Monthly Archives: January 2021

Sinn Fin MEP Chris MacManus has called on the Irish government to work towards a settlement that ensures Irish fishing rights off Rockall.MacManuss comments were made in response to the news that an Irish fishing vessel was boarded by Scottish fishing authorities and told they could no longer fish off the uninhabited island. Speaking from Brussels MacManus said: Rockall has been an historic fishing ground for generations of Irish fishers. The news that an Irish fishing vessel was boarded by Scottish authorities and advised it could no longer have access to those grounds is entirely unacceptable.The Midlands Northwest MEP called for dialogue on the issue. Iceland, Denmark, Britain and indeed Ireland all claim to have access to fishing rights around Rockall, and I call on the Irish government to work with their Icelandic, Danish and British counterparts to work towards ensuring Rockall as a shared resource for us all and thus protect the rights of Irish vessels to continue fishing in these historic fishing grounds. Our fishing communities must not be subjected to this kind of harassment again.

Also read:RT's Eye on Nature wildlife photography competition has a top prize of 1,000

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Irish fishery rights to Rockall must be protected - MacManus - Leitrim Observer

I was on the hunt for the Winter Pebbles, an assortment of turnips, potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnip and winter radishes that some enterprising farmers at the market sell as a mix. They look like a basket of gleaming jewels. They remind me of Fruity Pebbles, the breakfast of Flintstones.

Storage crops are typically harvested in the fall and kept cool and fresh all winter. Homesteaders would store these tubers in aptly-named root cellars, along with squash, sides of bacon, apples and whatever else they could squirrel away. The pandemic has made us contemplate various end-of-the-world scenarios and brought out the inner prepper in many people. It sounds fun and romantic, but the diet could get old, and any viable attempt to live off the land would mean coming to terms with turnips, and some of the other harder-to-appreciate roots, including celeriac, rutabaga and Jerusalem artichoke.

I had been thinking about Winter Pebbles a lot after they first caught my eye and had decided to buy some at the next market. Alas, my farmer friend broke the sad news: early that morning, as he was transferring the winter pebbles from their burlap sack into their quart cartons, a gentleman made an offer on the entire sack. The offer was accepted, and the pebbles were gone.

Oh well, next week I guess, I said. Unfortunately, thats it for the season, he replied. They were now out of turnips and storage radishes for the year, which means the Winter Pebbles could no longer be complete.

So there I was, forced by fate to do what I could have done all along: buy a bunch of different roots, and mix them together myself.

But I kept wondering: What was the gentleman going to do with that huge sack of Winter Pebbles? Its one thing to buy a small amount of Winter Pebbles and cook them right away but storing a diverse assortment of root crops in the same bag like that can be risky. Each type of tuber will have different storage needs. Radishes, for example, do better in plastic bags, while potatoes, garlic and many others prefer mesh. If youre buying a large volume of roots and planning on storing them, its actually wiser to buy and store them separately.

Winter Pebbles is more of a way of cooking than a specific mix of roots. Its a way of getting to know whats local in winter, and of tasting the flavors of the land, or the terroir, if you will. You may not be able to pronounce it, but youll know it when you taste it.

Visit your market and keep your eyes peeled for your local Winter Pebbles mix or create your own by choosing from different stands.

Tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted at 350 until soft, those combined roots create an array of delicious flavors. The bitter flames of turnips and radish create a sharp contrast to the sweet, mellow carrots. Maybe next time youll skip the turnips. Or add some of the honorary root crops like squash or Brussels sprouts.

If that is not enough micromanagement for you, here is a recipe for a root tart from Kate, the co-inventor of Winter Pebbles.

Serves 4

1 rolled piece of pie dough or pizza dough (or you can skip this part and proceed with the roots)

Preheat oven to 400. Toss the sliced roots in oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking pan. Roast until golden and tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Cook the sugar in 2 tablespoons of water in a thick bottomed saucepan on medium heat, stirring as necessary to prevent burning, until the mixture is amber colored, about 8 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the vinegar and a pinch of salt, and stir it in.

Pour the vinegar into a 9-inch pie pan. Scatter the sage and rosemary over the caramel. Arrange the sliced roots artfully atop the herbs, using pieces to stuff the holes. Sprinkle with the onion slices and crumbled goat cheese. Cover the whole thing with the rolled dough, and bake it at 400 for another 20 minutes, or until the dough is nicely crusted.

Remove from the oven to cool and invert the pan over a plate to serve.

