Missing Piece (Wednesday)

I got back from Town Hospital to my home in the City and packed up a suitcase before setting off on the long drive along the motorway to the New Town in which I’ll be working for the next 12 months

I was on the road to the new deanery for about 3 and a half hours last night and motorway driving at night time has a sort of hypnotic quality to it, don’t you think? The hum of rubber on tarmac and the shifting glare of the headlights and the moon were conspiring to send me into a bit of a trance and I almost ended up zoning out totally. I had to pump up the stereo and sing some Erasure to stop myself falling asleep.

I’d been badgering the accommodation officer in my new hospital for several days and she had eventually managed to organise a room for me to stay in. I arrived at the new hospital just after midnight and was happy to find my keys were waiting for me at reception. After a brief chat with the receptionist, I headed off to my room.

Did any of you see that T.V. show where Gail Porter, Sean Hughes and Janet Street-Porter had to work as health care assistants? The thing I remember most about that show was when they were shown the hospital accommodation and Janet Street-Porter flat-out refused to stay there and threatened to leave the show altogether if they tried to make her. Hospital accommodation is usually pretty grim and the accommodation blocks at New Town hospital are no exception but I was so grateful that I had somewhere to sleep that night that the stains on the carpet and the sticky surfaces didn’t bother me.

I opened the door to my room and turned on the light and the sight that greeted me took me completely by surprise. There was no bed in the bedroom. I’m pretty sure that a bed is an essential component for a bedroom to have but there was none to be seen. The blankets were neatly folded on the desk but there was no bed!

After the drive, I was pretty shattered and I gave serious thought to sleeping on the floor but common-sense prevailed. I went back and explained the situation to the receptionist and three phone calls and 45 minutes later, I was settling into the emergency accommodation room. The bed was lumpy and uncomfortable, but it was a bed none-the-less and I drifted off to sleep contemplating the day ahead.

to be continued…