NHS IT is universally acknowledged to be a nightmare. The promise of technology is always that it will save time and make us more efficient. But the reality is that staff feel like slaves, feeding the ever-ravenous monster of the electronic health record with more and more data, more and more time. Time stolen from patients. Worse still, the monster never regurgitates the promised useful data.
It therefore felt like a huge win this week when I managed to get multistep voice commands working in Dragon and EPIC. This has dramatically reduced the time it takes me to do frequent routine tasks, and reduced my risk of RSI. A year after implementation I finally feel like EPIC might make my job easier, as was promised. The beast is not dead, but it has been tamed somewhat.
P__ and I went to a fascinating talk at St Paul’s Cathedral by Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford, on the History of Sex and Christianity. It was refreshing to hear someone not only highlight, but revel in, the complexity and contradictions in the history of Christianity, and bring a sense of calmness to the hysteria around homosexuality and trans issues. Afterwards we went to the pub and I found myself in a conversation with a stranger. Something which used to be common but is now quite rare happened – we exchanged reasoned arguments about our differing views. In person, it is possible to strongly disagree without retreating into tribalism or insults. On social media, where so many of these types of discussions now take place, this is rarely possible. I would not try to convince a professional wealth managemer that rich people are bad for society online, but in person it is possible, and even fun. It’s important to remember and make the case that every billionaire is a policy failure.
I watched the Channel 4 documentary of Hope not Hate‘s investigation of Far Right groups, Undercover: Exposing the Far Right. It is gripping, and documentary film making at its best. Both Patrik Hermansson, the handler, and Harry Shukman, the journalist going undercover, are incredibly likeable and I was immediately invested in their work, and fearful for their safety. What is uncovered by Hope not Hate is vital and terrifying. Facism is alive, organised and well funded.
The US Election happened. A fascist, misogynist felon is in the White House. Someone tried to tell me that it doesn’t really matter. But is does. Project 2025 is terrifying on reproductive rights, immigration, climate, education and the circumventing of existing democratic processes. And the stated foreign policy aims of a Trump presidency have the potential to act like petrol on the fire of an already burning world.
I picked up my new mouth guard from the dentist. I’ve been grinding my teeth in my sleep. I can’t think why.
I was grateful to past me for booking tickets to The Other Side of Hope at the National Poetry Library which was on the day of the election result. P__ and I took the singing lift to the fifth floor and spend the evening surrounded by people with incredible stories and incredible talent. I cried. It was a showcase of the resilience and creativity of people who’ve been through trauma I cannot imagine. I felt like I was sitting in a warm spotlight of hope on a dark day. I bought several books. I find myself reading more and more poetry. It seems to be the only language that gets close to my feeling on world events. Thank God for the poets.
I sang with the church choir for Remembrance Sunday. It’s been almost a year since I accidentally joined the choir. P__ and I attended a concert at the church and asked for the date of the carol service. We found ourselves agreeing to be in the carol service! The choir has become a central part of our week, a therapeutic space to calm my mind and my breathing, and a much loved community. Our fellow singers have shown us so much kindness in the last year, so valuable it’s impossible to meaure. Not only that, but material help with meals and a place to stay when were having our house renovated. Community is vital.
Israel is “using starvation as a method of war”. Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 43,736 Palestinians and wounded 103,370. The UN observer in Palestine said “Children in Gaza are dying of starvation and severe malnutrition. Severe malnutrition is not a quiet or painless death”. I got paid to do a talk (a rarity). I sent the money to Osama and his family in Khan Younis. They are trying to buy a more robust tent and blankets for winter. Prices rise every day. Everything is scarce. They are tired and hungry.
I wore my white poppy all week in remembrance of all victims of war, in opposition to militarism and war, and as a commitment to peace. White poppies were first worn in 1933 in the aftermath of the Second World War by people who wanted to hold on to the key message of Remembrance Day, ‘never again’. If only we could all hold on to that message.
drlj 