To Boldly Google

Our daughter's education has now begun in earnest, and suddenly we are all thrown into a new milieu, that of National School (State run primary school). Having mastered early starts (sort of), healthy lunches, school books and schoolbags, I am now free to concentrate on getting to know the mothers whose company I am going to be keeping for the next eight years. That's what I think. It's all very well to discuss how your daughter is doing in school, or what extra curricular activities she is pursuing, but as to their own lives, well that's another story, and seemingly not one that's open for discussion. Having sussed out and eliminated child minders and nannies I try making a few small inroads, taking care to approach a different mother, or group of mothers, each time. I don't get very far, but let me clarify that this is not a military exercise, just a hopeful attempt to find a few like-minded people, with whom I can move beyond the superficial.

The superficial is all around - car park full of SUVs, toned bodies leading up to crease-free faces, immaculate grooming, daughters in designer anoraks. It is abundantly clear that we live in a small pocket affected only by one aspect of our booming economy - rising property prices. Therefore fewer families are moving into the area and we remain immune to many of the challenges affecting education in modern Ireland. And so, when handed the contact list for junior infants, I felt like I imagine Fionn mac Cumhaill must have felt when he first tasted the Salmon of Knowledge. From now on I too can stand in dutiful silence at collection time because, with the information provided, I don't have to ask any questions. I can find out all I need to know online.

After several days deliberation I decided that blogging is morally superior to googling. And so I pinned the contact list on our notice board and resolved to refer to it only when arranging a playdate, the modern day replacement for spontaneous playtime - sadly no longer an option for 21st century children. But curiosity did get the better of me and I decided to take a test case. Because of what I've written so far my options are clearly limited and so Mr Q and Wine Goose fell under the spotlight.

Mr Q is not necessarily the corporate hotshot he has led me to believe for years. Instead he could conceivably be spending all those extra hours, not in the office, but commuting to Clare where he is a successful county hurler. Or maybe he's really a freelance musician, available for drum sessions at lower than normal fees. The possibilities are endless... But persistence pays and after mousing through several pages I do eventually find the profile that fits the physique.

Wine Goose stars in 'Home and Away.' How glamorous. Where does she find the time? Failing that she could be leading an altogether duller life and recently have won a printmaking award in a midlands town. Then a golden nugget, I find out where she went to secondary school. People from outside Ireland who have spent a long time in the country often observe how important this seems to be to us. With good reason. Nothing gives us the ability to form an instant mental picture of the person we're dealing with that their school. I won't take this further today but it is a theory that demands an entire blog - comments welcome.

Search a little further and I can find out when they bought their current home, and how much they paid. Wine Goose is no techie, and all this information was gathered using very basic methods of research. What purpose does it serve? Information is power, as long as you don't let any of it slip.

If you're planning a traditional Halloween dinner of bacon and colcannon, why not skip the wine and go for the best match with this meal - a glass of milk. Can't do it, then nip out to your local wine shop and search the lower shelves for a bottle of Gruner Veltliner. The herbaceous and grassy tinges will bring out the meat's flavours and perfectly complement the parsley sauce, €13.99.