tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5738655273839803622024-02-07T04:38:56.183+00:00The Quirk on the HillThe Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-26444998375527940072015-05-23T10:07:00.002+01:002015-05-23T10:07:20.315+01:00TrepidationWell, I was wary about blogging when I changed jobs and I was right to...<br />
I have now learnt that my honesty and candid accounts of my depression have come back to bite me.<br />
<br />
I am very, very sorry about what has happened and I am very sorry that it will mean that I no longer blog for the foreseeable future. I now regret disclosing where I worked on Social Media and I think that is a VERY important lesson for anyone to learn.<br />
I have reflected much and for now will be maintaining silence on my blog. I will interact on social media but I won't be disclosing my own inner issues.<br />
Please share this with others, it has been a very hurtful experience.....The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-67493845435141662102015-04-19T15:29:00.001+01:002015-04-19T15:29:21.892+01:00Discoveries
<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Well the findings were really interesting and demonstrated that
people did a lot of work before, during and after their clinic visits. Their
lives were about attempting to fit their condition into their lives but each
time they went to the clinic or had an appointment with a health care professional
they were reminded that their condition was more in the foreground. Weeks of
anxiety and uncertainty became their companion leading up to their appointment,
concerns about parking, time away from work, who they might see, results that
might show complications developing or poor control that might lead to
displeasure and a sense of failure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I found these experiences very sobering and wondered what to
do with them given how much time and effort was being put into making people
comply and attend the clinic. None of the messages in the </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">how to</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> manuals of care for HCPs encouraged
them to consider what was happening for people coming to the clinic. It was all
about getting patients to understand more about their condition and be more
like professionals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It deeply bothered me and as I had moved from practice here
was very little I could do myself to bridge the gulf between what ought to be
happening in practice and what might help people coming to the clinic. For the
second stage of the research I interviewed health care professionals and this
made me realise that very few of them saw the patients</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> perspective as critical to getting the experience right for
people. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I guess this sense of powerlessness and lack of purpose was
the main reason I didn</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">t progress my PhD, I found it very
difficult to motivate myself to write it up and also I didn</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">t seem to have a receptive audience for the message ... it
wasn</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">t really compatible with the received wisdom of the time and I
couldn</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">t find any practitioners willing to work with me to help make
a difference in practice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The long lasting impact of this is something I will explore
further but for the moment I want to reflect on the lack of interest from
practitioners and that 10 years later medicine comes forward with a plan.. it
has made me think...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<a href="http://www.yearofcare.co.uk/">http://www.yearofcare.co.uk/</a><br />
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-72742310785826305932015-04-12T20:15:00.002+01:002015-04-12T20:18:39.105+01:00So why do the research<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So what motivated me to undertake my
research? The answer to that lies in my experience as a specialist nurse and a
long standing ambivalence with the out patients clinic. In my first post I used
to use quite a number of delaying tactics in relation to getting to the clinic.
I used to find home visits and liaison meetings to book in before I would get
to the clinic. It took me a couple of years to get out of a navy uniform as
well and the staff at the clinic disliked me and my status. I wasn’t there to
help them out with the processing of patients and I would sit out in the
waiting area and chat to the patients while they waited for their name to be
called. I did not want to sit behind a desk in one of the consulting rooms like
the doctors although that was what was expected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The extent of their dislike for my approach
materialised when a patient complained about me and they were able to ventilate
to my manager about how disruptive I was in the clinic and how this was not
very helpful and a hindrance to their work. Back then I was just very hurt
by their response but with the wisdom of 20 years of reflection I now realise
what they were trying to protect. Their complaints weren’t about supporting the
lady who had complained about me but all about looking after themselves and closing
ranks. The lady complained about me because she thought I should have given her
special attention at the clinic, for very complicated reasons she had expected
me to act very differently. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It was not my greatest moment but I know I didn’t
do anything wrong, what I had done was maybe not give her extra special time in
the clinic and maybe I should have acknowledged that. I am not sure it would have
made any difference but what it did teach me was that I couldn’t fit in to a
model of care that expected us all to 'behave' ourselves when at the clinic. There
were many unwritten rules about behaviour in the clinic and I had cleanly
transgressed many times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So my research was about understanding people’s
experience of the clinic, why did they come, what did they think about before,
during and after their appointments. I disliked going to the clinic and felt
that there must be better ways of providing advice and support to people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So I decided to interview people three
times over a period of 18 months,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Each time I visited participants for an interview
I asked them to tell me their story about their recent experiences of health care
and health care professionals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I always felt that there must be a better
way of delivering care for people, instead of the clinic and the model replicated
in general practice...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MHjkpJQ0nH24M_buj8RO4JxnIdxajUa_b_e6oxKYaIEcmBYG-3hycYz7O75WUNVX0XXrHXtxP7EkKPvwbgv-K_v-bECbzXzYz7EsqDpP1Xl1AOkc88cXH2aYwPJUq5mw6VBLfqHToHJ8/s1600/layers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MHjkpJQ0nH24M_buj8RO4JxnIdxajUa_b_e6oxKYaIEcmBYG-3hycYz7O75WUNVX0XXrHXtxP7EkKPvwbgv-K_v-bECbzXzYz7EsqDpP1Xl1AOkc88cXH2aYwPJUq5mw6VBLfqHToHJ8/s1600/layers1.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-58167304376303828922015-04-11T11:02:00.000+01:002015-04-11T15:42:58.318+01:00Start with now<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been thinking a lot about not getting my PhD – think it
is because it is 10 years since that dreadful day when my supervisors decided
for me that they should put me out of my misery.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The parting advice was to get a PhD via publication, that
was it, a severance with no proper ending; not even a suggestion of a MPhil as
a consolation.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I have decided to share my findings on this blog, and
then that may start a discussion and help me move forward.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was an awful time, a real loss and now that I know about
proper grief (my Mum) then it was very similar to that. It was harsh,
unthinking and I have explored the motives for many years.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is a deep ambivalence in the nursing profession to
clever nurses, we still see in the media today and I experienced it (somewhat paradoxically)
in Higher Education. Nurses need to be kept in the place and this is usually instigated
by more powerful, high ranking managers who haven’t got the wit or wisdom to go
on an intellectual journey themselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I guess it’s important to keep the numbers down and
prevent too much influence from thinking, articulate nurses. It can make people
feel very uncomfortable and there seems to be a ambition to keep that club very
exclusive.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There seems to be a distinct lack of generosity, integrity, authenticity,
a wish to see others flourish, a well of skills and knowledge that they share
and enable others to reach their potential. I wasn’t in contact with that, at
all, probably why I needed to leave my job.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I am back in practice I am in a position where I
sprinkle generosity, integrity, authenticity and the notion of flourishing rather
liberally. It is an approach that many are unaccustomed to and it can make feel
people feel very wary. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However I know I am uncomfortable if I do things any other
way – so I am sticking to my position.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am hoping that I can develop robust and meaningful links
with like minded folk that will help guide me on this journey and I trust that
they share those values. I am sure they do, they’ve been talking about and practicing
them for a long enough – I think I can trust them and may even dip my toe in
the academic water again and consider linking with them in ways of spreading my
knowledge.</span></div>