Read more from the original source:

Roots Rock All Winter Long - Shepherd Express

Despite the UK and EU finally agreeing on a Brexit deal last month, the majority of Irelands fishing fleet has not been given full permits in order to enter Britains waters. Just over seven percent of their ships have been given temporary permits, with some fishermen labelling the situation as chaotic. The Irish government has also been criticised for failing to have a plan B to aid fishermen in the country post-Brexit.

Under the agreement, EU fishing fleets are given access to the UKs waters with the condition that over a five-year period they return 25 percent of their catch.

However, after being given late notification by the EU Commission, a large number of Irish vessels have not been able to enter the waters due to the lack of permits.

Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, stated preparations should have been made months ago.

Referring to an incident earlier this month where an Irish boat was boarded by UK officials and told to leave UK waters nears Rockall, he told Afloat: Rockall is not the only issue - the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine had no plan B.

The Irish government has claimed it is now working urgently through the Commission to resolve the issue.

Mr Murphy has previously hit out at the implications for Irish fishermen due to the agreement.

He toldExpress.co.ukhe had examined the agreement and was fearful for the industry's future.

He said: Can we as an industry trust Brussels to have Irelands best interests at heart? I think not.

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For example, on the issue of access to waters, the French fleet continues to have the right to fish within the 12-mile limit of the inhabited Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark but the Irish fleet is excluded from the waters surrounding the uninhabited Rock of Rockall that is closer to the Irish mainland than it is to the Scottish mainland.

Species such as herring in the Irish Sea were all but gifted to the UK while herring in the English Channel were kept by our EU partners.

In order to address certain issues over trade, the EU has also created a Brexit fund to hand money to member states.

Under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund, Ireland will be handed 1.051 billion (891million) from the fund.

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France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark will also be handed money due to the loss of trade with the UK.

Due to its proximity and interconnectedness with Great Britain, Ireland is set to be hit hardest by Brexit.

Fishermen in Ireland will lose 15 percent of their fishing quota due to Brexit.

The agreement has come under scrutiny from some sectors, namely Scottish fishermen who have been hit by additional red tape.

Due to the additional paperwork needed to export to the EU, fishermen north of the border have been hit by severe delays.

Fishermen have demanded the two sides rework certain elements of the agreement due to the delays in exports.

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EU disaster: Irish fishermen turn on Brussels as 93% of ships BARRED from UK waters - Daily Express

Glenn Frey carved out one of the most important careers in modern music history before his death at the age of 67. The Eagles singer, songwriter and guitarist died on Jan. 18, 2016, leaving behind a vast musical legacy.

Born in Detroit on Nov. 6, 1948, Frey grew up in Royal Oak, Mich., and he developed an early interest in music, learning piano and guitar and performing in several local groups. That brought him to the attention of Bob Seger, who became a mentor and gave Frey the chance to do his first recording sessions. That's a young Frey playing acoustic guitar and singing enthusiastic background vocals on the Seger classic "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man."

Frey then made his way to California, where he quickly became immersed in the burgeoning country-rock scene. He formed a duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle with another aspiring singer-songwriter named J.D. Souther, releasing one self-titled album in 1969 before they went their separate ways. Frey was then drafted by Linda Ronstadt to play in a new backing group that she envisioned as a group of Los Angeles country-rock "all-stars."

That's where he first metDon Henley,Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner; Henley had previously played drums in a group called Shiloh, whichKenny Rogersfirstdiscovered in Dallasand brought to Los Angeles to record, Meisner had played in Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, and Leadon had performed with the Flying Burrito Brothers. They ended up playing just one gig with Ronstadt before splitting off to form the Eagles, releasing their debut single, "Take It Easy," in 1972.

The group became one of the biggest superstar acts of the 1970s, releasing a long string of classic hits including "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Best of My Love," "One of These Nights," "Lyin' Eyes," "Take It to the Limit," "New Kid in Town," "Hotel California," "Heartache Tonight" and many more that defined an entire era of American music.

Frey went on to a successful solo career after the Eagles disbanded, placing solo hits including "The Heat Is On," "You Belong to the City," "Smuggler's Blues" and more, and he also developed an acting career that included roles on Wiseguy, Miami Vice and the film Jerry Maguire. He reunited with the Eagles in 1994 and continued to tour with them until his death in 2016, which came about as a result of complications fromrheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.

Henley remembered Frey as "the one who started it all" in a statement after his death, hailing Frey's leadership and vision as the driving force of the Eagles.

He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction," Henley posted toFacebook. "But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry and with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed."

