Lily's Blog

Twelve years ago, an important paper on Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) was published in Nature. Because I had studied Microbiology, I followed the CJD story over the years with interest.

Before this time, it was known that certain pathogenic diseases didn’t fit the definitions of either bacteria or viruses. Diseases such as scrapie in sheep, BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad-cow disease) in cattle and CJD in humans fitted into this category.

The causative agent, given the name prion, (proteinaceous infectious particles), had been identified by a team headed by Dr. Stanley Prusiner in University of California in 1982. Prusiner won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, for his prion work.

Prions are protein particles which have the ability to self-replicate and corrupt the normal functioning of nerve cells. Prions are not alive, therefore cannot be killed. This is why sheep infected with scrapie and cattle infected with BSE have to be burned as the prions remain intact within the nerve cells after the death of their host. We are all familiar with the TV scenes of animals being burned, at the height of BSE epidemic in the UK in the mid-80’s.

Prions are the only known disease-causing agents that can be infectious (passed environmentally from one host organism to another), hereditary (passed from one host organism to another in their genes) and sporadic (spontaneously arising in host organisms). The latter is the most common (85%) cause of CJD.

CJD is extremely rare, one case per million population worldwide each year. However when CJD does develop, it is almost always, eventually fatal. There is no cure as yet.

Twelve years ago, the paper that was published in Nature was entitled ‘The same prion strain causes vCJD and BSE’

Variant CJD, vCJD is is the form of CJD acquired through exposure to BSE, through consumption of infected beef or beef products. vCJD is an extremely rare form of CJD, (which itself is an extremely rare disease). The link between CJD and BSE, discovered 12 years ago, has always been emotive.

I hasten to add I happily consume beef. Being killed crossing the road is a far more likely possibility than acquiring CJD by any means.

It was announced last Thursday, that Limerick will host the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games, from June 9th to June 13th. This will involve:

2,000 athletes
650 coaches and official delegates
4,000 family members
3,500 volunteers

And will be one of the largest and most prestigious sporting events to take place in Ireland next year.

Limerick University will be the main centre for the games and in addition to providing accommodation, it will host 6 sports competitions.

In all there will be competitions in 13 sports at venues throughout Limerick. Sports include: Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bocce, Bowling, Equestrian, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Pitch & Putt and Kayaking.

Competitions in each of the sports have taken place over the past number of months at regional level, and athletes have now qualified to compete at Ireland level. For the next nine months these athletes will be busy training in their local clubs, supported by their volunteer coaches.

A total of 3,500 volunteers will be required to ensure the successful staging of these Games and a major volunteer recruitment campaign for the Games was also launched on Thursday. This volunteer recruitment drive is being supported by Munster, Irish and Lions Rugby hero Paul O’Connell, who said at the launch “Getting involved as a volunteer at the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games will be an unforgettable and rewarding experience. We all need to help Special Olympics Ireland reach its target of recruiting 3,500 volunteers to ensure that these Games are a huge success. Your involvement is vital and is guaranteed to make a real difference.”

Here is a link for volunteers to sign up.

Come the day and come the hour
Come the power and the glory
We have come to answer
Our Country’s Limerick’s call
From the four proud provinces of Ireland

Your country Limerick needs you!

This is description of a certain female and wouldn’t any of us like that description!

Except this post is about a prize winning…

Holstein friesian cow.

I’ve mentioned before that I grew up on a farm. My two brothers now farm where we grew up and one brother, Brochan runs a dairy farm. One of the cows on his farm recently won second prize in the Baileys Irish Champion Cow Competition in Virginia show.

Yes Kilwarden Gibson Vixan is said to have ‘good looks and temperament’. She does look well in the photograph!

She produces 45 – 50 litres of milk per day. Milk that is now not Baileys, as someone asked.

On a serious note, dairy farmers are experiencing a tough time. Of the price paid by us consumers for a litre of milk, 37% goes to the processor, 42% goes to the supermarket and a miserable 21% goes to the farmer. A more equitable division would make a huge difference for the dairy farmer.

Today is eldest mouse’s 21st birthday.

Patrick arrived into the world after a long day in the labour ward, no scrabble that day, too much hard work. By the time he did arrive, I was exhausted.

I remember someone saying we had a boy.

I remember someone saying ‘he has red hair’.

I sat up.

I was amazed.

I expected a baby. I expected either a boy or a girl. I never expected a red-haired…either.

My father and many of his siblings had red hair. None of my siblings have red hair, (though I am sometimes accused of having a hint of same, after visiting the hairdresser!) I was intrigued that red hair had skipped a generation and that the first red-haired grandchild had been born, the first after seven at this stage.

