TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert Walshe

Home and Away Extra

Master Clean is a professional home and commercial cleaning service that has now launched a boat valeting service. Mas-ter clean performs boat valeting services throughout Ireland, including the Shannon areas and Dún Laoghaire.The company offers boat valeting, cleaning the interior and exterior of boats so owners can keep their vessel looking fresh and immaculate. If anyone is thinking of selling their boat, Master Clean say that their boat valeting service can help command a higher price by making the boat look pristine and spot-less. Alternatively, if anyone is getting their boat ready for the summer, Master Clean say that they can enjoy the sizzling summer that has been promised with a thoroughly cleaned and conditioned hull free of barna-cles and sea beard. For the exterior of the boat, Master Clean offers to get rid of oxi-dation on all sorts of fi nishes and remove yellow stains above and below the water line. The hull, keel and engine area will be pressure washed to prepare it for anti-foul treatment. www.master-clean.net

LivingRYANAIRS claim to be a low cost airline continues to loose credibil-ity with new that it has increased its fees for checked-in baggage during the summer months from €20 to €30 per bag and extended the period the increased charges apply by almost two months.

Last year the airline increased the charges associated with check-ing in bags in July and August from €15 to €20, and the period covered by the higher charges runs from June 1st to September 21st and from December 21st to January 4th. Meanwhile in other aviation news Singapore Airlines plans to establish a new no-frills, low-fare airline operating widebody air-craft on medium and long-haul routes. The new airline, SIA says, is being established following ex-tensive review and analysis. The decision to launch a low-cost airline comes as Qantas works on plans to operate a subsidiary carrier out of either Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. SIA said the new airline will “serve a largely un-tapped new market and cater to the growing demand among con-sumers for low-fare travel”. Opera-tions are expected to begin within one year. The airline will be wholly owned by Singapore Airlines, but will be operated independently and managed separately from SIA. What’s the number one thing you can’t live without on your holidays? Your phone, your iPod or your sunglasses?

According to the latest poll by GoHop.ie, Irish people answered none of the above. Instead, 54 per cent said they can not go on holiday without packing a book or nabbing some beach reading at the airport. Stephen McKenna, managing director of GoHop.ie, says: “The results of the survey are surprising because books are so traditional and we live in a world where everything is based around technology. It proves that Irish holidaymakers appreciate the simple ways to relax; give us a holiday, a bit of sun, a good book and we’re happy.

Holiday Hotspot‘Dr. Beach’, otherwise known

as Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, named Siesta Key Beach, Sara-sota, and ‘America’s Best Beach’ as part of his annual list of Amer-ica’s top 10 beaches. According to his website, ‘His annual list of America’s Top 10 Beaches is to the travel and tourism industry what the Oscar is to the movie industry.’ Siesta Key Beach, Sara-sota, is the ‘Number One’ beach in the 21st annual Top 10 Beach List for 2011. Dr. Leatherman, Direc-tor of Florida International Uni-versity’s Laboratory for Coastal Research, has selected the Top 10 Beaches annually since 1991. Fifty criteria are used to evalu-ate beaches, which include water and sand qual-

ity as well as safety and environ-mental management. Those who live and holiday in Sarasota have long recognised Siesta Key Beach as a natural treasure - made of 99% pure quartz and known for its powdery white sands that are cool to the touch. Sarasota’s picture book qualities offer the perfect getaway for families play-ing on the sprawling beaches, hundreds of yards wide, ideal for volleyball players, beachcomb-ers or couples just looking for a quiet romantic spot of their own. Its balmy sunsets and clear blue water create a laid-back ambiance with a wide array of bars, restau-rants, shops and accommodation

ranging from shoeless chic to luxurious beach clubs. The

beach park is also complete with showers and bathrooms, grills, picnic tables, shade trees, and a large parking area. Siesta Key Beach is an eight-mile-long cres-cent-shaped barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico’s Gulf Islands, com-prising of Longboat Key, Lido Key, St. Armand’s Key, Manasota Key, Casey Key, Englewood, Nokomis, North Port, Osprey and Venice. Sarasota and her string of eight islands are located along South-west Florida’s Gulf Coast between Tampa and Ft. Myers. In addition to sandy beaches, Sarasota and Her Islands also offer numerous cultural and ecological attrac-

tions. For more informa-tion on planning your next visit to Sarasota visit www.sarasotafl .org From £845 per person America As You Like It offer a 7 night package to Siesta Key, Sarasota, including return fl ights on British Airways from Gatwick to Tampa, 7 days economy car hire and 7 nights in a studio apartment at Jamaica Royale on Siesta Key, based on two people traveling. www.ameri-caasyoulikeit.com

