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Peggy was the life and soul of the Old Folks Home; energetic, perpetually cheerful and full of interesting ideas for entertainment and activities for her fellow companions. However, her main difficulty was overcoming their inertia; they seemed content to sit in their armchairs watching daytime repeats of their favourite old television programmes. Particularly lethargic was […]

For those of us who lived or worked in hospital in the 60s and 70s Christmas Day was a memorable experience thanks to the great efforts made by the staff to create a cheerful  atmosphere for those unfortunate enough to be ill and away from home at this special time. On Christmas morning the hospital […]

How well I remember my first sight of Marilyn, wearing her pristine pink overall as she bent over the deep ward kitchen sink; arms and elbows deep in soap suds.  Never was the phrase ‘they have a face as if they are chewing a wasp’ more appropriate; indeed she looked as if she had not only chewed the […]

Ingarsby Lane is a common walk for dogs and their owners, a post lunch stroll for conscientious professionals walking off the calories and for young lovers wanting to get out of parental homes.  It’s a place for sharing secrets, quarrels, making-up, breaking-up, coming to terms with loss, thinking about new arrivals, new places and empty […]

The year was 1969 and I was keen to train as a nurse. My two children, a boy and a girl, were now of an age and growing up, allowing me time and energy to plan a career. I was living in Perth at the time and an advert in the local paper just fell […]

I started my nurse training at Park Hospital, Davyhulme in August 1985. It was not quite the days of Matron, aprons, starched hats and silver belt buckles – although the latter two were holding out in some quarters. It was still very hierarchical but informality was beginning to replace the rigid structure of old. It […]