Month: October 2024

I was out walking some time ago and I spotted a liner berthing at the quayside in Cobh. Once the mooring ropes had been secured to the anchor points on the quay wall, I saw a crew member fitting plastic discs to the ropes. They’re called rat guards, and they fit around the mooring lines.

As the name suggests, they are designed to keep rats from climbing across the ropes and entering the vessel. I knew these things were used in the past, but I had assumed that a combination of modern technology and engineering had come up with something more sophisticated to keep rodents at bay, so I was a little surprised to see them.

I never considered that rats might be an issue for modern cruise ships but when you think about it, rats have always been a pain for mariners. Ships provide an abundance of food for rodents and an endless supply of hiding places and there was a time when ships even employed rat catchers to keep the vermin under control.

That got me wondering about whether they are still managing to board modern liners and according to Flyfreshflight.com, they are. But, they say, it’s important to note that the number of rats on a cruise ship is typically very low, and they are rarely seen by passengers.

That may well be but just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there and now I can’t get that out of my head. The mayor of New York said recently that nobody hates rats as much as he does but I reckon I’d beat him into second place. The thought of being in close proximity to one on dry land makes me heave but if I knew I was sharing a ship with them I would probably head overboard.

They have always been a problem for seafarers though and in the early days of shipping, rats were a major cause of death for sailors. They were responsible for spreading diseases such as bubonic plague, typhus, and cholera and they also caused damage to the ships and their cargo.

It wasn’t only the sailors they annoyed either. Rats were a problem for soldiers too in the trenches during WWI. The unsanitary conditions provided an ideal environment for rats to thrive. The trenches were perfect for rats, with ample food sources from discarded scraps and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

The rats grew to an unusually large size due to the abundance of food, sometimes reaching lengths of over a foot and soldiers often found them in their sleeping areas and even on their bodies while they slept.

The rodents were notorious for scavenging the dead bodies of soldiers and in some cases, they even attacked living soldiers, gnawing on their flesh.

Rats are resilient creatures and despite the development of new pesticides and rodenticides, they continue to be a problem today. According to an article in the New York Times, there are an estimated three million rats in New York City alone. The place is crawling with them.

They can chew through anything softer than steel and live no more than 100 feet from a reliable food source. National Geographic said Rats live in families and have two to 14 pups at a time, keep their nests relatively clean, and patrol small territories.

When the pups reach puberty, as early as 10 weeks of age, they move out and look for mates and could grow as many as 270 pups by the 30th week and wrap up with a whopping 11,907 rats by year’s end. Reproductive rates are highly dependent on environment so the more shelter, food, and trash, the higher the rat count.

There’s no shortage of these vermin in Ireland either and our unusually mild autumn may have contributed to an explosion in rodent numbers ahead of the inevitable winter chill that will send many of them indoors.

The Echo reported that rodent control experts Rentokill are experiencing a 100% in call outs related to rat problems in homes and businesses in Cork. And they expect to be very busy over the coming weeks and months, as rodents seek warmth and shelter indoors.

They are urging home and business owners to be mindful of the presence of rats in their premises after an increase in rat-related callouts was recorded. The company said it witnessed a substantial rise in rat callouts in January 2024 in Cork when compared to the same period last year.

No-one knows exactly how many rats we have in Ireland, but a recent estimate put the number at 10.5 million. That number of rats would eat about 210 tonnes of food every day and contaminate with faeces, urine and hair very much more than that.

New York has come up with a novel approach to its rat problem – targeting the rodents with birth-control pills. Under a plan approved by the city’s council, contraceptive pellets will be placed in special rat-accessible traps in a small section of New York and hopefully the creatures will eat their way to a lower birth rate.

In the meantime, Rentokill have some suggestions to keep rats at bay. They say a small hole in the wall can become much greater very quickly if a rodent is lurking nearby, so they advise sealing them up as soon as possible. Also, don’t leave doors open for extended periods at this time of year as rodents will be looking to come in from the cold.

Another suggestion is to place cloves of garlic around entry points to the house because rats hate the strong smell so it’s worth placing garlic cloves around entryways if you’re worried about an infestation.

As an added bonus, you have a better chance of warding off vampires too.

