Bringing the best of Irish and international cinema to Cork from 12-22 November, the Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) unveils the full programme for its 71st edition. This year, CIFF will once again welcome an impressive gathering of talent from Ireland and around the world, including actors Rupert Everett, Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Allen Leech, alongside filmmakers Lizzie Borden and Céline Sciamma. A standout highlight for food lovers is Feast or Famine. Directors Adrian Choa and Michael Boccalini go behind the mythology of the Michelin star to explore what it means to devote a life to the pursuit of recognition. The film screens at the Arc Cinema in Cork on Wednesday 18 November at 6pm, offering food lovers a taste of life behind the kitchen doors. Tickets are €14.
Heritage specialist Edel Heeran celebrates Ireland’s changing seasons in her first book, The Irish Year: A Seasonal Guide to Living Well. This month-by-month guide explores Irish nature, folklore, food and traditions, with seasonal recipes, outdoor activities and simple projects, from making St Brigid’s crosses to summer solstice lanterns. Encouraging readers to slow down and reconnect with the natural world, the book is published on 12 November, priced €16.99.Available from bookshops nationwide.
Michael Jackson fans have just 10 days to catch a free exhibition of the King of Pop’s iconic costumes at Newbridge Silverware, Co Kildare.Running until Sunday 8 November, the display includes his dazzling light-up Thriller jacket, famous rhinestone glove and shoes worn during rehearsals for his legendary Moonwalk performance. The Museum of Style Icons is hosting the only European exhibition of these pop treasures before they head to auction in December. Admission is free. See newbridgesilverware.com
November you dress so drab by Marian Dalton, Kilcloney, Borris, Co Carlow
November you dress so drab
Nothing like the colour we have had
The vibrant orange
The purple hue
Have now all gone
We’re left with you.
Your not all bad
There’s cosy fires
And berries still along
the briers
But you bring the mist,
the fog and rain
And it seems like summer never came.
You urge us to visit graves
Of love ones we have laid
And you bring back memories
That can make us laugh
But also those that
make us sad.
You’re full of shadows
And secrets old
Some may never now be told
You send wild creatures
to their nest
There to take the winters rest.
Then you quitely slip away
And we’re nearer
to a brighter day.
