Marty

Hi, young man.

Happy Thursday, all! Currently around 21C/70F here. Sun and clouds, but dry at laest. About to bring the car to my mechanic. Nothing serious, just new wheel bearings on front drivers side (that's the right-hand side here in Ireland. Hope you all have a great day!

All this talk about cars and trucks.... As far as I'm concerned my car is just a means of getting me from various point A's to point B's. But perhaps for some people it's simply a case of...

An extremely good looking fellow! On my visit last week, he weighed me, measured my height, and then produced a tape measure to check my waist size. As he was passing the tape around my middle, I smiled (not that he would have seen that because of the facemask I had to wear), looked him the eye, and said: "You do know this is the closest physical contact I have had with another human being since the last week in March, don't you?" He burst out laughing, thought about it, and replied: "God, that must be really hard on you. At least I've got the wife at home." He's fully aware of my sexual preferences, but I decided not to comment on his use of the word hard. A good looking fellow, and a great sense of humour, as well.

Mon plaisir, ma chère!

Specially for you...

Sorry, I know I shouldn't have reacted with a Laugh emoticon, but I thought you were talking about @Albert1434's singing voice at first.

Like I heard someone once say.... "If I die now, I won't have to worry about getting into heaven, because I'm already in heaven."

Cheers, bro.

Well... Nothing major to report from the blood tests. Indeed the doc was more than happy. He was particularly happy about the "HbA1c" test, which shows average level of blood sugar over the past 2 to 3 months, as this has gone down again (it was lower six months ago than it had been twelve months back), showing that I am managing the diabetes excellently (his word, not mine). Also the 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol levels have also both improved. They were both well within limits six months ago as well. And there was nothing coming up on the various other things that were being checked, like liver function, possible prostate cancer, etc. Only thing that he was a bit worried about was that he took my blood pressure this afternoon, and it is a bit higher that last time he took it. He suggested i wear a 24 hour blood pressure monitor, just to be on the safe side. There's a waiting list for the two monitors he has, so that won't happen until 2 weeks time. But he told me not to worry, as today's reading was not outside the recommended limits - more a case of just seeing with the 24 hour monitor whether today was an anomaly (maybe due to the warmer weather, or something like that). Looks like you'll have to put up with me for a while longer folks! Barring accidents, the doc says he doesn't see me dying any time soon.

Greetings, young man!

Good afternoon, all! Happy Tuesday, everyone. I'm freshly shaved & showered, and about to pop round the corner to the local Health Centre for a consultation with my GP to find out about the results from the blood samples last week. I don't think there's anything to worry about, as I had to ring to make this appointment. I'm sure if there was anything of concern, the doctor would have contacted me already.

You and me both, bro. Normal public houses were due to reopen in Ireland yesterday - subject to strict social distancing rules being observed. Pubs that are also restaurants have been back open for a while now. But in the past few weeks there's been a slight increase in positive test results in three counties in the midlands, mainly due to outbreaks amongst workers in a few meat processing factories. On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer the Government have reintroduced a partial lockdown in those three counties, and have also put back the reopening of the pubs until at least the end of this month. Probably wise decisions.

I think it's called climate change, bro...

Greetings, young Albert.

Posters? Like this one?

It may deal with difficult topics, and that may make reading it difficult, especially for any reader who may currently be experiencing similar difficulties, or have done so in the past. But I myself would not say it's an unhappy story. True, the ending isn't one of those Happy Ever After ones that some readers might want or expect, but it does end with a hope that things are getting better for Chris, the protagonist. Oh dear! Have I just told an author that I disagree with the way he views his own story?

98F is effectively the human body temperature, which means the body will have difficulty keeping cool. More so if the humidity is high as well, as that will inhibit the evaporation of perspiration, which is one of the body's way of trying to lose heat. Look after yourself, Albert. As I said to Gary: try to stay indoors or in the shade, and stay hydrated. If you are perspiring a lot, take isotonic drinks to replace the salts lost.

Hi, Page. Hope all's good with you.

Hey, Gary. Stay in the shade, and stay hydrated, my friend.

Greetings, young man.

Good afternoon, all. Another dry and warm day here in the west of Ireland. Cloudier than the past few days, but there's no rain promised. Currently around 20°C/68°F with hardly any wind, so feeling a degree or two higher when the sun shines. The weather's promised to stay reasonably settled and warm for the rest of the week, but I'll believe that if it actually happens. I hope you all have a great Monday.

One of the things that made this story so meaningful to me was the fact that the author admitted he was writing about something that was deeply personal to himself. That cannot have been easy, so extra kudos must be given for the excellent way the story was told.

Thanks for the offer, but No, thanks Albert!