Jockey Tom Scudamore after finishing unplaced in The Foundation Developments Novices Handicap Hurdle. (Image: Nigel French/PA Wire/Press Association Images)

HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#WEATHER WARNINGS: As people take to the roads to get home for Christmas, a number of warnings have been issued because of bad weather. Met Éireann said to expect very strong, gusty and potentially damaging winds in coastal areas tonight. Flooding in England has forced some people out of their homes.

#MAHON FALLOUT: Fianna Fáil issued a statement this evening to confirm that the ownership of St Luke’s Office in Drumcondra – the HQ of Bertie Ahern’s political career – has been transferred back to the national party.

#EUROPE: Italy will go to the polls on 24 and 25 February but as the election campaign gets underway, it is still not clear if technocrat Mario Monti will launch himself into the political fray and fight former premier Silvio Berlusconi for the top job.

#EGYPT: There has been a lot of political wrangling in Egypt today as the vice president Mahmud Mekki tendered his resignation, saying that politics did not mix with this “professional character as a judge”. Meanwhile, the cabinet has denied that the country’s central bank chief Faruq El-Okda has has stepped down.

#RIP: Simon Coveney had some touching and heartfelt words of tribute for his junior minister Shane McEntee who died tragically and suddenly at his home on Friday. Describing him as “honest and big-hearted”, the Agriculture Minister said that the 56-year-old “understood farmers and rural people in a way that I can only aspire to”. He will be laid to rest on Christmas Eve.

#ROYAL HOAX: Two Australian DJs who made a prank call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment earlier this month could face criminal charges. Police in London have sent a file to prosecutors who will examine whether any potential offences were committed.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Earlier today, we asked our readers about their coolest and weirdest Christmas decorations. @embeeie obliged with this image of what she describes as an “inappropriately gyrating snowman”.

• And there is a video too:

• Sticking with the Christmas theme, we enjoyed these handy travel tips from Dublin Airport. Especially number four, which reminds travellers not to be too organised with their gift-giving as wrapped presents may have to be opened by security.
• The relaxing one minute and 18 seconds that this video of the winter solstice in Alaska brought us on this crazy, busy weekend.

THINGS WE SHARED

• Kieran Daly’s tale about how UPC sold broadband to his 79-year-old father – a man who despite the fact that he knows the Internet is a ‘wonderful thing’, he doesn’t own a PC.
• US Ambassador to Finland Bruce Oreck (and former professional bodybuilder) knows how to send a Christmas card.
• This honest YouTube advertisement from a clothing store in Cork city.

YouTube Credit: MainFrame Tv Video Production