Stress Test

What to do after a busy and stressful day?.

I opt to make a mug of coffee and turn on the telly- and there sits the guy who heads the Department of Finance which managed to 'lose' €3.6bn from our National Accounts. He is appearing before an Oireachtas Committee for the last time. And why?- Because we have nominated him to sit on the European Court of Auditors, which has the job of checking the books for the entire EU. I am very afraid.

So I decide to catch Shamrock Rovers game against PAOK, only that is not on RTE or T na G or TV3. I eventually fuind it on something called 3e, which normally shows wall-to-wall X Factor or The Apprentice. It is half time and Rovers are already three goals down. They get their act together and pull a goal back during a riveting second half. These guys are heroes.

The best bit however was a large banner which proclaimed 'Get the PAOK Out of Here'. It was difficult to read the signature, but it looked like 'A. Merkel.'

The the stress-basher ?. It finally arrived in the guise of the first of four programmes on BBC4 called 'The Symphony'. If you want to develop a better appreciation of classical music- catch it.