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Return to live events in two weeks is possible, but do we want it? — Dublin Bowie Festival, First Fortnight Festival, Ballyfermot Arts Festival

This is a 100% reliable solution and it would definitely get the infection numbers to ZERO. The first challenge though is how to achieve that, because seeing nobody means NOBODY can go to work, which is just not possible (think of hospitals and shops and other essential services). The second challenge is how to keep the numbers low after the two weeks if the borders are not kept hermetically sealed.

But since it is only a two week period, you would think that somebody had looked into a plan for it, wouldn’t you? It wouldn’t be easy to make it work, but I think it would be possible! The price is two weeks of your life. ALL non-essential jobs would have to be closed, but just for two weeks with the promise and guarantee that afterwards we could FULLY open society again. (All VERY essential employees would have to be kept in isolated pods and that adds complication, but it is definitely possible.)

Since we are messing around in this half-open, half-closed Ireland for the last TEN months and no improvement is to be expected for another while, I think the idea of just two weeks of “imprisonment” could be sold to the people in Ireland.

If you are interested in more thoughts and ideas about this (initially!) crazy-sounding idea, send me a mail (dublineventguide@gmail.com) and I will share more details with you during the coming week. Just as a thought experiment to think outside the box, because our government and NPHET are not thinking outside of any box.

After just two week, we could have gigs, theatre, concerts, comedy, talks, tours, dance, museum visits, festivals, markets, church visits and everything else again! How tempting is that!?

Until some sort of solution is found, though, the Dublin Event Guide will continue to help you keep your sanity during the next 4-6 weeks of lockdown. There are a lot less things happening online, in comparison to April last year, but many many great people still run great events week after week! Show them your support, by attending a few events every week and if you want, tell me what you did and how you enjoyed it!

Unfortunately, I need to ask you again for your help. If you helped recently then THANK YOU!! I really appreciate your help! If you haven’t helped yet, then this week is the perfect week. ;-) There are a whole range of new bills on my desk for the Dublin Event Guide cost and by donating, you help to keep this weekly publication going.

I am not asking for a lot, but I think one or two Euro per MONTH is a very fair suggestion. So for the year, this would be 12 Euro or – for people you can afford a bit more – just 24 Euro per year! With 52 Dublin Event Guide editions, that is ONLY a tiny 23 (or 46) cent per weekly edition! An amazingly low cost for the great value that you get every week! Right? :-)

Use the links below and my appreciation is guaranteed! Less than 1% of the readers help, so YOUR contribution really counts!

Please donate via www.paypal.me/DublinEventGuide
or for Revolut users among you just via 0872931571.

If PayPal or Revolut don’t work for you, you can buy one or two or even three virtual coffees (or Hot Chocolates!) for the Dublin Event Guide and you can do that on the “Buy Me a Coffee” page here www.buymeacoffee.com/DublinEventG  .

And if you come to www.DublinEventGuide.com and check out some of the ads and click on the ones that you find interesting, that also helps with a few cent!

Thank you!!

The EPIC Zone

And here are as many free events for you as I could find:

I hope everybody knows that all events in the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events) are actually free. ;-)

Saturday

++ First Fortnight Mental Health Arts Festival (01-31 Jan) with a whole variety of events www.firstfortnight.ie/events
+ The Science of Ice – Theatre of Science (UK) Show (Age: 6-13) 10:00-10:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/213703646966117
+ CONFIRMED (but Food Traders only): Blackrock Market 11:00-17:30 Main Street, Blackrock, Co. Dublin www.facebook.com/BlackrockMarket/

+ Are Our Souls Our Own? An Exploration of Shakespeare’s Women – Talk – Fortune’s Fool Productions 18:00-20:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/1116218998801451/
+ Let’s Talk – English-language Speaking Practise 18:00-19:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/226385915769726/
+ Piper Sunday Seminar with Cillian Vallely – Southern California Uilleann Pipers Club 19:00-20:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/2928664290570655/
+ Gardiner Street Gospel Choir – Online Mass 19:30-20:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/762558944611066/
+ Jack Lukeman – Winter Songs – Gig – Livestream from Cyprus Avenue, Cork 20:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/398227381404996/
+ Art Crime Inc – Gig – Live from Whelans – Dublin Bowie Festival 20:00 Online www.dublinbowiefestival.ie/art-crime-inc
+ El Troubadours Acoustic Nights – Live Gig 21:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/154215312951180/

I found a few more things to keep you going or that you might find interesting:

1) Virtual Irish Museum Tours and the best educational resources
“EPIC – The Irish Emigration Museum” (www.epicchq.com) have gathered all virtual tours available from Irish Museums and the best online educational resources from Irish museums.
Check them out via the links below while you and your kids are waiting at home until life continues.
Virtual Tours: epicchq.com/virtual-tours-available-from-irish-museums-right-now/
Educational Resources: epicchq.com/the-best-online-educational-resources-from-irish-museums/  .

