All the fun of the feirm

By the end of the month the majority of the family will have spent some time on a farm. If we were in an episode of the late lamented House the team would have great fun trying to work out which one of us had been exposed to badger.

The elder Nippers are both going to farms on their turasanna scoile. Nipper 2.0 has spent the day today on Glenroe Farm and his verdict is “Awesome!” His favourite part was “touching the guinea pig and the rabbit”. What more could a boy ask for?

Nipper 1.0 will be heading to Greenan Maze. We actually visited this farm last August and I only hope Nipper 1.0 has better luck with the weather this time.

And I spent an extremely pleasant morning last Saturday on Ballindrum Farm in Athy, Co. Kildare thanks to the good folks (Amanda and Gina) in Avonmore. Why you might ask? I wondered that myself. Could it be I am now considered a tweeter of some influence? It certainly not due to my blogging efforts. I suspect it might be because I’m a mum that converses with other mums online much to The Meyler’s chagrin.

Why question these things? Never look a gift cow in the mouth I say and off I took myself with a lovely gang of pop culture and food bloggers (Okay I probably fall right in the middle of those two groups. Lovely to meet and make the reacquaintance of @backpedalling @thisispopbaby @ModernFarmette

@likemamuse2bake @Smorgasblog @cakeinthcountry

@ismiseadam @Culch_ie @PopCultMonster

@mushypea007  @anthonymcg)

The raw material #peakfreshIt was a fascinating and filling morning. We were fed like kings and queens by Mary Gorman, entertained by the golden voiced Joseph Gorman (Mark my words- that kid will be a star!) and then Vincent Gorman showed us around the farm. Despite the inclement weather it was beautiful. How lucky we are in Ireland to have such luscious gorgeousness never more than an hour away. That very lusciousness (read rain), we were told, is a major contributing factor in the production of Ireland’s delicious milk. But even Vincent said you can have too much of a good thing (read rain). I have been on dairy farms before but it was really fascinating to see how technological and traceable the farming is. The farming practiced by the Gorman’s is good for the cows, good for the land and ultimately good for the consumer of their dairy products. The farm was spotless and everything was in its place.

5 day old calf @juleser #peakfreshWell nearly everything… Vincent did admit that for all their watchful care of their cows that a few months previously there had been some shenanigans among the youngsters of the herd and well, nature took its course. This meant we got to see some super cute calves though so no complaints from us!

All the Bó lined up for judging #peakfreshWe rounded off the day with some Make and Do – always a big hit with me and I think our friends in Avonmore were surprised by how seriously we all took this part of the day! I took it embarrassingly seriously. Basically Avonmore are running an online competition to celebrate the fact that one million glasses of milk are drunk in Ireland a day. (Yes! One MILLION! A DAY!) In order to encourage me to write about this they sent me (along with my invitation to the farm) a litre of milk, a glass and a kit to make my very own Bó.

My finished Bó #peakfresh #bocomp I didn't win. The guy who got someone else to knit a hat did. I'm not bitter...Now I have to say I was a little dubious about this but after seeing the way those bloggers got stuck in I’m thinking those Avonmore ladies have their heads screwed on! It’s perfect timing with the summer holidays rolling in and the appalling weather with it. You can get your own kit and find out how to enter the competition over on the PeakFresh website. You will even see my little entry over there (I did mention I took it a little seriously) If it keeps your kids half as quiet as those bloggers then you are onto a winner.

So yes this post may be proudly sponsored by Avonmore and based on what I heard and saw on Saturday I have no qualms recommending Avonmore products to you. Will I be purchasing Avonmore products myself from now on? Well with a 50c difference in price between this and the Irish produced own brand in our local supermarket, four 2 litres of milk, adjusting for holidays, means a €100.00 saving per year. Economics trumps warm fuzzy feelings every time. Sorry Avonmore.

Éist le Giolcadh na nÉan

This is my contribution for September to the online Irish language magazine Beo. I write about Twitter, the information that can be found there, the types of people using it and how I’ve been using it.

Bhí sionnach cathrach taobh amuigh d’fhuinneog oifig Shane. Bhí Abigail idir dhá chomhairle faoi chupán tae eile a bheith aici. D’inis Frank dom faoi fhís ina ndearna Seth & Tom plé ar an mblagadóireacht. Chuala mé go raibh comórtas ar siúl ar leathanach Facebook Puddleducks ar son mála scoile nua.