From day one, Patrick never sat still. There was a big world to be explored and Patrick started early. Though, a very good-humoured baby, one needed eyes in the back of one’s head with P.

One still does.

I remember once on our annual camping odyssey, visiting Andorra. There, we decided to check in to a hotel for the night, John not being well. This was an old hotel and as we approached reception, I noticed there was an old lift with the traditional, see through iron gates in front of the stairway. In the blink of an eye, Patrick, then a two-year-old sped off, and at the same time the lift took off. I started screaming because as the lift was creaking, I could see Patrick through the iron gates. It all happened so fast, I thought Patrick had opened the door and was actually under the lift. I screamed hysterically, but couldn’t speak, to tell what was wrong.

The hotel staff were looking at us, well me anyway, in bewilderment.

Eventually I calmed down, realising Patrick was safe – that I was seeing him through the lift cage, on the stairs at the back. That day taught me how deep and primal the instinct is in one, to protect one’s child.

And the hotel still let us stay!

Today Patrick is 21.

He’s still exploring, but now a bigger world.

I’m really looking forward to celebrating this special birthday with P, but also many, many more to come.

Happy 21st birthday Patrick.

Two books up this month.

The Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale is a bittersweet love story revolving around the events of a single day. It is a beautifully written book about a dutiful daughter who returns from her stylish independent life in Paris to take care of her elderly mother. She then runs into the now married, love of her student days. They grapple with the dilemma, do they grab this second chance at happiness or do they do the right thing. It’s a great story of mortality, memory and the difficulty of being good. I read this book in a day and enjoyed it immensely.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell is a fun read, and good if you are interested in cooking. Cathy reviewed this book here and that’s what brought me to it. It tells the story of Julie Powell in 2002 cooking her way through all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s 1961 book, ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and writing a blog about the experience.

When buying Julie & Julia, I also bought the book My life in France written by Julia Child (the author of the 524 recipe tome above) with Alex Prud’homme, but have yet to read this. (Both books on special offer!) The latter book focuses on Julia Child’s life in France, in the years 1948 through 1954. I mention the second book because the film Julie and Julia, starring Meryl Streep, really covers both books. The film depicts events in the life of Julia in the early years of her cooking career, contrasting her life with Julie’s as she cooks her way through the recipes, during that single year.

I’ve read mixed reviews of the film, one saying it’s really two films poorly stuck together. Apparently this is the first film based on a blog!

One could be forgiven for getting confused between the Julie and the Julia!

Julie’s book gave me an idea. I’m going to try and cook (or assemble) my way through the Avoca Salads book, 44 recipes, I’ve just counted them. This might get help me get past page one. I have made page one’s salad loads of times, because we love it. My project wont have any tight deadline like Julie’s 524 recipes in 365 days. Who knows we might find another page to get stuck on!

I’ll report in a future blogpost!

Men watch out, you have been warned!

Autumn is here. Autumn used to mean loads of apples, cooking apples.

We bought our last house in 1992. One of the things that really attracted us to that house was the great mature orchard. In fact there were orchards on two sides of the house. When we bought the house, there in a drawer was a list of the varieties of fruit trees, written by the previous owner, on the back of a page from an old calendar. The list (and trees) dated back to the seventies. I framed the list. I really loved those trees.

When we decided to move in 2005, one thing that really bothered me was leaving the orchard. Needs must! We left the list with the new owners, feeling it never belonged to us, it belonged with the house.

Now we have a new house but no mature apple trees. We have sown some. The only problem is the soil is quite wet, our garden being at the end of a slope in the land. Nevertheless Denis and I intend tacking this problem to get fruit trees growing.

A visit to Seed savers will be a must. Seed Savers is a voluntary organisation ‘dedicated to the location and preservation of traditional varieties of grains, fruits and vegetables’. Reading the many of the varieties of apples on their website reminds me of the orchard at our last house but also the one we had growing up.

We were reared on apple tarts, apple sponge, apple dumpling and stewed apples. My children were reared on apple crumble and latterly apple cake. When Patrick first came home from college in the US, I asked him what food he most missed. His girlfriend at the time immediately piped up that she missed apple crumble, she had had it so many times at our house.

In the autumn we peeled loads of apples, lightly stewed them, into the freezer and then proceeded to eat them all winter and spring. Quite the squirrels, we were! Because the apples were stewed, they were great to use in crumbles.

Apple crumble is definitely a firm favourite chez Collison. Here is the recipe from Darina Allen.

Stewed apples
675g cooking apples
45-55g sugar
1 – 2 tablespoons water

Crumble topping
110g white flour
55g butter
55 g castor sugar

Stew the apples gently with the sugar and water, until about half cooked. Turn into a pie dish. (I have never weighed apples, I peel and chop them roughly, add sugar, stew them and taste to see if sweet enough.)

