Miriam O'Callaghan: For-profit nursing homes have one thing at the core of their ethos, and your care isn't it
According to Paul McCartney when you become famous, there's no ceremony, nobody shakes your hand, says 'you're famous now, son, welcome'.
It's the same when you become old. No ceremony, no handshake, no welcome, just one day you're checked into hospital, and even if it's for an arm fracture sustained while taking down a tree, Annie Lennox or Talking Heads blasting on Spotify, you're suddenly geriatric.
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RTÉ News
7 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Paul McCartney describes Spinal Tap song as 'literature' in first sequel trailer
Beatles star Paul McCartney can be heard comparing a Spinal Tap song to "literature" in the first trailer for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. The clip also features Elton John performing Stonehenge with the fictional band at their reunion concert in the film, on a piano that rises from underneath the stage. Speaking in the trailer, McCartney says: " Pink Torpedo, that's literature, really." The film is a follow-up to This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and follows David St Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) as they reunite after a 15-year hiatus. In the trailer, introduced by Marty DiBergi (played by real life director Rob Reiner), the band's members are seen to have launched their own cryptocurrency and worked in a shop during their time apart. Their reunion is revealed to take place in New Orleans as a replacement for "an evening with Stormy Daniels" which was cancelled at the venue, while a scene showing them going through merchandise for the show sees the band looking at branded Tap Water. The band are later asked whether one of them would be willing to die during the concert, with one of the members replying: "Would you settle for a coma?" Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will be released in cinemas on 12 September. The original film followed the band from their beginnings as the skiffle group, The Originals, through to their time as a 1960s R&B group called The Thamesmen who had a hit with Gimme Some Money, before eventually becoming Spinal Tap, which begins as a psychedelic band before moving into heavy metal. As Spinal Tap, the film follows the group as they release the album Smell The Glove, which retailers refuse to sell due to its sexist cover, and plan a large-scale, Druid-themed glam rock show, but a replica of Stonehenge which was supposed to be 18ft high, ends up being 18 inches after they get the measurements wrong. The name Spinal Tap has become a derogatory term to describe real bands who overindulge in rock cliches, while the film also gave birth to the phrase "turn it up to 11" after guitarist Nigel's amps were shown to have volume switches that go to 11 rather than 10 in the original movie.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Bernard O'Shea: Five things I've learned to pretend about in my 40s
1. I pretend I know how to fix things around the house In your 40s, you're expected to have this mystical ability to fix things. Dripping tap? No problem. Wobbly table? I'll just wedge something under it and call it 'stabilising'. Truth is, I have a toolbox that exists purely to intimidate daddy long leg spiders who I'm fairly sure have opened a gym under the stairs. Culturally, Irish dads are supposed to be part-man, part-shed. But I missed that apprenticeship. We all had fathers who could take apart a lawnmower blindfolded using only two spoons and some spit. I once tried to change a light fitting and we ended up in darkness for a few hours. I also once put up a shelf in the bathroom — of which I was massively proud — but my wife keep telling me anyone within earshot: 'He actually said it will be fine — just don't put anything on it!' A recent study (done by someone handier than me) says that self-perceived competence in DIY peaks at age 38 and then plummets sharply — probably around the time you realise there's a very fine line between 'tightening' and 'stripping the screw entirely'. 2. I pretend I still know what music is cool Spotify recently informed me I had streamed Sigur Ros 483 times in one month. That wasn't even a sad month. That was just... a Tuesday. There comes a point in your 40s where all new music sounds like someone trying to sell you protein bars while shouting over a tumble dryer. You nod along when someone mentions Doja Cat, but deep down you're thinking 'Wasn't she in The Animals of Farthing Wood?' In my 20s, I prided myself on my music taste. I had opinions about B-sides. Now I just want something I can hum while I unload the dishwasher. Historically, every generation reaches a musical cutoff. For me, it's somewhere between Arctic Monkeys and whatever the hell hyperpop is. Psychologists refer to this as 'reminiscence bump' — we emotionally bond most with the music from our teens and early 20s. Which is why I nearly wept the last time Teenage Dirtbag came on in a petrol station. 