When I was a young lad, I thought America was the most amazing place on the Planet. Of course, that was based solely on what I saw in the movies and on TV. It seemed everyone had beautiful open plan houses with white picket fences and perfectly manicured lawns or yards as they called them.

They drove nice cars, except for poor Lieutenant Columbo who had a banger, and there seemed to be no shortage of money. If you lived in one of the cities, you probably had a cool apartment, got a cab everywhere, bought your paper from a vending machine and walked the streets in safety because the cops were on the ball and had guns.

In the 1960’s, young lads over there wore Wrangler jeans, runners and t-shirts, and drove convertibles which was fine because it never rained. I was envious because in Ireland we were constantly damp and still wearing trousers, leather shoes and long-sleeved shirts.

That was the standard dress code here all year round. It was formal wear when we were going to Mass, and it became casual wear when we were playing football in the street. The mothers were constantly giving out about the scuff marks on the shoes and grass stains on the pants, but we carried on anyway.

The Americans had it all. Everyone wore sunglasses and they never had to cope with the cold and the dampness that made its way into the bones so it’s no wonder so many Irish made their way over there in search of that lifestyle.

Most of us probably had ambitions to visit there at some point but a lot has changed since those days. I for one have never been and I have no intention of going either. Whatever attraction the place held for me has long since fizzled out and as I get older the interest wanes even more.

There are a few practical reasons too why I won’t be going. In the first place, I spend a lot of time in Cyprus which I consider to be my little piece of Heaven and that has to be paid for. Secondly, my daughter and her family moved to Australia this year and that means travelling there if we want to see them. That has to be paid for too and it doesn’t come cheap.

Thirdly, Donald Trump’s America doesn’t appeal to me and those idiots shouting “Get in the hole” at golf tournaments have put me right off the American accent. America has become a bit of a basket case with their whole gun culture and their obsession with MAGA.

I have another bone to pick with our American cousins too. I blame them for introducing us to chewing gum, the scourge of Irish footpaths. Discarded gum makes a mess of the streets, looks unsightly and causes me to use many profanities when it sticks to the sole of my shoe or the wheel of a buggy.

I was in Singapore in 1994 when they had only recently banned the use of chewing gum, so it was very topical at the time. In 1992 they introduced laws that created heavy fines for spitting gum on the ground and for dropping cigarette butts or matches on the street.

They also enforced strict rules in relation to litter, graffiti, jaywalking, spitting, expelling “mucus from the nose” and urinating anywhere but in a toilet. If it’s a public toilet, you are legally required to flush it.

It worked and the cleanliness of the footpaths was striking. The lack of dirty gum blots was very impressive, but I bet our ancestors never thought that one day in the future, legislation would be required to keep gum off the streets? And maybe I’m wrong in blaming the Yanks too.

According to history.com, there is evidence that 9,000 years ago some northern Europeans were chewing birch bark tar for enjoyment as well as medicinal purposes, such as relieving toothaches.

In the Americas, the ancient Mayan people chewed a substance called chicle, derived from the sapodilla tree, as a way to quench thirst or fight hunger. The Aztecs also used chicle and even had rules about its social acceptability.

Only kids and single women were allowed to chew it in public and married women and widows could chew it privately to freshen their breath, while men could chew it in secret to clean their teeth.

In the 20th century, chewing gum made William Wrigley Jr. one of the wealthiest men in America. He had plenty of competitors, so he spent heavily on advertising and direct marketing sending free samples of gum to millions of Americans and to children on their second birthday.

So, chewing gum has been with us for a long time and you’d wonder why it is so desirable when you consider what goes into the stuff. Gum producers guard their recipes tightly, but most modern gum is made up of a nondigestible, rubbery base to give gum its chewy quality.

Then they add resin to strengthen it and hold it together, fillers to give it texture and preservatives to extend shelf life. Softeners are added to retain moisture and prevent the gum from hardening, while sweeteners and flavourings give gum the desired taste.

In this health-conscious era I would have expected chewing gum to be getting the heave-ho, but that’s not the case and that’s fine if people get a kick out of chewing it but it’s what they’re doing with it when the flavour is gone that bothers me.

Apart from being a pain, it can also be ingested by wildlife, causing internal injuries, digestive problems, and even death. Birds, fish, and marine creatures often mistake these colourful particles for food so maybe we’d all be better off without it.

