"The figure of €350,000 was a little bit of a sales pitch to my wife"

Dermot Bannon returned to our screens on Sunday night with the first episode of his highly anticipated two-part show Room to Improve: Dermot's Home - and it did not disappoint!

For a man who is usually so "on it", the window-loving designer shocked viewers with his indecisiveness and  miscalculation of the budget by half:

Every previous person who has been on #roomtoimprove listening to Dermot admit that entire walls of windows isn't the best idea pic.twitter.com/UR9pMvoWme

— Ross Of Tralee (@RossMcMahon__) January 5, 2020

The most expensive builds in Irish history:

1. Dermot Bannon's House.

2. The National Children's Hospital.

3. The room in the Dail where the keep the printer.#roomtoimprove

— Caolán Mc Aree (@Caolanmcaree) January 5, 2020

Daniel O Donnell when Dermot hears how much his own house will cost #roomtoimprove pic.twitter.com/TOCl1rHblt

— Carly Killen (@carly_killen) January 5, 2020

Speaking on Today FM's Dermot and Dave, Bannon reveals his budget to be a bit of a white lie; "the figure of €350,000 was a little bit of a sales pitch to my wife".

But he does admit that his uncertainties were very real, saying; "I had to find out what I liked and I did that in the middle of the programme":

It’s Wednesday, and you know what Wednesday means - it’s time to Say Stuff That Suits The Music!

Dave plays the tracks and Dermot says whatever comes into his head.

Today's improv masterclass features a brand new electric vehicle concept from Lexus, the lazy pooper scooper song, an out of sorts Leo Varadkar and former RTÉ newsreader Bryan Dobson on the raz.

Check out the fun in full by pressing the play button on screen.

 

"I always thought there was more that we hadn't heard of Larry Gogan. He had an amazing personality and sense of humour"

The sad news of Larry Gogan's death came into Today FM headquarters @8am this morning, news that saddened us, our listeners - the whole country in fact.

But for Breakfast Show host Ian Dempsey, Larry's passing was a lot more personal, and shocked him when reading about it live on air.

Iano joined Dermot and Dave to reminisce on his days spent with Larry in RTÉ, where they worked side-by-side for a time.

he used to target younger broadcasters who he thought had a bit of potential and he tried to help them along. He was never jealous of anybody

When asked why he felt Gogan stood the test of time in broadcasting, Ian's answer was simple; "He never tried to go off in another direction. I always thought there was more that we hadn't heard of Larry Gogan. He had an amazing personality and sense of humour".

Dempsey also chats about the last time he met Larry, less than a week ago in Kiltipper, describing him as "so together" and in fine storytelling form.

Check out the chat in full by pressing the play button on screen.

We remember Larry

With tens of thousands of homeowners paying over-the-top on their mortgages, expert Martina Hennessy explains how we can save €3,500, on average, each year and chop up to 6 years off the repayment

Ah the good aul mortgage; the 25/30 year financial noose that we could all do without. But unless your numbers have come up in the lotto, you'll have to keep chipping away at it.

Martina Hennessy, Managing Director of mortgage switching platform Doddl.ie, chats to Dermot and Dave about the simple ways Irish homeowners can make the switch and explains why shopping around is extremely worthwhile.

It's far less complex than you think and is obviously a growing trend going by this stat from Martina; "in the past four years, mortgage holders switching has trebled".

She also examines the age-old 'fixed rate vs variable rate' debate and answers listeners' questions re. tracker mortgages, financial circumstances changing, rental properties etc.

Catch Martina's valuable information in full by pressing the play button on screen. 

 

Rapid fire fun

On Tuesdays, Dave teams up with our listeners to bring you some of the best (and worst) jokes you'll have heard in a while.

In fairness, there are some crackers in here, but we'll let ye be the judge of that.

Check out the fun in full by pressing the play button on screen.

 

And explains how you can get involved

Swing Clubs have been popular among promiscuous lovers worldwide since the early 60's, but to be honest, we didn't think Ireland would still be swinging along in 2020. How wrong we were.

With the topic coming up in conversation on a recent show, Today FM's Dermot and Dave wanted to learn more about this secretive sexual encounters and were given exclusive insight via long-time swinger Derek.

The Waterford man has been engaging in this super-friendly (like reeeaaaalllly friendly) social activity for over 25 years all thanks to a Dutch couple he and his missus met in Gran Canaria back in the 90's.

