1.
Happy New Year - Hilary Boyle |
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This
palindromic year has clearly been a fascination, triggering much recent
correspondence in the Guardian letters page (whoops! what a confession - I
promise I don't eat muesli, cultivate a beard or wear sandals except in summer).
Rather than contemplating the digits, I indulged in a surreal daydream where
'forward movement’ really did begin to go 'backwards" - rather like a
cartoon running in reverse with shattered fragments regrouping to a whole. It
was refreshing to fantasise some of the less worthy NHS reforms disappearing. I
try to believe that most of the recent 'reforms" in the Health Service are
inspired by the desire to improve quality of care and that none - perish the
very thought - have any other political or financial motivation than achieving
that goal. Any change will inevitably bring disruption and difficulty during the
transition process. Most changes are - or at least seem to be, to those of my
vintage, who have survived previous NHS re-organisations - cyclical, which does
undermine ones confidence in it. However – New year resolution number 2 - keep
positive, and believing that the hard work of all members of the profession, to
ensure progress is indeed for the benefit of the patients, will bear fruit
Perhaps this palindromic year could indeed see a reverse of fortunes.
Some consolation may be had from the predictions of a friend in health service management (confession number two!) Two years ago, he suggested that, five years hence, there would only be five super hospitals in the region. Although rather smaller than ideal, the new Worcestershire would be one of these, protected by its status or a PFI. I presume this is analogous to the cloak of invincibility worn by a community hospital not too far distant, named after the People's Princess. I am hoping so.
Hilary
Boyle
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After
many weeks of training and cycling around the countryside in circles, the time
for talking had gone and the moment to leave and do it for real had now arrived!
I left early on 25th July to sort out transport, insurance etc, a few days
before Steph and the boys were due to fly out.
At
Gatwick there was a half-hearted attempt to prevent foot and mouth by washing
the bike wheels with Dettol before packaging up the bike for the flight. An easy
trip via
48 hours later the bike was delivered
to the hotel at 5am, so I decided to get on the road. At that hour only the very
pleasant, but camp, receptionist was around to see me off. He was most intrigued
about the trip and seemed to take a particular interest in my lycra cycling
shorts. It was a cold and damp morning with the first task to be dipping the
rear wheel in the
The
next day was along the flat
Onwards
the next day out of Washington State into Idaho with the prospect of some big
climbs which started around the lovely Couer d'Alene lake and led on to the 41
of July Pass and Lookout Pass (480Oft) into Montana. This meant one time zone
change - a great source of confusion on the trip. Wherever I stopped, people
stared as if the last bicycle they had seen was in Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid. In fact until reaching
It was good to meet up with them in
31
days of cycling
3055 miles in total 13 states visited
Chris
Gates
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"Bring warm clothes" we
were instructed. So at 6.30pm on one of the hottest nights of the year, Medical
Society members queued outside
But
first, there was a gastronomic feast. The "Promenaders" laid their
rugs right at the front, and the rest of us with chairs, bagged good spots in
the "Stalls". Picnic hampers, cool boxes and Sainsbury's bags revealed
a tempting array of delicatessen gourmandise, and, with curtain up within the
hour, some serious eating and drinking was required.
Replete,
we settled in to watch Heartbreak Productions convince us that this secluded
corner of Witley Court grounds was somewhere in Italy. The still, warm evening
helped the illusion, and a banner displayed at each scene change ensured that
the audience knew where we were meant to be. So we joined Katharina and her
dysfunctional family.
Her
father, Baptista, was a suitably ineffectual single parent, and Kate's display
of "terrible twos" temper tantrums and attention- seeking behaviour
was nicely balanced by her infuriatingly goody-goody sister Bianca, who
certainly had more than a touch of minx about her. Surely, just a typical
As
a recent "Mother of the Bride" myself, I could only sympathise with
poor Kate when her bridegroom turned up for the wedding dressed in a tatty pair
of shorts, showing more buttock than a hospital theatre gown. Her punishment
continued as she was deprived first of attending her own wedding reception, then
deprived of her dinner, her sleep (including, we understand, any sex), and
possibly worst of all, was tantalised by a lovely new designer outfit that she
was not allowed to keep. The psychology certainly seemed to work, but even
Petruchio was not entirely convinced by Kate's capitulation. Kate had simply
learned new and more subtle man-management techniques.
Of
course, no Shakespeare comedy is complete without its identity swaps. With many
characters to cast, and just seven actors, there were more than just the
scripted swaps. However, it was hard to spot the doubling up of roles and all
credit to the energetic players for managing it so smoothly. The Shrew has no
gender swapping in the plot, but Heartbreak Productions gave us their own bit of
cross dressing by casting a very able actress as Tranio, and the third bride in
the final scene - the rich widow - appeared with falsetto voice and beard. An
excellent evening's entertainment for a bargain £7.50.