<a href="http://criticalcreativity.org/">http://criticalcreativity.org/</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMNPRBktQpWY18fmO5aBSGdZRMJuw_oumWRL_ltkYMZ4RB5n_5EfvuBPQ8AXUDGhpMZx-ohu2sWEIZk8YKsgM-vKtpTFNWE-_gmUmDxfuwdMpHedRlv75uB-HBRE3Z6bvx8MRpDAWR9pG/s1600/IMG_2741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMNPRBktQpWY18fmO5aBSGdZRMJuw_oumWRL_ltkYMZ4RB5n_5EfvuBPQ8AXUDGhpMZx-ohu2sWEIZk8YKsgM-vKtpTFNWE-_gmUmDxfuwdMpHedRlv75uB-HBRE3Z6bvx8MRpDAWR9pG/s1600/IMG_2741.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
</div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-43592119148195191092015-03-28T16:40:00.002+00:002015-05-23T10:12:13.410+01:00Looking back, thinking forward<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have realised this week that teaching leadership and
service improvement is much much easier than actually doing it. I don’t miss
anything from my previous role, not the marking, not the politics but going
back to practice is really tricky and knowing how to manage oneself in the
milieu of care delivery is really complex and complicated. I am not sure I have
got anything right yet but the key things I want to share are about what I have
learnt about myself.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I share that then I won’t be breaching confidentiality
etc</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am not sure I had any idea about what it would be like not
being an academic anymore. The main thing was the release of the enduring imposter
phenomenon. I never felt like a “proper” academic without the PhD. The
termination of that Doctorate was the single most damaging experience and one I
now have felt recovered from after leaving my former role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is much more to explore around these
issues and intend to do it through writing poetry and exploring the themes that
emerge (</span><a href="http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=284"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=284</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will begin to share
the poems and thinking on this blog so I develop a routine that, I hope, helps
me work my way through my murky thoughts.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I don’t start exploring these issues in a disciplined and
organised way then they will fester in my subconscious and will emerge as
frustration and irritation. I am now in a position where i have to be mindful
of myself in many ways and pay attention to the notion of “Resonant Leadership”
(</span><a href="http://wendyjocum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/EI-article-3.1.4-Primal-Leadership-Realising-the-Power-of-EI.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://wendyjocum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/EI-article-3.1.4-Primal-Leadership-Realising-the-Power-of-EI.pdf</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Important stuff, enough for now...it’s a start</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-64169824589495985242015-03-25T11:09:00.001+00:002015-03-25T11:09:08.113+00:00ReturnI have been away a long time from this blog and a great deal has happened since last March. Too much to share in public at the time and much reflection has taken place to identify what I can and can not share to preserve confidentiality etc.<br />
I have promised Sheree Mack I will write a piece for the "Time to change" campaign so this is my launch pad.<br />
I will share tomorrow<br />
<br />
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-78007600917631923452014-03-23T18:55:00.000+00:002014-03-23T18:55:01.113+00:00Group poemsThese poems were written in response to images on <a href="http://www.evokecards.com/">Evoke Cards</a><br />
<br />
Wonderful stuff - if you want to know about the process that leads to this see previous blog on writing workshop...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Our little world<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It's a hard life.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Escapism.</span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Some of us more </span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">fortunate than others.</span></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Anticipation</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Freedom
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Travel,</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to your own paradise</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">full of colour </span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">–</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rainbow</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tranquillity, lilacs,</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">freshness.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">He always brought me fuchsias,</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">a riot of colour.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Transformation.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span> </div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Time for change<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Despondent,</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">left on the shelf,
again.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sadness.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">it was my turn for a cuddle.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Which path to take?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Choices.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Up,up and away.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Flutter in the breeze,</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">flying high - <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>anew.</span><br />
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-83664296649959456362014-03-08T18:40:00.000+00:002014-03-08T18:40:36.156+00:00Mapping a journeyToday saw my second writing workshop at the Lit and Phil. Today we explored experiences of health care and illness. We read some poetry and then drew maps <br />
Below is mine - it represents some of the experience we had as a family nearly 14 years ago when Mum was taken seriously ill and ended up near death in ITU for many, many days.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wdnWo1GPhVtGxv2ksaAvTDJH779LTGIHxwZHNtEK-Gtj2Kwb9nPjpULU3yHpgE1HGDpFfuuLjHMxVOkUAGEqY_Klpf30_yo97ouI5cPKTyyLWcp6tXlTawWIaIFwPx2iN9Fs9zRCE37a/s1600/mapmakingITU.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wdnWo1GPhVtGxv2ksaAvTDJH779LTGIHxwZHNtEK-Gtj2Kwb9nPjpULU3yHpgE1HGDpFfuuLjHMxVOkUAGEqY_Klpf30_yo97ouI5cPKTyyLWcp6tXlTawWIaIFwPx2iN9Fs9zRCE37a/s1600/mapmakingITU.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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It is a subject I have wanted to explore in my writing but have not found a way in and I had a hunch that map drawing might be helpful - getting beyond words to start with...<br />
At the end of the workshop we all wrote some short poems - cinquains mostly<br />
Here is mine<br />
<br />
<strong><u>News</u></strong><br />
<br />
Waiting<br />
we are waiting<br />
signs, symptoms, ignoring<br />
<br />
husband, four children, grandchildren<br />
waitingThe Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-90152128440832516752014-02-26T16:40:00.000+00:002014-02-26T16:40:02.357+00:00Making poetry : sharing learning 2
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the last 6 and half years I have been very fortunate to
be the poet-in-residence at a local Hospice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The wonderfully generous staff and volunteers have allowed me to hone my
poetry facilitation skills over the years and together we have written over 20
poems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This has been a very rewarding activity and everyone in the
room contributes to a group poem. This has been a unique experience and many
people have commented on how much they enjoy the process and surprise
themselves with their language skills and creativity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As this project has developed I have shared this process
with a number of people and have become more confident with the contexts in
which this approach to making poetry can be utilised.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With that in mind the team invited me to do “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your stuff with words” </i>as a finale to
their new 6 week community based rehabilitation project. I agreed to this but
went to the first session with some trepidation, mindful of the fact that the
group had been together for 6 weeks and that I would be an interloper coming
along to ask them to use words to explore their experiences of the group. I
needn’t have been so worried; the staff are so good at including folk in their
sessions that they made sure <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I joined in
with the exercises and immediately felt calmer about what I would do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Listening to participants over a cup of tea it became clear
that they had bonded as a group and that this was an important component of the
sessions. Picking up on this I decided to use Evoke Cards to explore words that
capture what they have appreciated about the programme. As this developed we
realised that a poem needed to be the outcome. Below is an image of the <a href="http://www.evokecards.com/">Evoke cards</a> arranged by participants into a poem.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREmi0cQrHiSdGdYWC37Kn7L9oKXkLZgtqVqFVwaEgdHvvnwQ502-QGVVzrueAZb3aFMjfevinZXd9iFjT_fpG6cSjBk1yWFH109b0gB3MnzB2S5UzK_xi84Xsv9QdB8RqqIAKOVASYXX5/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREmi0cQrHiSdGdYWC37Kn7L9oKXkLZgtqVqFVwaEgdHvvnwQ502-QGVVzrueAZb3aFMjfevinZXd9iFjT_fpG6cSjBk1yWFH109b0gB3MnzB2S5UzK_xi84Xsv9QdB8RqqIAKOVASYXX5/s1600/photo1.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I have been back to meet the second group and this
time I used both the Evoke cards and <a href="http://finkcards.myshopify.com/collections/family/products/appreciation-cards-one-page-profiles">the Fink Cards</a> that I have recently purchased.
