Happy Halloween

Halloween - traditionally the time of year for ghosts, witches and things that go bump in the night. It does not feel right this year though – the bank holiday was last Monday and nothing supernatural would ever scare you as much as the budget and over seventies protesting in that church in Dublin last week. Halloween seems to have followed Christmas and become an ever more commercialised event. Even the shops seemed to have given up on it this year and are filling up with their Christmas stuff as I write. At this rate of going they will have the January sales in early December followed by Easter eggs on offer by the New Year. Don’t worry our scary teddy sitting in the main hall at Smarmore Castle represents the true meaning of Halloween.

Smarmore Castle Olympics Update

Congratulations to everyone who has taken up our Olympic Challenge. We are approaching the mid-point and everyone seems to be showing lots of commitment and dedication to achieving their goals. For anyone who is losing faith and finding it hard, please think of the end result and regain your focus. You are worth the time and effort.

As with all sporting events nowadays there will be random drug testing during the final stages of the event, so let’s keep it clean and don’t bring our first Olympics into disgrace.

All member of the club’s fitness team are very excited about the efforts so far and will be on hand over the final weeks to help you keep up the good work. By now you should have more energy, feel fitter and look great but imagine if this all came to a crashing halt because of an unnecessary injury. Here are five simple steps to reduce the risks of an injury when exercising so take a minute to read on to ensure you can keep up all the good work.

1. Warm up properly. Always start by doing an easier version of whatever exercise or movement you are about to do. For example if you are going for a run start by walking for a few minutes, then jogging, then build up to running.
2. Progress at a reasonable rate. All changes in your exercise programme should be made gradually and sensibly.
3. Monitor fatigue. Many injuries occur when an athlete is simply too tired. Listen to your body and take a break to allow yourself recover. Never work through pain.
4. Practise proper technique. Make sure you pay a careful attention to your movements and ensure your technique is correct. Ask any of the fitness team to demonstrate a move or explain how it should be performed.
5. Stretch. Stretching at the end of a work out is as important as the workout itself so take the time at the end of every session to add a series of stretches into your routine.

I hope these tips will help keep you injury free and allow you enjoy many more work outs.

From Barack to Baroque

On November 5th the eyes of the world will be on the results of the US elections. As the race heads into the crucial last three weeks the odds seem to be favouring Barack Obama as his lead over John McCain starts to widen with every opinion poll. November may well be "Barack time" in Washington but here in Ireland it is Baroque that everyone will be talking about as the fifth annual Ardee Baroque Festival takes place from November 14th to 16th in historic venues throughout Ardee and Collon.

The festival has become a much anticipated date on the Irish musical calendar and this year’s programme looks like being the most ambitious yet. The Irish Baroque Orchestra will open the event with a performance on the Friday night in St. Mary’s Church of Ireland while Saturday will feature an organ recital by Mark Duley, the co-founder of the Irish Baroque Orchestra. Saturday will also see New York Polyphony make their European debut. The event will close with a concert by the Irish Baroque Orchestra on Sunday evening.

As usual there will be a varied array of fun events and educational workshops with the Classic Buskers leading the way. Historic talks by local historians John Rountree and Fr Michael Murtagh are sure to complement the music and give a historic perspective on the Baroque period. More details are available on Create Louth, the Louth County Council’s Arts website.

Smarmore Castle will be giving away a special two night stay over the weekend of the festival to some listeners of RTE Lyric FM. The lucky winners of the competition could be in for a treat as some of the performers in the festival are due to stay at the castle that weekend as well.

Smarmore Castle Olympics

Everyone can be a Smarmore Olympian

I defy anyone not to be inspired by the athletes at this year’s Olympics and while it’s not possible for all of us to represent our country it is within us to achieve our own fitness goals. So to encourage all our members to take the first step towards feeling fitter we have organised our very own Olympics. Everyone has different aims when it comes to exercising and this event is tailored around each individual.

How does it work?
Each competitor, along with a fitness instructor, will set an achievable goal for themselves to attain within 6 weeks of it being set. Progress will be monitored midway through and then again on the 6th week. For some it might be to walk one or two kilometres within a certain time or run the length of a mini marathon perhaps row 5000m and for others it might to swim so many lengths of the pool within a certain amount of time. Each goal is specific to an individual’s fitness level, their favourite form of exercise and amount of time available to train. The fitness team will draw up an individual training programme to meet each competitors aim and be on hand to help.
Everyone who achieves their goal will be awarded their very own Olympic medal. The event will begin in October but names and aims will be taken from next week. Take this opportunity to realise your fitness dreams

Smarmore Castle is finalist in Meath’s Most Effective Customer Service Awards

There was a huge degree of excitement here earlier in the week when it was announced that Smarmore Castle has been named as one of the finalists in the Most Effective Customer Service category of the inaugural Meath Marketing Awards.

Meath Tourism is the organiser of these awards, the first of their type in the country. The awards are designed to recognise and reward the efforts made by all sectors in the tourism industry to promote Meath as Ireland's Heritage capital and to profile it as the most customer orientated location for leisure and business visitors in the country.

The Meath Marketing Awards website reported that “there were over 250 nominations received between all 16 categories since the county competition was launched in April this year. Four businesses have been shortlisted in each category. Only the Judges at this stage know the winners! The Judges, were astonished at the number of entries and the standard of excellence around the county. The Judges, a panel of four, were from NUI Maynooth, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), HSMAI and Fáilte Ireland worked independently of Meath Tourism to ensure a ‘fair and anonymous assessment of each application’ was made.”

The Most Effective Customer Service award will be presented to the business that has consistently provided a level of service that has matched customer expectations. The other finalists in the category are Trim Visitor Centre, Millrace Lodge and Slane Farm Hostel. The awards will be presented at a gala evening in the Knightsbrook, Trim on November 6th.