Blood for Guinness

There was a blood drive recently here in Athlone; an admirable thing. There is an excellent twist on the giving of blood here in Ireland that I thought y’all might appreciate.

For those of you who have given blood, you know that the clinics, mobile and otherwise, are necessarily stocked with restoratives for those whose blood sugar might be too low either before or after the act of giving blood. These items are usually things like sugared sweets, cookies (biscuits), sometimes even sandwiches or potato crisps. Here in Ireland they also offer an iron-rich drink in half pint dosages . . . that’s right, ladies and gentlemen – the noble pint of porter.

God bless Ireland.