IT is difficult to imagine the anguish faced by Hilary Cowie and her family as they wait for a new heart that she so desperately needs.She has now been fitted with a revolutionary artificial heart which should keep her alive while the wait continues.

IT is difficult to imagine the anguish faced by Hilary Cowie and her family as they wait for a new heart that she so desperately needs.

She has now been fitted with a revolutionary artificial heart which should keep her alive while the wait continues.

A real sadness for anyone in this position is that they know they are effectively waiting for someone else to die for a heart to become available.

But in a situation like this it is all they can hope for - there is no other treatment that can offer her hope in the long term.

Heart transplant surgery has come an enormous way in the last 30 year.

Back in the late 1970s every transplant was front-page news and the recovery of every patient was followed in great detail.

Now heart transplants are routine operations in major cardiac hospitals. They offer real hope to people who, a generation ago, would have none at all.

We join with Hilary Cowie and her family in hoping that a suitable donor heart does become available soon to give her the chance of continuing her busy life and preparing for her wedding.

IPSWICH boss Jim Magilton will have summed up the feelings of everyone connected with the football club when he unleashed his broadside at his under-performing players after Saturday's match against Southend.

After two good results there will have been many Town fans thinking: “Maybe things are on the turn. Maybe the team will be better next season.”

They will have gone to Portman Road on Saturday expecting to see further evidence of this improvement, possibly enough of an improvement to renew their season tickets or even to persuade some casual fans that it might be worthwhile buying a season ticket for the first time.

But on Saturday the team once again showed its weak and fragile side. Once again it showed that as sure as night follows day a good performance will be followed by a capitulation at Portman Road.

Club directors must have been left with real sinking feeling at the end of the first half on Saturday - and won't have felt much better at full-time.

Suddenly the victories over QPR and Hull look even more important - the cushion they gave the Tractor Boys should be enough to ensure Championship survival, but few fans will have gone home on Saturday looking forward to next season with much optimism.

WHEN Tolly Cobbold stopped brewing in Ipswich there was a real feeling of loss in the town. The name may live on in Greene King-brewed beer, but it's not quite the same.

So it is good to be able to report that commercial brewing is back in the town - albeit on a slightly smaller scale than that previously employed at Cliff Quay!

St Jude's is rapidly building up a fine reputation among real ale fans after its successful launch at last year's Ipswich Beer Festival, and as the word is spread it seems certain to find more outlets.

It should not be long before Frank Seymour and Colleen Walsh have to find a more practical delivery vehicle than a Triumph GT6 sports car.