Cancer is one of the biggest killers in our community so there can’t be many people who haven’t had some personal experience of this disease. I doubt there is a person alive who hasn’t lost a friend or relative to cancer.

So, you would imagine with it being so common and so destructive that every available resource would be thrown at it to tackle the damn thing.

That’s not the case in this country though but then again, I shouldn’t be surprised because our politicians, regardless of party affiliations, have plenty of experience of getting things wrong.

The new children’s hospital is one example. It’s been under construction for seven years with a seemingly endless budget and not a single child has been treated there yet. We have a homeless crisis, a housing shortage, a broken health service, and a struggling police service but we can still manage to build a bicycle shelter at a cost in excess of three hundred thousand Euro.

In the meantime, while they faff about in the Dail blaming each other for all the shortcomings, cancer patients are being let down on two fronts. Firstly, in terms of early detection and early treatment and secondly, at the other end of the scale in terms of care for end-of-life patients.

According to the Irish Examiner, The Irish Cancer Society’s helpline has received a large volume of calls from cancer patients who cannot access life-saving radiation therapy. As many as 60% of cancer patients are likely to need radiation therapy, but they’re “falling through the gaps” due to under-investment.

The National Cancer Strategy says people should start radiotherapy within 15 days but almost 40% of patients are not getting access within the recommended timeframe which could lead to poorer results for patients. 

We’re constantly being reminded by the experts that early detection and early treatment is essential in treating cancer, but that’s not the case for everyone and far too many are being let down.

Many patients nearing the end of life are also being let down. Dr Karie Dennehy, Palliative Medicine Consultant, Marymount University Hospital and Hospice and Cork University Hospital, said recently that palliative care is everyone’s business.

Dr. Dennehy is spot on. It is everyone’s business, and we don’t realise the value of it until we need the service. Then we learn very quickly, and I for one can’t speak highly enough about the Marymount organisation and their palliative care teams.

When my father was dying of cancer, he wanted to spend his last days at home. As a family, we were determined to make that happen and that would only change if a time came when we couldn’t provide the care he needed, or his suffering became too much.

It wasn’t easy. Anyone who has been through it with a loved one will be well aware of the difficulties involved. It’s frightening, confusing, stressful and uncertain. The medical professionals can give a reasonable estimate of when the end is likely to come, but they can never be precise and there is a practical concern attached to that.

The most important thing is to ensure the patient doesn’t suffer and that was my biggest worry. I had heard the palliative care team could only allocate ten days care to each terminally ill patient, and I wasn’t qualified to determine when that ten-day period should start. What if I called them in too soon and we ran out of days?

It doesn’t work that way of course. The GP knew when to notify the palliative care team and he set the ball rolling. A member of the team called to the house and went through the process with us. When I told her of my biggest fear, she reassured me that they would never leave us in the lurch.

The palliative care team were absolutely fantastic from the moment they got involved, and the care they gave my dad was second to none. The night nurse moved in for his final few days and made sure he was comfortable right to the end. They are amazing people, and we would have really struggled to cope without them.

In this day and age, nobody should have to endure undue suffering at the end of their lives but unfortunately that’s not the case. Another story in the Irish Examiner highlighted the fact that many terminally ill cancer patients cannot afford to heat their homes and as a result they are enduring hardship in their final weeks or days in cold, damp houses.

One in three night nurses from the Irish Cancer Society who provide end-of-life care across the country have told how they have seen patients in homes without any heating and unable to keep their houses warm because of worries about energy bills.

At a time when the families of the terminally ill can be pushed into a financial crisis, three nurses in five reported how households struggled to pay bills such as mortgage, rent and utilities. Nearly one in two said there was no central heating in patients’ homes. Some patients were huddled in blankets and hot water bottles.

Cancer patients are more vulnerable to the cold. Patients’ home heating may also need to be kept on during the summer because of their frailty. Patients on cancer drugs can feel the cold more readily and because they are terminally ill their requirements are higher. Worrying about the cost of the energy bill should not be an issue.

I don’t know what the government plan to do with the Apple windfall but before they fritter it all away on more badly planned projects and cost overruns, maybe they should spare a thought for the sick and the dying. Cancer service providers shouldn’t have to rely on the generosity of our citizens.