3. I pretend my back is fine There's a specific moment in a man's life — usually just after he's bent down to tie his shoe or retrieve a rogue Lego — when his entire body goes 'No'. I threw my back out recently reaching for a grape. Not a box of grapes. One. Single. Grape. I made a noise like a fax machine being punched (I'm complete aware that anyone under the age of 35 won't know what a 'fax' is) But when asked 'Are you okay?' the only acceptable answer (as a man in his 40s) is: 'Ah yeah, just a bit stiff. Grand though.' Bernard O'Shea: "Culturally, Irish dads are supposed to be part-man, part-shed. But I missed that apprenticeship. We all had fathers who could take apart a lawnmower blindfolded using only two spoons and some spit. I once tried to change a light fitting and we ended up in darkness for a few hours." We lie through gritted teeth while walking like John Wayne in wet corduroy. Historically, men haven't been great at acknowledging pain. Our ancestors fought wolves and famine. I got winded bringing the shopping in. Medically, back pain becomes increasingly common after 40 due to something called 'disc degeneration' — which sounds like a bad DJ name but is actually just ageing bones throwing in the towel. To overcome the pain I just say to myself. 'I'm not old. I'm just… compression sensitive.' 4. I pretend I know what my kids are talking about Modern parenting is like being dropped into a video game you didn't know you downloaded. There are words, abbreviations, trends — and somehow, I'm always the villain. I try to stay up to speed. I read the odd TikTok trend breakdown. I ask careful questions like 'Is Riz good or bad?' But mostly I just smile, nod, and hope someone doesn't point and roar 'He hasn't a clue!' Historically, parents have always been uncool. It's practically our job. But in this age of memes and livestreams, the speed at which you become irrelevant is faster than a teenager slamming a door. According to one study, kids think their parents are officially 'cringe' from age 12 onward. Which is deeply unfair, because that's exactly when I got good at wordplay. 5. I pretend I'm in control of money On the outside, I look composed. Inside, I'm three receipts away from yelling 'WHY DID I SPEND €6 ON KOMBUCHA?' Knowing full well that it isn't going to solve my 'bloating'. (It's possible my large stomach is caused by repeated ingestion of salted caramel ice-cream. However without more scientific study this cannot be 100% proven.) In your 40s, people assume you have a grip on money. You nod at mortgage rates, you say things like 'we'll revisit that in Q3', and you pretend your pension is something other than a shoebox with old Bus Éireann vouchers. Financial adulthood is just constant juggling. Kids, bills, petrol, insurance. Your life essentially becomes a series of direct debits. You're always 'just after paying something off'. As a self-employed person for most of my life I'm still trying to get my head around invoicing. Culturally, Irish people were never raised to talk about money. We were raised to say things like 'Ah, sure we'll make do' while sweating through a budget spreadsheet written on the pack of a till receipt. According to behavioural economists, money shame is real — especially in midlife when you're expected to have it all sorted. But guess what? No one really does. Even your man with the campervan and the laser-cut grass. He's stressed too.
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Extra.ie
Is Harry and Meghan's Netflix deal being renewed? Here's what we know
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made headlines with multi-million dollar deals with the likes of Netflix and Spotify, it seems that the last of Harry and Meghan's media contracts isn't getting extended. You might recall that the Royal pair had agreed to part ways with Spotify in 2023 after the streamer decided not to renew their Archetypes podcast for a second season. The podcast had been part of a $25 million deal made in 2020 after they left the UK for the US. The original Netflix partnership saw the couple sign a reported $100 million deal in 2020 and now sources are telling The Sun this deal is also not being renewed. The source said: 'There's no animosity from either side. Things have just run their course.' Meghan Markle in With Love, Meghan. Pic: Netflix People spoke to a Hollywood insider about the rumours, and they added that the deal not being extended 'reflects a shift in Netflix's broader business strategy'. One of the reasons this news might come as a surprise to many is that The Duchess' lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, had been renewed for a second season, but it turns out, it has already been filmed with Chrissy Teigen being the first confirmed guest star. The first season was released on March 4, 2025, after being delayed due to the fires in Los Angeles earlier in the year, and recent figures released by Netflix shows it ranked No 383 with 5.3 million views. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex at the Afro-Descendant Women and Power: Voice of Equity Pic: Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty Images Meghan serves as both host and executive producer, and the series shows her hosting friends like Mindy Kaling in her home and sharing her cooking, entertainment and lifestyle tips with viewers. She also launched her new lifestyle brand, As Ever, alongside the series, and Netflix is also a partner on the brand. Matt Cohen, Brian Kocinski, Heather Dorak, Doria Ragland, Prince Harry, Genevieve Hillis, Julian Zafjen and Meghan in With Love, Meghan. Pic: Netflix The move by the streaming giant to not renew the deal doesn't seem to be a personal one, with them doing something similar with the Obamas and their Higher Ground production company. The former President and First Lady had a similar multi-project agreement with Netflix which later evolved into a first-look agreement, so it doesn't mean the company won't team up with the Sussexes again down the line.