Sin agaibh ceithre phíosa eolais a bhailigh mé ó Twitter inné, cuid de gur cuma ann nó as é, ach cuid eile de gur cuidiú mór agam é. Éireannaigh iad ar fad a bhí ag roinnt eolais de gach sort in 140 carachtar nó níos lú. Tá roinnt den eolas go hiomlán indiúscartha, ach tá roinnt an-úsáideach. Bhain mise eolas as an bhfís faoi bhlagadóireacht chun blagmhír a scríobh. Gach seans go mbeadh spiairí ag Irish Wildlife Trust in ann teacht ar eolas Shane faoin sionnach. Agus creid é nó ná chreid, tá ‘bot’ cruthaithe ar Twitter, Tea_robot, a bhailíonn gach giolc faoin deoch tae agus bí cinnte de go mbíonn lucht spiaireachta ag na comhlachtaí tae ag faire is ag saibhseáil a leithéide.

Munar ‘giolchairí’ thú (an focal a chum mé ocht mhí dhéag ó shin do ‘Tweeter’, duine a bhíonn ag úsáid Twitter, nó ‘giolcadh’, agus ag ‘giolcaireacht’) gach seans go mbeidh tú ag rá leat féin gur chur amú ama scannalach atá anseo. Ach tá fíuntas ann, fiú leis na ‘bots’. Is sampla craiceáilte an Tea_robot. Ach breathnaigh suas www.twitter.com/giolchairithe. Seo bot a chruthaigh mise a bhailíonn giolc ar bith a luann gael, gaeilge, gaeil, irish language, agus mar sin. Is bealach é chun Giolchairithe, nó lucht giolctha más maith leat, nó Tweeters le Gaeilge, nó le speis sa Ghaeilge, a tharraingt le chéile i bpobal mór domhanda. Ní forbróir greasáin mé. Bhain mé úsáid as oscailteacht Twitter chun an uirlis seo a chruthú.

Tionchar ar an bPobal

Is dócha gur chuala tú faoi Twitter faoin am seo. B’fhéidir gur léigh tú faoina thábhacht i bhfeachtas Obama nó i dtoghchán Iran, nó i bplean margaíochta Oprah.

B’fhéidir gur chuala tú faoi ghiolc Lance Armstrong a tharraing míle go leith go Páirc an Fhionnuisce chun turas rothair a dhéanamh leis. Cé a cheapfadh go bhfuil a oiread sin den lucht rothair ag éisteacht le giolcadh sa tír, gan chaint ar Bhaile Átha Cliath!

De réir Irishblogs.ie, a bhailíonn eolas faoi nósanna blagadóireachta agus faoi mhicreabhlagadóireachta mhuintir na hÉireann, tá 7,939 Éireannach imithe le Twitter. Admhaíonn Irishblogs nach bhfuil a modh taighde foirfe, rud a bhaineann leis an mbealach a bhailíonn, nó nach mbailíonn, Twitter féin an t-eolas. Ach úsáideann said an modh céanna i gcónaí agus, mar sin, is féidir brath ar na treochtaí a léiríonn siad. Tá na treochtaí sin ag gabháil in airde go suntasach faoi láthair.

An Líonra

Tá an-chuid comhlachtaí, fir agus mná gnó ag baint úsáid as Twitter. Tá comhlachtaí neamhbhrabúis, comhlachtaí earraí tomhaltais, comhlachtaí earcaíochta, siopaí speisialtóireachta arlíne, lucht eolas fíona, eolaithe teicneolaíochta, ealaíontóirí, ceoltóirí agus eagraíochtaí Gaeilge (!!!) ag plé is ag roinnt is ag líonrú ar Twitter chuile lá.

Tá seirbhísí nuachta ann, roinntear táirgí speisialta, nodanna oibre, teicneolaíochta, garraíodóireachta, cócaireachta agus taistil ann. Is féidir rudaí spéisiúla a roinnt le do leantóirí ann le brú cnaipe ar na mílte suíomh greasáin. Sea, tugtar leantóirí orthu siúd a ghlacann síntiús le do shruth giolcanna. Mar sin, ar mullach na mbuntáistí eile ar fad, braitheann tú cosúil le dia beag a bhfuil creideamh domhanda aige!

Go pearsanta is go proifisiúnta, tá fiúntas sóisialta agus gnó bainte agam as Twitter. Tá cairde déanta agam agus tá baill earcaithe don IIA, agus uaireanta is ionann an dá rud! Tá eolas scaipthe agus bailithe agam. Tá cabhair agus tacaíocht faighte agus, tá súil agam, tugtha agam. Tá nasc láidir cruthaithe agam le pobal, náisiúnta is idirnáisiúnta araon. Fuair mé iPhone ar iompú na boise, gan mhoill dá laghad, agus tá uachtar reoite faighte in aisce agam dá bharr. Tá an-taitneamh bainte agam as Twitter. Abair “’dé mar?” le @enormous an chéad uair eile a bheas tú ann tú féin!