< Previous© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 30 The View From The Kitchen Table, By Geraldine Hughes T he amount of rain and bursts of sun has made the gardens grow like wild- fire, and I’m sure the plants in mine are very grateful. I’m an inconsistent garden- er at best. Lockdown (that wasn’t a lock- down) did put some manners on me, and I actually did a little in the garden most days as opposed to every other year where I savagely attack it over a weekend and then neglect it for a few months. I remem- bered to use my water butt and I actually found at least 3 half used Plant food tubs during a 3 week long shed clear-out, so my plants were not only well hydrated but fed well too. For a little while anyway. Now that I’m back at work, my good in- tentions have wavered and it’s an every- plant-for-itself situation. That’s why I’m thankful for the rain. They are flourishing and happily bullying the life out of each other. I have almost no idea whatsoever about plants so I have wasted more money over the years buying the wrong plant, or planting them in the wrong place. An online order earlier this year came with 2 pack- ets of flower seeds which I don’t remember ordering, and 2 Strawberry plants which are a mystery I don’t remember ordering them ei- ther but I found a place for them, The seeds are still in their packets, because seeds need a bit of nurturing so I’ll get to them in due course. I did go the bother of making my own hanging baskets on a creative day. If that sounds like I weaved the actual baskets myself, that’s a no. I had empty ones them from last year, but I did fill them and plant the plants in them (that’s making them isn’t it?!) The only drawback about hanging hanging baskets in a sheltered spot, as I did because that’s where the hooks are, is that they need gallons of regular watering. This I neglected to do so the only hang- ing they were doing was over the side of the baskets, limply trying to get my atten- tion while breathing their last. I took them down, did my best to revive them and put them out in the open where they could en- joy the rain. I guess they were no longer hanging baskets, they were now ground baskets. I got into the car the following morning, forgot they were in front of the car and drove over two of them, so they became flattened baskets, I moved them to a safer area so I suppose now they were definitely mobile baskets. The following day my son reversed over them. They were now endangered bas- kets . In fact they are a bit traumatised, I rescued the flattened plants and moved them to safety, but I swear they huddle together for courage when they see the cars coming. I only have three indoor plants. I tell everyone not to buy them for me, its almost certain death, although I do try, and I have been watering what looks suspiciously like a stick for about two years, because someone told me it would bloom again (it’s a delicate Lilly).I dunno though - defo looks like a stick to me.. § Oasis Childcare Centre Mornington Co. Meath Crèche Montessori Playgroup After School Telephone 9888135 + Purpose Built + Fully Insured + HSE Inspected + Fire Certified + Intercom Entry + Large Safety Tiled Playground + Large Car Park + Easy Drop Off and Collection + Small Groups + Dedicated Staff + 7:30am to 6:30pm ONE CHILD! ONE LIFE! ONE PRE-SCHOOL EXPERIENCE Limited places remain for our ECCE and PLAYSCHOOL classes Book now to ensure that your precious child gets the highest quality & happiest pre-school experience possible! 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See Website Become a blood donor 1850 – 73 11 37 or 041 – 685 9994 John Healy, Area Organiser at our or www.giveblood.ie© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 32 Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisements Life Assurance Pensions Income Protection Investments Financial Planning Drumgoole Financial Services is regulated by The Central Bank of Ireland Oran Drumgoole QFA Phone 087 668 6624 Office 041 981 2080 oran@drumgoolebrokerage.ie www.drumgoolebrokerage.ie Family Protection for Cohabiting Couples. W hen structuring life assurance for cohabiting clients and their family, it is important to remember that cohabit- ants have no automatic rights to their de- ceased partner’s assets under the Succes- sion Act. So, if you are cohabiting and have no Will in place, the proceeds of a life assurance policy could end up in the hands of the deceased’s ‘next of kin’, their parents or even their brothers and sisters, if the ar- rangement is not structured correctly. With the possible exception of the family home, the total value of all assets passing between two people who are not married or civil partners, are liable to Inheritance and Gift Tax, regardless of how long the couple are living together. This includes the value of any life assurance benefits. If the beneficiary did not pay the premi- ums, or if the beneficiary is not the legal spouse or registered civil partner of the person