The Mammy rang, “I hear that the Kirov Ballet is coming to Dublin”

“Would you like me to get tickets?”

“I thought you would never ask”

And so three weeks later, as I was getting a sharp dig in the ribs from the afore mentioned Mammy as I was stifling a big yawn sitting in the RDS during the first act of Swan Lake, “When you see the best, even if you know nothing about it, you know you are looking at something special ”

And so I started to pay attention and really enjoyed the show, and she was right “when you see the best, you know it is special”….. I can’t say that I have been to many ballets since though!

Fast forward 15 years and I’m walking around the St John of God centre in Malawi with the Director, Br Aidan Clohessy, I had only been in Malawi a week so I know that it was one of the world’s poorest countries with very primitive health services, but here I was been shown around a world class facility where everyone was treated with such respect and dignity regardless of their creed or circumstance.

To say it was a revelation, would be an understatement and the Mammy’s wise words suddenly come back to me “when you see the best, you know it is special”. It is widely acknowledged that this facility in Mzuzu, Malawi is one of the best in Sub- Saharan Africa…..now that’s 21st