For the crumble topping, rub butter into the flour, then add the sugar. I do weigh the ingredients for this.

Sprinkle the mixture over the apple in the pie dish. Bake in a preheated oven, 180 deg for 30 – 45 minutes, or until topping is cooked and golden.

Often I cook the apples and prepare the crumble topping, store both in the fridge and cook to order. This was because everybody prefers it freshly cooked.

I’ve previously given the recipe for apple cake here.

Now we are going through a few lean years with regard to cooking apples. Watch this space. Hopefully Autumn will soon again mean a plentiful supply of cooking apples.

See, laptops are not the only Apples of importance in this house!

Writers Block

La u g ht er …

Saw sign for this Irish craft lager near Merrion Square, the other day.

Last Saturday a friend and I went to see the ‘Sean Keating in Focus’ exhibition in the Hunt Museum, Limerick. This is an exhibition of the work of Limerick born artist, Sean Keating.

The exhibition contained 33 paintings from a number of galleries and private collections, giving a good representation of his work. It is housed downstairs in one room in the Hunt. At the beginning, we had the place to ourselves. The man on duty offered to give us a quick tour. We took up his offer and he told us various interesting anecdotes.

Born in 1889, Keating attended school in Limerick, though it appears badly. As he later himself said ‘I was always drawing and scribbling.’ His mother seemed to understand him and sent him to the Technical School in Limerick for drawing. (This was later to become today’s Limerick School of Art and Design). At the age of 22 he won a scholarship to the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, (now the National College of Art and Design), where he came under the influence of William Orpen, the leading Irish painter.

Keating was a prolific painter. Over his long life he was awarded many commissions, exhibited widely and won prestigious competitions. His major bodies of work include paintings of early troubled Ireland, paintings from the Aran islands, portraits, murals and religious works. He also taught at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art.

At the age of 37, in 1926 he painted a series of pictures illustrating the development of the hydro-electric scheme on the river Shannon. This series of twenty-six drawings and paintings, showed the progress of the work until its completion in 1929. Four of these paintings were included in the exhibition. What I was interested in was the fact that Keating apparently lived with the workmen on the building site at Ardnacrusha. Our John had done his Leaving Cert history project on this very subject, so I had learned a little more from John on the building of this hydro-electric power station!

Interestingly Keating included various family members as subjects in paintings, without identifying them as family though.

Keating is reputed to have said ‘he could never shake the dust of Limerick from his shoes’. However at almost 60, he was awarded an Honorary Freeman of the City of Limerick. Photographs/memorabilia from this ceremony were included in the exhibition. Later he didn’t win many friends in Limerick when on national television, he described the Limerick of his youth as ‘a medieval dung heap’.

Close to how the late Frank McCourt described his Limerick!

Lest anyone gets very insulted with how he felt about Limerick, Keating apparently later grew to hate both Dublin, where he lived most of his adult life, and the Aran Islands, where he had spent much time painting.

The elderly Keating described Dublin as a ’sordid run down battered old hag, of a place …’ The elderly Keating refused to get off the boat, on a trip to the Aran Islands with his son, hating how commercialised the islands had become.

The elderly Keating sounds like he may have been a slightly difficult character!

The guide told us that Orpen had actually come as an inspector to the Limerick school where he spotted Keating’s work. My friend, an Art teacher, is a graduate of this same school, though many years later! Maybe she was unlucky that Orpen hadn’t come to the school when she was a student …

One thing he pointed out to us was to notice how well Keating painted hands. This was indeed true.

Particular paintings I really liked at the exhibition were:

The long voyage home

The Reconciliation
Keating completed his training in Dublin by winning the RDS Taylor Award for this painting of his three siblings. He was awarded a £50 prize. When the exhibition was over, he gave the painting to his mother. (Three mice, please note!)

There was an amusing hand-written note from Orpen which said, ‘My dear Keating = good for you. I’ve just heard the Taylor news and am delighted = go on working like a black and keep the health good = I’ll be over next Wednesday and we’ll have a drink.’

I liked his good-humoured note!

The Artist’s Wife in an Interior
This is a painting of his wife May Walshe from Eadestown, Co. Kildare, (very near where I am from). They had two children Michael and Justin (later a Labour Minister and MEP). Towards the end of his life, Keating said, “I never loved any woman but one woman and I couldn’t live without her’.

Denis will be glad to know that in a recent report in the Irish Times, the only significant GAA-themed painting in State ownership, is actually The Tipperary Hurler, painted by Keating though this painting was not included in this exhibition.

Sean Keating, who died in 1977, was truly a gifted artist

All in all a very interesting exhibition and well worth a visit. It will close in early October. More information can be found here, here, and here.