Heart Beat:This article unashamedly has nothing to do with medicine. Retirement quickly taught me that there were lots of other interesting things in the world to occupy my mind and while I do not regret a moment of my medical career, I am conscious of having missed out on so many wonderful aspects of life.
In any case I must have been a very slow learner as so many jack asses who never saw a patient, seem to know far more about it than I do.
Today was a relatively calm, mild day. It remained dry during daylight hours, in sharp contrast to the weather over the Christmas period. I don't ever remember anything like it. We had a mixture of high winds, gales and even storms accompanied by rain, hail and sleet.
We are told that these "adverse weather events" may be expected more frequently in the future as a consequence of global warming. This may well be the case. I do know that this has been an unusual and unpleasant spell of weather. As I write the wind is rising again and the forecast is for further gales and rain later affecting primarily the western seaboard.
Unfortunately for me that is where I am. At least our local flooding was not too bad, we remained dry and the roof stayed in place. Others were not so fortunate.
Predictably enough, calls were made for more effective controls in potential flood areas. This seems to be an annual ritual and poses the question as to why such calls were not heeded in the first place. The Shannon yet again needs to be drained properly, but this is election year and you never know!
Actually you do really, unless you wish to remain deluded. While I am on the subject, what about the pier at Cromane, promised faithfully before the last election? It wasn't there last week but maybe a public/private partnership, with tax breaks included of course, could build one before the election. In fairness, this pier has been promised since the days of the Congested Districts Board in the 1880s. They just never got around to it.
No, I am not trying to take over from Brendan McWilliams; the thought sequence that blew me in this direction was the maintenance of power supply. In the past 10 days in this area, we have had three electricity blackouts.
None was very prolonged and power was quickly restored by the efficient and highly effective repair crews. I know that power maintenance in conditions like these is a worldwide problem and that our service ranks with the best in restoring supply. Those in the usually affected areas are usually well supplied with candles, torches and emergency gas rings etc.
By the way, does anybody remember the story about the three days' darkness, when the dead roamed outside and the only thing that would light was a blessed candle? Was this just a tale to frighten unruly schoolchildren or was it a commercial ploy to increase the sale of blessed candles? Or did I just make it all up?
My concern is more serious. IDA Ireland and the ESB itself have pointed out over the past few weeks that our national power supplies are under threat. We are at the end of the supply chain for fossil fuels which are diminishing in supply anyway. The little we have we cannot process anyway as exemplified by the unedifying events in north Mayo.
As usual we talk big. We are told 20 per cent of our energy will be from renewable sources by 2020. We're in no hurry apparently. But the industry in particular and industry in general, tell us otherwise and I believe them.
I do not believe we will easily obtain 20 per cent of our energy from renewable sources, be they wind, hydroelectric or bio fuel. We are a long way from that. It is time to get our heads out of the sand and seriously look at the alternative.
Many European countries are already embracing the nuclear option. We have to look at it dispassionately. Maybe I am wrong; maybe we are already planning another "cute hoor" Irish coup. Let the Brits build the nuclear stations (not on the Irish Sea of course) and then we'll just take the electricity through the interconnectors.
Chernobyl for nuclear power, Treviso for dioxins, Dr Neary for doctors; just look at what can happen. Isn't it obvious? Sure it is, when you argue from the particular to the general. We were taught not to do that. If we do not want to be left literally sitting in the dark, can we move our mindset from the Dark Ages and urgently consider this problem?
The calm weather of yesterday has gone and we are now in the midst of another "adverse weather event". I have been watching no less than eight goldfinches on our bird feeders. These lovely birds were trapped to the verge of extinction, as cage songsters, a practice eventually outlawed in Britain in 1896. Since then numbers have soared. The collective name most appropriately is a "charm of goldfinches".
They were supposed to bring health and good fortune and there is an old story that if one flew over an eligible girl that she would marry wealth. I briefly thought of assembling the unmarried Lesser Authorities and giving it a go. Whatever about the goldfinches, the Lesser Authorities, no more than the Highest Authority, are not biddable so they can take their chances.
Next week I am back to the Ireland of illusion and the best health service in the world, unless of course you have misfortune to become sick.
Maurice Neligan is a cardiac surgeon.