who paid the premiums, the plan proceeds will be liable to Inheritance Tax. From a tax perspective ‘partners’ are treated as ‘strangers’ for Inheritance Tax purposes with a threshold of only €16,250 (currently) tax-free. The balance is cur- rently taxed at 33%. Where there are children of the current or a previous relationship there can be con- fusion over who the proceeds of the life assurance contract will be paid to, as well as how the proceeds will be taxed. For example, a new client recently asked me to set up a Life Assurance policy for her protection needs. This client is not married to her partner, but they have one child. They had initially received (bad) advice to set up a dual life Term Assur- ance plan along with their joint life Mort- gage Protection plan. In this instance, I recommended they each set up an individual Life Assurance policy on the other person (i.e. Life of Another) with the premiums being paid from their individual bank accounts. It may be slightly more expensive than a joint/dual policy, but they will potentially avoid a future tax bill of 33% as described above. In the event of death, who will receive the plan proceeds? The sum assured will automatically be paid to the policy owner in the event of the death of a partner. If both were to die during the term of the plans, the proceeds will go to the estate. In the case of my cli- ent, she will leave the entire estate to their son. 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Free Estimates, Fully Insured, Long Experience Local Tree Care Contact Jim 085 1234610-042 6030099 No Job Too Big or Too Small Special OAP Rates HEDGE TRIMMING & SHAPING. All Greenery chipped on site Driveway, Patio, Power-washed, Gutter cleaning Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisements© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 34 Castlehill Riding Club A s we begin to emerge post Covid-19 lockdown, some riding club activi- ties have resumed, with the members of Castlehill RC at the fore, engaging with club training. The Association of Irish Riding Clubs provided a training grant of €150 per club to encourage the resumption of activities, and the money was put to good use at the National Sports Arena in Blanchardstown recently. Members had the option of showjump- ing training with international SJ course builder Tom Holden, or dressage training with Emma Kieran. Some of our members combined the two, and feedback was in- credibly positive from all that participat- ed. Thanks to our trainers for imparting their knowledge, and complying with all covid-19 protocols. Huge thanks must also go to our resident (and regional) club H+S expert Sarah Mc- Kate Hutcheson and Dolmen de Klerk at our recent club training at the NSA© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 35 Nulty Malone, who has worked tirelessly to provide compliance officer training so club and regional events could be reestab- lished. Despite having a recent bereave- ment, Sarah has excelled herself to train members in creating risk assessments (amongst other things) to comply with the AIRC’s Covid protocols. Thanks Sarah! Also thanks to our club training commit- tee for organising the event. Some of our members attended the final two legs of the Spring Dressage League, run at Cheval Showgrounds, Jordans- town, Co. Dublin. Hosts Cheval RC did an exceptional job of implementing a “ride and go” policy, with distanced car parking and a one way system in place. At the 3 rd leg, club secretary Olivia Nolan and Bridgemount Esker Lily placed 4 th in the advanced primary class, Sarah Cas- sidy and Woodland Badger placed 4 th in the Intermediate class, and Lindsey ilona Brady and Trigger Joe placed 2 nd in the open class. At the final, Sarah Cassidy improved on her previous week’s score to take 1 st place in the intermediate class, and Lindsey ilona Brady placed 1 st in the open class, taking 2 nd place overall in the league. Well done girls! As more events are run, we ask our mem- bers to please remain vigilant in adhering to social distancing. We cannot wait to see you all out and about again soon. For more information, please “like” our page on FB or contact club secretary Ol- ivia on (086) 383 1802. Rose Hanratty and family at the recent club training at the NSA Anne Dickenson and Rocky in flying form at club training in the NSA Marie Ralph at the recent club training at the NSA© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 36 Club news W e are so happy to be back training albeit under a new normal. So hap- py to see all the teams back training. We are strictly adhering to guidelines to en- sure the safety of our players and coaches. We cant wait to be back in league action U14 girls Our u14 girls had their first outing on an eleven aside pitch last weekend and really enjoyed it. They are really excited about the season ahead. (Pic of team) Seniors news Our seniors return for a 10 th consecutive season this year, since our inaugural sea- son in the Amateur Football League in 2011/12. A lot has changed since then. We played C2 General Stamullen F.C. 5 full seasons in the Amateur Football League which brought two Runners-up league campaigns in our first two seasons. 