Issue 21. What Connects Werner Herzog to Bopping?

Sceal, Art, Culture, FAKE NEWS & Darts

September 20, 2024

Good Morning and Welcome,

To issue No.21 This week we have some odd reporting on South Kerry, a few cultural highlights for culture night & a request for your local knowledge.

South Kerry by the numbers:

  • 46: The total number of food or accommodation locations lost to Kerry in the last year.

  • 24: the percentage of the total locations lost (the highest across the country.

  • 53.7: The percentage of ‘services’ business in Kerry, is also the highest countrywide.

First, a word from this week’s sponsor

Last week, I walked into the Foróige office to find them all hard at work, stripping wallpaper.

Are ye decorating? I asked

No. We’re moving. Came the reply. A testament to the organisation’s fiscal responsibility if ever there was one.

Foróige, West Iveragh Youth Service is moving to a new home!

The project is a dynamic and flexible service that works to meet the ever-changing needs of young people, in particular those young people most at risk of not meeting their fullest potential. Our programmes build confidence, creativity, resilience, relationships, cultural respect, life skills, a sense of belonging and, most importantly, fun! After three successful years running groups in the community centre in Cahersiveen, we’re moving to the Cahersiveen Rowing Club for the foreseeable future. We have a number of really exciting groups and services on offer - homework clubs, 1-to-1 support, arts & crafts, podcasting, dungeons & dragons and more! All our groups will continue as normal at the rowing club from October 1st and you can find our full schedule and any updates on Instagram @foroigeubusouthkerry

What do these three news outlets have in common? Well, this week, they’ve all had some very ‘unique’ takes on our beloved South Kerry.

Since starting the newsletter in May, I’ve setup a load of alerts/bots/searches to try and find anything relevant to the area. Last Sunday, one such alert told me that self-styled ‘voice of the kingdom’ was reporting on a road closure in South Kerry, something us oraclers must know about I thought, so set about investigating the where’s & how longs, when the article the road closure was in that well known South Kerry locale of Ballylongford. Ballylongford, any further North it would be in the Shannon Estuary. Which I’ll admit, I thought was a bit of a shame, as in my mind I thought there was no way that article wouldn’t be corrected by Friday. Well, how wrong I was.

On Monday I saw that one person’s ‘overlooked town’ was another’s ‘hidden gem’. The Irish Examiner article takes 1300 words to answer “Youghal, Portmagee, Valentia Island... are these Ireland's forgotten towns?” when one word would have done it really.

Aren’t we lucky to have a publication purely devoted to South Kerry?

It’s The Signs of South Kerry 🎺🎺🎺

It has been brought to my attention that whilst I might think these are too easy, they are actually anything but, so this week, it is objectively, very easy.

Where’s this sign?

Bonus question this week for hardcore signers: Can you tell me the exact slogan on this sign? Add it in with your answer

Congratulations to last week’s Winners 🍰🍰🍰

Last week, it was of course, Waterville Golf Links. Obviously.

  • David fitz 

  • Craig

 These two gentlemen are currently South Kerry’s top signers, with I believe Craig just edging David as we speak, will the roles be reversed next week?

Auntie Agnes Answers

Agnes had a reader get in touch with a problem many of you will know only too well:

“What time is it?”

Agnes Answers:

Reader, thank you for your woe.

What time is it? Great question! So you could have just woken and need to confirm the time. For this I suggest a digital clock close to where you snooze to alert you to the time when you wake.

However, if we look at this through a philosophical lens then, what time is it?

What time is it in your life?

Are you on the verge of entering a new phase?

As we move into autumn, it's a lovely time to take the opportunity to reflect on what you need as we prepare for the year's final quarter. The natural world starts to slow down, so get ready for a lovely rest after all the spring and summer activities. However, for many of us humans, we get busier with school, meetings, activities, work and much more. This goes against the rule of nature and many of us feel it in our energy levels. So I'd encourage everyone to incorporate rest into our daily routines not as a luxury but as an essential part of our timetable.

What time is it? Time to reflect and rest.

Want to be healed? Then just

Another word from our sponsors

Join me for a relaxing, restorative yoga accompanied by live cello from local musician Miriam Courtney. I will first guide you through supported poses, all lying down or seated, followed by a hot drink and a treat (gluten-free & vegan). Book Here

Will it be your ad here next week? From €20p/week. Book here & save local journalism.

The Oracle’s Second Cartoon

Please take a deep breath, exhale, and enjoy this delightful scene brought to us by the masterful stroke work of Ballinskelligs local Tim Booth.

If any of you are still exhaling from last week, please seek medical attention immediately. Stay tuned for more from Tim in the coming weeks.

Everything Else

  • Bop ar an Trá tonight, 10.30pm, Ballinskelligs. Drumming, Dance, Deep-sky objects - an interactive series of events which include percussion performance, workshops, group drumming & dance. Theres culture for you.

  • Tomorrowland. An art exhibition by Joseph Keating is at Cill Rialaig Arts Centre from 7pm.

  • Tim Dennehy & Diarmuid de Faoite in Concert in Ionad na Dromoda from 8-9.30pm.

  • The Anchor hosts the Kerry Darts Trial this Saturday in what promises to be a great day of darts, reg 12.30 darts in the air from 1.30 pm. Let’s Play DARTS!

Just Announced

What have I missed? Hit reply to feature here next week.

Thanks

Late again

If you haven’t guessed it yet, Ballinskelligs connects filmmaker Werner Herzog to Bopping. In 1976 whilst filming the closing scenes of his film ‘Heart of Glass’ on the Skelligs Herzog “stayed at a tiny guesthouse in Ballinskelligs.” My question to you is, what guesthouse was that?

Thanks for reading, for signing up, for following on socials, for sending over bits to be included. This week was the first ever where the newsletter hasn’t had ANY new subscribers. You must know someone who would find something in here useful (hopefully)? Please forward them on this email and force them to click the button below

Good luck, be well

Dave