Keeping it green....

My few words in this week's print Herald Express...

Many years ago, I had my first hay fever attack. I was a young man and had been playing with my children in a field high above Paignton. The evening had been warm and we were kicking a ball around with childish enthusiasm.

The next twenty-four hours was a miserable experience. Breathing became difficult, my eyes constantly watered and I felt sure that each sneeze registered on the Richter scale!

Things deteriorated and I sought the help of my friendly general practitioner. It was a time when going to see your GP was a reasonably simple exercise and did not require mind-map to gain access.

I came away from the surgery with two different inhalers and a reassuring pat on the head. He thought that kicking a ball around in a meadow on a warm summer evening probably was not the wisest of things to do.

That field is now a grown woodland!

Another friend, at the time, suggested that taking a spoonful of honey each day as a hey fever preventative measure. This I did, but the suffering continued,

I told my friend that it did not seem to work, and he asked me where the honey came from. He suggested that if ever I went to live in Argentina, then hay fever might not be a problem!

Since then, I have taken Torbay honey daily, and indeed until recently that seemed to do the trick.

However, last week I was completely knocked over by bouts of relentless sneezing, watery eyes, and the feeling of being battered by an invisible force.

After ending up on my knees after a bout of extended sneezing and gasping I staggered to the pharmacist and purchased the best that big pharma could offer.

I read the medical warnings, through misty eyes, and popped my first tablet. Two days later I have returned to some sort of normal existence and this morning checked the Metrological Office Pollen Forecast.

The chart is dotted with big red circles and the letters VH! Hmm.

Another very fit friend has been flattened by hay fever this week and has remained indoors. She is a distance runner and has excellent lung capacity. When the grass pollen rises, none of us are safe.

I will however, continue to take my spoonful of local honey each day, purchased at the little Occombe Farm shop.

Thinking about that field that is now a woodland, I am very aware of the passing of time. Those changes are part of the rhythm of life and it is important that our green spaces are protected.

Locally they are in the hands of Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust.? Recently, I went to a talk by Helen Warren , the trust CEO, in the refurbished Princess Theatre. This was a Torbay Business Forum event and was aimed at encouraging the local business to reinforce their green credentials.

We all need to protect our ‘green lung’ and for a business, Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust corporate membership seems a good starting point. Corporate Support – Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust (countryside-trust.org.uk)

Now that I am not coughing and sneezing, I feel more able to keep the smile!? ??

?

?

?