2) Blue Monday
Monday 18 Jan is meant to be the most depressing day of the year, according to a press release by UK travel company Sky Travel in 2005. It is most likely all nonsense, but to show them, you could turn it around and make it the most smiley day of the year. Nothing stopping you! So you can choose if you want to be miserable on the day or happy. I know what I will choose. ;-)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Monday_(date)

3) RISE! THE LIFE REVOLUTION CHALLENGE – Personal Development
My friend and mentor Chris Howard is running a 5-day Personal Development Challenge from Monday 18 Jan until Friday 22 Jan. It will be a 1-hour per day event (21:00-22:00) and while I am not 100% sure of what it will entail, past programmes that I participated in were always worth the time. I will be on these calls this week and if you are interested, you can sign up – it is a free event – via gturl.eu/CH_Rise

4) BALLYFERMOT ARTS FESTIVAL (18-31 Jan)
The Ballyfermot Arts Festival with music performances, drama, film, poetry, a book launch and historic talks will take place from 18-31 January. All events will take place online. Their Facebook is here www.facebook.com/Ballyfermot-Festival-2021-1543988855699796 and a PDF with the full programme (all events are free!) is at www.DublinEventGuide.com/media/Ballyfermot_Progamme_2021.pdf

5) Marlay Park Lights Stay Up!
Christmas is NOT over yet! All over Dublin I see brave people who resisted the push by the guilt-trippers and left their Christmas lights up on their houses for another bit. There is NOTHING wrong with it. The 06 Jan deadline for Christmas decoration is totally arbitrary (Mammies of old needed to have order and Christmas decoration after 06 Jan was not order enough!) and in Winter we certainly can do with a bit if cheery lights. So “leave them up” is my motto, especially this year!
It is great to see that Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is agreeing and joining in!
They had a great “illuminated forest walk” in Marlay Park for Christmas and have decided to leave the lights up until Fri 29 Jan. It is a one-kilometer trail through the trees (fully accessible for wheelchairs and buggies) and is an oasis of calm beneath the twinkling lights. The lights are on from Monday to Friday from 16:00-20:00. (Grange Road car park will be open until 8pm).
Bring your family and enjoy another bit of Christmas sparkle!
www.facebook.com/dlrevents/

6) CANCELLED Food Markets
Just to give you a chance to double-check which markets will NOT take place, I am listing them here this week:
—-SATURDAY
+ CANCELLED: The SuperNatural Food Market 09:00-15:00 St Andrew’s Resource Centre, 114-116 Pearse St., Dublin 2 www.facebook.com/thesupernaturalfoodmarket
+ CANCELLED: Marlay Park Market 10:00-16:00 Marlay Park, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 www.dlrcoco.ie/en/markets/marlay-park-coco-market
+ CANCELLED: St Anne’s Park Market – Farmer’s Market 10:00-16:00 St. Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin 5 www.facebook.com/RedStablesMarket/
—-SUNDAY
+ CANCELLED: Dun Laoghaire People’s Park Market 11:00-16:00 People’s Park, Park Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin www.dlrcoco.ie/en/markets/d%C3%BAn-laoghaire-coco-market
+ CANCELLED: Marlay Park Market 11:00-16:00 Marlay Park, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 www.dlrcoco.ie/en/markets/marlay-park-coco-market
+ CANCELLED: Herbert Park Market 11:00-16:00 Herbert Park, Dublin 4 www.facebook.com/Herbert-Park-Market-405930226496273/

7) LEARN A NEW SKILL WITH ONLINE COURSES – Special Offer
Is learning a new skill part of your plans for the new year? Maybe it is a language or an instrument or some technical skills? Or NLP or some Business related “soft skills”? Check out Udemy via the link below, they have thousands of courses and there is good chance that what you are looking for is available.
The lowest cost for courses this month will be around 12.99. Check out the website at shor.by/GqCk And if you buy through that link, you help the Dublin Event Guide! ;-)

8) READ MORE BOOKS WHILE IN LOCKDOWN
For physical books and e-books I recommend Book Depository because they are usually cheaper than others and they always include delivery for free and by using this link you help the Dublin Event Guide when you purchase a book and it doesn’t cost you a cent: shor.by/BookDepository  .

C:TTEdM