THE ST. JAMES' JOURNAL

The Changing Years
 
Time you old Gypsy Man, Will you not stay,
Put up your Caravan just for one day.
All things I'll give you, Will you be my guest,
Bells for your gennet, of Silver the Best.
 
Goldsmith shall make you a great golden Ring,
Peacocks shall bawl for you, little boys sing,
And, sweet girls will garland you with May.
Time you old Gypsy Man, will you not stay?
 
Time cannot stand still however much we would wish it, but sweet memories of yester-year are ours for always. The Nurse of the 30's worked long hours, discipline strict, and the pay poor, but for all that, I can look back with affectionate nostalgia to the days of my training as a nurse in this Hospital, and realise that discipline, hard work and lack of money did not deter us from the more simple pleasures of life.
 
As most nurses were resident, there was a great emphasis on staff activities within the Hospital; tennis, swimming and dancing being the most popular. The monthly dances were a riot, boys to the left and girls to the right with Matron in the centre to see that we behaved ourselves.
 
There were separate drives for male and female staff, and woe betide the unfortunate nurse caught walking up the wrong drive with a member of the opposite sex.
 
The farm was a joy to patients and staff alike and any young animals born here were greatly fussed over. I well remember the tears being shed when a cow was delivered of stillborn twins; the cow dying shortly afterwards. Many are the times I have ridden a cart horse round the field by Gleave Villa, with my uniform dress (then four inches from the ankle) well tucked up. Meals were delivered to the Villas in a van drawn by a magnificent shire. Everybody loved her, not least of all her driver, a little old man with cheeks like a rosy apple, who addressed all female staff as 'My Lady'.
 
Having no porters in those days, meals were collected from the kitchen by nursing staff and patients, it was rather heavy work, especially if one was warded in an upstair ward, and if someone was careless enough to drop a can of hot soup down the stairs, that certainly presented problems.
 
Linen, clean and soiled, was transported to and from the Laundry in the same manner.
 
Christmas was a particularly happy time, the decorations not so sophisticated as now, but patients and staff worked hard for weeks making paper chains, lanterns and artificial flowers. Each ward had an issue of coloured tissue and crepe paper and you did the best you could with it.
 
Christmas Services in our Hospital Chapel were well attended. We had a full Choir and Orchestra in the Chapel on Christmas Day and the Choir would sing 'The Story of Bethlehem' (or another) during the service.
 
Patients were visited on the main corridors. The relatives and friends would present themselves to the Senior Nurse who in turn would detail a Junior to collect the patient from the ward. What a system! A work study team would revel in this working out the hours of nurse labour racing round the corridors.
 
The dances were well attended by staff and patients and very much enjoyed, but then we had the 'Palm Court Orchestra' (all musicians being members of the hospital staff).
 
One could write a book (or three or four for that matter) on the changes over the past 35 years, but I feel nurses haven't changed in their desire to be good nurses and to establish a happy relationship with their patients and colleagues.
 
But what advantages there are for the nurse of the '60s'. With upgrading, integration, our up-to-date Nurse Teaching Unit and the Educational Courses, the field of nursing has never offered more.
 
Would I put the clock back if I could? Yes, I probably would, but I still feel the advantage we had was the strict discipline and supervision. The older I get the more I feel that discipline should be an essential part of our lives.
V. E. W.
 
Spring 1968
 

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