Derek describes how their first party went saying; "the Mrs saw a guy and he had the biggest thing ya ever saw in your life...and I was looking at a German girl".

He continues to explain how active Irish swinging site fabswingers.com is today and outlines the rules of the members only club;

No under 25's and it's couples only. They have to be verified

To help get a woman's perspective, listener Caroline chats to the lads about her thirteen year experience, describing it as a "very clean" community full of like-minded people, and reveals that getting drunk is frowned upon. Safety is paramount.

every swinger has a set of rules

Keys in a bowl anyone??

 

Check out Derek & Caroline's chats in full by pressing the play button on screen. 

 

In what was yet another action-packed weekend of sport, Offtheball.com & Today FM Sport's Phil Egan chats about Kilcoo's historic win over Ballyboden in the GAA Senior Club Championship semi-final, Liverpool's whiz-kid Curtis Jones and red alert over at Munster Rugby.

Catch the chat in full by pressing the play button on screen.

The results speak for themselves

New Finnish Prime Minister, Sanna Marin has delighted the people of Finland by announcing her plans to introduce a four-day working week and six-hour shifts, saying; "I believe people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture".

With this in mind, Today FM's Dermot and Dave wanted to talk to an Irish company that adopted a similar approach in 2019.

The ICE Group, a recruitment and training company in Galway, started to trial the four-day week last July and the results have been extremely positive.

ICE Group HR Manager Breann McGarry chats to the lads about how revolutionary the past six months have been.

Listen in full by pressing the play button on screen. 

 

The best of the box

Dermot and Dave producer Maria Devereux is a walking TV guide, who loves telling us what's hot on the telly.

Here's what Maz reckons we should be watching this week:

The 2020 Annual Golden Globe Awards - Tonight (Monday) RTÉ Two @9:30pm

Didn't feel like staying up til crazy o'clock to watch the prestigious event live? Well fear not, RTÉ have all the highlights from 77th ceremony hosted by an on-fire Ricky Gervais. It's a feast for the eyes!

 

Midsomer Murders - Tonight @8:30pm on UTV

You may not be a fan of this English detective drama but our Maria (who loves it) feels we all need to watch tonight to witness Kelly Brook's cameo appearance. The busty beauty plays the role of a bride who is murdered using her own corset.

 

The Style Counsellors - Tuesday @8:30pm on RTÉ One

Episode 1 of a new series that sees insta-famous fashion bloggers Eileen "Eileen Style Queen" Smith  and Suzanne "SoSueMe" Jackson help people get their groove back with a new wardrobe.

 

First Dates Ireland - Thursday @9:30pm on RTÉ 2

The smash-hit series is back with Maitre D' Mateo welcoming a new batch of love-seeking singletons into the restaurant, including the oldest yet - 81-year-old Michael.

 

Movie of the Week

Get Out - Thursday @9pm on Film4

Oscar-winning psychological thriller written and directed by Jordan Peele. After African American photographer Chris and his white girlfriend Rose visit her wealthy parents, he suspects there's more to the locals than meets the eye:

Check out Maria's recommendations in full by pressing the play button on screen.

 

Parents also need to learn how to control their own digital habits and behaviours

Christmas may be over, but the truth is that most of us are still a bit all over the place after the festivities - especially children.

It's hard to expect youngsters to go cold turkey (excuse the pun) on their devices after being given more time on them over the past couple of weeks - so a plan of action is needed.

Speaking on Today FM's Dermot and Dave, Digital Wellness Consultant Carrie Budds has some very useful tips and resources that can help parents with this issue.

Carrie recommends parents set boundaries well in advance of holidays whilst also keeping up to date with the apps their children are using.

we're at a stage now where the young generation are teaching the older generation, which is a really unusual scenario

She also feels it is important for adults to explain to their kids why they are monitoring the devices; as it's for their safety - and that parents should practice what they preach.

Here are some of the resources Carrie shared on her Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Some useful resources for helping demystify screen time, gaming and on-device habits for your kids. Tech isn't bad in and if itself, lots of kids can benefit from it. They just need support in helping them to figure out how to use it the right way #backtoschool #screentime #digitalparenting

A post shared by Carrie Budds (@quokkawellness) on Jan 6, 2020 at 2:58am PST

Check out the chat in full by pressing the play button on screen.