"THE RECESSION MUST be biting," a fellow diner said to be me as we sat down in MacNean House and Restaurant in Blacklion, Co Cavan. "Neven's waiting list is down to six months."

This kind of thing embarrasses Neven Maguire. He's a modest fellow. And it makes it sound very hard to get a table. "There are always cancellations," he says. "People should never be afraid to give us a ring and see what we have. We're great at phoning back. But it's true that we do fill up pretty quickly."

Well, there are lots of reasons for that. The border village of Blacklion - stagger on a few yards more and you're in Fermanagh - and its hinterland is not exactly peppered with serious restaurants. 

But the key reason is Neven Maguire's cooking. The meal that marked the launch of his new book and the accompanying TV series (which started on RTE in February 2008) was, quite simply, one of the best I have ever eaten. It was a whirl of culinary brilliance, a combination of deep understanding of the raw materials, of invention and restraint. Neven Maguire is not a good chef. He's a great one.

Once again the friends of Curratavey School are holding our annual walk. This year its on Sunday, August 2nd (Blessing of the Graves Sunday)

Meeting point is Glan Hall at 3 30 pm. As usual everyone is very welcome to come along and walk will go ahead regardless of the weather.

All are welcome to music session in Glan Bar later on that Sunday evening.