"He was the spark plug, the man with the plan," Henley added. "He had an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and a work ethic that wouldnt quit. He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented and driven. He loved his wife and kids more than anything. We are all in a state of shock, disbelief and profound sorrow."

Henley initially indicated that Frey's death probably spelled the end of the Eagles, but in 2017, in a move that the proud father probably would have loved, Frey's son Deacon joined the Eagles in a new lineup that also includes Vince Gill, helping to carry his father's music to yet another generation of fans.

See Inside Glenn Frey's Sprawling California Mansion:

Originally posted here:

5 Years Ago Today: The Eagles' Glenn Frey Dies at 67 - Taste of Country

Irelands fishing fleet stands to lose more than a quarter of the quota of its largest fishery in transfers to the UK under the recent Brexit trade deal.

And the quota share for herring caught in the Irish Sea will be cut by a whopping 96%, according to figures published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine today, Wednesday 13 January.

In its primary analysis of the reduction of quota shares under the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached last month, the department estimates there will be a 26% reduction in the western mackerel quota share, Irelands largest fishery.

In Irelands largest non-pelagic fishery prawns the Irish quota share reduction will be 14%.

The other whitefish fisheries where there are notable reductions are hake (3% in Celtic Sea), haddock (11% in Celtic Sea, 16 in Irish Sea, 22.6% at Rockall), megrim (8% in Celtic Sea, 19% in West of Scotland), anglerfish/monkfish (7% in Celtic Sea, 20% in West of Scotland) and pollack (8% in Celtic Sea).

Several smaller whitefish quotas in the Donegal/West of Scotland area have seen sizeable quota share reductions, the report states, with the largest part 60% between 2020 and 2021.

The aggregate final quota transfer by Ireland after five years (in 2026) is estimated to be 43 million which amounts to a 15% reduction compared to the overall value of the 2020 Irish quotas.

Alongside Germany, this represents the largest transfer as a proportion of quota value among the EUs maritime states.

The report, which is attached below emphasises that it is based on a preliminary analysis of available data and should be used as a guide only.

Read more:

Irish Fishing Fleets to Lose More Than One Quarter of Western Mackerel Quota Share in Post-Brexit Transfers to UK - Afloat

Punk rock

Before I was a teenager, I started playing music in my bedroom by myself. I fell in love with the Beatles, then began to discover classic rock. I went from Kiss to Rush to AC/DC, but in 1983 I discovered punk rock music through a cousin in Chicago. My world turned upside down. My favourite bands were Bad Brains and Naked Raygun; I listened to Dead Kennedys and Black Flag. My introduction to live music came when my brother took me to a punk show in a small bar in Chicago. I didnt have that festival/stadium/arena rock experience; I just saw four punk rock dudes on the stage, playing this fast three-chord music, with about 75 people in the audience climbing all over each other. It changed my life. One of the most prolific scenes in hardcore American punk rock was in Washington DC, just across the bridge [from Grohls home town of Springfield, Virginia]. So I started going to see bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi. By the time I was 14, I was cutting and dyeing my hair and wearing leather jackets. All I wanted to do was leave school, jump in a van and tour shitty basement clubs with my punk band.

My mother was a teacher at the high school I went to. She spent her career dealing with rebellious little assholes like me, but she was known as the cool teacher. She understood that every child learned differently, and having a difficult time at school doesnt necessarily mean that a kid cant learn. I think I was her most difficult student, but she saw the passion in my musical obsession. So when I hit that stage of rebellion, I just glided through it. My mother was entirely supportive, and she was encouraged by the independence and creativity of the underground punk rock scene, because everybody did everything themselves. There were no record companies helping anyone: you just started a band, wrote a song, played a show, got $50, went to the studio, recorded something, pressed your own vinyl and put out your own record. To see your kid that passionate about anything at that age must have been very inspiring. Its always the things that you most want to do that you do well. Really, all I did was listen to music.

At 13 or 14, I had a narrow-minded vision that everything could only be punk rock all the time. I scoured the record shelves for anything dissonant and subversive death metal, industrial music anything that wasnt on the radio or seemed rebellious. By the time I was 15 or 16, my friends and I had already made records, played shows out of town. I had learned to play drums by arranging pillows on my floor and my bed in the formation of a drum set and playing along to Bad Brains. We discovered Led Zeppelin just as I started progressing as a drummer and I became obsessed with John Bonham: what he played and why. Its hard to explain, but his feel and sound is unmistakable and undefinable. Anyone can take the chart of what he played, but it would never be the same because it was as unique to that human as a fingerprint. I became like a monk, listening to these records and memorising them. It was like poetry to me. I became so obsessed that I gave myself a three-interlocked-circles John Bonham tattoo on my arm with a fucking sewing needle and some ink. I was branded for life.

