If you are down in West Cork on holiday or need a break look no further!The Horseshoe Cottage B & B is ideal for a break on Sherkin Island. One of the most beautiful of West Cork’s islands, Sherkin is only 15 mins by ferry from baltimore and is perfect for a sailing/walking/swimming break. I stayed here recently with my friend Aria – we had wanted to camp but the rain came in and we found a flyer for the Horseshoe in Baltimore. Luckily Fiona had a room free – were very thankful of the warm beds and hot shower as we listened to the rain on the window! Fiona made us a delicious breakfast in the morning and in the afternoon we had a leisurely walk down to Cow strand and then went back on the ferry to Baltimore.

Another time I will definitely return to go sailing with Joe in his beautiful schooner ‘Anna M’. For only €300, 2 people can stay for 2 nights and sail for a full day – this is fantastic value. Plans for the future include extending the accomodation to provide more bedrooms and a family room for wet days.

Horseshoe Cottage B & B

Sherkin Island

(028) 20598/(087) 7972366 or see their website www.gannetsway.com

Martin & Yvonne Flynn, local organic farmers and basket makers, are organising this Traditional Skills day at Future Forests in Kealkil on Saturday the 19th of May (2-6pm). The day is being presented by the Irish Basket Makers Association and will also feature demonstrations/workshops of thatching, coppersmithing, woodcarving, chairseating, pole-laithing, woodturning, garden structures, blacksmithing as well as a kids corner and an organic cafe (we are supplying some of the food from Organico Bakery). Admission is free, as most of these craftspeople are trying to raise their profile and share their knowledge. There will also be baskets for sale, like the one pictured here (we have baskets like this in Organico Shop – our customers love using them to shop with) as well as plants and trees and garden sculpture. From 9pm that night there will be caile agus craic with Johnny Coakley, Noel Burke and friends.

Future Forests is well signposted from Kealkil village and is 15 mins from Bantry, and is well worth a visit all on its own if you have never been there!

Organico Shop, Glengarriff Rd., Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland. Phone +353 (0)27 51391

Organico Cafe is delighted to once again welcome Lorraine Bacchus to the Cafe with her new work for 2007. Lorraine has had a number of other shows since she exhibited with us last winter (click here) and her work has matured and become, if such a thing is possible, even more beautiful. The pieces are mostly oil on canvas, though there are some sketches as well. The theme is Nudes, and the predominant colours are pale – white, with washes of green, blue and greys bringing an ethereal dream-like quality. They are perfect for this time of year when we are experiencing such beautiful vibrant weather and it is somehow fitting to have soothing and calming art on the walls.

The piece pictured above is called ‘transparent’ and is oil on canvas, roughly 25cmx60cm (I don’t have the measurements – that’s a guess). It is selling for €1000.
Organico Cafe is open from 9.30 – 5.30 Monday – Friday; and 9.30 – 5pm on Saturdays. Come and enjoy a delicious vibrant organic lunch and take a look at Lorraine’s work at the same time. The paintings will be with us until the end of the month.

An example would be a person who was having sleep problems which started just after a close bereavement – we can offer her some calming and relaxing herbal preparations but if she also visited Pina her recovery would be a lot more profound.

Pina’s own description of her work is as follows:

‘Pina is a spirit medium for healing who encourages the release of grief, shock, fears, emotional and physical pain and other trauma.

She uses a form of hands on healing, receiving guidance to help you towards regaining trust and inner strength.

In a session you are encouraged to make changes necessary for your personal growth to help you to restoring wholeness.

By recieving divine universal love energy and allowing the guidance of angels to work through her, Pina uses a combination of light, touch, sound and other shamanistic techniques. Blessed Be.’

To many people this will sound very unusual, to put it mildly! However, having had personal experiences of Pina’s healing, I can vouch for her authenticity, her discretion, and for the deep changes that can be felt after a session with her. She practices in Skibbereen on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and a session takes approximately 1 hour and costs €50.
For information please contact Pina on (028) 51582 (for bookings from Dubin and Skibbereen) or for bookings in Cork please call Dervish (021) 4278245. Email pinalazara@gmail.com.

This year the run will take place on the 6th of May and there will be three different events – a half marathon, a 10 k walk and a ‘Kids dash’. Last year Organic entered a team and everyone completed in very good time – and we were all delighted with the tee shirts and mugs that we got to take home as momentos.

For more information on the route or to sign up click here

For more information on the programme for 2007 click here

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In Ireland, the organic sector is growing by 10% per year (Mitchell got these stats a year ago – I think it has sped up since then.) Apparently this represent only 1% of the entire Irish food industry – worth an estimated 38 million in 2003. However if we follow European treads then it will be worth 4 times that by the end of this year.

Mitchell’s article is not entirely complimentary to the ‘organic philosophy’. She quotes many sources that question whether organic agriculture is better than conventional agriculture, and whether the resulting foods are better for consumers. She quotes the British Food Commission (2000) as saying:

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”Hundreds of organic products are coming on to the market, including highly processed jelly sweets, sugar-laden organic cereals, organic chicken burgers and even organic cigarettes.”

In Organico, we clearly do buy into the Organic Philosophy; but we also welcome articles of this sort that encourage consumers to question what they are being fed. Unfortunately many organic products are coming onto the market now that are just as harmful to health, if not to the environment, than non-organic foods. We still have to read labels and choose brands that w believe in, not just brands that shout the loudest through their adverts.

When buying for a Wholefood Shop you carry a weight of responsibility in terms of what you choose to stock, as many customers believe that if a product is on a Wholefood Shop shelf it is going to be beneficial for their health. Also, many of us are in this business because we want to sell positive products, so naturally we select the products we sell for their organic credentials – not just their packaging!