All participants enjoyed choosing words and then each took a turn to share why
they chose the words. This was a moving session where both the programme
participants and the staff would share what they valued about the group, each
other and the processes they had been experiencing. After the sharing it was
agreed that a poem ought to be made!! Below are a couple of images of the cards
arranged into a poem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wanted to share this as it was such an affirming and
affecting experience – I always say to myself at the beginning of each session
to “trust the process” and this was very true today. So much learning <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>but</u></b> for the moment I just wanted
to share the experience rather than intellectualise and analyse it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx07mk3X2ebcuhJDLmcjaVZFE7hJcps0LS6v0lXj9nWlR-XsWuCzKuTeM9_U4EK0zRKzZj3RcZt0MO2R5QXbIyu0BuNsFLH16Z5uuDHAPvFN5fluHHHCNLB7v8pqx40QnHcM3l2P3Wyw_-/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx07mk3X2ebcuhJDLmcjaVZFE7hJcps0LS6v0lXj9nWlR-XsWuCzKuTeM9_U4EK0zRKzZj3RcZt0MO2R5QXbIyu0BuNsFLH16Z5uuDHAPvFN5fluHHHCNLB7v8pqx40QnHcM3l2P3Wyw_-/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-88112479497687579502014-02-26T16:30:00.000+00:002014-02-26T16:30:16.459+00:00Sharing Learning 1
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reflections on a
writing workshop<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Saturday 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> February I facilitated a writing
workshop focussing on writing in the Hospice setting. I drew on my experience
of running poetry groups in Hospices over the last six years to inform my
exercises and discussions</span></div>
Here is an overview of what I did and a bit of my reflections on the day.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Exercise 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Choosing words :- participants were offered the opportunity
to chose words from either cards, magnetic words or small wooden blocks. The
instruction was to chose some words and then write something from them, either
using them all or using them to develop ideas etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cards used were Evoke Cards </span><a href="http://www.evokecards.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.evokecards.com/</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This exercise has developed following success with using
words from poems or just collected as words that are worth playing with. The
blocks were prepared as patients found the small magnetic letters and thin card
a bit fiddly and the chunky blocks are nice to hold and have a word on 2 sides.
The idea of using the blocks came from Carol Ross </span><a href="http://trioross.wordpress.com/2013/06/08/writers-blocks/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://trioross.wordpress.com/2013/06/08/writers-blocks/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This exercise was enjoyed by all and feedback included the
observation that the exercise provided the opportunity to think too much about
the words and also the chance to play with words and explore where that might
end up</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Exercise 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was a group poem – here participants were encouraged to
contribute words and phrases and these were collected onto some sheets of flip
chart. This exercise helps identify the focus of the poem and begins a process
of listening and negotiating. Everyone will have a word or phrase included and
then decisions need to be made about writing poetry lines, length of stanza
etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was interesting to note how people used to writing (writers) found
this much more difficult than patients at the Hospice. This exercise works
really well with people who are not feeling very well – they don’t have to
write anything but they can still contribute to the finished piece. For this
exercise I used paint charts from a well known DiY retailer to harvest words
(paint names etc). It was quite a lively activity and consensus was eventually reached!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Exercise 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scribing – each participant was invited to choose a picture
of a person. They were then asked to start describing the person in the picture
and start telling a story. The person listening was to take notes and ask
questions about how the person telling the story wanted it presented.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This exercise requires the listener to really pay attention
to what the person is saying and not try to put words into their mouth, analyse
what is being said or interpret. I often use the phrase “say what you see” as a
way of helping the person being listened to to not feel inhibited by literary
convention etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This exercise is really good for people who are not feeling very
well and may not have the energy to write for themselves. The picture chosen
can enable the person to let their imagination fly and develop a poem or short
story that demonstrates their creative ability. It can also be part of life writing and reminiscence but that does not have to be the intention but if does evoke this then it is important that this is followed up outside the session to ensure adequate attention is given to the story that needs to be told. </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-57009832716125177202014-02-17T08:28:00.000+00:002014-02-17T15:49:34.346+00:00My writing process – the blog tour.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I have taken the baton from my lovely friend Kate Evans –
the idea is to answer the same questions. Kate’s blog can be found here </span><a href="http://writingourselveswell.co.uk/blog/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://writingourselveswell.co.uk/blog/</span></a></div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>What am I working on?</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Good question as I am putting lots of feelers out at the moment but not
just about writing – it may be career change time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am running a series of workshops
about writing and health care at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.litandphil.org.uk/index.shtml"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">the Lit and Phil</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
in Newcastle and so spend a lot of time thinking about exercises and reading
work by poets and writers about experiences of health care. It is a great
excuse to immerse myself in this topic. The first workshop was on the 8<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
February and was very enjoyable and some great work was produced by participants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I find myself writing poetry at odd moments (usually in
meetings) but I am also collaborating with a colleague to write a paper about
writing workshops in Hospice care to encourage others to give it a go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>How does my work differ from others of its genre?</strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For many years I have not thought my work was any different.
