It was such a brilliant catch up with good friends / colleagues yesterday.
Catriona was chauffer for me, picking me up from home and then Penny and driving us to a posh tearoom in a boutique hotel near Ongar... Due to PMI (Poor Memory Issues) I cannot tell you the name of the place but it was extremely chilled and very posh!
We were shown into a large conservatory, sitting at a table which was set with emaculate precision.
The cutlery sat welcoming and clean, awaiting the food to be served.
I noticed and older colleague of ours sat to my left and I turned, smiled and briefly chatted with her, Janet.
Janet was a health visitor who'd worked in the same offices as we had about 5 years + ago. She'd retired and asked "have you retired now?"... I wonder if the walking stick and my gait prompted her question or do I look really old anyway?
No need to answer this one, I know!!!
After a catch up, we had our tea served... Tea with scones, cakes and sandwiches (with the crust cut off), served in a timely manner and with a smile.
I hadn't seen Julia, Penny or Catriona for many months so there was a lot to catch up on.
We have worked together for many years and have been good friends, all of us are specialist nurses in different disciplines but all forward thinking.
We have always done what is best for our patients and colleagues and I was very proud to be their manager for a few years too.
Two main reasons for our meeting: I had retired and now Penny was retiring.
It was like we'd only seen each other the day before... Lots of chat, laughs and memories shared.
Tea was great, lots of choices of tea, I went for the ceylon (Sri Lanka) tea... Strong and full bodied. All poured through a tea strainer as the tea was loose leaf tea.. Catriona!
She kept on forgetting about this, in all fairness, she is the younger one out of us all and usually never drinks hot beverages of any sort!
The sad fact about our meeting is that two of us, by today, will have retired.
Penny has always been the consummate professional. Caring, unpreterbed and calming, in all the years I've known her, I'd say I've only seen her angry once and that was only angry with a tiny 'a'...
She has done so much for her service, single handedly being a force for effective cardiac rehab in West Essex. I have a lot of praise and respect for Penny. She will be missed but she has given many, many years service to others and now it's time for herself, family and especially her grandson. Good luck Penny 😉👍.
We chatted for ages, sharing photos of our children and grandchildren with anecdotes to boot... Sharing tales of our ailments and how different the patient experience is.
It is such a shame that we shared poor parent experience when receiving care!
Time passing quickly and soon the previously bright conservatory becoming darker as dusk set in. It was a good 3 hours gone quickly though there was nearly a year to catch up on.
It was time to say goodbye and although our daily interactions will never be the same, our respect and can I say love, for our colleagues and friends, will always be there.
There were a few cakes left over so I was obliged to take them home for our grandchildren to polish off... Boy did they enjoy them! Especially as Daisy wasn't feeling well so the cakes were very much a Medicinal must.!
Till the next time
Cheers....
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