Wednesday, 6 June 2018

NHS Seventieth Anniversary

At times I have the bad habit of letting my heart overwhelm my head. I am well aware that the UK's National Health Service will be seventy years old on the fifth of July and, indeed, I remember the sixtieth ten years ago. I attended a special event at Oxford Town Hall where I received a medal from the Lord Mayor, Susanna Pressel (She was my teacher at school and she totally failed to recognize me. I didn't feel inclined to remind her). The seventieth anniversary is going to be a far more glitzy showbiz event than the sixty-year mark and I don't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed that I will not be taking part. Prince William has given a very passionate speech about the NHS and its servicemen, see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44102318. A number of servicemen will be singled out for special recognition, but the prince made sure to point out the "inspirational skill, care and dedication" of everybody in the NHS. The tinseltown nature of the upcoming gala is going to need a separate review, but ITV and the Daily Mirror are hosting the celebrations. I must not allow myself to be star-struck into irrationality. Probably the pageant will be intended to have that very effect on the viewer. Will we be given even a hint of the truth? This seventieth birthday of the NHS will actually be a deathbed gathering, or maybe even a wake. See here for more details: http://hpanwo-hpwa.blogspot.com/2014/07/allyson-pollock-at-tedx.html.