Sir, - When I was a small boy growing up in Mullingar many years ago, it was common enough to hear grown-ups talking to themselves as they walked along the street. When they found themselves suddenly in the proximity of fellow walkers they would suspend all audible thoughts momentarily.
Now, having entered my declining years, I find talking to myself relaxing, satisfying and a very positive method of relieving stress. The difference is that my conversation flow can continue unselfconsciously as I stroll along busy thoroughfares because, you see, I purchased a mobile phone. - Yours, etc., B. Newman,
Greenfields, Limerick.