I nearly fell out of the bed reading the Irish Times last weekend. It said to me “Wednesday night at 9pm and the choice was between a Horizon documentary on BBC 1 about ageing and Channel 4′s Embarrassing Bodies . The latter is a new run of the series where a team of photogenic doctors – including the wonderfully unshockable Irish doctor Pixie McKenna…”. Sorry, Pixie McKenna who was years behind me in school? Pixie McKenna whose father was in college with my mother? Pixie McKenna whose older brother Johnny was an object of interest to every girl in the senior school? Pixie McKenna who, for God’s sake, can only be 14 now? It would appear so. There are only so many Pixie McKennas to go around.

My friend R, who is taking some time out from his day job to do a Ph.D rang me. He has been doing some consultancy work in Kosovo. “Off to Kosovo again?” I asked cheerily. “Yes,” he said, “I get back on Tuesday week. And then on the Wednesday I am going to Sudan for two and a half months.” Shocked noise. “Election monitoring” he said. “There’s an election in the Sudan?” I said feebly. “There’s always an election somewhere,” he replied “anyhow, I’m off to the pub, see you in mid-May.”

Suddenly my life seems very dull.