Hospital and garden history
My hospital appointment was today - I'd clearly been shoehorned in at the last minute, and waited almost an hour to actually see anyone. By this time, I was really upset, as well as angry, so it was just as well I'd written a letter for the consultant. I saw two people from his team, and got a certain amount of concern, but no actual apology, so I will be going on with my formal complaint. They patted me on the back for losing weight and asked me if I was ready to go in for surgery at short notice. I pointed out with some asperity that my bag had been packed since January, and that since I couldn't get a proper bloody job until my hip was fixed, yes, I was very available. I suspect that I won't be hearing from them very soon, so I'm essentially back where I was a month ago, but now I'm actually on the waiting list. I was remarkably weepy and upset when I got home. I don't know why, probably because I tend to think that all bad things that happen to me are my own stupid fault.
I perked up a bit later, and went out to see the research group for the London Parks and Squares Trust. They are compiling a list of all the open spaces in London, and need volunteer researchers. All the more immediately interesting places seem to have been picked, so I've decided to start with the little park across the road from my flat, which wasn't even on their list. Their criteria for an "open space" seem to be a bit vague, and I suspect that there are many others that aren't on it. It might be interesting to dig out a few of these. Everyone there seemed to know a lot more about garden history than me, which was unsurprising, and one of the other new volunteers used to be head gardener at Strawberry Hill, so I'm looking forward to picking his brains some time.
I perked up a bit later, and went out to see the research group for the London Parks and Squares Trust. They are compiling a list of all the open spaces in London, and need volunteer researchers. All the more immediately interesting places seem to have been picked, so I've decided to start with the little park across the road from my flat, which wasn't even on their list. Their criteria for an "open space" seem to be a bit vague, and I suspect that there are many others that aren't on it. It might be interesting to dig out a few of these. Everyone there seemed to know a lot more about garden history than me, which was unsurprising, and one of the other new volunteers used to be head gardener at Strawberry Hill, so I'm looking forward to picking his brains some time.