I WAS bemused to hear two men in conversation while they were rummaging through shop bargains.

Like a Monty Python sketch they were trying to outdo each other with the number of ailments they had and the different pills they took.

The younger bragged he was on eight tablets a day for angina, but the other in his late seventies swallowed 40 for various aches and pains!

Talk about old women.

I get fed up of hearing people revel in doctor, hospital, chemist and prescription conversations. It's the most popular topic I overhear on the streets.

No wonder the latest census figures reveal there's more people than average with health problems in this area. They talk themselves into being ill, or else I bump into the 12 per cent who claim their health is not good.

A passing "how are you?" does not mean that people actually welcome listening to a list of ailments as long as your arm, because basically they're really not interested.