Weekly Best Buy

Take a well-deserved post mini-marathon package at Radis-

son Blu Farnham Estate Hotel, which focuses on treatments per-fectly designed to soothe sore feet and relax those fund-raising limbs! Start your treatment with a Jambes Tonique, an ideal anti-fatigue leg treatment incorporating a leg and foot massage that stimulates sur-face circulation and leaves your legs feeling light and refreshed. Then complete your treatment with a Dry Floatation where you are cocooned in a warm water-fi lled duvet – deeply relaxing. At €50 per person, Monday-Friday for non-residents, this is an affordable treat! The residential rate from €145 per person sharing includes overnight luxury accommodation, Super Buffet Breakfast, dinner in the Botanica Restaurant, two treatments as described above and unlimited use of the Health Spa’s wonderful indoor/outdoor infi nity pool. All rates are subject to availability and are valid until 31st August, excluding Bank Holi-days. www.farnham.radissonblu.com Discover some Irish heritage like the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Cas-tle and Swiss Cottage on a visit to the Hotel Minella in Cahir. Three nights BB for the family, children’s welcome pack and coffee and cakes for the adults from €350. Check out www.manorhousehotels.com The Berlin Beer Festival is on from August 5th to 7th. It’s a three-day party with over 2,000 beers show-cased, and lots of live music and fun in the Mitte district. Flights from Dublin with two nights in a Top Secret hotel from €275pps. See l www.lastminute.com

Pet’s Corner...with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist

with Kathleen Murray

Pet birds – do some homeworkIN RECENT times the demand for pet birds has risen as people think that they are very cute, and the fact that some can talk is very entertaining.

There are lots of birds to choose from and they are easily got which is a problem. Some of these birds are very expensive and have been taken from their natural environment by poachers, for cash.

This is no refl ection on pet shops, by the way, as they know where their birds are coming from, and can trace them back to source. If there is a bird that you are interested in then do some homework fi rst. Find out more about this type of bird in a book or on the net. Find out where it comes from and what it eats in it’s natural environment. If you have a

bird already or have lost a bird be-cause someone has let it out by acci-dent then you’ll know the downside to having a bird in your home. Cute as they are they need exercise like any other animal and some can be destructive.

They need space to fl ap their wings and fl y. You need to have a very safe place for them to do this. If we lived in a very warm sunny country then getting out by accident wouldn’t be as big a problem than getting out here on a cold windy day. Keep-ing these birds in a central heated house and then losing them to the elements outside is very upsetting as they can’t withstand the cold or feed themselves without danger.

They are used to having food in a

certain place every day (provided for them) and then suddenly they are in a world that they don’t know, where there are other birds with ter-ritorial issues that won’t be so gener-ous with the food if your bird arrives to eat with them. Pet birds are very trusting and don’t know the dan-gers of the outside world so enemy number one is the local cat.

As our cat population is enormous due to cats not being neutered in time (6 months) the bird won’t be around for long. Safety plans are very important when you have a bird in your house. Summertime is the most dangerous as we have our windows and doors open for fresh air. If you are out and about in the garden in the summer you can

take the bird out there in the cage with you and put it up on a table or somewhere that you can supervise it. Protect it from the strong sun by putting a towel over the top of the cage. Being in the sun is fi ne but if you are stuck there for a lengthy pe-riod of time, in a cage, with no way to get to a tree for shade, then it is not fi ne any more. If there are chil-dren in the house then they must be taught not to leave doors open when they go in and out when the bird is “loose”.

Children should always be super-vised around any animal as they don’t know the right way to behave around animals. They often bring problems onto themselves by just simply being children. Birds are

intelligent. They can be trained to do many things and adapt to many situations, but they also need to be protected.

LivingLivingLiving

son Blu Farnham Estate Hotel, which focuses on treatments per-

Living

■ Oceanpoint Sundeck Cost del Sol

LivingLiving

holidays? Your phone, your iPod holidays? Your phone, your iPod or your sunglasses? or your sunglasses?

and sand qual- tions. For more informa-tion on planning your next visit to Sarasota visit www.sarasotafl .orFrom £845 per person America As You Like It offer a 7 night package to Siesta Key, Sarasota, including return fl ights on British Airways from Gatwick to Tampa, 7 days economy car hire and 7 nights in a studio apartment at Jamaica Royale on Siesta Key, based on two people traveling. caasyoulikeit.co

Weekly Best

Take a well-deserved post mini-marathon package at Radis-■ Oceanpoint Sundeck Cost del Sol

Robert Walshe is a free-lance contributor / broad-caster and guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland