Hook, line and sinker in West Cork
For fish and festival lovers alike, the historic village of Baltimore in West Cork will be playing host to the Baltimore Seafood festivals, in a celebration of marine life and fishing.
The large natural harbour formed by the archipelago of islands known as Carbery’s Hundred Isles makes it a perfect spot for fishing. The festival will be showcasing the area’s fishing and fish-farming industries, and other local food-producers.
Visitors have the opportunity to sample some of the best of the fish and shellfish from the seas off Baltimore, together with other produce like cheese and home-baking. There is musical entertainment in the Square every day and free shellfish is served in all the bars.
The May 25-27 festival is held in conjunction with the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival, making it a weekend you don’t want to miss!
Peek-a-boo Keekaroo
Changing your baby’s nappy for the first time can be a nightmarish task, leaving you and the surrounding surfaces in more of a mess than the child.
The job is also stressful because your child may roll off their changing mat when you’re not looking. Combating this problem, the Keekaroo Peanut Changer has curvy lines with raised edges and a strap to keep your baby from rolling out. Notably, the strong outer shell makes it impermeable to any fluid and the solid shell on the nappy changing pad also limits bacteria growth or deterioration.
The Dura-Soft material is firm but padded and completely waterproof. Best of all, there are no covers, so you simply have to wipe to clean it. It’s crack and puncture resistant, and so the perfect gadget to help make parenting just that little bit easier.
Chocolate, anyone?
Eating chocolate is usually considered to be a guilty pleasure, but new studies suggest that the cacao delicacy might actually improve our brain health and strengthen our immune system.
Two small studies led by Lee Berk, who is the associate Dean of research affairs in the School of Allied Health Professions at Loma Linda in California, investigated how eating a small amount of dark chocolate containing 70% cacao might have positive effects on our bodies.
The team found that eating dark chocolate led to a beneficial increase in the gamma frequency in the cerebral cortical regions of the brain, which are the areas involved in memory and sensory processing. The researchers also found that dark chocolate intake increased gene expression associated with neural signalling and sensory perception.
“These studies show us that the higher the concentration of cacao, the more positive the impact on cognition, memory, mood, immunity, and other beneficial effects,” says Berk.