I’ll always sing the praises of the beautiful North

DADDY’S little girl would regularly ask for a lullaby before she’d drift off... when she’s feeling particularly soppy she still does, even at 18.

Her lullaby of choice is Mountains of Mourne, rather more palatable than the rebel song my Donegal mum used to serenade us with, Johnson’s Motor Car!

Diarist and daughter sang Mountains of Mourne together this week at breakfast the morning after Tourism Northern Ireland had put on its Autumn evening in Dublin.

And where they enjoyed, or should that be endured, the spectacle of your bespectacled tonedeaf Travel editor murdering Percy French’s classic.

Uber-competitor that I am, I was responding to the MC’s announcement during the table quiz that anybody singing it would gain extra points for their team. Alas we were pipped in a tie-break question on Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones has been a huge boon to the North, naturally... note to team captain, do your homework next time. Winterfell Tours (www.gameofthrones-wintewrfelltours.com), just 40 minutes from Belfast, offers the opportunity to see 20 GoT filming locations on the Old Castle Ward demesne including Winterfell Castle, pictured, WARMED by the Bushmills from the Northern Ireland event, I danced through the leaves to my next appointment, a party for the rebranding of Thomson and Falcon as TUI (www.tuiholidays.ie). Now Thomson and I go way back... they gave me my first job when they ran Thomson Regional Newspapers. They also offered staff a discount on Thomson Holidays, another arm of the business, which meant holliers for me and the future Mrs M in Amsterdam and Portugal. Good as their word the next day GET your skis on. We are and will bring you a special ski section next week. Just to whet your appetite Topflight launches a five-day sale from tomorrow with 30% savings pp. As a sample try: From Dublin: 6th January, 3* Aurora Apartments, Bad Hofgastein, Austria, S/C was €569 now €399pps (four share). From Cork: 13th January, 3* Robb’s Camp and Walder Frey’s Twins. Check out its gift vouchers.

As big as Game of Thrones is, the North boasts an even bigger draw, Titanic Belfast (www.titanicbelfast.com) was voted the world’s leading tourist attraction in the world travel awards. It is very well priced: £18 for adults, child (5-16) £8, under-fives free, seniors (over60s) £14.50 and £44 for a family pack (two adults, two kids).

If whiskey is your tipple then you must visit Bushmills, the world’s oldest whiskey distillery (www. bushmills.com). The tour will cost you £8, seniors £7 and family £23.

The North is spoiled for top hotels but a rubber duck does it for me... Hastings (www.hastingshotels. com) does a range of quirky ones.

Now pour me a Bushmills, I’m going for a soak in the bath. saw their brochures drop into the office. You can also check out the offers on www.tuiholidays.ie. We all love the Canaries in the winter and TUI has these offers: •11 January, Dublin to Gran Canaria, Monte Feliz 3*, Bahia Feliz, SC, 7 Nights, €339pp. •26 January, Dublin to Tenerife, Globales Tamaimo Tropical Hotel, 3*, Puerto de Santiago, SC, 7 nights, €349pp •21 January, Dublin to Lanzarote, Tabaiba Apts, 3*, Costa Teguise, SC, seven nights, €409pp. You can also call 1850 45 35 45. WUNDERBAR! Catherine Murphy picked up another award, for her Ich Bin Ein Gardener piece on Berlin’s International Garden Exhibition, published in these pages in August and the Germans were here to reward her and her fellow winners and entertain us. Berlin bills itself as the 365/24 city. We’ll fill you in on a bunch of events and anniversaries coming up there and elsewhere. Visit www.visitberlin. de and www.germany.travel Chalet Alpina, St Johann, Austria, S/C was €559 now €399pps (four share). Call 01 240 1700/028 9752 1168, www.topflight.ie. AND still on a sporty theme... Aer Lingus is taking 1,000 Ireland fans on special flights to Copenhagen for the Denmark World Cup qualifier. Tickets went on sale yesterday, but you might be lucky. COYBIG as the kids say!