Andrea McVeigh's Blog

There's an abundance of brilliant, talented people in Northern Ireland, as I found out recently when I was asked to be one of the judges for Ulster Tatler's own People of the Year awards.
This is the inaugural year of the awards ceremony, which is being held in association with House of Fraser, and which has been launched to celebrate and reward inspirational local people - of which there are many!
From sportsmen to chefs, businessmen to brides, there are numerous categories on offer - I was on the panel of judges for two of them - and the consensus among the judges was that everyone who had made it onto the shortlist deserves a prize.
Unfortunately, there can only be one winner in each category but I know that I, along with the rest of the judges, had a hard time debating the merits of each nominee.
The beauty of the awards, which will be handed out in Belfast's Waterfront Hall in September, is that it was down to Ulster Tatler's own readers to send in their nominees, so this really is an awards ceremony 'for the people'.
There's no award for 'recently launched online women's magazines in Northern Ireland', but if there was, Katrina Doran and Niamh Larkin would be up for a trophy.
They're the two local women behind www.sugahfix.com, which bills itself as a guide to life and style in Belfast and beyond. They also recently celebrated the site's one millionth hit, just three months after launching it online, and they're thrilled that local women are logging on to find out the latest fashion, shopping, beauty, travel, style spotting and entertainment news.
Sugahfix was responsible for the recent poll that gained so much attention in the Press, in which UTV's own silver fox Frank Mitchell was in the top three of the most attractive grey-haired men in the world, as voted for by Sugahfix readers, after George Clooney and James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. Katrina and Niamh are another shining example of the wealth of talent we have here in the province.
I must confess to especially liking the travel section of Sugahfix.com - because I contribute to it! And, being the inveterate traveller that I am, I'm currently planning my Christmas getaway. I know it seems like Christmas is a long-time away, but there are actually only around four months to go until the big day, and those months will fly by!
My hubby and I try to get away every year at Christmas because there's nothing like spending the festive season soaking up a different culture - in the past we've eaten noodles in Tokyo on 25 December and counted down to New Year's Day in San Francisco, and loved every minute of it.
This year we hope to spend Christmas Day onboard one of the fabulous Star Clipper tall sailing ships on a cruise around the islands of Tahiti. Sounds fabulous doesn’t it! In fact, it almost sounds too good to be true, but when we looked into it, it proved to be very accessible, once you fly to LA, all you have to do is head on to Tahiti (not exactly a hardship!), where the Star Clipper ship sails from.
We've been on Star Clipper ships before and loved the fact that they're more intimate than those mega-ships that carry thousands of people and the prospect of spending Christmas Day onboard a masted clipper ship in one of the most beautiful areas on earth was one we couldn’t resist. Apparently, the cruise is popular with honeymooners, but since I'm already spliced, we'll turn it into a second honeymoon!
Now that summer is almost over, there are more and more fab events taking place locally including the re-launch of the recently-refurbished Canvas gallery on Belfast's Stranmillis Road. Another date in the diary will be Belfast Fashionweek this Autumn, during which time local fashionistas will be out in force to see the best examples of local, national and international style. With the gloomy recent weather and horrendous flooding affecting everyone's mood, it's something glamorous and stylish to look forward to during the weeks ahead!