Spot the Typo - and beat the Pre-Election Moratorium

Today I was in Dungarvan Library at lunchtime, reading and knitting (a cap to match the lovely ballerina cardigan in the photo) my way through a relaxing lunch hour. The library's a little haven of tranquility and I go there fairly often when I don't have to dash around Lidl or if I'm not going to lunch with friends or colleagues. I hasten to add that while I don't quite fit the label of "Ladies who Lunch", I do go to a nice place at least once a week for a great value lunch - the Local in Grattan Square. It deserves a little plug and for those who haven't been, don't miss their wonderful healthy option - Spicy Chicken Pitta - it's the business if you're ever in Dungarvan (or Fungarvan as it's sometimes designated!)

I was finishing off Jonathan Franzen's terrific Freedom, and when that was done, I read the Irish Times, to catch up on the last-minute pre-election news, before the Broadcast Media Moratorium kicked in at 2p.m. this afternoon. I was listening to the news at one on my phone radio, listening to the various Party Leaders' final desperate pleas to the electorate before the news blackout began. I don't know if this is a phenomenon peculiar to Irish Elections, or an internationally  recognised practice, but it is the norm here that there will be a total ban on any Election-related broadcasting on TV or Radio (all stations) from the day before the Election to the close of polling on voting day.

This campaign has been a whirlwind, and we are all rooting for the local Labour Candidates, Ciara Conway and Séamus Ryan, who are both aiming to retain the Labour seat vacated by Brian O'Shea, who held it for 24 years, and even hoping for a second seat. Hubby is Director of Elections for Ciara, and she has run a great campaign, which I've been involved in from the periphery, in that I joined the canvass a couple of days in Tramore and spent four or five evenings canvassing  in Lismore. We got a great reception overall, with the recurrent refrain of "You're the first/only ones to come knocking on the doors" or "the rest of them are just leaflet dropping and running away"! This seems to apply particularly to the outgoing Government Party Fianna Fail who have really banjaxed the country with sellouts to the IMF and ECB, as I've previously ranted about. We are hopeful for a positive change of regime, with a strong Labour presence in a coalition being the most realistic outcome.

Where was I? Oh yes, this was to be about the Terrible (or wonderful!) Typo that jumped out at me from this O2 ad on the front page of the Irish Times. Out with the camera and captured for posterity and a blogpost. I feel an anorak attack coming on, but I'll take the tablets! (I'm guessing you can all spot it - it's a real sore point with an apostrophe nerd like me!)

 We all need a laugh and while I'm at it I'll share the best of the satirical asides from the plethora of Election and Current Affairs programmes on Irish TV at the moment - it's Mario Rosenstock on Tonight with Vincent Browne Show on TV3 - a terrifically animated programme that electrifies audiences nightly from 11:10p.m. to 12:30a.m. The Twitter stream for #vinb is too busy to follow live, such is the reaction it provokes.




Enjoy Mario as Vincent, Willie "Crackshot" O'Dea and Micheál "Choirboy" Martyr (Martin). It may be a bit obscure to those not in the know of Irish politics at present but it's hilarious as a stand-alone. Suffice to say, Vincent takes no prisoners, Willie famously posed with a gun for the media when Minister of Defence, and Micheál is the current Fianna Fail leader after Brian "Biffo" Cowen (was) stood down, and he has gaffed spectacularly last week by doing a bad imitation of a Chinese accent  á la Prince Philip - he's hardly racist but it had a surreal Father Ted feel to it - "should we all be racists now, father? what's the official line the church is takin on this? only, the farm takes up most of the day, and at night i just like a cup of tea, so i might not be able to devote meself full-time to the old racism." That's an episode worth checking out!

Happy Voting tomorrow for all of you in the Constituencies - just remember the old adage - "Vote Early and Often"!