Like most musicians playing punk and underground music in the 80s, I didnt have aspirations to make a career of it. When. When I was in my later teens, the reward was just some sort of appreciation from the audience. At the most, I hoped that some day I wouldnt still have to work in the furniture warehouse that I was working in back then, and would have my own apartment. Going on the road at that age [with the Washington punk band Scream], its such a beautiful time in anyones life. Youre discovering identity, finding some freedom and youre becoming who you are. So it was the perfect window of time to leave home and start wandering around the planet. I started touring at 18: carrying my stuff in a bag, sleeping on floors, and if I was lucky, Id get seven dollars a day to budget on cigarettes and Taco Bell. I was open to experience.

If we were playing a squat in Italy, Id be learning about their sense of community, their political ideas and language. Then Amsterdam and ending up in a coffee shop every night. I saw America for the first time through the window of an old Dodge van. It was John Steinbeck shit. I had a five-year plan: to learn music and become a studio drummer, then with the money I made go to college and become a graphic-design artist. When Nirvana got popular, all that shit went out of the window. I still cant read music.

In later life, Ive realised how fortunate I was to be surrounded by really amazing creative individuals as a teenager. I wasnt locked into any high-school social scene. I was hanging out with people in the Washington music and arts scene: photographers and writers or musicians who had labels of their own. In reconnecting with them in more recent years, I realised that they all went on to do such great things. One of my oldest friends from the Washington DC punk scene became head of the Sundance TV channel and worked with BBC America. Another one became a chef in Brooklyn. Another became an editor of Bon Apptit. Everyone went on to do great things, I think, because we were raised in the community of free-thinking weirdos that decided we werent going to follow the straight path. We were cool when we were young.

In my teens, I also realised that I could record music by myself. When I was about 13, I figured out how to multitrack things with two cassette decks. I would record songs with my guitar on my little handheld cassette, then take that cassette and put it into the home stereo, then hit play as I was recording another cassette on the cassette recorder. So I would add a vocal. I could multitrack that way.

Eventually, I became close friends with another musician who had an eight-track in his basement, so by 17 or 18 I started recording songs by myself, playing the drums first, then adding guitars then the vocal. Really only as an experiment. I never played the songs for other people, but it was wild. I could do this and 15 minutes later I would have a song that sounded like a band but was only one person. I learned to write and record, and that turned into Foo Fighters.

Foo Fighters album Medicine at Midnight is released 5 February on Roswell/Columbia Records

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Dave Grohl's teenage obsessions: 'I learned drums by arranging pillows on my floor' - The Guardian

Kiera Hogan entered IMPACT Wrestling in 2017 and hasn't looked back since. Once known as the "Girl on Fire", she has since evolved into the "Hottest Flame",

In the process, she also changed her trademark colors, shedding her fiery red for a blistering blue.It was her subtle yet at the same timebold way of making a statement.

However, her boldness extends beyond the ring, as well. Several months ago, she bravely revealed many details about her personal life and has been hailed as a role model in the LGBTQ community. Kiera Hogan has been recognized by several organizations and even dropped the puck at the Chicago Wolves hockey game, on their first-ever "Pride Night".

In the ring, Kiera Hogan has become one of the top stars of IMPACT Wrestling's Knockouts division. In her four years with the company, however, she is yet to win a championship. That could all change on January 16th, when she and her partner Tasha Steelz will get a shot at the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team titles at the Hard to Kill pay-per-view

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Kiera Hogan discussed her career, her partnership with Tasha Steelz, their pursuit of the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Titles, and much more...

Listen to Sportskeeda's full interview with IMPACT Wrestling's Kiera Hogan right below:

Kiera Hogan: I don't know. Not per se. I feel like we as a whole unit are very equal. I feel like we all respect where we all came from as wrestlers, and how far along we've come as wrestlers.

Kiera Hogan: It's been amazing. She's amazing. I met Tasha a few years ago at a show and we hit it off instantly. We were instant friends.

(IMPACT Wrestling) threw us together. And, from the beginning... instant chemistry, on TV and with everything. I feel like every time we work, we just get closer and stronger together.

I honestly think me and Tasha are the epitome of a tag team. The epitome of IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts tag teams. And that's why we're going to be the champions.

