King Rocker

I’ve been away for a few days, down in Sussex, visiting my mum and my stepdad – who’s rather poorly in hospital at the moment. He’s now in his 90s, making him a couple of decades older than the NHS, which turns 70 this very week. I wonder what his life might have been like had the NHS never existed.

Thanks to all the ambulance crews, nurses, doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists and associated clinical and non-clinical staff – from all over the world –  who’ve provided outstanding care to him, and who are there for all of us - day in, day out.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The NHS is one of this country’s greatest achievements, but it’s been consistently under attack from successive governments and Health Secretaries, and we MUST do everything we can to save it before it’s too late. It’s about time we improved ‘our’ care for ‘it’!

Our national rail infrastructure, like the NHS, is in need of proper investment and, in my opinion, proper ownership ‘by the people, for the people’ – and I’ve had a less-than-perfect experience travelling up and down the country these last few days – but this aging rocker provided a neat photo opportunity as I arrived at the bus stop back in Liverpool for the final leg of my journey home!

He put me in mind of Generation X’s song ‘King Rocker’ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bvzZ56sFjM

"Liverpool Johnny rocks out 'round Paul's place..."