Magazine Minute: Marking Mother’s Day, Nike's hijab and awe-inspiring holiday locations

TUNING OUT

Where has all the good music gone? And why, oh why is the pop star Ed Sheeran so incredibly successful? In thisweek’s Magazine, Books & Arts Editor Nadine O’Regan surveys the musical landscape and is left feeling somewhere between underwhelmed and infuriated. She writes: “Save me from (Ed Sheeran) the man you could bring home on Mother’s Day and who wouldn’t offend even your dyspeptic granny, who loathes everyone. Was it for this that Chuck Berry invented rock ‘n’ roll? Was it for this Michael Jackson moonwalked across the Motown 25 stage in 1983? Was it for this that Ozzy bit the head off a bat?” Read her full tirade in Off Message, this Sunday.

ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER

“My Ma is the real hero of my book, and of my life.” In this week’s cover story, The Sunday Business Post Magazine marks Mother’s Day with a series of reflections on the maternal connections that shape our lives.Six leading Irish authors - Donal Ryan, Sinéad Moriarty, Liz Nugent, Joseph O’Connor, Alan McMonagle and Frankie Gaffney- share stories of joy, trial and unconditional love as they salute that most fundamental relationship. From gratitude for a mother-less-ordinary to everyday lessons and sacrifices, all of family life is here.

LET’S GET LOST

Terrible wifi connection? Consider the upsides. This week, Debbie Pappynidentifies ten awe-inspiring holiday locations that are so lo-tech you could succeed in becoming truly ‘out of office’ From the wilderness camp in Botswana and the fifteenth century converted Italian convent, to the private island in Vanuatu, our list of digital detox destinations brings new meaning to the word remote.

MODEST GAINS

Now featured in major ad campaigns, the hijab has become hot property in the fashion world. Nike is latest global brand to champion the Islamic scarf, launching a range designed specifically for female athletes. The move makes good commercial sense, but it also reflect a new recognition of the affluent Muslim set now known as Generation M. “This is a generation of Muslims who believe that faith and modernity go hand in hand,” Islamic marketing expert Shelina Janmohamed tells us, as we explore the rise and rise of fashion’s decidedly modest new direction.