ManicMammy’s Blog

Unfortunately I missed the first episode of this new series but caught the second one and I’m loving it.

Its premise that Stephen travels by London black cab through 50 states may seem basic but it captures so well an “off the tourist trail” America. His fondess for the country and the people is apparent which is unusual in this day and age when it seems its all too easy to bash and decry all things American.

This episode’s travel encompassed deep underground mining where the claustrophobic descent was difficult to watch, to the Smokey Mountains, hot air balloon ride over North Carolina,  bluegrass music in Tennessee, Thanksgiving in a plantation house in Georgia, appeals and deliberations of a parole board in Alabama, a body farm which studies the decomposition of human remains to oldies dancing in Florida.

The final hoopla of an Alabama Intercollege football game seem to encapsulate the extravagance, madness, brilliance, earnestness and enthusiasm of the country. You couldn’t help but smile at it all.

This is definitely the series to watch to discover plenty more about a place you thought you already knew loads about.

The price of greeting cards annoys me, especially when I see them ripped open and dumped at most kids’ parties. Sibéal is going to her friend’s party at the weekend and she loves arts and crafts so I was delighted to spot this kit today in Marks and Spencer.

Coolo. It contains: 10 fairly plain greeting cards, 10 envelopes, a sheet of stickers, some cut out shapes, sequins, a glue pen, sticky pads and some ribbon.

So you can embellish and customise the plain greeting cards whichever way you like. Sibéal loved it! It was really easy to use. In particular the sticky pads and glue pen ensured she could add the shapes and sequins without getting glue everywhere and ruining the card.

We are now sending the bling-est card to her pal. 100% Sibéal’s own work. Never was so much sparkle and so many stickers seen on a birthday card.

The other great news about this kit is that it cost €7.75 which is approx 78c per card compared with €2 or more for an ordinary shop bought one. Great value.

Last Saturday just before the excitement of the Irish Web Awards commenced, we decided to head to Yamamori to grab a quick bite to eat. When we arrived around 5ish the place was hopping, a good sign. We were seated without delay.

To keep things quick and easy, we both ordered a bento box. Some Eda-mame and a couple of Kirin beers were also ordered. Unfortunately they didn’t have any IKI beer which I had enjoyed on a previous visit to Wagamama in Cork.

The service was very efficient and friendly. The Eda-mame and beers were served quickly. I loved the Eda-mame. I hadn’t eaten them previously, the soya beans steamed in their pods and sprinkled with salt were pretty addictive.

Then the dinner bento boxes arrived, accompanied with some miso soup, rice and a dipping sauce. The bento box consisted of three pieces of sushi, some crispy chicken,  fried white fish with sauce and some pork dumplings. To be honest, the food was grand but there was nothing overwhelming about it. I was slightly disappointed. There was plenty of it and the total price of the meal came to under €50.

We left full but I doubt I’d order a bento box again, preferring to stick to their sushi platters instead.

Dawn Porter is, to my mind, the female version of Louis Theroux. They both have the gift of being able to get people to open up to them and to reveal more than you’d usually see in a run of the mill documentary. I have been a fan of Louis’ interviews and documentaries for years but have only come across Dawn’s work recently.

Her latest 4 part series for Channel 4 is titled “Dawn Porter Extreme Wife” and this week’s episode followed a group of American guys who were in Ukraine for a week to meet women they had been emailing for a while with the prospect of a long term relationship in mind.

I have nothing but admiration for people who are lonely and who decide to be proactive and do something to try and change their situation. A couple of the guys seemed to be genuine but some of the others were a bit scary to say the least. With little or no background checks, you began to feel uneasy about their intentions and worried for the women they were about to meet.

This episode centred around the arranged social gathering and as the night progressed it became apparent that most of the women were there just for the free food and booze. None of the women that the men had previously been corresponding with arrived, which posed the question of whether they existed at all?

The whole thing seemed to be a scam. The men paying approximately $5000 to meet women who didn’t turn up. The woman who managed the matchmaking company was very evasive on the background security check issue and dodged most of the questions.

In the end, it appeared that the Russian women there were not interested in acquiring husbands and moving to America which was probably just as well given the mentality of some of the men present. It was all rather sad really and this episode dealt more with corruption and scams rather than the people’s motivation and quest for love. It would maybe have been more insightful to actually visit couples who have met and married like this. Do relationships started this way last?

I hope this is just a blip in the series as the previous episode on free love was more insightful, dealing with problems, issues and emotions and as result was more interesting. Nevertheless I shall be tuning in for next week’s episode.