Picture of the Week

Lamb love: Leona Kelly from Co Carlow with her lamb that has a heart shape on her side. \ Liz Kelly

Letter to the Editor

In response to the editorial in the edition dated 9 February ‘Control your finances and independence, seek help if not in control’

I read with interest the article in the Journal this week especially the section where the widow would now be able to control the purse strings and buy what she needed instead of asking for permission.

l sadly know many women who do not have money for their needs and totally dependent on their husbands. In one case the only money the wife of a big farmer has is “the bit I might be able to keep back from the weekly shopping”

In another case a woman – who does most of the work on the farm – said “James* I have given my whole life doing all the farm work and rearing a big family and I have nothing for myself.”

Amii these are only two cases but make no mistake this is more common than people realise. Keep up the good work, I look forward to reading your article every week.

All the best.

*Pseudonym used for anonymity. Name and address with the editor

Instagram Inspiration

At @irelandsbirthstories podcast presenter Corah Gernon has created a safe space for women to share their journeys to motherhood without feeling shy about the details.

From tales of trying to conceive to those early postpartum days, Corah also does not shirk from topics including infertility, gestational diabetes, pregnancy loss and more.

And it has obviously struck a chord, with almost 100 personal stories shared and 100,000 downloads to date.

Chef Janine’s Tip

If you love having a family pizza night and pride yourself on making pizza from scratch, did you know it’s not necessary to cook pizza sauce the same way you would a tomato sauce for pasta? It’s actually the simplest thing.

Just add a tin of tomatoes, some dried oregano and basil, a pinch of sugar and a teaspoon of salt to a blender and blitz.

Make it as smooth or chunky as you like (my kids demand ultra-smooth) and it will cook as needed in the oven.

It’s an easy way to make sauce from scratch as opposed to using sugar-heavy shop-bought options and another fun way you can get the kids to help with pizza night.

Tweet of the Week

Number of the Week

2 – The number of hours customers had to wait to have their calls answered by banks.

Quote of the Week

From Peigín Crowley on setting up her wellness company, Ground, during the pandemic:

I reached a point where I was very busy, travelling a lot, my daughters Bella and Anna Louise were 11 and 7. I’ll be honest. I was feeling very important and I definitely had an ego. And then COVID came and slapped me in the face.