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	<title>Viva Diva</title>
	<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie</link>
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		<title>Strange way to judge talent</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
by Grainne

Now in the grand scheme of things it’s not a huge issue but a minor, well actually more than minor irritation.   What’s irking me?  The format of RTE’s latest talent show ‘The Voice of Ireland’, that’s what.
The first part was ok, the initial selection of contenders to go forward.  In fact it was a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/02/22/strange-way-to-judge-talent/</link>
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		<title>Frugality as a Virtue</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by Grainne
I’ve been implementing some austerity measures of my own in recent months.  Out of necessity.  With cuts in pay on top of numerous stealth taxes, and more to come, and my outgoings not having diminished to match, something had to give.
In cutting back on my spending I had to ignore the urgings of Finance [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/02/08/frugality-as-a-virtue/</link>
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		<title>Long lost wallet on way home</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by Aine
Last week I had a missed call on my mobile phone from my GP urging me to contact him. Because I had been with him the day before for some routine blood work I was a tad concerned.
But when I spoke to him his first question puzzled me.  He asked me had I lost [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/02/07/reunited-with-a-long-lost-wallet/</link>
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		<title>Minister Glib</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By Aine
Following  Minister of Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar&#8217;s glib comment that we all could still afford a holiday as the Budget would not be that bad comes his Fine Gael colleague Finance Minister Michael Noonan remarking that our emigrants are leaving to see the world &#8220;as a lifestyle choice&#8221;.  
Well Minister Noonan, maybe [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/01/23/minister-glib/</link>
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		<title>Austerity &#8211; with exceptions</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by Grainne
The outcome of the public consultation undertaken last year by the Minister for Public Enterprise Brendan Howlin on how the State can save money makes for interesting reading.  
Its seems that public servants were major contributors to the exercise, suggesting ways money could be saved by having their allegedly more work-shy colleagues accountable by [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/01/20/austerity-with-exceptions/</link>
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		<title>Welcome to contempt for customers. How may we screw you today?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By Aine
Last Friday the Central Bank took over the running of Newbridge Credit Union, appointing its own Manager.
Apparently there was concern over the way the Credit Union was being run and the Financial Regulator wanted to &#8220;safeguard&#8221; peoples deposits.  The concern was that the Credit Union hadn&#8217;t put enough money aside to protect against potential losses on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/01/16/welcome-to-contempt-for-customers-how-may-we-screw-you-today/</link>
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		<title>Mary Raftery &#8211; a tribute to Ireland&#8217;s foremost advocate of unsavoury truths</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ by Grainne
At a time in this country when integrity is a rare quality, we’ve just lost one of its finest exponents with the untimely death of investigative journalist and broadcaster Mary Raftery.  
I did not know Mary Raferty personally.  But, as someone who worked in journalism and who also covered the issue of clerical sex [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/01/10/mary-raftery-a-tribute-to-irelands-foremost-advocate-of-unsavoury-truths/</link>
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		<title>10 ways to banish the January blues</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ by Grainne

Go to see a kid’s 3-D movie.  There’s plenty of them about and they’re great fun!     
Read the Bill Bryson book ‘A Walk in the Woods’ and laugh out loud.
Stand outside on a cold night, look up at the stars and realise that we’re all part of something that’s much bigger, and greater, than [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/01/06/10-ways-to-banish-the-january-blues/</link>
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		<title>Late arrival</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by Grainne
A belated Happy New Year to you all.  Forgive our tardy response to its arrival here at Viva Diva.  It’s due not, alas, to time taken to recover from lengthy or wild New Year’s celebrations.  Rather it was a marked reluctance to drag ourselves into a year that while maybe not being quite the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2012/01/06/late-arrival/</link>
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		<title>Happy Christmas</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Thank you to all our loyal readers for dropping in to read the blog during the year.  We hope you&#8217;ve enjoyed and been entertained by it.
We wish each and every one of you a very Happy Christmas with time to spend with family, to have fun, to relax, to recharge, and especially to savour the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.vivadiva.ie/2011/12/26/happy-christmas/</link>
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