After a period of self-doubt I now am beginning to own the idea of my nursing
and education background being important in terms of how I might write about
the experience of healthcare, either in poetry or in creative non-fiction. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having had a stuttering start with poetry - my first year of MA was less than encouraging and that feedback lingers..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am now
determined to believe more in my project of making more visible the work of
nursing and the experience of health care from the patient’s perspective. It is
easy to think that it has all been told before but the more I read about people’s
experience the more I am convinced that we must not take our eye of the ball. </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Why do I write what I do?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I haven’t always been a writer and in fact for most of my
life I didn’t even really think about it. It was in 2004 when I met Julia Darling
at a writing workshop for “tired academics” it was there that I first discovered the joy of
creative writing and found myself writing poetry and script. Since then I have
been on a bit of mission. Running headlong into doing the MA Creative Writing
thinking I needed a qualification to give me legitimacy. That was a hard lesson
as I wish I had waited a while but I am still learning and love discovering
new writers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However I am even more committed to enabling others to find
their writing voice, patients, carers and practitioners. It is such a powerful vehicle
for self-discovery and also support and nourishment. In the last few months I
have stopped thinking that this is a soft option in healthcare and one I have to justify. It
is in fact an essential resource that should be available to all. It won’t suit
everyone but it should at least be offered. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>How does my writing process work?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Intermittently is my honest answer, the lighter mornings
help me write first thing but I find discipline a bit tricky. I
get bored in meetings and find myself writing poetry then, I listen to radio 4
and I find I get ideas and inspiration from stories on You and Yours etc. There
is no real pattern to my writing process but I do find myself finding time for
it now and know it is very important to my well-being to find time to write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am handing on the baton to Sheree Mack who I met 9 years
ago at a Writing and Health course at Newcastle University and a wonderful
person who I admire greatly. Sheree first encouraged me to read my poems in
public and has been a constant source of encouragement (and occasional nagging
since). Sheree’s current blog can be found here </span><a href="http://adriftinthewilderness.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://adriftinthewilderness.blogspot.co.uk/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am also offering the baton to my friend Eleanor who is a
GP and writer – I met Eleanor at one of Sheree’s writing workshops at the Lit
and Phil so I feel it right to offer the baton to them both. Eleanor’s blog can
be found here. </span><a href="http://chekhovwasadoctor.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://chekhovwasadoctor.wordpress.com/</span></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-28063196092670878612014-02-16T16:13:00.000+00:002014-02-17T08:28:46.143+00:00Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtS42843ZuS7bymmZLusEWU785LL30P-brpR5HDrof9gHaUGOiahPuovlYP6vujxvQd2RFAfv3rs9Ls1p8BaDdEIFaLjYS67lxPDt2gHX1_NicHjEMi0_la6-xFiGgg2DxjnBNdpJK6qZ/s1600/P1060842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtS42843ZuS7bymmZLusEWU785LL30P-brpR5HDrof9gHaUGOiahPuovlYP6vujxvQd2RFAfv3rs9Ls1p8BaDdEIFaLjYS67lxPDt2gHX1_NicHjEMi0_la6-xFiGgg2DxjnBNdpJK6qZ/s1600/P1060842.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Bought my first bunches of daffodils. A sure sign of Spring and one very important to me. I have been buying Daffs in February for a long time. Here's a poem I wrote a couple of years ago that involved a journey back to my first lot of nights at Old Addenbrooke's....<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>First Spring in Cambridge</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your compulsion to have dozens of daffodils </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">on the mantelpiece, a puzzle – when they only last </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">a week. You wonder why have them inside </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">when there are so many outside </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">along the Backs, along the Cam, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">the reason why you came here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On your third ward – night duty – alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Distracted by sighs, murmurs and moans </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You try to be vigilant but struggle to stay awake. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hope not to get caught out by night sister. </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">April being the cruel month, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">you long for the drizzle to cease.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your first birthday away from parents and siblings</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">no presents, few cards, just another shift</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">and then the weekend off to visit what was home.</span></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-70546286394771035562014-02-03T17:14:00.000+00:002014-02-03T17:14:53.969+00:00Getting backIt's been a while since I wrote a blog. I haven't been here because I haven't had the energy to write it and I haven't been sure what I wanted to write about.<br />
Looking back at my last post I can see the signs I had been ignoring for quite a while; I was very depressed and quite unwell. <br />
On 25th November I went to the GP - a locum "rolled with my resistance" about taking medication and challenged me. I was there for a reason - if it wasn't medication - what was it? Good question - I took the prescription and have slowly began to feel so much better. I now realise that I had got used to feeling rubbish for a very long time. <br />
<br />
I didn't want to admit to myself that I was depressed/anxious, it isn't the sort of thing that is easy to share with anyone. First their is the stigma but for me the overwhelming feeling was that of a sense of failure. As a proponent of writing for well-being I thought I could look after myself - but I really wasn't doing very well.<br />
<br />
Now life is not such a struggle I have found I quite like people I work with and am not fighting with myself and others.<br />
I don't expect it to all be sorted over night but I just thought I would share where I have been. It is difficult to share mental health difficulties - if I had developed a chest infection I may have been a bit reluctant to take antibiotics but I bet you I wouldn't have put it off for quite so long.<br />
I hope that I have learnt a lot from this and I hope to share this where and when appropriate.<br />
I also realise how good the blog is for helping me order my thoughts. That's the mission I am on to encourage people to think about this and read and write poetry.<br />
Now I can concentrate and read books again I can look forward to the year ahead instead of dread.<br />
<br />
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-64947359780525510242013-11-16T19:00:00.002+00:002013-11-16T19:00:57.696+00:00Stories that need telling
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I bought "The Other Side" by Kate Granger (<a href="http://theothersidestory.co.uk/">http://theothersidestory.co.uk/</a>) last week and read
it in two gulps. It is a compelling read and it made me reflect on why I found
it so gripping. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it is such a
visceral and honest account of the patient experience that it is like you are
there beside Kate. I felt moved to tears on quite a few occasions and also
shouted to myself about the issues that resonated in other areas of health
care. Cancer is the hook – life limiting and perilous – the treatment
debilitating and the trajectory so uncertain. Knowing the ending and Kate’s
current dilemma made it even more of an emotional roller coaster. My main
thought was whether other life limiting illnesses create equally compelling
narratives and whether the public and health care professionals would be as interested
in an account of diabetes clinic visits, trips to neurology for a differential
diagnosis of vague and diffuse symptoms. I am so grateful (if that sounds
patronising then it is not meant to be) for Kate Granger for being so clear
minded that she wrote her story during sleepless nights and had the courage to
put it out in the public domain. I have been interested in the stories behind
