Maggie’s Cancer Centre, Oxford

I’m in Oxford today; I drop our neighbour T, off at the Oxford Cancer Centre and then catch a bus into the city for a bit of a wander around.  I have a few hours to kill, while a combination of drugs and radio waves do their best to kill off her cancer.

It’s very busy and I find a small coffee bar, get a small coffee and take a moment to get my breath back.  After perusing a couple of bike shops and a camera shop, I stumble across - joy of joys - Blackwells book shop.  It’s been years since I’ve been inside.  

I spend ages browsing, buy a couple of books and a set of drinks coasters in the shape and style (but not the size) of 45rpm vinyl records.  These will provide protection for hot drinks as well as the odd emergency blip.

I’m a bit early on my return to the hospital, so I wander into the Maggie’s Centre to wait.  

This is the perfect place to be for anyone affected by cancer - friend, family or patient.  Or in my case, survivor.  

It’s quiet and comfortable.  The architecture has a calming effect. I grab a cup of tea and sit in that swivel chair near the window and wait.

There are over 20 Maggie’s Centres around the country; the original - in Edinburgh - was the brainchild of designer Maggie Jenks and her husband Charles in the 1990s.  She was left to deal with the news that her cancer was incurable in a windowless, noisy, hospital corridor.  She thought there had to be a better way.  And here it is.

“Above all what matters is not to lose the joy of living, in the fear of dying.”
Maggie Jenks.