Recently Horace called me out of the blue, in tears because she had had a medical shock – I won’t go into details because she wouldn’t want me to. What I wanted to relate was the speed of the NHS response. It was outstanding and I can only think she has received great protection from the universe.
As a result of her surgery and an ensuing infection she needed antibiotics, so she hobbled into her local pharmacy and passed over her prescription at a busy time.
When the prescription had been made up, the assistant, a lady whose first language was not English, almost threw the packet at Horace saying, ‘Read the leaflet and don’t go out in daylight.’
‘Not go out in daylight?’ queried Horace.
‘No.’
‘You mean I can’t go out during the day?’
‘That’s right.’
Horrace was turning to leave thinking that she would read the drug leaflet very carefully, when the Pharmacist leaned out from where she was working, with one finger raised to get Horace’s attention.
I think what my colleague means,’ she said, ‘Is that if you are in the sun, put on a bit of extra sunscreen.’