There's nowt like holy matrimony to tear friends and family apart, a fact all too apparent at the Hitch, Times Online's wedding section. Gaze in horror at the grievous crimes bridezillas have inflicted on their innocent bridesmaids, Andrex pink hues being the most common one. Marvel at the proof of the equation that slim girl + bitch bride = fat dress. There are also master classes for brides-to-be on suppressing their innerwags; tips on how to have eco-friendly nuptials and on everything from how to deal with the emotional fall outs of weddings, to what to do if you fear your partner is going to get trollied on the day.

Check it out at www. timesonline. co. uk.

THE MAIN COURSE Since it opened a year ago, Poulot's in Mulberry Garden, Donnybrook, Co Dublin, has been charming its diners with its generous-portions dishes made from the finest Irish ingredients. Chef Jean-Michel Poulot (formerly of the Morrison Hotel's Halo restaurant) and his wife Lorna Jean have now decided to introduce a series of cookery and wine courses starting this month. Running over five weeks, Jean-Michel will teach the elements necessary to create a special meal and LornaJean instructs in the wines most suitable for each dish. Each session, which is followed by a light lunch, lasts between four and four and a half hours and costs 1,000 per person. The duo are also running a six-week Wine Appreciation Course (three hours per session) which costs 300 per person. Contact Lorna Jean in Poulots Restaurant at 01-2693300, or visit www. poulots. ie.

EGGS-ISE It being Easter Sunday, one really should park consumer lust for one day. But that's easier said than done, looking at some of the deals on offer this weekend at Meadows and Byrne's stores in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Bunratty and Carrick-on-Suir.

Here, you can prettify your garden thanks to some 50% off some furniture ranges, including Tosca; 10% off Weber Barbeques and 50% off selected serving platters and glass ware. There's also 50% off all Easter eggs, but we're not sure that after today, we can ever face chocolate again. Call call 1850 21 0000 or visit www. meadowsandbyrne. com.

BOOK BALM Poet Seamus Heaney, artist Sean Scully and broadcaster Joe Duffy are just some of the contributors to a new book about grief, Irish Stories of Hope and Loss. This collection of stories, poetry and art from the Irish Hospice Foundation is intended as a resource for bereaved people (30,000 people die each year in Ireland and each death affects at least 10 people), demonstrating how grief affects everyone differently and offering suggestions and comfort for the healing process. Costing 5, it's available from Dubray Books and the IHF.

TOP TRAINER We're over white Converse, preferred foot attire of hipsters and now almost disgustingly common. This summer we will mostly be wearing the EC1, a trainer collaboration between Adidas and shoe store Office, with creative influences from Stella McCartney. Simple, stylish and functional, they're future classics.

Especially hot is this mocha pair. Price 80.

BUY IT THIS WEEK There are very few things in life that can't be resolved by a nice cup of tea and a sit down. These little beauties demand slices of lemon, pink wafer biscuits and a crooked little finger.

Set of four cups and saucers, 61.95, from Absolutely Fabulous, Beechmount Industrial Estate, Navan, Co Meath;
tel: 046 9074441.

HIGH ART The next time you're passing Dublin pub Thomas Read on the corner of Parliament and Dame Street, look up.

What appear to be Warhol prints displayed in the windows are in fact portraits of instrumental people in the creation of the Irish republic.

Pearse, Plunkett, de Valera and Gonne are some of the instantly recognisable faces of the 68 that make up the installation, called Something To Live by Gerard Mannix Flynn.

Illuminated by night, it's a truly spectacular sight.

CAN YOU HANDEL IT?

Handel's 'Messiah' is still one of the most joyous, rousing pieces of religious music to have ever been written and the fact that it was first performed on Dublin's Fishamble St in 1742 gives us a particular affinity for it.

This Friday, there's an outdoor performance of 'Messiah' given by Our Lady's Choral Society and the National Sinfonia, conducted by Prionnsias O Duinn.

It takes place in Fishamble Street, Temple Bar on 13 Friday April at 1pm and audience participation is practically demanded, particularly during the Hallelujah Chorus.