The
short interval allowed little time for socialising. With the inevitable queue
for the Ladies' loo, I had a scant ten minutes to check out the quality of the
Booths' picnic. They probably had more china plates, more strawberries and much
more beer, but we had a table (with cloth), a citronella candle and a home-made
lemon tart.
At
the end of the performance, Petruchio appealed for the audience to donate any
left over picnic to the cast. The "Promenaders" responded with a few
lobbed items of food, and it was good to see that payment in kind is making a
come-back. In these times of threatened mass resignation from the NHS, we should
all take comfort.
The Annual General Meeting was - due to a clash with the October half-term holidays - not fully attended but nevertheless a lively affair. It is always enjoyable reliving the pleasurable events of the social year - despite the severe limitations caused by the foot and mouth on the original programme - and it was also good to hear of the healthy financial state.
Geoff
Summers relinquished the chair to the new President, Richard Davies, with Jan
Meggy being made Vice President. There were numerous new members (Dr Margaret
Grant, Mr Richard Downing, Dr Oliver Owen-Smith, Dr Caroline Heath, Dr Elizabeth
Palmer, Mr Nick Hickey, Dr John Scanlon, Dr Marie Hanlon). The select gathering
was joined by partners afterwards for an excellent meal.
All of the new members are given due notice that they will be approached for a brief introduction to themselves for the wider membership, to be printed in future Newsletter editions!
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May
I submit the following piece for publication in the next Kidderminster Medical
Society newsletter? The publication of an unadulterated article, contrary to the
views of the editor, would , I think , be good evidence of editorial integrity!
I
was sorry to read of Barrie Davies' experiences in the September newsletter (On
the Banks of the River Nile). It seems that he spent most of his time in
Sadly,
many who make a living from the tourist industry (the second major source of
income for Egyptians) are compelled to do so out of unimaginable poverty. The
latest United Nations figures show that 26.5% of the Egyptian population does
not even have the minimum daily calorie intake recommended by the WHO. 25-40% of
all Egyptian children have growth retardation due to malnutrition. Infant
mortality is rife and 75% of pregnant women are anaemic. Over 90% of the
population have less than one US dollar (66p) to spend, per person, per day.
(1998 figures).
The
literal meaning of Baksheesh is "sharing of the wealth". In that
culture, the rich are expected to share their wealth with the poor. This is not
to be equated with tipping, for services rendered; the link with a little
service is simply to make the recipient feel a little less
humiliated.
Most of us can, I think, contemplate giving to the poor directly without
expecting equivalent services in return. And those of us who cannot, or face the
realities of world poverty, should perhaps venture no further than
As
far as the customs of tipping (in return for services) alone are concerned, a
well known international travel guide declares that..."Worldwide, American
travellers are considered the world's best tippers. In a Conde Nast survey a
couple of years back Australians, French and Italians were accused of being the
meanest. Germans were considered fair but predictable and the British suspected
of "hiding behind a convenient affectation that only the vulgar tip."
Tipping generosity also varies amongst professionals; a survey of 5000 service
providers by BARTENDER magazine in December 2000 revealed that..."Lawyers
and doctors are the worst tippers. Normally, doctors are the #1 tightwads. In
rougher times, it's lawyers"…
Therefore one cannot really blame our author who perhaps has cultural and professional constraints to Baksheesh. I would however suggest handing out something a little less humiliating to the recipient than the one dollar bills recommended by the author, when sharing one's wealth. Giving someone 5 dollars means that their family would be able to have at least a decent meal that evening. And spending perhaps £100 or £150 this way while on holiday, at least makes me feel a little bit better about enjoying a lifestyle which the teeming millions in the host country cannot even dream about. It is after all a very small proportion of what we spend every year merely on our holidays.
An
excellent viewpoint on what is certainly a controversial subject!
However, I have always been brought up with the view that a tip is a reward for
the quality of service offered and the size of the tip reflects on that quality.
Charity on the other hand is a completely different matter and I’m sure Noor
will agree that Brits in general and doctors in particular are not the #1
tightwads in this respect !!
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A
number of ground-breaking innovations were adopted for this year's formal social
event. Ninety four members and their guests were welcomed by the President Dr.
Geoff Summers and his wife Mary at Spring Grove House on September,
28th.
Among
the gathering, we were delighted to greet our local MP, Dr. Richard Taylor and
his wife Chris, as well as a number of retired General Practitioners. Most local
Practices were well represented, as usual, with a rather more select group of
Consultants.
For
this occasion, the formal dinner was replaced by an excellent and varied buffet
and after the meal the only speech was a short address by Dr. Summers. He took
the opportunity to thank members for their splendid support for the other social
events held during the course of his Presidential year and also to express his
appreciation for those who had helped to organise the evening's festivities.
During and after the meal, the musical entertainment was provided by Pete Hartley and Friends. This bright and jazzy group eventually encouraged a number of members and guests onto the dance floor with their spirited interpretations of many familiar tunes and vocals from the 1960's and beyond. There is no doubt that a very enjoyable time was had by all!
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