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</html>Pól Ó Conghaile: Do we really want Dublin to turn into Dundrum Town Centre?
"You can write your own Ulysses," PJ Murphy grinned.
An American visitor had just stepped into Sweny's, the Lincoln Place pharmacy that features in James Joyce's masterpiece, seeking a literary souvenir. At the time, I was interviewing PJ, one of the volunteers running the shop. I loved his suggestion: a diary with an image of Ulysses as its cover.
Sweny's is dyed-in-the-wool Dublin. A pharmacy dating from 1847, immortalised by Joyce ('Smell almost cure you like the dentist's doorbell,' Leopold Bloom muses), closed in 2009 but rescued from oblivion by a group of volunteers who have sold books and soap, held readings, sang songs and poured cups of tea ever since. That moment was a year ago, and it couldn't have happened anywhere else.
Soon, it may not happen anywhere at all. Because there's a chance that Sweny's will close by summer.
Until recently, the not-for-profit has survived on small sales and donations. But the rental market in Dublin "has gone bonkers," its team wrote recently on patreon.com.
"As a result, our rent has doubled. Yes, doubled."
It is now calling for donations, inviting people to become patrons for as little as €1 a month (you can help at sweny.ie). But for how long can this tiny institution survive?
Sweny's isn't alone. Last week also saw the abrupt liquidation of the Jo'Burger Group, an independent clutch of restaurants – including Jo'Burger, Hey Donna and Crackbird – that was influential in rebooting Dublin's post-Celtic Tiger casual dining scene. The closures were due to several factors, including "challenging trading conditions", it said.
Coming so close to Christmas, the developments feel ominous. Along with rising rents and rates, January will usher in a higher VAT rate just as Brexit comes to the boil and consumers suffer a seasonal hangover. There is dark chatter on social media about the outlook for small food and retail businesses.
Cities need change. They also need malls, chains and international brands. But small businesses like Sweny's and Jo'Burger balance those big, bland storefronts with local colour and creative ideas. They support community and foster social fabric. They are the kind of places Dublin needs more, not less, of.
The Starbucks and H&Ms of this world can ride out all kinds of "trading conditions", but do we really want Dublin to become a Dundrum Town Centre?
This also matters from a tourism point of view.
Dublin needs to distinguish itself from cheaper competitor cities like Prague, Valencia and Edinburgh. We may not see the urgency to this now, with visitor numbers booming, but we will when the inevitable slowdown comes.
As a visitor destination, Dublin can't compete on price, transport or cultural infrastructure. Beyond big hits like the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College and St Patrick's Cathedral, tourists love the city for its atmosphere, its rich tapestry of streets, pubs, shops and restaurants. To stand apart, Dublin needs to preserve and develop that, to support quirky shops, independent restaurants serving Irish food, unique strips like Capel, Drury and Parnell Streets, or enclaves like the Blackrock Market. It doesn't need more Starbucks and superpubs.
As an individual, it's easy to feel helpless. What can one person do with Dublin's destiny in the hands of developers, chains and faceless 'investors'? We can protest, of course. But we can also snap out of our fog of distractedness, break habits of convenience and actually re-engage with the small businesses that make our city special.
You don't have to upend your life. But one small change can make a difference. Starting in January, why not make an effort, once a week, to support a small business in one new way? Buy your meat at a butcher instead of the supermarket; eat at an independent restaurant rather than a big franchise, shop at the Gutter Bookshop rather than Amazon, try a small cafe over a big chain. In a small way, you'll support community… and you'll feel a little better, too.
Not all of us can write our own Ulysses, but we can help create our city. Sadly, it's too late to drop into Jo'Burger. But there's still time to buy a bar of soap in Sweny's.
We get the Dublin we deserve.The benefits that marijuana provides its consumers are wide-ranging, and affect many different areas of our lives: health, relaxation, fun, increased appetite... One studies has focused on pleasure and concluded that cannabis produces the same effect as having sex frequently.
Researchers at the Cannabinoids Lab of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Medical Department studied how various activities provide us with pleasure, and came to the conclusion that the feelings yielded by marijuana and sex are more similar than previously thought. The reason seems to stem from the fact that the biochemical compensation provided by cannabis activates the same receptor as sexual pleasure: CB1.
The type-1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) is mainly located in the brain, and is activated by various components. Among them, endocannabinoids, THC, and phytocannabinoids. The implications of this activation are diverse, such as increased appetite and decreased anxiety. In addition, it is responsible for the psychoactive effects from the consumption of THC, the plant's active ingredient.
The study published shows that consuming marijuana not only causes said effects, but is also capable of producing levels of pleasure similar to those obtained from sex.
In addition to the activation of CB1, intercourse and cannabis consumption cause us to release oxytocin, a hormone linked to sexual patterns.
Scientists also point out that this pleasure is not obtained only by smoking marijuana, but also from other types of consumption, such as the ingestion, inhalation or application of balms.
Monica Méndez Díaz, a member of the research group, commented on the results of the study: "we have endocannabinoids in our bodies that are synthesised naturally." These endocannabinoids "are released all day, activating neurons" and also "when we have sex." Méndez added that the two activities provide the nervous system with a reward of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates the activity of the brain and is responsible for feelings of pleasure.
This is far from the first time a direct link has been established between sexual pleasure and marijuana use. Cannabis has been identified and used for thousands of years as a powerful aphrodisiac whose benefits include the intensification of sexual experiences, a greater ability to communicate sexually, increased corporeal awareness and concentration, and intensified climaxes.Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre hosted their annual “Come and Try Sports Day” event on 4th December to celebrate International Day for People with Disability for 2019. The day provided an opportunity for people to try out a variety of sports ranging from soccer and wheelchair AFL, to cricket and gymnastics.
Hundreds of people from schools and local day program services participated. The day kicked off with a game of power chair soccer and ended with a Zumba class – exhausting!
I went along to join the fun, and to raise awareness about ways that social interactions could be improved for people with complex communication needs. I met up with some residents and carers from Bayley House.
They were interested to see Scope’s Tools2Talk+ App in action, particularly the “First / Then” grid which can be used as a visual support for transitions between activities or events. They were impressed at how easy it was to personalise a visual support by taking a photo and then uploading it into the app.
Before I went to Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre, I contacted Jocelyn from Gippsland Regional Communication Service after her October blog, “Fun at the pool for everyone”. Jocelyn has made social stories for children and adults with cognitive and communication impairments to prepare for their pool visit.
I showed Cameron Lee, Project Coordinator for Marriot Support Services, an example of these social stories and he suggested that the adult swimming instructors could be introduced to social stories. Cameron is currently supporting Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre towards accreditation with the Communication Access Symbol.
Thanks, Cameron, for your commitment to disability access and inclusion in the community – and for a terrific day out!
Philippa Sawyer, Inner South Regional Communication ServicePlease note: This product is in mini cask format, which unlike a mini keg product and should be