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PUB OF THE YEAR: The Derg Arms, Castlederg

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:53:43 GMT

You can’t keep a good pub down!

The Derg Arms is back in contention for the Sunday Life Readers’ Choice prize at Pubs of Ulster’s 2011 Pub of the Year Awards — the only bar to make the shortlist for the second year running.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:24:17 GMT

If your passion is posh cars that you can only dream of driving, never mind owning, keep an eye on the jobs pages for “Doorman, Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland”.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Haworth, Yorkshire

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:13:17 GMT

Having fallen in love with Haworth and its spectacular surrounding countryside on my first visit to West Yorkshire, it's easy to see why one of its most famous inhabitants — Emily Bronte — was crippled with homesickness when forced to leave her beloved moors.

PUB OF THE YEAR: The Spaniard, Belfast

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:11:54 GMT

Hola, amigos! Now I must admit I have a soft spot for Spain, having been there on holiday.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Glenapp Castle

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:31:59 GMT

You know you're somewhere special when there's a helicopter service on offer, and when your room has a name all of its own — not to mention a croquet lawn outside.

PUB OF THE YEAR: Dorman's Opera, Magherafelt

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:30:35 GMT

There's not many of us who would claim to enjoy nothing better than a night at The Opera — unless you live up Magherafelt direction.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Cape Town

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 14:41:53 GMT

As the sound of gunfire crackled in my ears I suddenly feared my darkest nightmare was about to come true.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Isle of Mann

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:43:34 GMT

Squelching round the grounds of Castle Rushen on a dark, grey, drizzly morning, I’m interrupted by a sprightly old lady with twinkling green eyes who taps me gently on the arm, correctly identifies me as a tourist and promises earnestly (and I quote verbatim), “I’ll wish good weather for you before lunch”.

PUB OF THE YEAR: Blake's, Enniskillen

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:42:48 GMT

Getting into Blakes of the Hollow is easy. Getting out of Enniskillen’s most famous pub is an altogether trickier challenge.

When the storm blew itself out

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:41:04 GMT

Alex Higgins is dead.

I thought the four-word text on the afternoon of Saturday July 24 last year was a joke at first.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Loch Earn

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:07:38 GMT

If you're in search of a ‘picture-postcard perfect hideaway’ to recharge your batteries, after A Hard Days Night or two, then look no further than the spot which the Fab Four ‘Beatled' themselves away in!

TRAVEL GUIDE: Cromore Village

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:36:01 GMT

As a Larne-born man I’m no stranger to the wonders of the Antrim Coast.

As a youngster I remember family day trips to Portrush, the entertainment mecca of Northern Ireland in my youth and the closest many of us could ever get to a Disneyland or an Alton Towers.

PUB OF THE YEAR: The Bush Tavern, Ballymoney

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:35:01 GMT

A bird in the hand might be worth two in the bush — but a wedding party you’ll never forget is only a fiver a head at The Bush!

TRAVEL GUIDE: Fermanagh

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:46:32 GMT

This was the road trip I’d always dreamed of.

Me, my brother Mark and ‘me da’ Alec, heading off for the weekend fishing and shooting in Fermanagh to treat the aul fella.

PUB OF THE YEAR: The Hole in the Wall, Armagh

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:45:36 GMT

It's housed in a building that’s nearly 400 years old and used to be a jail.

TRAVEL GUIDE: Cyprus

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:33:24 GMT

This week on Getaways we head to Cyprus to explore the benefits of going off the beaten track to compare green holidays, or what’s known as agro-tourism, with a bigger and busier resort holiday.

Ulster Pub of the year: Duke of York

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:00:55 GMT

It's Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody's favourite bar -- and the Duke Of York gets his vote for the Ulster Pub of the Year crown.

Rolling back the years without going under the knife or the needle

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:14:24 GMT

The good thing about middle age is that we start to discover who we are, leave youthful anxiety (and spots) behind and feel more at ease in our skin. Unfortunately, this state of self-acceptance normally arrives just as said skin starts to get looser, produce wrinkles and join our bodies in a steady decline.

‘The possibility that I could be in a world of darkness haunted my dreams’

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:20:44 GMT

I can trace the early signs that I would eventually join my father and brother in never-ending night. The first event to set alarm bells ringing occurred during a routine check-up when Mr Cowan, my eye specialist, announced that I had to start using eye drops.

No-nonsense attitude was key to baby weight loss

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:24:52 GMT

Working mum Bronagh Coyle is a mere shadow of her former self — and looks sensational as she strides confidently on to the catwalk. Yet Bronagh, 28, had ballooned to almost 15 stone after tucking into takeaways and treats while pregnant with her second child.

World renowned is a matter of personal pride for Yvonne Moore

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:22:00 GMT

Few people can claim to break into a smile at the sight of their workplace coming into view in the mornings. But driving up the picturesque lane which winds its way through the stunning grounds of the lavish Galgorm Resort and Spa in Ballymena usually has an instant feel-good effect on its General Manager Yvonne Moore.

Food-change regime gives new hope on pregnancy

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:27:08 GMT

Northern Ireland women suffering infertility due to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) have been given new hope of having a family by simply changing their diet. The chronic condition, which has baffled medical experts for years, is being treated with amazing success by a special healthy eating regime called Dietcare which recently became available for the first time in Northern Ireland.

Everything clicks into place

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:16:43 GMT

An enterprising Belfast woman has taken a brave step into the unknown in a determined bid to strike a comfortable work/life balance which eludes so many working mums.

‘I’m living proof that research on breast cancer saves lives’

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:11:50 GMT

When she set out to organise a massive fundraiser for cancer research, Co Antrim woman Lisa Kirkwood never thought for one moment that she herself would one day be diagnosed with the dreaded disease.

Teen mothers show some class

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:43:28 GMT

Teenage pregnancy rates are rising despite a government campaign aimed at lowering them, new research has revealed. In Northern Ireland, a special programme called SAM — School Age Mums — has been helping hundreds of teenage girls complete their education after giving birth.