Monday 22nd April; Birmingham
With the forecast set for rain most of the day, and both of us with heavy colds, we had rather thought a few jobs and a generally quiet day might be in order. The Museum/Art Gallery is closed for refurbishment, except for an exhibition which is closed on Mondays. We could have walked to the cathedral to see the Burne-Jones windows. We have seen them before when the rest of the cathedral was shuttered for major renovations which made for a very narrow experience so another visit would have been good. I quite fancied a lunchtime concert at the Symphony Hall too. Instead before 9 I found myself walking through Symphony Court in the rain on the way to the NHS drop-in centre at the big Boots. I paused at Gillian Wearing’s sculpture of ‘A Real Birmingham family’.
This family – two sisters and their children – was chosen from many applicants by a panel which included representatives from local organisations, including faith organisations.
In Boots I was startled to find a sexual health clinic instead of a drop-in centre (and I think the young women on duty were just as surprised to see me!) The pharmacist found me the next nearest – less than two miles away and incidentally closer to the boat. I sat in a bus shelter to find the way on my phone and it occurred to me to ask a bus driver … 5 minutes later I was upstairs in a steamy crowded bus and arrived in less than 20 minutes. After a bit of back-and-forth I discovered you ‘dropped in’ to A and E to be triaged first. I assumed I’d just got a chest infection and would be packed off home with antibiotics, but hadn’t considered that chest pain and shortness of breath would ring alarm bells for NHS staff! After the ECG and bloods I had plenty of time to read my book
and observe my fellow patients. A very mixed bunch indeed from babies to the elderly, many languages could be heard, and some people looked very poorly indeed but there were no frayed tempers in spite of the lengthy waits. Anyway, I wasn’t having a heart attack. After a chest x-ray and seeing a couple of doctors I was sent off with antibiotics and strict instructions to get a follow-up x-ray at home. The rain had stopped at last and I enjoyed a lovely stroll back, joining the canal near the end of the Soho loop, and then along the Main Line in the weak evening sun. Home by 6, with three-quarters of my book read, to a lovely warm boat and a cup of tea. We had a take-away from Banerjee which is opposite the bench on Black Sabbath bridge.
I hope the anitbiotics will have kicked in by the time we go down the Wolverhampton flight in a couple of days' time.
Rain, No 87 bus, excellent NHS staff (as always💖)
What was your takeaway like, we have eaten in there a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it
ReplyDeleteIt's our second one. I would say tasty and good rather than excellent, but they are always lovely people and efficient, and we would definitely use them again.
ReplyDelete