Blonde's Eye View: Ol' red eyes is back

Annually I'm condemned to a couple of weeks of the coke addict look, then my symptoms subside and I'm free to enjoy the delights of summer. Not this year: 2010 is the summer of the endless sniffle.

So many seem to be suffering: travelling on the Tube is like listening to a stuck record of snot, snorts and phlegm.

Even my country-reared mate - who chewed flowers till the age of 18, who usually sniffs at sniffly townies - is sneezing.

Hundreds of Wharfers are clinging to damp tissues, there's been a run on nasal sprays, and we've got so many red eyed workers we''re in danger of looking like the set of 28 Days Later.

The hayfever is more intense this year. Stronger.

Perhaps there is some weird mega plant that only blooms every 10 years, wafting its irritating seeds down the river from Kew Gardens.

Or one of the Wharf florists has been stuffing their off cuts into the air conditioning system?

Regardless of what's causing the problem, nothing seems able to dent the powerful pollen.

I gave up on antihistamines when I realised I was popping them like Smarties. Three of the one-a-day pills had me asleep, my head on the desk.

I woke with the imprint of the keyboard on my face and still sneezing.

Someone recommended I try a daily spoonful of local honey. Finding locally produced honey in the Docklands is no easy task.

Where do they keep the bees? On top of the towers?

It doesn't work - I just start each morning with a sickly kick.

If my hayfever doesn't ease soon I'll be forced to take drastic action: I'm willing to try anything.

Look out for a story in next week's paper about the crazy lady seen jumping into the dock.