people’s experiences of disease and its treatment for over 20 years. That's quite a scary statement - as I realised the other day that it is 20 years since I started my MSc in Health Research - the beginning of my research interests and my resulting love/hate relationship with all things scholarly...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My career as a diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) didn’t last very
long but it was, I hope, person-centred. I didn’t last as a DSN because I got frustrated
by the profession centred approach and the focus on clinical measurements and
the organisation of the clinic rather than a focus on what mattered for the
person with diabetes. I used to get very irritated with the powerful decision
makers in diabetes care. I started my PhD research in response to my disquiet
about what was going on and wanted to find out what people talked about when
they were given an opportunity to “tell their story”. Each interview started <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>like a stopper had been taken off a bottle of
fizzy drink – they gushed forth with the beginning of their life with diabetes(diagnosis),
the trials and tribulations ( follow up clinics and annual reviews) and then
the current experience. I didn’t have to ask much or prompt– the stories just kept on
coming – back in 1999 after I had these stories as my data I couldn’t find a
way of keeping the experiences whole. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Narrative research in nursing was very new and even service user
views were still quite novel and no one seemed able to help me find a way of
presenting my findings in a way that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>honoured
the diversity and complexity of each person’s life with diabetes and their
encounters with health care professionals. The frustration of hospital parking,
the irritation of inconsistent staffing at clinics, the anxiety of retinal
screening, the ongoing exasperation of a total oversight of the emotional and psychological
aspects of managing a life changing, demanding and intrusive condition. All the
people I interviewed thanked me for letting them tell their story – a fact that
still makes me feel guilty that I didn’t get my PhD. Maybe this blog can help
with that as more people will read this than would have read any thesis I might
have produced. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess my thoughts are that many people experiencing ongoing
and demanding health care deserve to have their stories heard and that is one
of my areas of learning since I joined Twitter. I follow quite a few people with
diabetes (mostly type 1) and a lot of what I read makes me very cross as it
seems like a lot of what I learned during my research by listening to people
with diabetes has yet to filter into diabetes care in any obvious way. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It happens a lot in my writing workshops – patients and practitioners
have a different conversation – not disease or symptom focussed but person and
life focussed… this has to be the better way of informing care needs. How can
we make that happen??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Below is one of the poems I wrote in response to the stories people
told me – this was the beginning of my need to write poetry. There are a quite
few of these I might put them here for you to read..</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Dotum","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Beginnings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rapid onset</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gradual change<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everyone is different<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No two are the same<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Playing in the woods<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sitting in the car<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unexpected symptoms<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A slight change in the view<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going in for something else<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Didn’t know I had it<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Had an itch that wouldn’t go away<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Doctor said it was my age<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">didn't know that was part of the deal!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thought I was thirsty, peeing a lot<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thought it was my age<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Didn't bargain for this!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-19175965616515834222013-11-10T19:29:00.000+00:002013-11-10T19:29:34.390+00:00River Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Gorgeous walk along the river at Wylam... November Sundays can be OK!!The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-58841829265178556602013-11-08T10:57:00.003+00:002013-11-08T10:57:40.352+00:00My Shadow Side - the courage to share<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last week I had the privilege to be part of a retreat around
courage, compassion and choice at the Global Retreat Centre, Oxford (</span><a href="http://www.globalretreatcentre.org/"><span style="font-size: large;">more details here</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">) . I was invited to
attend by Andy Bradley founder of </span><a href="http://www.frameworks4change.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: large;">Frameworks4change</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> via twitter.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I have been thinking a lot about my learning from the Retreat
last week. I found it difficult and returned home feeling uncomfortable about
my experience. It wasn’t what I had expected and I guess as a somewhat
impatient and restless soul I thought it would be a call to action. I have been
looking for that rallying call to be in my vicinity and give me the chance to
step forward and answer the call. I have been looking for my heroic leader, the
one I can follow and to whom I can align my mission. Looking back this has been a
recurrent theme throughout my career and has been dogged by disappointment and
disillusionment; people who I have looked up to have not been up to it and have
failed to see my potential. I have been over looked and ignored. As a
consequence of this I have been quite cross for a very long time. Upset and
hurt I have been festering away with resentment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I took this to Oxford last
week and hoped to find that hero within the participants. I realised I was a
bit desperate to find people who I could follow (be asked to join their
mission) but that wasn’t the focus. The retreat was about stillness and listening.
I did a very good job in resisting any learning at the retreat. I wanted to run
away the first morning and I felt somewhat disturbed by the proximity of the Retreat
to my childhood town, Reading. We were even on the bloody bus route that my dad
often uses when he goes on one of his jaunts. I felt quite distracted by this
to begin with but sat with the emotions and recognised that the loss of my Mum
7 years ago is still unfinished business and maybe I ought to be a little gentler
on myself. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Once I leaned into the stillness and began listening I started
to feel calmer and less anguished, I stopped being miffed that there would not
be any rallying calls and that action would come later. I also started paying more
attention to what I was hearing about myself and taking on board what wonderful folk were telling me about the skills I might
have to offer. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am still processing a lot of the learning and still inpatient
to get on with using listening and support in practice. I want practitioners in
healthcare to know that some of us are looking out for them, I continue to
be frustrated about the distance HE has from practice but I also have started
to spend less time in my head, reduce the drain of thinking. I have started to believe in role
modelling compassion and thoughtfulness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> I still get grumpy and I can still see
that my default setting is melancholy and anger but I am also enjoying the
times when I am feeling brighter and also hearing the positive in my interactions
with other people. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twitter is a wonderful place for learning and sharing and
over the last few days I have a number of conversations that have helped begin
to provide a solid foundation for my thoughts and ideas. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thanks to a session facilitated by Francis Briers I have
come to know about U theory ( <a href="http://www.ottoscharmer.com/publications/summaries.php">more details here</a>) and have also begun to see my own blind spots. I
have always been fixated about writing things up and getting them published. This
