In life, everything we do seems to be related to numbers. Whether that’s our age, paying the household bills, our disposable income or protesting within a consequential cohort. Less is not more, when dealing with figures. Unless of course you are talking about the BBC 1 “Pointless” programme. Here zero, nil, nada is the right answer to the questions being asked. Though some people I know, don’t actually understand the lowest score wins!
On
Sunday the 10th, I “pedalled” for the fourth time, the murderous Wicklow
200! Why I’d want to put myself through that torture and torment, by returning
to this most scenic of regions, to test my mettle once again, shows that I am
certifiably mad! To cycle 200 kilometres and climb over 2,800 metres of brutal
hills, has become a numbers game to me. I am now trying to complete this
testing task in less than 7 hours. Alas, despite the help from my fellow Biscuit
Club members and a handy few Orwell Wheelers, 7:05:58 was the finishing time on
my GSP gizmo. So I’ll just have to return in 2019 and try once again. That 7
hour barrier, has become my very own Robert The Bruce’s wee spider’s legacy. She
tried and tried, time after time to finish her wee web, in that darkened cave.
The good news was, she eventually completed all of her web and Robert The Bruce
went on to hammer the English, at the Battle of Bannockburn, in 1314. Happy
days!
Professor
Nolan’s National Review of Cardiac Service, is now underway. According to
Minister H, Nolan’s report will define the provision of this medical
speciality, for decades to come. The Review will deliver, once and for all, a
service suitable for a modern Ireland. We are to believe that the findings will
be equitable and impartial, delivering for ALL the people on this green isle. We
hope that the citizens of Waterford, the wider SE, will see parity of service
provision, when Prof Nolan’s notes and conclusions are finally published in
full. We can’t contemplate another stab in the back, with a knife or a blow to
the head, with a lead pipe. Luckily, there’s been no mention of Colonel Mustard
or Professor Plum!
We
know from The Herity Report, that the numbers stacked up against us. In fact it
now transpires, that there was some excellent tutoring by Senior Civil
Servants, instructing just how the abacus should come to its final
calculations. 500,000 people living in the SE region? “Poppy-cock”, would be
the findings of Herity’s Report. Every Government Department, the CSO, Failte
Ireland and Tourism Ireland worked to that half a million figure. But “No!”,
Herity worked to some fictitious, fabricated figure, that could only be defined,
by the Report’s terms of reference.
Let’s
hope that Prof Nolan does the right thing and gets the numbers correct, first
time around.
Just
imagine if we could mobilise ALL the people, from across the whole SE region, to
“Tell Nolan”? By this I mean, let him know that we are here in substantial
numbers. The opportunity is out there. We can ALL go on-line to make our own
submissions to the 24/7 cardio cause. The deadline, to make our voices heard,
is 1pm on Friday the 17th of August. If we sit back and do diddly-squat, then nobody can complain if this latest
Report finds against our will. Let your fingers do the talking, get on-line!
Will
it work I hear you cry?
History
tells us that numbers count. Remember when the rescue helicopter services were
proposed to be withdrawn from Waterford Airport? Tens of thousands wrote,
emailed and protested from across the SE region. Lo and behold, such political
pressure ensured we retained our R117 helicopter.
19,000
people sent a badly worded, generic, photocopied letter, to Minister C and his
Boundary Commission. The net result was that Simon Coveney dropped the
recommendations to expand Waterford City, to the North. Additional political
party pressure lead by JP Phelan and Co, threatened by the potential loss of a
mass FG vote, ensured another Kilkenny victory.
Our
politicians live and die through numbers. Make your voice count, get involved!
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