The basis behind the scheme is to allow you to rent a car for a couple of hours at a time. Owning and maintaining your own car for occasional use can be very expensive, and hiring a car by the day for a simple errand is a bit over-the-top. And so, this service lets you hire a car by the hour.

The cars are positioned around the city, and you can check online when they’re free, and book one for the time you need. Then swipe your smartcard at the car, and you’re away - and they automatically bill you for the time/distance you use at the end of the month.

It’s ideal for the odd trip to an out-of-town shopping mall, or for a visit to friends across town - and like I said, it’s much less expensive and hassle-free than owning your own car!

I live so near to work now that I’ve slipped into the habit of leaving the bike at home most days. When you add in all the time it takes to walk to the bike shed and unlock, and then re-lock at the other end, a bike ride only really saves me a couple of minutes. And the bonus when I walk is that I can listen to music - which is much too dangerous a practice when cycling on the Dublin roads!

However, I really must make the effort to use the bike more. I used to ride it every day, come rain or shine, but that’s fallen to about two days a week now.

I recently went on to the Adobe web site to upgrade my version of Photoshop Elements. I was attracted by a discount listed in the Adobe web store that would give me about 20% off the price. And so I went ahead and ordered the upgrade. However I didn’t notice at the time that I was being charged full price.

I contacted Adobe support to say that I had been overcharged, and the support rep I talked to even confirmed that the web store was showing a discount. But he said he would have to refer the issue up to his manager, and that they would be in contact.

I heard nothing for a couple of days, and then today got an email saying that my support call has been closed. They say that no discount exists, and that I’ve been charged the correct price. And wouldn’t you know it, if I check the store now, there’s no mention of the discount - and I didn’t keep any evidence of the discounted price.

And so I’ve been conned by a big corporation, and I can’t do anything about it.

The choir meets on Tuesdays (5.00-6.45) and Wednesdays (4.45-6.45) during term time. The Girls’ Choir sings the service of evensong in the Cathedral every week. In addition, choir members are offered:

• individual singing lessons
• help to improve their sight-reading, aural and musicianship skills
• the opportunity to perform alongside the Cathedral Choir in services and concerts
• tours in Ireland and Europe
• the chance to work towards the Voice for Life Award Scheme, run by the Royal School of Church Music

Membership of the choir is free; tours and awards are subsidised by the Cathedral. New members should be enthusiastic and committed to the choir, and able to attend regularly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Entry is by a short audition with the choir’s director, Rosemary Beecher Bryant.

Prospective members and their parents are invited to attend an open rehearsal and service on Wednesday 19th January 2011, at 4.45-7.00. The timetable of the evening is as follows:

4.45 Prospective members rehearse with the current choir upstairs in the Chapter House; parents are welcome to observe
5.00 The choir moves down to the Cathedral to rehearse with the Choral Scholars
5.45 Break
6.00 Evensong service
6.40 Parents’ question and answer session; opportunity to arrange auditions

If you would like to attend, please email Rosemary Beecher Bryant, or call 085 7424722 to book a place.

I can’t help but think that, if we didn’t start Christmas in september, then we might all be able to enjoy the full 12 days of Christmas, instead of just the first.

So I read that new gloves might help relieve the pressure, and so ordered some Chiba Comfort Gel Mitts. I've been using them for about a week now, and the difference is huge. I haven't done any long rides yet (about the longest so far was about 5km) this week, but I can tell that the new gloves are really helping. There's no sign of numbness, and the pain in my palms is much reduced.

Of course I've also read that hand pain can also be caused by a badly adjusted bike seat, so I may have to talk to the folks in my local bike shop to get some advice on how to change it.

A couple of months ago I switched my current account to a new bank, and as part of the switching process the old bank notifies every company that takes a direct debit from me of the new account details. Now for every other company I deal with this worked fine. They received the details, changed the direct debit mandate, and took payment from my new account. But not UPC it seems.

The usual April payment didn't come out of my account, but I was reassured by a text message form UPC saying that a double payment would instead be taken from my account in May. So I naturally thought they have received the new account details, but hadn't managed to set them up in time for the April billing cycle. And so I waited. But then I got another text message a couple of days ago saying that I need to update my Direct Debit details online. So I dutifully logon, and give them the same details as supplied about a month ago.

But then I get a phone call this morning from the UPC credit control department, demanding immediate payment over the phone. They say that there's no Direct Debit set up on my account, and that they will not set it up until I pay not only the April payment, but the May payment too (which isn't even due yet). I ask them to simply collect this money by Direct Debit as per their original text, but they refuse to do so, saying that they can only set up Direct Debit mandates for accounts that have a zero balance. And they refuse to acknowledge they they've messed up at all. In their eyes it's all my fault that the April's Direct Debit was rejected, and further that I should have been in touch to rectify the situation, despite the reassuring text message suggesting that it's all in hand.

