On Friday, 24th January 1975, I got home from the late shift at about half past ten. It was too late to go out, so I made a sandwich and settled down in front of the television to watch the late film. About ten minutes later, the door bell rang. It was Bruce Kemble. Bruce […]
Hospital porter Part 2: Every comrade’s dream
©Steve Hammond My girlfriend, who was away studying at York University most of the time, was very cross that I had joined the Workers Revolutionary Party. She was left-wing but she saw Trotskyist groups as no different to the religious cults that pestered young people at the time, such as the Moonies and the Children […]
Hospital porter Part 1: Balancing on two wheels
Bloomsbury, 1987 I attended my last British Medical Association conference as a junior doctors’ representative one sunny Saturday. I had finished long years of postgraduate training and I had applied for a post as consultant psychiatrist in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (I did not get the job). The conference concerned a document called “Hospital Medical Staffing: Achieving a […]
Malcolm McLaren blanked me Part 2
For the benefit of younger readers, I must tie off some loose ends from part 1. Glen Matlock was the original bassist and main songwriter for the Sex Pistols. He was said to have been sacked for “liking the Beatles”. A talented man, he has had a successful career over the last 45 years, despite […]
Malcolm McLaren blanked me Part 1
“Jumbo” Edwards made me sit with Steve Hammond in French. This was meant to stop us disrupting the class. It did not work, but we discovered that we were both guitarists. Not long after, we started our first band and a little while after that I failed O-level French. By the time I started medical […]
“I’ve had such a curious dream” said Alice
On Monday, I was presented with an award by Alistair Campbell, who himself was given an award in the same ceremony. As it was all over my Twitter feed for a few hours (and has attracted some light trolling), I might as well acknowledge it. At present, there is a banner photo at the top […]
Carthage must be destroyed
Back in July 2017, the Welsh Government announced that the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol would be part of their legislative programme in the coming year. Today, the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill has been put before the Welsh Assembly. This is really good news, but minimum unit pricing […]
Small betrayals, Isaac Newton, John Milton and me
Most people might think that Isaac Newton and John Milton have very little in common with me, but they would be wrong. Despite some disparities with regard to stature within our chosen fields of endeavour, we belong to a select group. We (I like to think of the three of us as ‘we’) are all […]
One step forward, two steps back
I was never entirely sure about my mother’s attitude to religion, as she often criticised my father for being too dogmatic in his atheism. When she was dying, I asked her if she wanted any religious element in her funeral. “Of course I don’t!” she snapped back, “what would I want that for?” Then she […]
We have been here before
As I write, the news is dominated by the Grenfell Tower disaster. Yesterday it was confirmed that in the recent refurbishment flammable plastic cladding was installed rather than the recommended fire-proof alternative. This gave rise to a saving of £2/square metre. It is far too soon to say whether this was the main reason for […]