READER Robert Ball has written to me to complain that I moan a lot in my column. He’s right – I do, but then there is an awful lot in the world to moan about.

So just for Robert I’m starting off with something positive.

While I was enjoying a lovely holiday in Turkey I felt ill the first week with a sore throat.

Despite taking some pain killers and resting, the next morning my throat felt like I had razor blades in it.

So we went to a nearby pharmacy to ask if there was anything I could take. The pharmacist spoke excellent English and I explained my symptoms.

He said it sounded like an infection and asked me if I was allergic to anything – specifically penicillin. I told him I wasn’t and he then produced antibiotics and a throat spray.

He told me to take the full course of tablets and charged me the equivalent of £6 for both items. Although the pills were the biggest I’ve ever seen – I did wonder whether he’d given me suppositories – I forced one down and used the spray. Later that day I felt loads better and by the next morning I was feeling like normal. How simple and easy it was.

Now I know all the medics out there will be saying that you shouldn’t give out antibiotics like Smarties and I would agree. I’m not much of a pill popper and had I been in this country I would have bought some over the counter remedy from the chemist to make me feel better and probably gone to bed early feeling sorry for myself.

But how convenient would it be if pharmacists over here could give out medicines like that? Cut out the middle man. After all pharmacists need to be highly qualified and modern databases could keep a record of people and what they were prescribed so they weren’t given too many drugs.

It would save all the hassle of trying to get an appointment with the doctor – which these days is about as easy as an audience with the Pope.

n So on to another whinge – mother and child parking spaces.

Today I went shopping at Aldi in Crosfield Street and witnessed lots of misuse of these parking spaces.

The store is undergoing development so it has changed spaces around and you can now only go one way round the car park.

But as these spaces are the nearest ones to the store, people without children think it is somehow acceptable to use them.

Of the four people I saw parking there, not one had a child with them. None of them appeared to be incapacitated in any way – just lazy.

The idea of these spaces is for harassed mums and dads with little ones to have more room to get their offspring in and out of car seats and not have far to carry them to the trolleys. They deserve the space because it’s hard work shopping with youngsters.

It’s not for the idle middle aged with shiny new cars who can’t be bothered to walk.

Sorry Robert – I’m off on one again!