Tossing pancakes, choosing nurses and women remembered

What a great week last week turned out to be. There was Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day as many people now refer to it. My thanks to Lochlann Mac a’Bhaird (what a great name!) from Raidio Teilifis Eireann (RTE), a broadcasting/media company in Ireland, perhaps best known for producing the film ‘My Left Foot’, who reminded me of the nature of Shrove Tuesday. He noted that a Google search for Shrove Tuesday returns just 3,800,000 results, whereas Pancake Day returns 30,600,000 results – so it’s perhaps not just me who needs educating! 

Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday was the day when larders were cleared of all the basic ingredients such as milk, butter, flour and eggs in preparation for Lent, which begins the following day on Ash Wednesday. During Lent, many people with a Christian belief commit to fasting, as well as giving up some luxury (chocolate, wine or whatever) in a symbolic replication of Jesus Christ’s journey into the desert for 40 days. That’s were the word Shrove comes in – it’s the past tense of shrive, a verb used to describe a priest hearing the confession of, assigning a penance to and absolving a sinner. Lochlan Mac a’Bhaird speculated that the origins of the name Pancake Day comes from the story of an overworked housewife, hearing the shriving bell calling her to Church, rushes out of the door forgetting that she was still holding the frying pan, complete with pancake. Who knows?

What I do know is that Wednesday was “Find a Chief Nurse Day”. Well it was for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust. Wednesday saw the final stage of the recruitment process to select a new Chief Nurse. These are tough jobs and they are not always easy to fill. We had some excellent candidates, who between them had the experience and knowledge we were after. I was impressed with the way in which that knowledge was presented in response to our questions. It made me realise the profession has some cracking leaders coming up through the ranks. We were able to appoint, and I look forward to working with her over the coming year or two. I absolutely enjoyed being part of the interviewing panel and had I been 20 years younger, I might have gone for the job myself. 

Of course, it’s easy to say that from my current position (retired) and I’m not sure I would have changed anything about my career journey. I thought about this on Friday, which was International Women’s Day 2019. Across the world, it’s a day that celebrates the social, cultural, political and economic difference women make in the world. Whilst International Women’s Day has been celebrated for over 100 years, there is still much that needs to be done to ensure a more gender balanced future in the world. I read with interest one of my fellow bloggers, Kath Evans, blog post on the day. You can find it here, and it’s absolutely worth a read.

In her blog, Kath reflected on some of the women who had inspired her, influenced her thinking and decisions, and had provided opportunities for her to develop throughout her life. It was her blog that made me reflect on all those women who had helped me during my career. I won’t start with my Mother, or the wonderful women I have been fortunate enough to have been married to, they have always been there and supported me along the way, and in whatever I have chosen to do. No, I want to start with a lady called Miss Voight. I can’t remember her first name, and I may never have known it in any event. She was my art teacher and did two things for me. One she helped me get an Art CSE (the only one I did get), and she introduced me to surrealism, something that has been a life-long love. 

What she said she recognised in me was a creative spirit, and she inspired me to seek a place at Art School. Alas, for many reasons it wasn’t to be, and I went to work for Sainsbury’s as a management trainee instead. These days, my creativity comes out in garden design and in my writing. And it was my love of writing that was inspired by a wonderful colleague and friend, Sheila Stark. She was one of those people who seem to have an endless supply of energy and enthusiasm for life. I met Sheila when I first entered higher education 23 years ago. She became my unofficial mentor, guiding me through my early days in academia and teaching me much of what I know now about research and being a researcher. Like many others, Sheila unselfishly provided me with many opportunities to grow and flourish. Sadly, we lost touch with each other after she moved to the US, but she is still someone I think about with great affection.

Likewise, Jennie Bacchus will always be a woman who is often in my thoughts. When I became Dean of the School, she was my PA. Jennie had been in the School for many years and I was the last in a long line of Heads and Deans she had worked with. We worked together for nearly 10 years and developed a healthy intimate understanding of how the other might be thinking. For me that is something very special, as I have constantly raged against those who, in conversation, say: ‘I know what you must be thinking’ when of course they can’t – Jennie often did. I was very sad when I moved on to a Pro Vice-Chancellor position and we stopped working together.

My last example of the many people who have helped me along the way is my friend, fellow writer, life traveller and wine drinker Sue McAndrew. For nearly 20 years we have had a ball. We had a mission to get our thinking about mental health nursing practice, education and research out there – and we certainly achieved that. Publishing papers, presenting these at conferences all over the world, and being able to research together has been brilliant. In turn we have worked at giving opportunities and support to many others and in that regard, we have also succeeded. 

And of course, I couldn’t write this post without acknowledging all the many people, men and women who have given so much, and so freely to help me. This wonderful group of people also includes my current muse J, whose support, love and inspiration continues to help me move forward.