Dreconian

It has been cold and wet so I have spent most of the day working on my Life and Times book.

I found this Visitors Card for the hospital my dad was in for 10 weeks on 1951. His name was on the front, where it stated visiting was on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2-3.30. and these regulations were on the back. He had a stomach ulcer that his GP didn’t diagnose till he was very ill. It was apparently a disease of stockbrokers and businessmen, not farm workers. But eventually they did get him to hospital where he had what must have been a major operation in those days. Mum couldn’t visit on Sundays as there were no buses, but she went the other 2 permissible days. It took ages to get there - cycle 2 miles, get a bus to the nearest town from where she got another, then from Gala a further bus as this hospital was a leftover from the war and in the middle of nowhere. All for 1.5 hours! One time a friend with a car took us and I went - but no children were allowed in - I remember aged 4 waving to him from a window.

It hadn’t changed 9 years later when I was there to have my appendix removed. I started with pain and sickness on Friday night but it was Monday morning before my Mum dared call the doctor out. She didn’t think she could disturb his weekend. (The same no working-class ulcers one). Luckily I got there in the nick of time. The children’s ward must have been full as I was put in with old women. Of course none of my friends could visit. Not only would they have had no transport, but also, no children were allowed. I spent my birthday there, but got no visitors as it didn’t fall on a visiting day. Luckily by then we had a car so my mum came and brought me books, comics and letters from my friends.

Well some things changed for the better. The medics probably had better protective gear than they have now.

I recommend reading Marina Hyde in the Guardian today. She is at her vicious biting best.