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Your Alternative May Bank Holiday Weekend.

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May 1 2020
Your Alternative May Bank Holiday Weekend.

~4 minutes read

We have put together a mix-bag of entertainment, games, physical activity and food recommendations to help you make the most of this bank holiday weekend at home. Let’s make the most of it.

Movie Recommendation

Ex Machina (2015)

A semi-futuristic thriller starring our own Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb Smith, an ambitious programmer who is invited to stay at the remote home and lab of a rich, genius engineer.

Smith is tasked with examining the ‘humanness’ of an artificially-intelligent robot his host has created, through a series of tests and interactions, which challenges his own views on the ethics of this technological phenomenon. Be prepared for some truly amazing visual and special effects.

Available on Netflix Ireland

Traditional Italian No-Cream Carbonara Recipe

A dairyless recipe that goes back to basics with this classic, much-loved Italian dish. It should be light, cheesy and the more peppery the better!

Ingredient List (Serves 4):

40 grams of grated parmesan

5 large eggs

Salt and cracked black pepper

300g Bacon/Rashers/Pancetta (Diced)

3-4 garlic cloves to taste

400g of spaghetti


Step 1. Salt the water generously and put it to boil.

Step 2. Peel the garlic cloves and put them into a cold pan with the diced bacon. No need to add oil, we want to render the fat out.

Step 3. Turn up the pan with the bacon to a medium heat.

Step 4. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and a good bit of ground black pepper to taste.

Step 5. Grate the cheese and mix it with the egg.

Step 6. When the bacon starts to get crispy, remove the garlic from the pan.

Step 7. Once the pasta is ready, remove the bacon pan from the heat and add the spaghetti into the pan.

Step 8. Add a tiny bit of the pasta water to the pan and wait a minute or two for the pasta to lose a bit of heat.

Step 9. Add the egg and cheese mix into the pan and stir quickly into the pasta for a few seconds to create the carbonara sauce. Make sure the pasta is not too hot or you’ll end up with fried egg noodles instead of a carbonara!

Step 10. Serve with a dusting of grated parmesan.

Physical Activities and Games for the Whole Family

National Active School Week, which runs from April 27th to May 3rd, is a state initiative that encourages kids to get moving and involved in a variety of physical activities via collaborations with schools across the country.

Due to the current lockdown, however, it has been reimagined as Active Home Week, and through their website, they have shared a ‘word cloud’ of physical activity/games/sports ideas that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Some suggestions for this bank holiday weekend include: Balloon Volleyball, Family Musical Statues, Family Monopoly Fitness and Toilet Roll Keepy Uppies.

Find out more via the link below:

http://activeschoolflag.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200420-ASF-Active-Home-Week-Word-Cloud.pdf

They also suggest a circuit training routine by Katie Taylor, for adults and kids, that is delivered in a series of videos on Katie’s twitter account. No need to have an account to watch and take part, just follow the link below!

https://twitter.com/KatieTaylor/status/1244297889939099655?s=20

Spending Time Outside/in the Garden

This weekend is promised relatively dry and mild across the country, which hopefully means some outdoors time! Some butchers in your locality may be running a call and collect service, which is one excuse to take the barbeque out of hibernation before the end of spring.

BirdWatch Ireland have put together a birdwatching challenge poster if you’re looking for a pastime this weekend that’s a little more laid back. The poster includes the names, images and sizes of common Irish birds.

Find out more via the link below:

https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/120411386/aa6e292f120d09f9e67569b6c6cbab6f/Birdwatch.jpg

If you have a garden and have been meaning to get around to some repairs/improvements, bear in mind that a number of hardware and garden stores are currently home delivering through their websites online. With dry, sunny weather forecast for early next week, this weekend may be a great opportunity to plan a revamp of the space, order some packets and supplies for a vegetable patch, or finally get hold of that bit of paint or varnish to liven up the front gate and fences.

Check out your local DIY store on google to see if they have a website you can order from or are taking orders over the phone.

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