Marty

And thank you for your thought provoking comment.

Hi, Albert.

Hi, Page.

This is my youngest sister (and youngest sibling). She's about nine-and-a-half years younger than me. I'm the middle one of seven.

I think we are all guilty of sometimes taking our health service for granted. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Cheers, Gary! This is the sister I always stay with when I go to England to visit my siblings, and various nephews, nieces, and grand nephews and nieces. It will be her first visit to Ireland in about 25 years. Last time she visited her three kids were just children (the youngest actually took his first steps over here). They are all grown and have flown the nest, and she's a grandmother now with four grandchildren.

The part I have emboldened and underlined is what was in my mind when I was writing this piece. Well spotted, @Mancunian! That's what the final paragraph was meant to convey, and I was also alluding to that fact when Mick said the following in one of his replies: “I don’t know about that. I’ve not had a lot to smile about in my life." I'm glad you weren't upset by the open ending, as well.

Greetings all! Looking forward to my sister coming over tomorrow. She'll be staying for just over a week, so I may be MIA on here again for a while. I've also got to head out for a meeting about secondary school debating shorty (https://www.concern.net/schools-and-youth/debates). I act as one of the adjudicators. Then when I get home, I really must finish some editing for someone, and some beta reading for someone else. Busy, busy busy....

I was particularly trying to get across in those final half dozen or so paragraphs the fact that authority figures are not simply two dimensional. Danny had already said of Mr Bennet, as Head of Upper School, that he 'had been the bane of many of our lives all the way through the sixth form'. I wanted to show that, whilst he may have had to maintain that role in his dealings with the boys whilst they had still been at school, he was a human being as well. Your comment makes me feel that I may have at least partly managed to get that idea across. Thanks, @dughlas!

Thanks for the comment, @starboardtack Not hundred percent sure which other shoe you're talking about there... The one with the splash of blue paint on it, maybe?

Hey, Albert. Thanks

Just a very slight pain when I walk. Don't worry, @CassieQ. I've talked about it with the doctor. He's discussed possible reasons for it. He's mentioned claudication as a possible cause and I've Googled that, so know that it's nothing potentially life threatening. He's arranging tests. He's been my family doctor for a good while. So I trust him.

We have no way of knowing what words Mr Bennet and the headmaster may have had about this situation. For all we know the pair of them could have had very strong words about Mr Griffiths' decision to bar Lowry from the proceedings. And all we do know is what Danny himself knows. This story is being told entirely from Danny's point of view,. And Danny wasn't present for any discussion there may have been between the two teachers.

for taking the time to comment, @Bard Simpson I wouldn't be too hard on Lowry. We don't really know what took place when he and Mr Griffiths had their earlier talk. And, if he had been told he was unwelcome at the ceremony, what could he have really done about it, anyway? As for any misdirecting that I may do, maybe some of it is deliberate. But maybe some of it is as a result of other story plots that I had considered following as I was writing the story...

Cheers, @Geron Kees! Hopefully Mr Griffiths doesn't change his mind before the ceremony takes place... (Spoilers? Me? I've said before that I don't do spoilers! )

Thanks, @Daddydavek What I was trying to do here with Mr Bennet was to suggest that there may have been at least one senior (as in senior in rank)of the teachers in the school who could see that the way Mr Griffiths was running it was old fashioned and inflexible. But, although they may have thought that, and may even have expressed those thoughts to the headmaster on occasions, they couldn't be seen to be undermining his authority in front of the pupils. On this occasion, though, Mr Bennet was talking to ex-pupils, so in a way he was able to say things to them that he wouldn't have been able to say to them if they had still been pupils at the school.

Hey, Gary Hope all's well with you,

G'day all. Sorry if I still seem to be MIA. Just been a bit of a busy week. Been doing a bit of editing for someone, as well as doing a fair bit of reading as well. But, more importantly, I've even been managing to get a bit of writing done as well. In case any of you missed it, I uploaded Chapter 10 of The Charmed Life Of Danny Murphy last night. I had blood samples taken last week. My doctor is more than pleased with the results. Blood sugar and cholesterol levels well within acceptable ranges, so it looks as though my Type 2 Diabetes is well under control. He's a wee bit concerned about some slight pain I reported in my left calf muscle when walking, and fitted me with a 24 hour blood pressure monitoring device on Thursday. That showed no problems at all, so now he's arranging an ECG and what he calls an ABI test, where the blood pressure in my ankle and arm will be compared. This will indicate if there's maybe any blocked arteries in the leg that may be causing the pain. The doc seemed almost surprised that I asked him to look at it. He says his experience is that his male patients normally don't ask for his advice until things have got that serious that it's usually too late for an intervention. The pain's not too severe, and I can usually walk through it. But I'd rather find out what's causing it sooner rather than later. Maybe chat yous all later tonight, but I have to prepare diner now. And I also have to do a bit of beta-reading that I promised to do for someone.

"Hands up everyone who is still prepared to boycott the ceremony," he called out in a very loud voice. He immediately raised his own right hand into the air. Everybody else, myself included, was so taken by surprise that we simply stared at him. Indeed we were that surprised that none of those of us who were still prepared to support a boycott even thought about raising our own hands. Mr Griffiths paused in his stride. Turning and stepping back into the room he looked disdainfully at Jo

Oops!

I have a suspicion she may know already...

All good here, thanks. Yourself? And "today" is actually 25 minutes into Thursday, here. So I'm away to my bed.Have to be up early in the morning. Doctor's appointment. Having a 24 hour blood pressure monitor fitted. G'night, all!

Aloha, young Albert