happened before and believe me; they are every bit as ruthless as they pick on unsuspecting members of the audience!

If you'll take my advice head over now to the Ticket Reservation office before the last tickets are sold out; I've already come across an agency touting for tickets at whatever price you command! Really folks, this is the best show in town over the festive season; so much so that competitor's have been sighted in the audience consistently year after year. Maybe they want a few tips on how to do it properly?