Posted by TheYank at 7/28/2009 2:44 PM EDT

I have to get on a plane in a few days to fly to America. Looking forward to it, but all this talk about the spread of swine flu has me wondering if I'll be admitted to the country in the first place. Why? Because like half of Ireland this July I have a cold.

You see, it's miserable here this summer. This morning when I woke up it was cold. Now, let me say, I know the difference between a cool, crisp summer morning - you know, the kind that gives way to sunny and 85 - and what we have, which is damp (really wet is more appropriate) and cool. It warmed up a bit today - probably hit 65 - but it's still raining hard outside.

Thanks to our 'fine summer' it seems like every other person has a cold here, as if it's early November. Maybe this will morph into the swine flu, but for the moment we all have sniffles and sneezes, but no fevers. Other than a very few of us, of course.

Still, I wonder if when I walk into the terminal building in what will, I'm sure, seem like stifling heat this weekend, will some officious health inspector want to detain me and my whole family when they hear our sneezing and see our red noses.