Mick Jagger's Service Confirmed

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2011/07/hospital-porters-who-changed-world.html.
Following the above article that I wrote over ten years ago, I remembered the rather vague reference to Mick Jagger's porterhood and whether there was anything else out there about it. There is, from 2014 and from a very reputable source. NME- New Musical Express has been running since 1952 and has been the go-to one-stop-shop for all kinds of gossip from the music industry. The article has a very bad title: 28 Boring Day Jobs Musicians Did Before They Were Famous. That's not only deeply patronizing and ignorant of the NME journalist, it is untrue for nearly everybody who has ever expressed an opinion. I have only known a tiny number of people, a low single digit number, who described hospital portering as "boring". Adjectives more commonly used are: "fun", "satisfying", "interesting", "inspiring", "involving", "stressful", "challenging", "frightening" and "tiring". Anyway, the important point is that it comments on Mick's porting career at number seven: "Mick Jagger- Hospital porter. Jagger worked part time as a porter in Bexley Psychiatric Hospital when he was eighteen. An unlikely place for romance, legendary lothario Mick actually lost his virginity in the hospital to a nurse in a store cupboard." I personally doubt very much that Mick Jagger lost his virginity at eighteen; he must have done so years earlier. What's more I know of not one single HP who does not relate tall stories of the most impressive sexual escapades involving nurses and store cupboards, especially when they're in the social club and they've had a few. Source: https://www.nme.com/photos/28-boring-day-jobs-musicians-did-before-they-were-famous-1427661. Bexley Hospital closed on the 19th of September 2001, a hundred and three years to the day since it first opened. Today most of it has been demolished and redeveloped. Portering in psychiatric acute care is very different from general clinical work. It involves very different skills and aptitude. Although because I was at a general hospital my entire service I did some psychiatric work. When Mick Tweeted a merry Christmas to all his followers, I replied: "Merry Christmas, Mick. From a fellow hospital porter." Source: https://twitter.com/Porterhood/status/1474875165691498497. If he likes or replies, I'll let you know. Happy New Year all HPWA readers!