It's award time of year, isn't it? Fed up of voting for your favourite single/album? Well I'm not actually, but I want to share this mailout with you good people. How brilliant is this? I want you all to head over to http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=437&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 (ooh, long url) RIGHT NOW and vote for your Best Chips.
Peoples Republic of Cork Annual Award Nominations (Results to be announced at first annual PROC Charity gig in Club One this Friday at 8pm - tickets 10 euro on the door)
We asked you for your nominations and here's what we got:
Best Busker
Wander around any other European city and you're unlikely to see as many buskers in one week as you would in Cork in a single day. Imagine your local pub or favourite club without the music or imagine how limp your favourite films would be without a soundtrack. We'd like to say something semi profound at this point about the importance of music in 21st century youth culture but we'll leave that to the feens who think they know what they're talking about but it suffices to say music is daycint.
During the summer Cork a sham strutting his scobe-thang around town can be just walking out of earshot of a blues guitarist belting out Rory Gallagher covers on his way up Maylor Street whilst simultaneously start to pick up the funky sounds of a jazz trio outside Roches Stores. If they happen to be on break it won't be long before a brass quartet puts a swing in the step of shoppers outside Brown Thomas.
If you're heading towards the GPO you could find anything from a traditional Irish solo singer with a booming voice, a mesmerising saw player, a violin player wearing a bandana or a children's puppeteer entertaining punters on Winthrop Street.
Avoiding the offensively loud Craig David and Daniel O'Donnell CDs pumped out relentlessly by certain shops on Pana and take a stroll along the acoustically friendly streets like Marlborough Street and Carey's Lane you'll always find some melodious accompaniment: a saxophonist playing jazz standards, Spanish guitarists, mouth organ players playing blues and country or a cheerful Ukranian keyboard player playing classical pieces from Mozart and Beethoven.
Only a small percentage of people drop coinage in appreciation but there's no denying these people need to be honoured at the highest level by the future Government of the county as well!
The final nominations based on your emails are: 1. Italian/Russian Jazz Trio who play outside Roches 2. Bandana Violin Man usually spotted on Oliver Plunkett St. 3. The Ukranian classical Piano Player usually around Maylor St.
Best Bar Staff
As a people well versed in the tradition of stout drinking conversations about the 'good pint' are never far away. With so many foreign nationals now manning the taps chances are you'll get a bit edgy when you hear a non-Cork accent behind the bar preparing to pull a pint of your favourite black soup after a hard week's work.
Maybe its because Corkonians are so friendly and the topic of conversations with Eastern Europeans often reverts to drink or that many of the new Corkonians have watched their local counterparts pour stout the way its meant to be poured but overall they're not doing too bad. You can tell the new immigrants a mile off too as they break into a cold sweat when you ask for a Murphy's!
Bar staff in some of the city's late bars can be terribly gruff and nothing beats a smile to accompany a good pint especially if you're handed back just a few coppers out of a tenner for two drinks. A bar attendant can be a source of news, debate, consolation, strong opinion, scandal and yes.attraction. You don't have to know their name (a description will do and we'll find him/her). Vote for your favourite pint puller now!
The final nominations based on your emails are: 1. Tom Barry's, Barrack St. 2. The Bodega, Cornmarket St. 3. The Oval, South Main St.
Best Chips
For all the bad publicity the fast food industry gets these days it is still hard to deny yourself the odd treat. Few will admit it but there's something about coming out of pub with a belly full of gat that sends signals to the evil part of the brain that says 'must have chips' and despite the horrendous cattle mart style queues at 3am nothing will cull the desire for a sneaky bit of grease once the monster inside you has spoken!
Some like to go to big corporate outlets like McDonalds or Burger King but there's a tradition of amazing indigenous chippers in Cork and we're looking for your favourite. Whether you like yours plain, downed in vinegar, smothered in garlic mayonnaise, with mushy peas or plastered in melted cheese (definitely a Cork favourite!) the competition is rife to make the perfect chip for the unique Cork palette.
KC's in Douglas, Jackie Lennox's, Kylies on Maylor Street, Fred Fletchers in St. Lukes, Hillbilly's at the infamous Fountain on Grand Parade, Deano's in Turner's Cross or Hoggy's up on South Maina with its giant half pound Hoggie Burger and that's just the city.
Super popular chippers such as Keohane's in Midleton famous for its sausages and having just 5 items on the menu for years is also well known around the county and its up to you to tell us (before 5pm tomorrow) which chips you think stands above them all.
The final nominations based on your emails are: 1. KC's , Douglas 2. Matty Kylie's, Maylor St. 3. Keohane's, Midleton
The poll will be combined with emails we have received and the winners will be announced at the charity gig for Cork Simon Community in Club One tomorrow night (tickets 10 euro - doors 8pm).
Those jazz buskers are damn brilliant! But the quad is a better pub than the others, belle & sebastian did a dj set there this year.
..and you were doing so well in posting fairly often! WHATUP?!?!?
Pub-crawl??