In the chaos of covid, coughs, colds and constant change, I decided to seek some calm each day, and collect a library of books to share with you for the Twelve Days of Christmas. Here is the collection in reverse order, starting with 12 drummers drumming culminating with the partridge in the pear tree! On …
The UK has reached a sobering anniversary. It is a year since Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown in March 2020. As we approached this milestone, we have found ourselves looking back over the past year with mixed emotions. We are sure many of us are doing the same – though we have each experienced …
In April 2020 at the beginning of the Pandemic, I wrote about hope, imagining that by the end of 2020 we might be stepping into the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s only day 18 of a new year but the need for maintaining hope and positivity feels even more important. The days …
I wonder how many Christmas articles start with the phrase, ‘it’s been a very different year to what I was expecting’? Well, it has. Like many people I’ve read lots of books, mostly to entertain but also to distract me from COVID and fill the gaps on a rainy day. Some of the books stood …
David Hockey’s recently released iPad drawings remind us of the importance of connecting with nature, and recognising the hope that spring represents for the world. Van Gogh said, “Don’t just look at the spring, touch it, taste it. Get it inside you.” We can all still do this- feel and experience the spring on a …
The Cork and the Whale A little brown cork Fell in the path of a whale Who lashed it down With his angry tail.But, in spite of the blows, It quickly arose, And floated serenely Before his nose.Said the cork to the whale, “You may flap and sputter and frown, But you never, never can …
What a great start to the decade! 280 primary care health professionals learning together with arts and community professionals @ Vale of York CCG PLT ‘The Bigger Picture’ These slides and information might be useful for your own teaching and learning I’m hoping that David Hockney won’t mind me using his famous picture ‘The Arrival …
On the first day of Christmas my bookshop sent to me 12 books to help maintain the art of medicine Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese 2010 Published by Vintage Several friends recommended this book. Set in Ethiopia, the story follows the lives of the doctors and staff at ‘Missing’, a mission hospital. The book’s main …
It’s been a busy few weeks with lots of exciting teaching events. Here are some of the highlights, with some new resources for teaching. Compassion At HEE Autumn School we discovered more about the lives of the GPs we work with by hearing stories about their shoes. Inspired by ‘A Mile in My Shoes’ an …
This month, inspired by reading Darren McGarvey’s book ‘Poverty Safari’ I have been thinking about inequality and the negative impact this has on the health and well-being of everyone in our communities. McGarvey has experienced poverty first hand and understands why people from deprived communities feel angry and unheard. I’ve put together some of his …
