I didn’t really know what I was doing Climbing Over a wall beneath The Acropolis. Greek police were Shouting at me As I hid The pomegranate In my rucksack. xxx Granatas Aš tikrai nežinojo, ką darau Laipiojimas Virš siena po žeme Akropolis. Graikijos policija buvo Šaukė prieš mane Aš paslėpiau Granatas Mano kuprinėje. (Lithuania)Continue reading “Pomegranate/Granatas/Granātābols/Granaatõun/Garnet”
Monthly Archives: April 2018
Vos Machst du?
We had a patient in the ward recently. I won’t say exactly where she came from, but suffice it to say, she originated in one of the Baltic states – that is, a country neighbouring the Baltic Sea. I have always found the Baltic the funniest sea, mainly because of its use in Glasgow slang…Continue reading “Vos Machst du?”
Small is beautiful
ure, there are workforce and financial hurdles, but, the most valuable resources are people, and, by, supporting and nurturing their emotional, intellectual and experiential capital things happen.
Fake news, the NHS and Middle East
…this of course doesn’t mean that you won’t be the sucker to die on the tablet, you are just less likely.
(lots of references!)
Person-centred mainstream?
I gave my annual lecture to the Sheffield University Medical Students on Thursday. It was the hottest day of the year. I have been standing in front of the students for something like 15 years – since I was training to become what I am today, a doctor obsessed with person-centred care, helping older people,Continue reading “Person-centred mainstream?”
Tell me what has been happening.
This is how I often start, begin the conversation, listen to the story from the perspective of the husband or wife, son or daughter. They tell me about my patient, the deterioration, the frequent acknowledgment that things are getting worse, that they see the future. And, the system, the trying to do itsContinue reading “Tell me what has been happening.”
Do I look Yemenite in this?
This evening I had one of those encounters; We were out for a meal at the local Indian restaurant. Head Waiter: You from Yemen? RK: Glasgow. HW: Glasgow? RK: Glasgow. WH: Oh. I get this in various iterations, usually when I meet someone from a different culture, often an immigrant to the UK – folkContinue reading “Do I look Yemenite in this?”
Time travel
Looking at you Standing By your green tent, I know, Soaked with morning dew, your tired eyes and stiff shoulders from a disturbed night on the ground. I can almost feel what it is to be back in those days; The uncertainty Of what is to come, The relief of journey half done, TheContinue reading “Time travel”
Slime
I have in my garage, transported from my last office, a spinning top that used to belong to my mum.
Death plans…
Do you have a death plan? What should happen if you die? I ask these questions as I facilitated a table at the Yorkshire and Humber Dementia Network event on Thursday about ‘Dying Well with Dementia’ The table could just have been ‘dying well’ as what kills you doesn’t really matter – when you’re deadContinue reading “Death plans…”
One week on. (in AMU)
I hadn’t laughed so much (about me, A and C’s stupidity) since arriving in Rotherham; this is the secret to significant improvements in health.
Shtetl (2)
Your dad offered me 10 Zlotys then he changed his mind and offered me eight. I took the eight.
Mind-wandering
My mind wanders Like Papa-fly Stuttering across a Window. Stop- Start. Unpredictable Meandering. Illogical Connections That tie one moment To the next. Psychic Tag. When I was a kid They used to play Jew-bug; This meant That you would infect person A with person B’s bug. Anti-Semitic Contagion. Continue reading “Mind-wandering”
Mrs Welsh
You will need to read my Shtetl blog to understand this post 🙂
Shtetl
I have just watched Marian Marzynski’s Shtetl on Vimeo; here is the link. He documents his journey to the village of Brańsk in Poland in 1996, with Nathan Kaplan – a 70-year-old American who is researching his family’s history – aided by an anomalous moustachioed Polish man called Zbigniew Romaniuk. I found it fascinating andContinue reading “Shtetl”
Power
Who has the power? Who can make you happy or sad? Who can make you drop and do 20 press-ups? It is a matter of control and influence. We so often blame others for our unhappiness; he made me do it; I feel this way because they ignored me or acknowledged me – we areContinue reading “Power”
Say what you see.
Say what you see, not what you think, and definitely not what you think others see or perceive; translate the reality before you into clear, words, sentences and paragraphs. Take your time. There is no rush; if you wait a moment or two before expressing your conception, nothing will be lost. How often is itContinue reading “Say what you see.”
Eye contact
There was a strange moment; it must have lasted all of half a second; walking through Green Park in London, watching the cherry blossom fall, the pigeons peck. A man in his late thirties, trim, short, cropped hair, he shouts as his daughter, ‘Come here, this minute!’ only, he is talking in Hebrew. You see,Continue reading “Eye contact”
Lamassu
The Lamassu Winged god Protector of the city of Nineveh; Destroyed/looted/defaced In Iraq as consequence of the chaos following the fall of SH; I met him/her yesterday. (not SH, rather, the god) Installation On the 4th plinth at Trafalgar Square In all his/her/its glory made from Flattened cans of date syrup. Earlier, weContinue reading “Lamassu”
fat/talk
Young woman, (Wellcome Collection), talking to us in a distracted way via patchwork pig cradled in her arms. She gets us to think about meaning and metaphor. It is an oversized fatty tumour; I guess, that is the best way to describe the image standing on two feet, varicose ulcers adorning stocky legs.Continue reading “fat/talk”
Being Jeremy Hunt
In the past when I have written about Mr Hunt I have struggled to use his name, generally preferring the abbreviation ‘JH’ or just that man. As if, by not naming him he is less real, more likely to be the product of a too-vivid nightmare. But, alas, he is real. This leads me toContinue reading “Being Jeremy Hunt”
Why I don’t like (clinical) pathways – a physician speaks.
None of my patients seem to fit-into pathways, and that is a problem, for, as I say, the system is bedevilled with them.
Dying man
I thought I had aleady blogged about my patient and his dog. I hadn’t. He was breathless And now, I realise At the time, things were too raw too proximate to translate into 500-odd words of text. The man was dying. Heart failure, COPD, Frailty – The mechanism is not whatContinue reading “Dying man”
What do people think?
I have been blogging now for almost three years – thanks to those of you who have stuck with me throughout. For the odd person who has read every blog – hats off to you and cheers. I originally started writing back in 2015, following a period where I felt a little lost, with theContinue reading “What do people think?”
Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion) 