John Hardiman arrived home from London at the weekend with a professional gardener friend. John has just completed building a new home for himself and Mike Crotty, who was born in Carlow but immigrated to London many years ago, has come over with John to offer his advice on the layout for the gardens at the new house.

On Sunday Patrick Kenny came along to meet the Professional Gardener as Mike is now known and Patrick was at his very best telling his stories. There were three medical stories that caught my ear.

A man had to go to hospital to have his leg removed. The operation was carried out and the next morning the surgeon called to see him in his ward.

The surgeon tells him that he has some bad news and some good news.

Tell me, what is the bad news, says the patient.

There was a mistake made, says the surgeon, and the wrong leg was cut off.

And tell me what is the good news, says the patient.

The good news is that the other leg is getting better.

Another man goes to the doctor and comes home to his wife crying.

The wife asks why he is crying.

The doctor says I have to take one of these tablets for the rest of my life.

And what’s wrong with that, sure lots of people have to take tablets every day for life.

Ah yes, but the doctor only gave me four.

Yet another man had a telephone call from his doctor, who said that he had bad news for him and worse news.

What is the bad news asked the patient.

You have only 24 hours to live said the doctor.

And what is the worse news, asked the man.

I was trying to get you on the phone, all last evening.

Went for a walk with Moby last evening to The Cut downstream from the bridge to visit an angling friend Andy, who is holidaying on a cruiser for a few weeks and was fishing his favourite swim, which was christened Andy’s Hole many years ago. I watched him catch several very healthy roach while Moby watched the cattle in the adjoining field that had come for a closer look. Moby is known to lead forward on walks, but as we went to go home, he had to be dragged into the field with the cattle. Then when the lead was released Moby made a run for safety through the next fence. There are three electric wires crossing the river at the old jetty and there was a great display of over 200 swallows perched in line and I suppose ready for migration any day now. Remember some weeks back that Brian of the Barge was telling us about the family of wild mink on the island at The Cut. Andy was saying that when they arose yesterday morning there was a big mink sitting in the dingy attached to his cruiser.

There are three Hogarty houses now built in Cloonshask on the lands belonging to the late Bill Coughlan. In recent weeks one of the Hogarty boys has decided to return to Australia and the house was put on the market with a guide price. The first couple that viewed the house bought it for the guide price.

After a lot of wind and rain last week there was a change on Saturday to dry and mild with temperatures around 59 F.

Ballinasloe Horse Fair on Sunday had record crowds attending. Prices of horses were reported to be high and there were a number of articles in the papers about cruelty to animals. The local guest houses were all full with most of their guests coming from England and Wales. Four regulars told that they have been attending the Fair regularly for over twenty years. The first couple of years they stayed with Eamon and Marie in Laurel Lodge but one year there was no room and they were directed to Nancy O Hara in The Old Rectory where they have stopped ever since. Already they plan to attend the World Ploughing Championships which are to be held in Carlow next year during the week before Ballinasloe Horse Fair and next year they intend taking in the horse fair in Cavan Town which is usually on the Tuesday of Ballinasloe Fair Week.

Met two Laois men yesterday and asked them if they had been at the horse fair. One of them said he never had anything to do with horses. He believed that the only people with a horse interest were either Gentry or Knackers and he also believed that there was a very thin dividing line between the two.

Was talking to four of the fourteen ladies taking part in an eight week personal development course being held in Shannonbridge Hall on Tuesday night and they are full of praise for the course so far with excellent lecturers and presentations.

Padraig Turley is on holiday in Shannonbridge last week and this week. Yesterday he was telling that while in London a few years ago he called into The Victoria and Albert Museum to see the portrait of the Bridge in Shannonbridge at Sunset painted by John Hartmann. He said it was not on view but they picked it out of a stack of paintings in a storeroom. Some years ago Noel Finneran Moore / Limerick was telling us about having discovered a copy in a book and he made a wonderful copy from the book which is on display in Killeens Bar. There was a suggestion that when the Bridge was being built the people in charge in London sent out people to sketch progress on work being carried out. The bridge was built in 1700 but the Fortifications C 1800 are clear in the Hartmann portrait. However the Swing Bridge was added to allow sailing ships passage in C1840 so that may have been the reason for the painting. Anyhow it is a most beautiful piece of stonework.

Next weekend the Thornhill Twins David and Kerrill celebrate their 30^th birthday and hope they have an enjoyable celebration. Doesn’t time fly?

Good to see that Shannonbridge Post Office is back in business and it was lovely to see that a daughter of Madge Higgins - Mary from Ferbane has come along to train the staff in Moran’s Post Office. Mary is a niece of Kieran Kenny from Garrymore.

Last evening I was asking Redmond Kerins if he had any old photographs and he said he had including a photograph of Dan Le’strange and another one of an old tractor being ferried across the River Shannon to Reesk Callow.