Top tips for staying warm outdoors

So Winter has finally crept around the streets of the KCR area so we thought it might be a good idea to find some useful tips for how to keep warm. Just because its gone cold and damp and the evenings have gotten darker it doesn't mean we all have to stay indoor. Perhaps that one of our biggest faults as Irish people. We have so many lovely parks and places to walk in the areas of Kimmage, Crumlin, Drimnagh, Walkinstown, Perrystown and Terenure. Also, please remember to keep an eye out for older people that may live alone in your areas. They may not use KCRarea.com so perhaps take some of the suggestions from below and offer them to them. 

Layer it up: Several thinner layers, rather than one thicker layer, will keep you warmer. This is because body heat is trapped between each layer and if there are several layers the body heat has a better chance of being contained and maintained. Also, if you have lots of thinner layers you can add and take off according to how warm you feel.

Wick away: Look for base layers that allow sweat to evaporate. To explain, when you exercise your body sweats but if you wear clothing made from fabrics such as cotton the sweat will be absorbed by the fabric and you will then end up with a wet and cold t-shirt against the skin. If you wear layers that allow the sweat to exit by evaporation you will avoid becoming wet and damp. It’s a simple as that!

Warm on the outside: Softshell jackets are great for blustery days when it’s not too wet. A softshell is an outer layer that keeps out the wind.

Dry on the outside: A good quality waterproof jacket, as well as waterproof overtrousers, will keep the rain out. Wear a jacket and trousers over your winter warmer layers. Look for jackets that have integrated hoods and also boast breathable qualities (if the fabric is breathable it will allow sweat to evaporate, just like the wick-away baselayers.)

Best feet forward: In winter, it’s important to choose walking boots that keep your feet warm and dry. Look for waterproof qualities. Winter walking boots should also have improved grip on the outer soles for keeping you upright on wet and muddy trails and hills.

Accessorise: Don’t forget hands, feet, heads and necks when it comes to staying warm and comfortable. We lose a surprising amount of heat through our heads and few people enjoy cold hands and feet, or wind whistling around their neck.

Source: regatta.com

What happened to that sense of community?

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the queue in Lidl on Cork Street and I just realised how distant we have become to each other as humans. I know people will probably say, we like to have our own space and all that. Nevertheless, its kind of strange to see everyday people standing within inches of each other and there is no recognition of another human. I love to smile and say hello to the cashier and normally the feeling seems mutual.

I wasn't going to write anything, until while sitting in the jacuzzi in Carlisle Gym, a day it was packed, I noticed that people were sitting inches from each other. Although they might as well have being sitting on the opposite side of the planet. Not a glimmer of recognition of another. What happened to us? Were we always like this?

One of my underlying goals with KCRarea.com is to look at this concept of community and how we can rejuvenate the spirit of it in our everyday lives.

What do you think? Is this sense of community still alive?

Sam

Help us with the Keys to the City Competition

http://bit.ly/kcrarea

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisín Quinn, has launched the “Key to the City” Competition where businesses can win the key to excellent business support packages, worth €35,000.

The support packages include creation and broadcast of a radio as well as online TV ad, which will air on Dublin City FM and An Lár TV, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. Also included, is business consultancy with Distinctions Consultancy. The “Key to the City” operates a no-lose model, where any business that enters immediately gains benefit.

Utilising principles, such as the “Hawthorne effect”, simply taking part can stimulate awareness, interest and sales among customers and potential customers, during this key seasonal quarter. There is no judging panel. This means that businesses that enter retain 100% control of their progress. In addition, everyone who enters instantly wins tickets to the UpStarts Strategy and Networking Event in January, to ensure optimum success in 2014!

Also, every person who votes is in with a chance to win a great prize! The competition has been organised in partnership with Dublin City Fm, UpStarts, An Lár TV and Distinctions Consultancy, and is sponsored by iDonate.

According to Andy Byrne, from UpStarts: “Entering could not be easier. Businesses simply upload their logo, and some information about them and why they believe they can unlock the “Key to the City”.

“They can then invite people to vote for them all through the month of October. The winners will be presented with their prize package -the UpStarts key to the city – by Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisín Quinn, in early November!” For further info, and to enter, please check out http://bit.ly/kcrarea 

An idea to reality in 5 years flat

Okay, for anyone that knows, Sam Lyons, you know that I have a endless stream of ideas. Although, as many people have told, ideas are worth the paper they are written on. So, finally, after around 7 years from when it was conceived as an idea. I finally have launched one that kept niggling away in the background.

I moved into the Kimmage area around 7.5 years ago and was shocked by the amount of resources there were in the locality. So, while living there the idea came to mind to create some form of community resource. It's not the first time. I built, with the help of two others, a website for the community I grew up in, Cabinteely.org. Sadly, not long after I left, it was left to go to rack ruin.

The thing with community websites is they require constant maintenance and development. This requires management and time. And time is money. We know how challenging it is to find money in this day and age. So, as a host for the altruist and the capitalist, I knew that the KCRarea model needed to a little different. It needed to be sustainable. And that's what you have. A resource that works on the interdependence of business and community. One relying on the other. Like they actually do.

I remember reading an article a number of years ago about the future of the internet and they coined the term, an online watering hole. Well, I am going to use that one also. KCRarea.com is place for people to gather together, to share, trade, communicate, learn, grow and be a real living community. It is about bringing all our needs and wants under one roof. A place that in time, you will visit everyday to see what is new and relevant to you.

So, with these final words, for the moment, I wish you a pleasant and fulfilling journey. She's only a tiny toddler at the moment. So be gentle and help her find her feet.

Adieu,

Sam - The Creator ;)

www.kcrarea.com