has often culminated in nothing, nada, depression and low confidence. I have
often bleated on about how much better I am verbally, how I can express myself well
and also that I really quite like an audience!! Well how about doing some clips
about some of ideas, thoughts and projects? Thanks Andy for the suggestion I
will explore this and as my daughter is skilled in the use of information
technology I will make sure it will happen. Seems a bit scary because it might
be ridiculed and mocked but that is a risk I am happy to take to see if I can
share my thoughts around supporting practitioners and the role of values and beliefs
in their practice.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">When I stop thinking too much and I allow myself to calm I
find the poems come..</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Switching The Mind<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It is in the stillness </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">that we can listen.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It is only in this time</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">can we really hear.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Nurture stillness, silence,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">connection, clarity.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Declutter.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It is only by stopping </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">can we start again.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Hope, courage, growth</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">peace, resistance. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is only by persistence</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">can we share the way forward</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Together stronger – <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>joy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-48590646876711181192013-10-13T14:14:00.000+01:002013-10-13T14:14:30.476+01:00Sharing Stories Part IIHow many of you out there wanted to write about your nursing journey? <br />
Did you feel excited about the prospect of getting it down on paper and then sharing?<br />
Did you think that sounds like a good idea? Did you think I'll have a bit of that?<br />
<br />
If you did then how far have you got? Have you worried about it being good enough?<br />
Are you certain that you can't write and that no one will want to read your story anyway?<br />
Well all these reactions how expected and predictable. What I would like to happen is to see hose stories arriving in my in box. Stories to read, edit, collate and curate....<br />
<br />
Winter is not my most productive time but if I have a project I might find myself optimistic and energised..<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNApaLIkmxSbJnzOwucPFahZfNdxqZvyyS0VsNG6Fkvyu9W_x-wLqAGtZ2oEjbuowYv4hC2V06bKBO2E14UG5Ht0TqQOCSIbO2SYIYOhyphenhyphenWK2HDSQDXX3xwC8iW4fAllwJS2F3Yj1DNBXX/s1600/P1060328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNApaLIkmxSbJnzOwucPFahZfNdxqZvyyS0VsNG6Fkvyu9W_x-wLqAGtZ2oEjbuowYv4hC2V06bKBO2E14UG5Ht0TqQOCSIbO2SYIYOhyphenhyphenWK2HDSQDXX3xwC8iW4fAllwJS2F3Yj1DNBXX/s320/P1060328.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project Ready!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-62006868591993048282013-10-13T14:00:00.001+01:002013-10-13T14:00:33.487+01:00Changing the Conversation
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There is something very healing about working on the jigsaw of a poem,
even though the subject matter maybe upsetting. Understanding and working with
the craft of poetry frees us form the emotional glare of a situation and
lessens our fears.”</i> </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Julia Darling p. 12 The Poetry Cure</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been thinking about how you can celebrate what you do,
how you can recognise the value in what you are doing without showing off,
without over claiming, without being accused of being a fraud. Writing this
make me realise what stops me shouting from the roof tops about how I believe
poetry can make a difference. If I make too much of these things then maybe
someone might come along and blow my cover, show me up for not knowing a thing
about what I am talking about, expose my emptiness. Reading an article in <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2013/oct/11/poetry-boost-effectiveness-care"><span style="color: blue;">the GuardianOnline</span></a>
</span> this week about poetry in health care made me realise that my
frustration about the lack of recognition for the power of poetry is more about
me than the poetry. I tend to think I am an imposter wherever I am, as a nurse,
as an educator, as a writer, it hinders me and represses me; stops me being
what I can be. It has been hanging about for a long time and mining it for its origins
is a risky business. However I think if I am to take my message forward about
the power of poetry then I have to leave it all behind.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been running poetry workshops in health related settings
for a number of years now, I discovered the power of creative writing and well
being in 2004 and for the last 7 years (since my Mum died) I have sought to
offer that possibility in a number of places. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In hospices it has been
revelatory, where it is possible to regularly underestimate the power of
language and memory, that ordinary people can find extraordinary ways to
express themselves in poetry, all they need is permission, a piece of flip
chart, a scribe and a safe space to explore words. When I run our writing
sessions <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">all</b> people in the room
contribute to the making of the poetry, patients, volunteers and staff. If
someone happens to walk through the room en route to the photocopier they must
participate. It is about generosity and sharing, it is about giving people
space to think and have a journey of discovery. It is a time to have the
opportunity to rediscover childhood games, childhood spaces, local myths, and
local landmarks. The agenda is set by the people present, in early times I went
equipped with a plan, this often didn’t work and all my preparation often
inhibited the flow of ideas. For the last few years I have simply been part of
the conversation at the beginning of the session, listening and responding
until I notice an issue or theme that might be worth excavating. It never
ceases to surprise me how profound and insightful people can be, changing the
conversation, paying attention adds something to the relationships between folk
in the room. The academic in me wants to find out more about what is going on
but I often find that inhibits my thinking, shrinks the view. Instead I will
just carry on just doing what I do and wait for the analysis and evaluation to
happen. These workshops have been a life changing experience for me and I
increasingly find I want to offer the same type of space to all those I come
into contact, a safe exploratory space rather than a formal, prescribed space. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Simply
by writing this I find I have more confidence in this approach, poetry is one
way of creating this space but I am sure it is not the only one. However I
think that offering poetry into the space changes the tone of how we
communicate. The compression of language, the attention to expression and
evocation of emotion makes a difference. I now carry poetry with me into many
spaces and mention poetry when I can, some folk might see me as an eccentric
outsider but I hope I can cultivate more places where I can offer this way of
learning – it is important and it can save your life!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgUxfkBntQA-MtM3GsfXRrsTf-o3tpMgrdlkvA5vbdw10VHiCEZKGc6pSZafJnYzY2sscW2U38NpEkXTTNhSJo3En1-5tvWyLhlwogFf9PelH0dDeCgIayVw7mxsvJRgeZ3DepAeg-f8G/s1600/P1060325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgUxfkBntQA-MtM3GsfXRrsTf-o3tpMgrdlkvA5vbdw10VHiCEZKGc6pSZafJnYzY2sscW2U38NpEkXTTNhSJo3En1-5tvWyLhlwogFf9PelH0dDeCgIayVw7mxsvJRgeZ3DepAeg-f8G/s320/P1060325.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You will love again
the stranger who was your self </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Derek Walcott from
Love after Love</span></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-43498919510946041452013-10-06T17:33:00.001+01:002013-10-06T17:33:27.520+01:00Writing and art
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yesterday was
the first time I facilitated a health linked writing workshop outside the comfort
zone of health care education - it was at the Lit and Phil in Newcastle. I wanted to facilitate a writing workshop that
responded to the art exhibited there at the moment by people affected by Parkinson’s
disease. I have written about the exhibition before, Brain Box, as I find it
deeply moving and feel it deserves a larger audience. That said we had the
launch evening at the Lit and Phil and it was wonderfully warm and intimate evening.