So anyway, I eventually agreed to settle the balance owed over the phone, and gave them my card details - only to be told that they don't accept Visa Debit card. I must provide either a Credit Card or Laser card for payments over the phone. But they do tell me I can pay by Visa Debit online, although I should select 'Laser' when I make the payment - but this turns out to be a lie, as they don't accept Visa Debit online either.

The bank are also withdrawing entirely from retail banking, so that all customers of the Halifax will need to move their current accounts, savings accounts and credit cards to alternative banks by the end of May 2009. All branches of the Halifax will also close. Mortgage customers can maintain their home loan until it is paid off if they want, but no new loans will be offered.

Situated on the Phibsborough Road D7, they are a community project that takes donated old bikes (as well as abandoned bikes from around the city) and renovates them in their workshop; selling them on second-hand at a very reasonable price.

I really love the concept, because it promotes recycling and reuse, sustainable transport, and community-based education.

I just wish my new bike would hurry up and arrive in the shop, so that I can donate my existing ride to the project.

St Ann’s employs a professional chamber choir to sing it’s Sunday morning service. The choir sings a broad repertoire of traditional Anglican church music at the alternating Eucharist and Matins services on Sundays at 10.45am.

Ideal candidates will have experience of singing in a church choir, have a committed attitude towards the choir, have good sight-reading ability, and a voice that blends well in a small ensemble.

Auditions will take place on the afternoon of Sunday 21st March. Please contact the Director of Music, Charles Marshall, for details of the audition process and renumeration level.

Email: tcmcharlie@gmail.com Phone: 087 975 2017

• Praetorius-Sandstrom - Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
• Tavener - The Lamb / God Is With Us
• Poston - Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
• Lauridsen - O Magnum Mysterium
• Maxwell Davies - O Magnum Mysterium

The concert will take place on Saturday 12th December at 8pm in the Pro-Cathedral Marlborough Street. Tickets are priced at €15 / €10 concessions. Tickets are available at the door.

• Cycling in Dublin - City of Dublin cycling portal, with bike route maps and a facility to suggest and vote for new cycle parking stands.
• Dublin Bikes - the bike sharing scheme with 40 rental stations around the city centre.
• Dublin Cycling Campaign - representing the interests of everyday cyclists.
• National Bike Week - which ran from 14-21st June 2009, and organised a load of biking events,
• Smarter Travel - Department of Transport site outlining sustainable transport plans, including the National Cycle Policy Framework.
• Bike to Work - details of the government’s tax-efficient scheme allowing staff to purchase new bikes for commuting to work through their employer.

And so, when there was a knock on the door earlier today, I assumed it must be one of our neighbours. But no - it was a salesman - and he must have persuaded one of the other residents to let him in. I've flatly refused to let other salespeople into the apartments in the past, as I hate the concept of being doorstepped with a hard sell.

Anyway, so this guy was from Airtricity, and he was trying to persuade me to switch electricity suppliers to them. He asked if I had a recent electricity bill that I could show them, and he would explain how much money I could save. I declined, but he kept talking, trying to persuade me to play along - reminding me why I hate this kind of selling.

The thing is, I'd been considering moving my supply to Airtricity anyway, as they have the cheapest prices on the market at the moment, and are a good way for eco-agnostics like myself to feel a bit better about saving the planet, without any of the down sides of being properly green (such as putting in any effort). I even had the company's website loaded up on one of my browser tabs. But this recent visitation has put me right off the company, and I may well end up going with Bord Gais instead, just on principal.

On my ride home from work today I heard a distinctly loud clunk, and stopped to find that the rear wheel was way out of line and rubbing against the brakes and frame. And at first thought, I guessed it must be a broken spoke or two, but I checked them and they all seemed fine. So I looked a bit more, and eventually spotted the wheel axle itself was broken. A disc of metal had broken off, and all this lubricant stuff was leaking out, and you could see the ball bearings popping out.

It’s yet another repair that I have to deal with. The bike itself was pretty cheap - but with the amount of money I’ve spent on it since then, replacing and repairing various bit, I’ve probably doubled the original outlay. And there’s only so long that I’ll be prepared to throw good money after bad.

I had been pondering the idea of a new bike for a few of weeks anyway, and I guess today’s problem is helping to focus my mind. I have an idea about the kind of bike I want to get, and I’m rather hoping that my employer with embrace the Irish government’s Bike to Work tax-efficient scheme, as it would give me a significant discount.

And until I decide whether to go for a new bike, I’m rather loathed to get the old one fixed. After all, I sense this repair might cost a few quid, and if I then tried to sell the bike on second-hand, I doubt that I’d get that money back. And so, I guess I’m back to being a pedestrian again for a few days.