Document

� METRO Monday, January 26, 2009 D

Portrait of Darwinas a young manA SCULPTOR says he is trying tochange the popular image ofnaturalist Charles Darwin. AnthonySmith is creating a statue showingDarwin as a young man rather than a‘wizened, Victorian gentleman withhollowed eyes and a long whitebeard.’ The statue is due to beunveiled on February 12, thebicentenary of Darwin’s birth. ‘Iwould like people to think aboutDarwin afresh when they see thestatue,’ said Mr Smith.

Youthful:CharlesDarwin

Old tarts on showAN EXHIBITION featuring theworld’s oldest jam tarts has openedin Bristol, UK. The 1,300-year-oldpastries are part of a British Museumshow that charts 3,000 years ofChinese history and culture.

Englandrugbyinternationalwinger PaulSackey ashe appearsin the latestPoweradeInnerGearcampaign,which hopesto illustratethat whatplayers putinside theirbodies andhow theyprepare isjust asimportant astheir ‘outer’sports gear

Picture: PA

ON A WINGER AND A PRAYER

WhAt Is URbAN lIfE All AbOUt?Urban Life is Metro’s innovative study of‘Urbanites’ – young, full-time workingprofessionals in Greater Dublin. Every year weresearch the opinions of 2,000 Metro readers,asking for their views on everything fromcurrent affairs to must-see movies.

n What do I get out of it?We’re giving away €27,000 in prizes –hundreds of cinema goodies worth €35 and€1,000 in cash after each survey. If youcomplete five or more of our six surveys, you

will be entered into our €3,000 prize draw.

n What’s involved?The survey is sent to Urban Life membersevery six to eight weeks. All surveys are onlineand only take 15 minutes.

n Sign me up nowVisit www.myurbanlife.ie/join or FREE TEXT to50400. Text TNS (space) first name (space) e-mail address to register your interest in takingpart.

Most planning tosave more in ’09A WISE old economist once said ‘the art isnot in making money, but in keeping it’. Heobviously never had to hand over €6 for a pintof beer.The country’s financial situation has

changed in the past six months, however,transforming former credit and debit cardabusers into serious savers.Metro recently asked its panel of Urbanites

– young professionals working in Dublin –how they handle their cash.Half said that they plan their outgoings but

sometimes stray, whereas a sensible 45 percent claimed that they watch their spendinghabits.And what if they were given a €20,000 lump

sum?More than 38 per cent would pay off their

debts; almost 16 per cent claimed they wouldinvest it in a long-term savings plan, while15.3 per cent would opt for a short-term in-

vestment. The majority of respondents havecurrent accounts (96.6 per cent), savings ac-counts (72.8 per cent) and debit (70.1 percent) and credit cards (77.1 per cent). Some35.6 per cent have mortgages.The country’s two main banks AIB (38.2

per cent) and Bank of Ireland (30.8 per cent)hold most of the respondents’ savings.But setting money aside for a rainy day can

be difficult, Urbanites complain.A significant number (53.8 per cent) say it’s

a tall order with just one-third of respondentsclaiming it’s relatively easy.Despite the hardship, 62.4 per cent plan to

save more cash in the coming year, while 30per cent intend to ensure their finances remainthe same.The survey also revealed people are slow to

leave their bank – even if they could get bettervalue for money elsewhere.When asked if they would ever switch their

savings accounts to get a better interest rate, aresounding 63.8 per cent said no.In addition, this recession’s new breed of

armchair economists want to keep up-to-datewith the country’s changing finances.Forty one per cent get their business and

banking information from Metro, with 37.7per cent citing the Irish Times as their sourceof financial news.In addition, a recent poll carried out by the

Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ire-land (IAPI) showed Metro is widely read bythe business sector, with a 13 per cent reader-ship ranking – one per cent ahead of the Fi-nancial Times.

Takingcare:Spendthriftdays areover asUrbanitesplan tosave more

Two gongs forTroubles filmA DRAMA set in Northern Ireland has won twomajor awards at the Sundance Film Festival.Oliver Hirschbiegel was given the festival’s WorldCinema award for Best Director for Five MinutesOf Heaven, which took a second prize for itsscreenwriter, Guy Hibbert. Dublin-based ElementPictures will release the film in Ireland in March.The film dramatises the story of Alistair Little, ayoung Ulster Volunteer Force member who spent12 years in prison for the murder of Jim Griffin, a19-year-old Catholic, in Lurgan in 1975. Thevictim’s 11-year-old brother Joe was a witness.Most of the drama takes place during an attemptedreconciliation 33 years after the killing. LiamNeeson, who is from Ballymena, plays AlistairLittle as an adult, with Coleraine native JamesNesbitt as the grown-up Joe Griffin. Mr Hibbertsaid that his fictionalised screenplay for FiveMinutes Of Heaven tells ‘the story of two realpeople who stand up and say it the way it is’.