Some of us read poems and Jan Sopher (the artist behind the work and the
curator) read a piece from Waterlogged by Roger Deakin.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Participants
at yesterday’s workshop produced some wonderful work and we are hoping to collate
the pieces into a little pamphlet that can be read alongside the pieces in the exhibition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I wrote a
poem for Thursday’s event and I felt a little daunted but I gave myself the
task of writing about celebrity and illness. I found some information out about
a famous photographer from the 1950’s who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease and I wrote about her. It took a while to develop but I felt it needed
attention before I was OK about it and the response on the evening was positive.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I acknowledge
the source of the inspiration and hope that I attribute the source and have
changed the tone by writing poetry in response to the prose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anyway here
it is for others to read....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Embracing Parkinson's<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">She
wanted to tell her story, reveal it <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">all
on the page tell it all to “L<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ife</i>”
magazine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">A
photographer of renown she had captured<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Roosevelt,
Stalin, Gandhi, to name but a few.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Maggie
the Indestructible, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">seemingly
always in the right<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">place
at the right time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she became frozen not shaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Her
fingers stiffened so she could no longer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">press
the shutter, focus her lens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Going
public with private issues - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">a
diagnosis and experimental <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>destruction <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">of
cells in her thalamus by her god like surgeon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Her
celebrity raised awareness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">but
unwise choices may have had <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">consequence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">She
didn't accept the disease<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">She
tried to squeeze it out,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">eliminate
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">A
message that extends <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">across
half a century as another <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">famous
name comes out with her lost voice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Telling
the world she’s not taking the pills <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">until
she's spinning on the spot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Do
we seek a wise role model? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">or
do we revel in a celebrated warrior?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Written
in response to an article in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Atlantic</i>
by Barron H Lerner about Margaret Bourke-White </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-8810346513334185082013-09-08T16:25:00.002+01:002013-09-08T16:25:12.770+01:00Poetry, compassion and nursing; some thoughts<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">This blog is a follow up to a tweet chat I was involved in a couple of weeks ago with </span><a href="http://www.wenurses.com/MyNurChat/archive/archivewenurses29082013.php"><span style="font-size: large;">Wenurses</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The subject under discussion was whether compassion could be
taught. I thought I would just lurk but ended up having say and I included
links to some poetry that I find helps “remind” us of our human connections.
This then led to some questions about why poetry and compassion. I had an
answer in 140 characters but I wanted to explore it a bit more here on the
blog. It has taken me a couple of weeks to get round to it because I have been
pondering on why it is so important to me.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Poetry came into my life in an unexpected and wonderful way
back in 2004. Meeting a local writer (Julia Darling) at a workshop changed how
I expressed myself and this was when I began to write poetry and found a whole
new way of looking at the world. The best bits of advice on writing poetry is
to be reading poetry so that you can find out what others are writing but also
it is the best way through mimicry and discovering what you like to find your
own voice when writing poetry. If you offer your poetry up to scrutiny of
others, either in a workshop, or a course then the feedback might often be
about how your poem might remind someone of someone else’s work. This
particular adventure has been the most rewarding and surprising as I have
discovered a rich seam of poetry from all around the world and from ancient
times to the present.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So the question asked is why is poetry so special? What is
it about poetry that makes you brave enough to get a classroom of students/practitioners to
read a poem in the expectation that they might get to discuss hopes, fears and
aspirations in their practice?</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">To me it became a gesture that I could not ignore. Reading great
poems about health care experiences like those written by Julia Darling, UA
Fanthorpe and Jo Shapcott provide a crystallisation of an experience, an
authentic snapshot that can evoke an emotional response. This response is often
spontaneous and unedited, the words used or the sense created in the work can
bypass the practitioners usually carefully orchestrated responses to the
emotional aspects of delivering care. Poetry can take you by surprise, make you
cry, make you angry, just stops you in your tracks. I believe this is a fine
way to encourage reflective and thoughtful practice. My belief is that good
poetry always comes from a truth, an authentic and genuine event, thought or
emotion. Those beginnings often end up in a finely crafted piece of poetry that
does something special. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The poetry offered doesn’t have to be about concrete experiences.
The poems I shared during the tweet chat were about “being human”. One of my
favourite poems is by Rumi, a Persian poet from the 13<sup>th</sup> Century.
Here is a link to </span><a href="http://www.gratefulness.org/poetry/guest_house.htm"><span style="font-size: large;">The Guest House</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">, a poem that I come to every week and get
something new from it, each time. Another poem I shared was by William Stafford
that I discovered via the wonderful Roselle Angwin. … here is a link </span><a href="http://roselle-angwin.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://roselle-angwin.blogspot.co.uk/</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The other poem I shared is by Elizabeth Bishop, a poet I had
on the bookshelf but hadn’t really read until 2006. Bishop is one of the finest
poets ever and I wish I had known about her before, but it is never too late to
discover wonderful things and here is a link to the poem I shared on the tweet
chat </span><a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sonnet-1928/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Consolas; font-size: large;">Sonnet 1928 </span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I really believe poetry can make a difference in this world
and I am becoming more passionate about that project. If you have poems you
want to share then please comment or if you want me to come along and run a
poetry workshop then I will!! Lets spread the word..</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">…..</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-8797978726219511542013-08-11T16:42:00.002+01:002013-08-11T16:42:30.904+01:00Sharing Stories (again)The idea about a book containing stories about nursing and nurses seems to be taking off. I now realise that it is important for me to explore my own story as well as encouraging others.<br />
I keep putting off writing anything on the page. I am not sure what I am scared of, maybe it is the worry that I haven't actually got anything interesting to say but if I am encouraging others to do the same then I ought to do it myself!!<br />
I admire those who can write prose and get their thesis written, their draft novel. I seem to have little stamina and find I get put off when I start thinking about writing more than 16 lines of poetry!!<br />
I seem to be OK at writing learning outcomes and evaluation reports and maybe I ought to say "<em>No</em>" to those and concentrate on my own writing. It is difficult to do it all on your own and my belief in a project is difficult when you are not sure if anyone is interested. Paradoxically writing this blog seems to be more liberating.... I don't care who reads it but I do find I can just splurge onto the page without worrying about what I am going to write about. <br />
