JOHN Hume will be home in Derry very shortly, if not this weekend, following his recent collapse and operation in Austria. Getwell messages have poured in from around the world to his Derry office, his Stormont office, his Westminster office, his Brussels office and his hospital in Kufstein. Among the thousands of people wishing the Nobel laureate a speedy recovery were Presidents Mary McAleese and Bill Clinton and David Trimble and Gerry Adams.
Hume may have been in his hospital bed for the past two weeks but he was still thinking of Northern Ireland. Among the world leaders who rang the hospital was the Taoiseach. He hoped to speak to Pat Hume to inquire after her husband's health but they put him straight through to John. John told Bertie he was sore and tired and then went straight into a discussion on developments in the North and what was happening in his absence.
The latest report is that he is comfortable and getting up and about.