What can I do ?

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Dear Monty,



The reason my life as an artist and garden maker is really a fantasy, is because for 5 days a week I am a nurse. The title 'nurse' does not fit the traditional role of a man. To nurse implies to enfold, to take care of, to love and to feed ; these were always seen as female qualities.

I cannot feed or enfold physically, but nurses both male and female are now less and less able to love and care as 'systems' replace conversations, and procedures are dictated by prompts on computer programs. We bow to the almighty digit. If you want to see where it is all going wrong - look there.

Nurses, patients and doctors are human with emotions rational and irrational - with beliefs, passions, prejudices and even loathings - we are a soup - no-one is infallible. The best we can do is listen to one another, more important than that is to have the time to do so - which these days is seen as inefficiency.
The new diktats of monitoring and efficiency mean that to be efficient you have to process more information through the system giving less and less time for the peculiarities of being human.




The weekend, the garden is a haven of rest - it is a passion - a place where I can be the messy person I am. A place to take stock and reflect on my attitudes and behaviour.

The garden is sculpted by my hand and by the light. I cannot say it is of any merit as an artwork - but that is how I experience it. Likewise my painting.








I am not unique - wherein lies the hope.



Paul.

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