I am interested in encouraging reflective practice for health care practitioners, enabling them to find time and space to think about their work. I also seem to have a lot of ideas in my head that I find difficult to commit to the page. That stamp of authority, that confidence to say "<em>This is how I see it.</em>" seems to be a long way off. I am expecting someone to tell me that it's all rubbish and that's what stops me...<br />
<br />
<u><strong>First Ward</strong></u><br />
<br />
Don't let me bore you.<br />
I am sure I have tales<br />
to tell. Stories to share. <br />
<br />
Ghosts in the attic,<br />
tears in the sluice,<br />
ward sisters who cared<br />
<br />
more about neat cupboards<br />
than the first year student<br />
struggling to make sense<br />
<br />
of worn out bodies.<br />
Confused and angry<br />
we all waited for a scrap<br />
<br />
of attention. Jessie hit me<br />
with her stick, <strong><em>whack!</em></strong><br />
I had to ignore it<br />
<br />
move away, cry later.<br />
Thirty four years on<br />
it comes alive and I<br />
<br />
wonder what made me stay.<br />
<br />
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The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-287002748085985852013-08-03T21:03:00.000+01:002013-08-03T21:03:05.851+01:00Learning from Tweeting - post FrancisOn Wednesday I attended a Department of Health event in Newcastle that invited participants to consider their responses to the Francis Inquiry. A <em>So What Now</em>? <br />
<br />
Thanks to the wonderful Maxine Craig, whom I have met through Twitter, I live tweeted from the event. I got quite excited about it and realised it was a great way for me to concentrate. On occasions like this I am prone to mind wandering but this kept me focussed. <br />
After a while I started tweeting haikus as there were some essential messages that were in danger of being lost within PowerPoint slides. It was all very interesting and the event left me more frustrated, in that the need to <strong>disrupt</strong> old ways of working is becoming crucial and so is working <strong>with</strong> staff.<strong> Please STOP</strong> telling them to be more efficient and expect besieged and beleaguered folk to find time and energy to be reflective. It needs to be acknowledged that they need space and attention... I think they need poetry and nurturing. If I hear the word productive once more I'll scream...<br />
<br />
Here are my haikus - they were read and re-tweeted by others on the day which means the power of poetry has spread!!<br />
<br />
<strong>LEARN. SHARE, CARE</strong><br />
<br />
duty of candour<br />
acknowledge can do better<br />
help share improvement<br />
<br />
*****<br />
enthusiasm<br />
passion, drive - all matter<br />
learning through nurture<br />
<br />
*****<br />
recruit for values<br />
retain around attitude<br />
care matters for all<br />
<br />
*****<br />
putting patients first<br />
everybody's business<br />
culture change needed<br />
<br />
*****<br />
accountability<br />
support excellence in care<br />
all responsible<br />
<br />
*****<br />
<br />
sharing stories<br />
want to make a difference<br />
to staff and patients<br />
<br />
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The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-15477213160297680472013-07-23T16:36:00.002+01:002013-07-23T16:36:54.012+01:00MuggleswickLove the name?<br />
Small hamlet on County Durham/Northumberland border<br />
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The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-85200691895678570562013-07-23T16:35:00.000+01:002013-07-23T16:35:10.233+01:00Turning up to write
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I love
reading other people's blogs and discovering what people are sharing with
others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Two
I have discovered recently have been <a href="http://mmcloughlinblog.wordpress.com/">Moira Mcloughlin 's blog</a></span></span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> and <a href="http://nurse4life.wordpress.com/">Lynne Stobbart's</a></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I have
learnt so much by writing and have realised that writing the blog has set me a
discipline that I lacked before in relation to turning up at the page. After
all you can't expect to write a book if all you do is think about writing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In my
friend Kate's book I shared my experience of not begin able to write my PhD and
re-reading it has made me realise how tough I have been on myself. I have just
read Moira</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s blog (see above) and I
realise that my PhD journey was strewn with rocks and boulders, some of my
doing and some that I could not see my way round. So rather than continue to be
highly critical of my failings I have begun to see that maybe there is a reason
for it and that instead of regretting not being Dr Sue I can think about whether
that title would have ever served its purpose of giving me permission to be
me, permission to explore the issues I am interested in - butterfly minded and eclectic!!</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The
police helicopter has just been over our house and it gave me flash of insight
into the way I see the world. I like the helicopter view...up high , looking
across and making connections and linking folk. A PhD requires microscopic and
forensic analysis of a very narrow topic, not sure I want that and can do it. I
know I want to write about lots of subjects and that sharing them is important
but I also know that the academic environment is too exclusive, I want to share
with ordinary folk, real people who inhabit the real world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Let</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">s see what happens.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqLpfiQUZemv6i_xSFIY5GWcviWNVDkgfIaenUIaOuJ7JwYNdD-Dg7UoJ2ppc9E80Yx7j-FJiMT_5dRPTaBYfBvo0bNI_qbqho9zaKcebC3WxvaetJ35MODaKoUMnVlXhB1-RlQZtSMT2/s1600/P1050001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqLpfiQUZemv6i_xSFIY5GWcviWNVDkgfIaenUIaOuJ7JwYNdD-Dg7UoJ2ppc9E80Yx7j-FJiMT_5dRPTaBYfBvo0bNI_qbqho9zaKcebC3WxvaetJ35MODaKoUMnVlXhB1-RlQZtSMT2/s320/P1050001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Derwent at Muggleswick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573865527383980362.post-76144298588299968432013-07-14T11:05:00.003+01:002013-07-14T11:05:57.758+01:00Writing DayI spent yesterday in Scarborough with four wonderful women at a Lapidus writing event. If you don't know about <a href="http://www.lapidus.org.uk/">Lapidus</a> I strongly recommend you look them up and explore the work we are trying to encourage in writing and well-being.<br />
Sue Wilson, a very talented poet and cake maker, facilitated the day and the subject was Food.<br />
I was not enthusiastic about it but I went down because I value the companionship and I wanted to make time to write. Sue began the session with some very well prepared and demanding 5 minute exercises. I am always surprised about just how much can be splurged onto the page in 5 minutes - try it, it is amazing what pours forth, particularly when you stash the critic and editor away.<br />
<br />
One of the exercises was about food we loathe. Here is my poem....<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Coleslaw</span><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></span></o:p></u></b><br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It
depends so much </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">on how we
are chopped.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">How we,
the vegetables,</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">are
selected. We do not</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">intend to
offend,</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">our
intention sound.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We never
wish </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to
repulse, disappoint.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We set
out, fresh</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">wholehearted,
to do good.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It is you
that cuts us down,</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">makes us
small, drowns us</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">in a
curdle of cheapness.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Mixes us
up with sour vinegar,</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">camouflages
our true flavour,</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">attempts
to create acceptability. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Perish
the thought that we</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">might be
seen as too much,</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">that
pieces of us might be too large,</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">too
recognisable, too obvious.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What does
it take to allow </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">each one
of us to be <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">savoured,
identifiable, </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">allow us
to just be.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
The Quirk on the Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05113948033681707344noreply@blogger.com0