Blog Articles

Primum non nocere

Lying on trolleys like some discarded sacks Waiting for a passing nurse to offer solace Patients cry for help and family stand, wide-eyed Drinking in the scene-of harried staff who Rush around - no time to stop and care, Too busy meeting targets, managing flow....

Re cultivating the need to nurture

“By the time you are 50, it’s either God or the garden,” said a close friend a decade ago when she was approaching her half century. At a decade younger than she was, I had laughed, pointed out that it had always been the garden for her, and that I couldn’t see me...

Relying on the comfort of strangers.

“He sails out of Southampton.” “Yes!” “I remember when he was born. You were so excited; your first grandson.” I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I couldn’t really help it, given I was early, my stylist busy with her previous client and there was nobody else in the room....

Recognising the dangers of a depleted system

I’m scared.  What I’ve seen play out before me over the last few weeks scares me as much, if not more than the events of the few short crazy weeks leading up to the first national lockdown in March 2020. Back then there was a sense of solidarity, of battle...
Re-galvinising: after the loss.

Re-galvinising: after the loss.

My dog died last week. She was my second baby, my shadow, my companion, for 15 years. I was her top dog and she was mine. She spent her days at my feet, or cuddled up nearby while I worked, often discernible in the corner of a zoom meeting. If I lay on the sofa, she...

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Respecting: a Lesson in Generosity

Respecting: a Lesson in Generosity

A glorious May in a Northern city. Being out in the empty streets at 9 o’clock in the evening was strangely soothing; people had gone home from their offices, the shops were closed and the large, black buildings had heaved a sigh and settled down for the night. I...

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Reinforcing the power of humanity

Reinforcing the power of humanity

“And what skill will you be teaching?” “Guitar,” came the reply. “Great!” My enthusiasm was somewhat fake. In my experience the few surgeons who tried to teach guitar in five minutes, failed miserably. Depending on your experiences of guitars – or surgeons I will...

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Repulsed by cruelty

Repulsed by cruelty

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” I was taught to say this at school if called a name – and I did, when I was. Even before I began to be a spectacles wearer – not a cool look in 1978 – I was singled out for being small, skinny and...

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Remembering my Grandparents.

Remembering my Grandparents.

Grandparents. I used to worry I would be sacked over mine. For many years I had seven of them, and was terrified some of them would die at once and my employers would claim I was making up their funerals to get out of work. Most grown adults have no more than four and...

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Recognising Patient Fears

Recognising Patient Fears

She’d sat and waited for nearly four hours by the time it was her turn to be called through. It was late one Friday evening, and the department had been busy with what seemed like a constant stream of pre-alerts and ambulances. As a team we had dealt with a multitude...

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