My daughter moved to Australia at the start of the year with her husband and three boys. They were fed up with the cost of living and poor services in Ireland and having lived in Oz previously they knew what they were getting into. They decided to give it another go and off they went.

Their initial plan was to return home after a couple of years, but that conversation changed almost as quickly as it began. Soon there was talk of three years, then three or four years and I reckon it would be foolish to bet on either.

And that’s fine. Sure, we miss watching the grand children grow up but it’s great to see them all enjoying the quality-of-life Australia has to offer. Vicki and Ian both have good jobs, the children are in good schools, and they live in a nice neighbourhood.

Cooper, the ten-year-old, has already developed an Aussie accent and as an outdoors, sporty kind of guy, he couldn’t be in a better place. The kids have built up a good social network with lots of school mates and friends and they’re happy so it’s all good. Well, maybe not completely.

Australia couldn’t be further away. It’s literally at the opposite side of the world and there is no easy way to get there, unless you can afford to fly business class. For the rest of us, it’s a hard slog no matter how you go about it.

I’ve made that journey a couple of times already and I swore I would never do a long-haul flight again. We had a stopover in Singapore after being in the air for what seemed like an eternity, but we were still only halfway there, and I was already exhausted. 

My mother loved flying. It was part of her holiday, and she took those journeys in her stride. As far as I’m concerned, long-haul travelling is a nightmare but now I have to face it again if I want to see the family.

I did suggest to my wife that maybe facetime is just as good and that making that woeful journey was unnecessary, but the look I got told me the topic was not up for discussion. So, we’re off.

Off to a country where even after you arrive you can’t relax because there is no shortage of creatures that want to bite, sting or eat you. Jeremy Clarkson was writing about the wildlife in Australia recently, and he said you only have a 50-50 chance of surviving a trip to the bottom of the garden.

Just to remind us of that, Vicki sent a video of a large snake making its way across the top of her garden fence and another photo of a Huntsman spider wandering around the house.

Some spiders are poisonous and can hide in your shoes, so you have to make sure there’s nothing in there before you put them on. You don’t have to worry about finding a Huntsman in your shoes though, because they’re big enough to wear them. They’re enormous.

On a previous visit, I unknowingly went for a swim in a part of the ocean that was inhabited by a few sharks who were, as it turned out, not that far away from me. I still shiver at the thought of it, but Australians have a more relaxed approach to dealing with critters. Their advice for anyone encountering a shark is to swim away from the pointy end.

Aussies must have good survival techniques though because I came across a report on the Internet that suggested Australians on average, are living longer than previous generations.

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare explored trends in Australia’s increasing life expectancy and found that over the last fifty years, life expectancy there has increased by 13.7 years for males (to 81.3) and by 11.2 years for females (to 85.4). It has increased at a rate of 3 months per year since the start of the 20th century.

Australia has one of the highest life expectancies in the world ranking fifth among 38 other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Japan is at the top closely followed by Switzerland, Korea and Spain.

The increased life expectancy is largely attributed to an active outdoor lifestyle, lower rates of smoking and drug abuse, improved medical knowledge and technology, health care availability such as the widespread accessibility to antibiotics and vaccines, improved living conditions and an overall better quality of life.

They don’t seem to take life too seriously either which probably helps but there’s some good news for us on this side of the world too.

A piece in the Irish Examiner suggested that a typical Mediterranean diet could lower the risk of dementia by almost a quarter. Even for people who are genetically more predisposed to developing dementia, a diet of seafood, wholegrains, nuts, fruits and vegetables reduces the likelihood of developing it, researchers have said.

Apparently, eating more fish and olive oil and less processed food, sugary food and red meat, could help to reduce the risk.

Other new research suggests that exercising between 7am and 9am may be the key to weight management. Although evidence regarding optimal timing of physical activity has been controversial, a study has found the start of the day appears to be the best time to enhance the positive impact of daily physical activity on obesity.

So, there you have it. If you want to live long, healthy, dementia free lives with lean bodies, move to Australia but stick to a Mediterranean diet and get up every morning at 7am and go for a run. Be careful where you exercise though because there’s a bunch of beasties just waiting to cut your life short.