August 2018 – Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion)

Now.

If I have told you once I have told you 106 times. Here, Look at this detail, It is significant! relevant! שים לב Point your heart here. …I know you laugh, You and your crew; Mocking my attention to detail, My scrupulousness, The meticulous aspect of my everyday Life. I am the microcosm Without which NothingContinue reading “Now.”

Yesterday I didn’t blag

My teacher Naomi,

One of the most incredible people I have ever known;

She was artist and scientist,

Mother,

Thinker,

Philosopher

And friend.

Jeremy

I have been battling with my brother for the past six months or so on the Corbyn situation. Essentially, he sees him as an outspoken critic of Israel, Anti-Semitic and representing all that is bad in relation to the left-wing of British politics. I always quite liked him (JC) – in his stance against ApartheidContinue reading “Jeremy”

Countdown…

I remember Sitting On my grandfather’s bed, 43 Newark Drive, as Countdown Played-out on the TV. Channel 4 With Richard Whiteley And Carol Vorderman. He Would rapidly calculate the sums adding, subtracting, timsing and dividing To reach an obscure number; Juggling Letters to arrive at the High-scorer. And, Always, At fourContinue reading “Countdown…”

this is the end

When I was little There was a place on the South Side of Glasgow Where we sometimes went (dad & I) on bleak Sunday mornings, To dispose of items no longer useful or desired. It was ‘The Tip’ A maw. A dark Mechanical Mouth that consumed All. Many years later IContinue reading “this is the end”

Ask not what. (TR4)

And perhaps

A kidnapped

Beauty.

An old dog’s dream (TR2)i

I wake. It is perhaps 130 in the morning; & make my way to the computer. Old, sleeping dog, cataracts, deaf & rheumy joins; she doesn’t stir. I type-out a list of my thoughts, from one, it stretches to three pages of single spacing. It must be her nose thatContinue reading “An old dog’s dream (TR2)i”

Bee

I remember I was Perhaps 14. A dusty pine forest outside Jerusalem. I met a girl With an allergy To bees. She said If she was stung It could kill her. I was stunned By the precarious nature of her existence. Here one moment, Gone the next; And, IContinue reading “Bee”

Barbara Robb – Sans Everything

Originally posted on Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion):
Yesterday, at the Dementia 2017 Conference in London I heard one of the most stunning – devastating and uplifting stories in years. Claire Hilton, Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry in North West London, discussed Barbara Robb, describing her battle to improve conditions for long-term residents in psychiatric…

Mindfulness and patient safety

Originally posted on Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion):
Being aware is one of the first lessons in patient safety. Awareness of self, of environment, of our patients; so often we walk around with our head in clouds of worry and thought, so called, mind-wandering – thinking about the shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, what…

Management hemianopia

Hemianopia, partial loss of the field of vision, is a condition usually the result of a stroke although other neurological disorders such as tumours can be responsible. From the Greek; hemi – half, an – without, opia – sight. Damage to an individual’s brain in the area responsible for interpreting visual input is the mostContinue reading “Management hemianopia”

Give me the energy

Give me the energy to be me When I want to be; Give me the movement And strength When I need it; Give me a hand, Give me a smile. Remember me when you have Moved-on.

Environment

We, that is those working in health and social care live with the spectre of Mid-Staffs hanging over us; the comparison, the worst you can imagine, like telling someone they are ugly.

Yoda (Yehudit?)

The past and the present are one –

Just, as Kurt says in his great book.

another shaggy dog.

With Tired eyelids I steel myself in the meeting. Challenged to maintain my composure and pretend that I have an interest in the words and numbers And data and anonymous information That I know is important to the machinations of health and care and society but which Pass me by; Like a child withoutContinue reading “another shaggy dog.”