2015/16 was our most successful sea- son to date, winning the league title by 5 points and also going on a run in the Leinster Shield and league cups. We currently have 4 full seasons played in the AUL and although we had some nota- ble performances, we still came up short each time. The team has changed over the years, but the core group remain. Every new season always brings a couple of new faces and also some old faces step away. This sea- son is no different: Davy Byrne, who has been at the helm since January 2018, has stepped down © August 2020 The Meath Coaster 37 as manager due to family and work com- mitments. Davy had a small squad of 16 players to work with in a difficult Divi- sion 1 league when he took over in Janu- ary 2018. He steered the ship and produced excel- lent performances in that season when the odds were against us. The following season, we rallied together with what we had along with a few new additions that saw us finish the league strong and most notably go on a fantastic Leinster Junior Shield run to the Quarter-Finals. Ivor Kelly has also stepped away from his playing and coaching duties due to fam- ily commitments. Kelly joined the club in September 2012, making his debut in a 1-0 victory at home to the eventual league winners that season, Pavee Utd. Along the way he picked up back to back play- ers' player of the year awards in 2014 and 2015 respectively. He was also part of our league success in 2016. His presence on and off the pitch will be greatly missed. These 2 men did so much behind the scenes for the seniors the past couple of seasons and we offer our sincere and utter thanks. It’s these kind of men that keeps teams running. Trev Dunphy is the last remaining veteran from our first season in 2011/12. He has now taken full responsibility of mana- gerial and coaching duties again, after actively being in that role from January 2015-June 2016. After Stamullen's league win as player/ manager, he was quoted saying that he "...can't bring this team any further!" and went in search of a manager that summer. It has now been a 4 year cycle that has come back to him. He also hopes to play in another player- manager role as he did before, but he will put the teams needs ahead of his own. Girls u14© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 38 There are some new faces in the squad for the upcoming season, along with our core group of 7 players that's been there since 2014. Some notable additions that have stayed the past couple of seasons too, bringing the squad total to 25 players for the sea- son. So there will be competition for posi- tions! With our seniors AUL league season start- ing in September, we now move forward and look towards the future. With that 1 league title in 2016, we hope to add some more silverware come seasons end, be- cause there's nothing better than winning some- thing with your mates and parading the trophy back to our main sponsors: Whytes of Stamullen Club Contact Details: Email - stamullenfc@gmail.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/stamullenfc Club Secretary Marcus Kelly – 0851477825 Website – www.stamullenfc.com §© August 2020 The Meath Coaster 39 Cilles Athletic Club www.cillesac.ie www.facebook.com/CillesAC T he B-5 has gone virtual this year and is supporting the Irish Hospice foun- dation and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. All profits on each individual entry will go to these two wonderful charities. We’d like to thank everyone who has supported the race in it’s new format. We’re going to extend the closing date by a week to Aug 7 th , it’s not too late to get your hands on one of our fabulous finishers medals and support our charities, all for the princely sum of €10. The Youth group all completed their Vir- tual B-5 this on Wed 29 th July and what an event it was. For some the challenge was getting around the course and setting a personal best, for others it was to im- prove on their previous best. Our plucky juveniles braved the elements and started out with the all important warm up. This counts as a training session for our youngsters but they threw themselves into it. There was some very impressive per- formances on display and can only say that the future is bright for our young club. Well done everyone and thanks to the army of volunteers for helping us with H&S. Well done to Graham, as always at the helm making sure things run smooth- ly. A special mention for our juvenile coach Sharon who put in a huge effort putting together goody bags for all our runners. Our juveniles are so dedicated, putting in training in all weathers, it was lovely to be able to give them an extra treat. Local business’s were very sup- portive of her efforts, we’d like to thank the following for their contributions : Next >