Exquisite event wear, colourful dresses, statement prints, and shoes and sandals to die for are just some of the tempting items from a wealth of gorgeous glamorous pieces.

Dare to dream of brighter days!

Escape into a more beautiful world and indulge yourself at La Crème.

See a selection of our feminine, flattering Spring/Summer collections at www.lacremeboutique.com.

A wonderful gem, when discovered, will never be forgotten

La Crème Boutique, Esmonde Street, Gorey, Co Wexford

T 053 94 80308

In addition, our librarian will not be replaced, with her hours taken over by not one, but three different librarians from neighbouring towns.

Rather than go gently into that bad night, a group of concerned people came up with a plan of action. I’m sharing them with you so that you may be able to use some of these actions should you need to lobby the powers that be about cuts to services in your area. This winning PR campaign got 100 people into a room with the county librarian and five public representatives.

• Decided on our outcomes – maintain opening hours and services
  Organised public information meeting
  Sent notes re cuts and meeting home via  school children in nine local schools
  Put notes re cuts and meeting in local magazines, church notes
  Devised template letter for parents, school principals, grandparents, readers, concerned locals to send to county councillors and TDs Put up posters in surrounding towns re public meeting
  Sent press releases to local newspapers and local radio stations
  Invited local press photographers to public meeting
  Set up Facebook page and event page re info meeting
  Sent letters to local authors inviting them to information evening
  Organised a petition to Wicklow County Council with target of 1000 names
  Asked National School children to produce drawings on what library means to them
  Organised door-to-door fliers about cuts and information meeting

A PR campaign is about numbers – attendees at an information meeting, volume of letters to the authorities, likes on a Facebook page, names on a petition, mentions in the local press, photographs in the local press.

Having the numbers means you can make noise. Noise makes your cause visible and vocal. And it may just produce the result you want.

It’s about waving, not drowning!

I have absolutely no interest in Operation Transformation, a programme where people are facilitated to lose weight. It’s a great idea, doing good work; I’m just not interested in it.

RTE has cross-promoted programmes between radio and television for years. And, in much the same way, people on social media are posting the same content on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. Not so much cross-promoting, as much as taking a confetti approach to social media marketing. If you throw the same coloured content in as many places as possible, some of it will land on the bride and groom.

For me, that leads to the ‘Hide’ button on Facebook, or the ‘Unfollow’ button on Twitter. No one wants to see the same content all over the place. It’s why we buy different newspapers – to get a different perspective on the news.

Place different content that adds value across the various social media you use. After all, if you lose your audience, what’s the point?

The feeling seems to be that Google+ allows for longer interactions than Twitter, making it more social.

And, because so many people already use Google as a search engine, or use Gmail for email, it may be easier for them to adapt to Google+ as it’s already there on your email.

As with all social media, on both a personal and business level, you must analyse what will work for you. How visible do you need to be? Where are your friends and business clients hanging out online? How much time can you give to all the different forms of social media? How much time should you give to social media marketing in your business.

Don’t be swayed by the crowd. However, it is important to be visible to your clients online, so one suggestion might be to find where most of your clients hang out online and put all your eggs in that basket.

Don’t forget to analyse your results. Are you getting a valid return on the investment of your time?

I’ve signed on for free daily digests of two daily newspapers – one Irish, and one UK – and have signed up for Facebook updates from a US daily newspaper. Why? It’s an experiment to see whether I can survive without the physical ‘feel’ of a newspaper, and still gain as much current affairs info as I need.

It’s a challenging time for newspapers and, as businesses, media companies must look at how people interact with newspapers – indeed, many buy a newspaper to fill in the crossword or Sudoku, with news as a secondary concern. Equally, many skip the business section altogether, or the sports section altogether, leaving whole pages unread because it’s not their area of interest.

And if you can customise your Google news page to show just Irish or international, health or showbiz, business or sports news, is there an argument for papers to fragment their offering into the bite-sizes that punters get online. Now, more than ever, the headline is the attention grabber, tempting the reader to click the story online or stay on the page in a print edition.

Whatever happens, my biggest surprise is how many people in my circle, who are interested in current affairs and are informed, rely on broadcast or online media for their information.

The interesting thing, in light of all these digital editions coming on stream, is which newspaper will be the first to stop offering a printed edition …

I’ve been doing very unscientific research recently amongst attendees at training courses, family and friends.

And no one whom I’ve asked buys a newspaper daily.

Some never buy newspapers at all, getting news from RSS feeds online, radio and television.

One couple I know, both newly retired, are reducing their newspaper buying because of the cost of newspapers. They’re going to experiment for one week with getting their news directly from newspaper websites – and then decide on what mix of print and online news they go forward with.

I don’t know of any under-30 year olds who buy newspapers with any regularity. And those in my own bracket -30-50 year olds – who were reared in households where a daily newspaper was as essential as bread and milk – are turning away from newspapers.

Why? Anecdotal evidence seems to point to people not having the time to read a whole newspaper every day. Others are tired of the negativity of headlines and coverage in the current climate. And others again have minimal interest in current affairs and find newspapers of no relevance to them.

Maybe I’m behind the curve in fully appreciating the fall-off in newspaper readership, but it’s a fascinating trend and worth watching in 2012.

Now, users will find it easier to find Mother of the Bride and Groom outfits, ultra glamorous event wear, shoes and accessories on the site, which will drive footfall to the boutique on Gorey’s Esmonde Street.

The site also contains style tips written by owner Marian McKenna, accumulated from years of experience in the fashion trade and taking account of each woman’s individual style, taste, body shape and personality.

Avail of their expertise, advice and assistance to make seasonal shopping a pleasure. All gifts beautifully wrapped and presented.

Gift vouchers available.

See our ultimate gift – a gift voucher you can buy online – at www.lacremeboutique.com.

After listening to client feedback over how long our email address was – @spellcheckeditorial.com – we decided to bite the bullet and go for a cleaner, sharper email and website address – SpellCheck.ie.

The new name also reflects how our business has changed. Over the years, our work has included more than just the printed word – we now also offer training in communications, public relations, social media. And we act as PR consultant to a number of clients.

So, for editing – of website content, reports, magazines, newsletters – as well as training and PR, give us a shout at SpellCheck.ie.

Thanks a million to Clodagh Wiley at Wiley Design for all her help in making the new name a reality!

At the official opening in early November, Gorey Chamber president Marian McKenna noted how the two men have known each other since their childhoods in Wexford town. Eric McGuire also worked in picture framing after school while Sean Kenny worked in Masterpiece picture framing in Wexford town with his two brothers.

In the Gorey outlet, pictures can be framed in a range of woods from ash, to beech, walnut, mahogany and more. “Frames can be hand finished to your own specific requirements, to fit in with colours in a room, for instance,” said Sean. Everything from a Communion picture to a football, from children’s art to a signed sports jersey can be framed to suit the buyer’s taste and budget, with plenty of ideas for Christmas gifts.

Sean Kenny himself is no stranger to the arts scene. “My father, Pat, is a photographer and Eric and I have wanted to do something like this for years,” he said. Pat Kenny is a respected photographer of panoramic landscapes across the South East and some of his works are on display in The Gas Lamp Gallery.

“We sell fine art prints from Irish and international artists, such as Mary Anne Rogers and Sue Howells,” said Eric McGuire. “We’d like to become key players in Gorey’s art scene and display local art works and encourage local artists.”

The Gas Lamp Gallery, just two doors down from The Coach House pub, takes its name from an original 1800s gas lamp from Dublin’s Phoenix Park which frames the entrance to the gallery.