Thurles Information

News and Information From The Heart of Tipperary

Ladies Not Kissed Under Mistletoe Doomed To Remain Single For At Least 12 Months.

The word ‘mistletoe’ is believed to stem from the Saxon ‘mistl-tan’, meaning ‘different twig.’

Note: Raw white mistletoe berries are very poisonous and tend to fall off the plant easily. They have been known to cause seizures or death when accidently ingested. Indeed, here in Ireland we are more inclined to have in our homes, hanging over our doors, the ornamental plastic variety, since ingesting real mistletoe berries can be especially lethal to small children and household pets.

Historically, mistletoe [A parasitic plant, that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from a wide range of host trees], represents romance, fertility, and vitality. Celtic Druids valued mistletoe for its healing properties. Its berries ripen in December, with the plant continuing to remain green, hence its appeal at Christmas.

Warning: Let be it known to all you ladies, young or old, you the fairer sex, cannot ever refuse to grant a kiss, if caught under a bunch of mistletoe. Ladies also please note, such a kiss under mistletoe will greatly increase your chances of marriage within the next 12 months.
According to an ancient custom, ladies not kissed will remain single until next Christmas.

Gentlemen Note: After each kiss, one berry should be removed from the mistletoe bunch. A fresh bunch of course can then be introduced, should you be required to kiss a lot of women.

Yes, it’s not an easy job for the male species, but let’s face it, someone has got to do it.

Thurles Shopping Centre Takes Lead In Displaying Christmas Decor.

With just seven Saturdays left to Christmas Eve, 2022, Thurles Shopping Centre, have begun displaying their new Christmas decorations.

**Thurles Shopping Centre, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.**
*Pic: G. Willoughby*

“Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat.
Please put a penny in the old man’s hat.
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha-penny will do.
If you haven’t got a ha-penny, then God bless you.”

N.B. The decimal halfpenny coin, latter the smallest denomination of our Irish pound, was first issued when the Irish currency was decimalised on February 15th 1971.
It was removed from circulation and demonetised some 16 years later, on January 1st 1987.
In the same year, 2.8 million of our halfpenny coins were melted down, leaving the halfpenny Irish coin (particularly the 1985 coin) now particularly rare, and of value to coin collectors; so give the ‘old man’ one Euro and save and keep your halfpenny’s dry.

Pheasant’s Tail Grass (Anemanthele lessoniana)

Pheasant’s Tail grass in late September *(Anemanthele lessoniana)*.
*Pic. G. Willoughby*.

Fast-growing, frost hardy, Pheasant’s Tail grass (Anemanthele lessoniana), which enjoys full sun or partial shade, will provide all year-round colour in your garden, while also offering a certain movement and structure.

Pheasant’s Tail grass enjoys moderately fertile, medium to light, well-drained soil and will form a fountain-like clump of slender colourful foliage; its blades emerging first as healthy, green shoots, before quickly changing to irregular yellow, orange, brown and red streaks.

Like so many other plants, during the colder months of the year, these grass blade colours become much more intense; worthy of beholding especially if planted and viewed in an area, to the fore of where the sun either rises or sets.

An added bonus are the sprays of airy grass flower heads, which will emerge in August/September. It does self-seed, but unwanted plants can easily be removed or simply potted up and given to other lovers of gardening. Seed-heads do provide a winter food source for finches and other seed-eating birds.

In spring, as your garden comes back to life, you can easily tease out any deceased foliage by gently and safely running your fingers through its gentle blades.

WEEE Collection In Thurles, Tomorrow, Sept. 10th, 2022.

A reminder to all our readers, tomorrow Saturday, September 10th, 2022, WEEE’s authorised collection point will be at Thurles Recycling Centre, Cabragh Business Park, Ballycarrane, Thurles, Co. Tipperary from 10:00am – 4:00pm.

Weee accepts any household waste electrical items:- e.g. Batteries; Energy Saving Lightbulbs; Fridges; Phones; Laptops, Computers; Lawnmowers, Toys, Power Tools, ———literally anything which uses a plug or battery.

WEEE Ireland is one of the best performing recycling schemes in Europe, with a record 18.7 million waste electrical items collected during 2021.

WEEE Ireland exceeded the EU’s 45% target for waste portable batteries in 2021 by 1% – with 1,085 tonnes collected, a 16% increase on 2020. Some 57% of electrical waste was collected from retailer sites – up 233 tonnes on the previous year, and the seventh year of increases, while 28% was collected at local authority sites.

Remember the service is totally free.

September 2021 Is ‘Heart Month’.

September is Heart Month and this year the Irish Heart Foundation is all about men’s health!

**RPI Ambassadors Peter Stringer and Malcolm O’Kelly are helping us Reboot this September.**

Ms Janis Morrissey, (Director of Health Promotion, Irish Heart Foundation), reports.

“Did you know that 1 in 4 men will die from heart disease and stroke? And men are nearly three times more likely than women to die young from heart disease and stroke?

But the good news is that 80% of these deaths are preventable with lifestyle changes.

That’s why we in the Irish Heart Foundation  have teamed up with  Rugby Players Ireland to get men all over Ireland to Reboot their life.
Supported by the HSE, we are here to help men to challenge themselves to make some positive lifestyle changes for their heart health.

Head over to irishheart.ie to find out how you or the men in your life can Reboot and  make small changes for a healthier heart  and future.

You’ll find plenty of tips and Reboot stories from our Rugby Players Ireland Ambassadors Tommy Bowe, Paul Wallace, Malcom O’Kelly and Peter Stringer as well as the inspiring stories of our Irish Heart Foundation Ambassadors Don O’Sullivan and Niall Nugent.

It’s never too late to choose to Reboot.” Signed Janis Morrissey.