I’m always on the watch for a good day out for readers and this week I found something special. If you’ve never been to the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons, then make a date to go there this summer. It’s only a few minutes off the M7 and as I travel that road every week, I’ve often promised myself a visit. Long threatening comes at last and that visit materialised last Thursday.

I don’t know what I expected, but I can tell you I was bowled over by the place. In less than 10 years, William Doyle, the owner of Newbridge Silverware, which incidentally is a seventh-generation family business, has accumulated an extraordinary range of iconic and beautiful clothes.

The collection includes the ballgown worn by Grace Kelly in High Society, Tippi Hendren’s iconic green suit from The Birds, the toile for Princess Diana’s wedding dress, a whole section devoted to Audrey Hepburn and another to Marilyn Monroe. And that’s just the beginning of it.

All the clothes are beautifully displayed, with images of the original owner wearing them as the backdrop. What I couldn’t get over was how small everyone’s waist was. I can tell you there was no fear of any of those movie stars having a BMI over 25. With so much to admire, it was hard to pick a favourite, but I have to say the pink cocktail dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was stunning. It might have been designed in 1961, but its simplicity and elegance is just timeless.

Add in the Newbridge Silverware showrooms and the award-winning Silver restaurant, and it’s no wonder this is now one of the top five free tourist destinations in the country. You can make a day of it with a visit to the Whitewater shopping centre in Newbridge, or the Kildare Village outlet shopping centre. The Japanese Gardens and the Irish National Stud are also worth a visit.

On Thursday evening, I was down in Birdhill, Co Tipperary, to celebrate 10 years of the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) in north Tipperary. The RSS is a great example of bottom-up rural development that really works. It is a pity that the numbers who can avail of the scheme are strictly limited. But for the farmers who do, it means a regular income, social interaction with other people, work that accommodates their farming activities and an outlet for their many and varied skills.

The range of projects the RSS covers includes the development and maintenance of waymarked walks, along with village and countryside enhancement, and there’s no better example of that than Birdhill itself. Care of the elderly and repair of homes for the elderly and vulnerable are also on the to-do list. But it’s the humanity of it that really impressed me. One person spoke of an elderly neighbour not being able to get to church and what it meant to them that there was someone they could trust to light a candle for their intentions.

Every so often there’s talk of phasing out the RSS and that would be a disaster for those on the scheme and the multitude of communities who depend on their efforts to make so many of our communities great places in which to live.

Finally, mark 7-8 August and the Taste of Cavan in your calendar. It’s a great food festival and I will have more details nearer the date.