These titles have been made for us. At the end of the day, these titles are made for us, because like I've said, we started with nothing, and we made it into something. And, I think we have completely blown it out of the water and made it into something even bigger. And this year is going to prove even more what we have to offer.

Kiera Hogan: You know? I look up to someone very particular when it comes to titleholders. And, that is Ms. Gail Kim. Gail Kim held both the Knockouts tag titles and the Knockouts title at the same time.

That is my goal for this year. That is my goal for 2021. I plan to be the one that does that. All I have to do first is win these tag team titles on January 16th at Hard to Kill, and prove that I'm hard to kill.

And then, I'm gunning right for Deonna (Purrazzo) and that main title.

Because me? I have not once had a title opportunity in the four years I've been at IMPACT Wrestling. And I think it's about damn time that I get a title opportunity.

So, I think after I and Tasha win these tag titles, that is our next order of business. And you know, I'm just going to be a double champion, and we're going to rock all the gold and be the best. Just like we planned to be in 2021.

Go here to see the original:

IMPACT Wrestling's Kiera Hogan discusses her team with Tasha Steelz, going for the gold at Hard to Kill, and more (Exclusive) - Sportskeeda

BUSINESSES across Ireland will be hoping for relief after it was announced Ireland will net 1.05bn from the EU Brexit Reserve Fund.

We are to receive almost a quarter of the 5.4bn war chest, given our position as one of the nation states worst affected by our nearest neighbours departure from the union, followed by Holland (760m), Germany (455m) and France (420m).

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The cash will be given out over the course of this year but member countries who receive it will have to account for how it was spent in 2023.

Here, the Irish Sun examines some of the worst-hit sectors who can expect to benefit.

Irelands fishing industry is perhaps the biggest casualty of Brexit and could lose up to 35million per year.

As part of the haggling on quotas, the EU agreed to hand over 25 per cent of the catch from UK waters during the next five-and-a-half years.

Irish trawlers have also found themselves barred from areas they depended on for decades, with one Donegal vessel, the Northern Celt, recently ordered to leave the seas around Rockall by a Marine Scotland ship.

Its not yet been decided how much of the 1bn will go to the industry here and Government insisted it should not be seen as exclusively about fishing.

However, as the EU has announced an overall 600m for European maritime communities, those here can expect at least 150m on a pro-rata basis.

The hundreds of small agri-food businesses which have long sold their produce in the UK were always going to be one of the worst hit sectors.

More than 173,000 people work in the industry here, which generated 14.5 billion worth of exports in 2019, most across the Irish Sea.

This led the Government to allocate an initial 100m in funding at Christmas, but firms will be seeking more from the Brussels money.

Producers aware of looming trade problems had been diversifying into other markets such as China, the Middle East and North Africa, but the transport issues caused by Brexit and Covid also interfered with these exports.

But while bigger processors could weather the storm, it will be family businesses that take the brunt.

The Department of Agriculture has estimated farm incomes could drop by up to 13 per cent due to lower livestock prices, despite the deal to avoid tariffs.

Given the Common Travel Area the biggest Brexit-related threat to tourism here is the potential decline of the UKs economy and a resulting fall in the value of sterling.

A drop by the pound against the euro would affect the entire eurozone, but as one of the more expensive countries in the EU, Ireland can least afford it.

3.7m of the 10m visitors who came here from abroad in 2019 were from Great Britain and British tourists remain a vital support, especially outside the most attractive destinations.

Tourism Ireland says it has been preparing for Brexit since the vote in 2016, but could not have factored in the devastation caused by Covid-19 to the industry.

Any funding to accommodation and tour providers will likely come in the form of income supports and tax breaks, but the good news is that Tourism Ireland is adamant visitors can be won back with the right marketing.

Unless of course sterling plummets seriously in value.

A fall in sterling could also be disastrous for retailers already struggling with Covid-related issues.

While some stores such as hardware and home furnishings have enjoyed something of a lockdown boom from consumers with nowhere else to spend, not everyone has benefitted.

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Prolonged closures of non-essential outlets have devastated incomes while leaving them with rent and other overheads to pay.

And with 75 per cent of online sales already flowing out of the country to web giants like Amazon, a stronger euro will make items under 22 which do not attract VAT even more attractive to Irish shoppers.

Like publicans, retailers are on their knees and Retail Excellence said it wants the Government to prioritise its members as key beneficiaries of the 1bn EU cash.

Read more from the original source:

Ireland to net 1.05bn of EU Brexit Reserve Fund heres some of worst-hit sectors who can expect to benef - The Irish Sun