As the spring of 1981 arrived, the end of my general surgery ordeal came into sight. My spirits lifted, because the second three months of my surgical house job was to be in orthopaedics, which I expected to be dull but civilised. Easter fell at the beginning of April, and it included Steve Hammond’s birthday. […]
Archive | Music
Graduation Day
The last year at medical school was marked by a gathering sense of dread as Finals approached. Although we had had innumerable tests over the years, these were just way marks. Qualification rested entirely on the results of a heavy schedule of written and viva voce exams taken in late May and early June, and […]
Northern Line part 3 Skinhead Moonstomp revisited
My years at medical school coincided with a hugely exciting period in the history of British popular music. I was living and studying around central London, which was exactly the right place to be. Almost without effort, I saw many of the best and most exciting young bands when they were still on their way […]
Hospital Porter Part 5: Dr Robert
By Catherine Robinson on 18th August 2021 in 1970s, Hospitals, Medical School, Music, Social Mobility
My school reports chart uneven academic progress. I lurched between failure and success, often scraping by. I loved science and read about it for fun. During one half-term holiday when I was 13 I read the whole GCE O-level curriculum for physics in the public library. This had a positive impact on my performance for […]
Hospital porter Part 4: A fit-up
I have often attended courts as a psychiatrist. My experience of the justice system, criminal and civil, has ranged from matters trivial to grave. As a student, I was a plaintiff in a case in the small claims court. I was awarded the value of the faulty goods plus costs. At the other end of […]
Hard times in the land of plenty
Most people know someone a bit like Donald Trump. The only unusual thing about him is the huge amount of money that he inherited. He parades his faults shamelessly. I would be reluctant to talk to him at a party, let alone vote for him. The polls suggest that many people gave him their vote […]
Reasons to be cheerful
What if the worst happens? Well, it has. Donald Trump is going to be President of the USA. His campaign rested on his status as an existential “winner”, a promise to reverse America’s misfortunes through the power of will and the demonization of minorities. These ideas belong to a political tradition that is indistinguishable from […]
Lost struggles
Last week, Sally Brampton walked into the sea and died. Her editorial and authorial skills were widely admired, and her death caused a lot of sadness. For a few days, mental illness amongst the famous was back in the news. I thought that the media coverage of her death was pretty appropriate in tone, but […]
The Viking of 6th Avenue
In 1970, I bought my very first LP. It was a cheap double album sampler called “Fill Your Head With Rock”. I bought it with money I had been given for my 14th birthday. The album was essentially a tacky marketing ploy by CBS, but it introduced me to a number of artists that have […]
Bandipur blues again
We have been in Karnataka for more than three weeks now, and we fly home after the weekend. Dr Tony Ryan has joined us, bringing his usual energy and drive. We are struggling to find time to hold all of the meetings and visits that we need, which seems ridiculous in the context of such […]