Just a quick note to let you all know The Hopsack, as with all bank holiday weekends, will be closed today, Sunday and tomorrow, and will re-open in magnificent May-ness on 9 o’clock Tuesday morning. Have a great couple of days, and apologies for any inconvenience caused by our adherence to the idea of bank […]
Author Archives: TheHopsack
Christmas has come very suddenly this year. The big freeze has meant that we suddenly find there are very few shopping days left.  We were all preoccupied trying to keep our balance on lethal pavements and coping with work/life balance, with schools closed and children at home. So pressure is high, with less time […]
Not actually intended to be indecent in any way, Rude Health week is a new initiative by the IAHS (Irish Association of Health Stores), that will see each health store drawing the best from local food producers and holistic therapists to bring you guys a week packed with trial consultations, tastings of artisan Irish foods […]
Today we look at acupuncture, herbal medicine and reflexology, all of which enjoy an excellent reputation for helping couples conceive longed-for babies. According to a UK National Fertility Survey from 2007, fertility has declined dramatically over the past 50 years (see here). Acupuncture, herbs and reflexology counteract the trend towards infertility. While some couples genuinely […]
Incomplete. Please don’t publish 🙂 * I was standing in the bathroom – wet, shivering, and shaking my deodorant in the vain hope of squeezing out a few final droplets – when my eyes lit upon some baking soda languishing by the sink. ‘Aha!’ There I was: no deodorant; no Hopsack nearby; Emergency! Would it […]
Imagine a sumptuous soup reminiscent of a full-bodied Bloody Mary. Then imagine it curing your cold! Therein lies the essence of 'medicinal cookery', a cutting-edge culinary art that is as hedonistic as it is healing. The term 'medicinal cookery' is set to enter the public mind next April, when Dale Pinnock publishes his book Medicinal […]
“Good morning Dublin” says Susan Jane of a Monday. Â She’s got a great slot on Tom Dunne’s show on Newstalk, where she sings wonderfully from the hymnsheet of good foods, extolling the virtues of buckwheat for rosacea, soaking your porridge to improve your absorption of minerals such as caclium amongst myriad other wonderful health […]
Some years I have had to watch the plums and apples fall off the trees in my garden, simply because I haven’t had the time to deal with the fruit.ÂÂ Not that the trees are cared for.ÂÂ They aren’t.ÂÂ Some of them have been here, apparently, since around 1850.ÂÂ All I do is an annual […]
Recent research published in The Irish Times has shown that essential oils such as clove, lemongrass, citronella, thyme, oregano, cinnamon and tea tree oil display significant antibacterial activity. The oils were tested against such nasties as MRSA, a bacteria with a well known history in Irish hospitals, and were found to be effective even in […]