20100725_BOY049_e1_NWSNorth 16/07/2010 15:33 Page 49 Some simple rules for renting JUST aIreturned from wonderful weekend at my friend's holiday home near Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow. Peter and myself have been on a lot of 'shared accommodation' holidays and they're proving more and more popular. At home or abroad it's cheaper to rent a large house between a few families than stay in a hotel. So, whether you are renting a house with others or just sharing in theirs, I have devised a house guest/sharing 'etiquette' which is likely to save a lot of stress and a lot of friendships. Taking turns preparing lunch or dinner works. You'd be surprised how competitive people, especially couples, can become sourcing local produce etc! Taking turns at going to the supermarket doesn't. Not everyone is going to spend the same amount on a bottle of wine, or your favourite chocolate chip cookies or even that so-called 'luxury' toilet roll. Suggest a kitty where each family puts in an amount of money per head. Make clearing up and washing up everyone's job, unless of course it was your turn to cook, where you get an exemption. Men love to BBQ - encourage them. It's ok to do your own thing. On a week long holiday, nobody wants company 24/7, so encourage the group to go and explore. ...to please Tonight I will pop the pill and raise a glass to a woman's right to choose 5 0 YEARS ago, a prescription drug called Envoid (that was the brainchild of a woman, invented by a man and funded by a woman) was approved by the FDA in America, and with a pen stroke, millions of women were given the freedom to make choices that profoundly changed their lives. The pill, as it simply became known, allowed our mothers, our sisters, our girlfriends (and me) to choose when to have children and how many to have. It was about taking control, being in control and being independent. Suddenly women could plan for a future - that may or may not include children and enjoy sex. Embracing my choice of the 'career and motherhood mix', I think about my grandmothers. Both of them came from large families and, as girls, both had to live with the sometimes harsh consequences of being one of 'too 1 2 3 ...controversial many'. They were both clever and would have liked to enjoy a full education, but their parents, needing their help at home, insisted they leave school at age 13 and help raise the younger siblings. A lifetime of feeding babies, changing nappies and doing house chores ensued. My husband never knew his paternal grandmother. That's because she died giving birth to his dad (my father-in-law), at the age of 38, leaving 15 children (no it's not a typo!) without a mother. For years so 4 5 Catch Tom's tour Speaking of the sunny southeast, Tommy Tiernan rounds off his hugely successful `World Tour' of Ireland this week in Carlow, Wexford and Waterford. If you missed this hilarious new show this is your last chance as Tommy leaves for a UK tour at the start of August. If you're wondering why the magnate for controversy has been relatively quiet of late, it's because he's been "in a monastery in the outskirts of Dublin", or so he says. The truth is that during breaks on his 'World Tour Of Ireland' he has been wowing audiences in Canada. called 'experts' spoke of the health risks of taking the pill ­ increased progesterone was linked to migraines, ovarian cysts and even cancer ­ but what about the health risks incurred by multiple births? The welcome reality is that the contraceptive pill has been proven to reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases in relation to fertility - yet another reason to crack open the bubbly. I am one of seven children. My mum rejoices in her memories of 'signing up' for her first prescription. So do I. I am second eldest and disposable nappies were only invented on number six. There were no shortage of chores in our house so by the time I had reached my 20s I felt like I had raised four children. No wonder I waited until my 30s to have my own. Tonight, I will be popping my pill with pride ­ whilst popping the cork on a large bottle of bubbly - in memory of all those women whose lives were cut short or whose independence was shortlived without the existence of this magic little pill.