Santiago Sebastian
November 14th, 2022

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Phelim is the fella with the brownish-reddish hair on the right

Few would disagree that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were ‘Far and Away’ the least convincing Irish-speaking couple in Hollywood history, although neither could match the sheer fallacy of Tommy Lee Jones’s effort in the lamentable thriller ‘Blown Away’. To be sure, it was appalling.

But how easy is it to nail the accent? One Copenhagen shopkeeper, himself from the Emerald Isle, is challenging punters to enter his premises on Saturday November 26 between 10:00 and 18:00 and prove they can pass muster as an Irishman.

Convince Phelim McCabe, the owner of Molecule Clothing on Elmegade in Nørrebro, that you’re Irish and he’ll give you a 20 percent discount on anything you purchase!

Scent of whiskey
To be fair, accents aren’t the only giveaway you’re not Irish, so make sure you look the part.

While a brownish-red wig and freckles might be overdoing it, the least you can do is wear a bit of green. And a little scent of Guinness or whiskey can help too.

Talking of which, whether they convince McCabe or not, all visitors to the shop on that Saturday will be entered into a prize draw for a bottle of whiskey.

All saunas closed at Copenhagen swimming pools
Since Monday 7 November, all saunas at Copenhagen’s city swimming pools have been closed. At the same time, the use of ceramic cookers in the city is restricted, and the lighting on artificial turf pitches is dimmed to the minimum requirements of the DBU. The measures are temporary. The Culture and Leisure Administration is closely monitoring developments to ensure that the measures are not in place for longer than necessary.

Capital’s toilets more clean than they are dirty
Copenhagen has the 11th most hygienic toilets among all the capital cities in Europe, according to UK bathroom supplier Showers to You. Helsinki topped the list, followed by Luxembourg, Vaduz, Dublin and Ljubljana. The bottom five, in ascending order, were Berlin, London, Athens, Tallinn and Lisbon. The results were based on Google ratings in which the number of words synonymous with ‘dirty’ and ‘clean’ were counted.

City Hall finally celebrate Queen’s birthday
Following a postponement due to the death of British Queen Elizabeth II, the City Hall celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Queen were finally held on Saturday 12 November. Prior to the City Hall event, which started at 13:00, the Queen toured Copenhagen by carriage accompanied by the Cavalry Squadron of Gardehusarregimentet. 

Capital kids continue to perform above the national average
When 9th graders in Copenhagen – children aged 15 to 16 – finish public school, they leave with an average points total 0.2 higher than the Danish average. It is especially in spoken Danish and spoken English that pupils in the capital perform better. The 2022 results reveal that Copenhageners maintained or improved their performance from the previous year, but the rest of the country suffered a slight drop. 

Copenhagen Airport back on song
Copenhagen Airports, the parent company of the city airport, has declared a pre-tax profit of 234 million kroner off revenue of 1.071 billion for the third quarter of 2022. The result soaked up the losses of the first half of the year to put Copenhagen Airports in the black to the tune of 221 million for the first nine months of the year, during which time 16.4 million passengers used the airport – around 70 percent of the 23.3 million who used it during the first nine months of 2019.

Environmental zone in central Copenhagen looking likely soon
Subject to necessary clearance from the authorities, diesel-powered vehicles without particulate filters will be barred from entering the centre of Copenhagen from October 2023 onwards. The environmental zone could then be extended to the part of Amager located in Copenhagen Municipality by mid-2024.

Politicians turn their backs on squirrels in Fælledparken
During the pandemic, a large number of local people got together to look after the welfare of squirrels in Fælledparken. Feeding stations were built without permission, and pathways linking trees were also established in Egernskoven. However, despite the support of 7,600 signatures, politicians have decided to rip down the structures. Concerns have been aired that the feeding stations attracted rats.

Roskilde district wins award for integrating music into urban planning
Roskilde’s Musicon district has won an international award for integrating music into urban planning – mainly for its organisation of the Roskilde Festival and Ragnarock, a local museum dedicated to music.