Heart Beat:I cannot remember an April like this. Maybe it's global warming, maybe it's the cyclical revolutions of weather systems; whatever it is, it's wonderful.
On a beautiful Sunday morning I found myself on a bus bound for the city accompanied by the Highest Authority.
The bus is a great place to notice the multiculturalism of our society now and it bore some remote resemblance to the Tower of Babel. This is a very interesting phenomenon indeed, this current global village, but one cannot help but wonder what might happen if the economic climate changes.
We disembarked at Merrion Square and looked at the art on display. There were some very talented artists there, although I must confess I would not be the best judge.
I suppose they must sell some paintings or they would hardly be there, but on this Sunday morning purchasers were thin on the ground. We walked through the square at peace in this retreat in the midst of a bustling city and emerged on the far side of the square to find we were at the start of a vintage car rally.
I can only admire the skill and patience of the owners of these cars who have lovingly restored them and kept them roadworthy. They were beautiful reminders of less-stressful days.
Then up through Ely Place, down Hume Street with its now defunct hospital, and through St Stephen's Green. This brought me back to my student days and the flight path from Earlsfort Terrace to the environs of Grafton Street.
The Green, like Merrion Square, is very well kept and something we can all be proud to claim for Dublin. Again I was struck by the numbers of our more recent citizens who were enjoying those amenities that we often take for granted.
We visited the calm and quiet of Newman's University Church and then walked down the Green past the College of Surgeons and headed for the Shelbourne Hotel, which had been the original planned destination.
We were anxious to see this Dublin landmark after its restoration. It had figured in our student days as the venue for many formal dances and was also a venue for those "come to America" meetings where various American hospitals endeavoured to attract medical graduates to the Promised Land.
Generally the Shelbourne of those days was not a medical student's haunt; we simply did not have the money. Law students, however, while not having the money either, certainly had the pretension that we poor souls lacked, and were more at home in its lofty surroundings. There they drank and brawled happily as they ascended the ladder to become the solemn and sober folk they are today.
A recent letter in this newspaper had been very critical of the fact that the writer had been charged €36 for two glasses of white wine, and accordingly it was with some temerity that this poor consultant pensioner entered at all.
Coffee in the lounge was no dearer than anywhere else and the service was excellent. It was as remembered, only nicer. It also became apparent that the critic could have had two glasses of wine for less than half the figure quoted.
We asked if it would be possible to see some of the restored facility and there was no problem. The Horseshoe Bar, the Saddle Room Restaurant, the new main bar and the Oyster Lounge had been refurbished with great sensitivity.
We were shown the new look conference centre, absolutely state of the art, where once in a previous incarnation Earl Gill had played to past generations of dancing and drinking Dubliners. We were very impressed.
It had taken a long time to do and cost a lot of money, but they did do it right. It really is something to be proud of. I wouldn't of course suggest it but possibly some of the lesser authorities or their brothers could see their way to bringing their aged parents there for a meal. We would try not to disgrace them!
Dublin can be a wonderful city on a sunny Sunday with no traffic. It is sad that we have to live in the real world.
In the real world as Ibsen said, "being a prophet is a horrible business".
Some time ago I wrote about the travails of the health insurance market and the problems with the nonsense of risk equalisation and the dubious reality of community rating. Clearly no competition could enter the market and survive with risk equalisation. The same thing that happened to Bupa, which was driven out, will happen any others foolish enough to try to compete, as they are hobbled.
Furthermore, we are now being told apparently that the principle of "community rating", once sacrosanct, is no longer certain. One thing is certain, the subscribers will pay more and probably considerably more.
This will lead to people giving up private insurance as they are stressed by rising inflation, increased mortgages, transport, fuel and childcare costs. They will be forced back on a public system that cannot cope.
Furthermore, there is no way the insurers could cope with the rash of private hospitals planned or built, co-located or not, without massive price rises. This in turn fuels the vicious circle.
The pigeons of arrogance and ignorance are coming home to roost.
Maurice Neligan is a cardiac surgeon.